Kurdish mayor confronts Erdogan
When Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan acknowledged the existence of a "Kurdish problem" to a rally in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Mayor Osman Baydemir was among thousands who stood to applaud a momentous declaration. For decades, Turkey had refused even to recognize Kurds as a separate ethnic group. Seven years later, Baydemir, shaking with anger, […]Ayla Jean Yackley reports for Reuters:
When Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan acknowledged the existence of a "Kurdish problem" to a rally in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Mayor Osman Baydemir was among thousands who stood to applaud a momentous declaration. For decades, Turkey had refused even to recognize Kurds as a separate ethnic group.
Seven years later, Baydemir, shaking with anger, blames Erdogan's government for the worst fighting between the army and Kurdish rebels in years. Raising the stakes in his confrontation with Ankara, he has joined a hunger strike by Kurdish prisoners.
