REPOSTING:
UNPO General Secretary Calls for Urgent Action
Regarding the Iraqi Turkmen
* * *
European Parliament
Must Urge Iraqi Government
To Provide Safe Haven
For Iraqi Turkmen
Brussels, 4 February
2013 - The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples
Organization (UNPO) and the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) are calling for the
European Parliament to exercise pressure on the government of Iraq, to put
security measures into place to protect the Turkmen minority as a matter of
urgency. This appeal follows a series of attacks against ethnic Turkmen in
Iraq, including an attack on 23 January 2013 in Tuz Khurmato at the funeral of
a civil servant, in which at least 42 people were killed and a further 117
wounded.
Unfortunately, this is far from a
unique occurrence. Attacks on the Turkmen have been increasing at an alarming
rate in recent months – including the burning alive of two teachers – as
tensions between the Arab and Kurdish populations in the disputed territories rise.
All too often, the Turkmen community has been caught up in the collateral
damage of this conflict and many Turkmen feel both marginalised and victimised
by their fellow Iraqis.
The UNPO welcomes the statement by EU
High Representative Catherine Ashton in which she condemned the funeral attack
in Tuz Khurmato. However, more needs to be done to specifically protect the
Turkmen community, which has suffered disproportionately from violence in Iraq
in recent times.
The Iraqi government has repeatedly pledged
greater protection for the Turkmen community, but any action on the issue has
not been forthcoming. The UNPO and the ITF therefore urge the European
Parliament, moreover in light of the visit of members of the EU Delegation for
Relations with Iraq, to put pressure on the Iraqi government to fulfill its
obligations to the Turkmen community, guaranteeing them a safe and secure
environment in which to live.
Marino Busdachin
UNPO Secretary General
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- See more at:
http://www.unpo.org/article/15452#sthash.FRWcRSqA.dpuf
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