FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2002
Chomsky calls for autonomous Kurdistan
AFP
DIYARBAKIR: US leftist Noam Chomsky said Wednesday he hoped for the creation of an autonomous Kurdistan in the Middle East, uniting millions of Kurds dispersed throughout several countries.
The academic, a linguist, said he hoped one day to see the existence of an independent Kurdistan, providing millions of Kurds with a homeland.
Chomsky was speaking at a symposium of non-governmental organisations in Diyarbakir, the main town in Kurdish-populated southeastern Turkey.
Chomsky also met representatives of the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HADEP), which risks being banned by Ankara for its links with the Kudish People's Party (PKK).
Chomsky said the inhabitants of an autonomous Kurdistan would be both politically and culturally independent.
Around 20 million Kurds live in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran, 12 million of them in Turkey.
Chomsky called for the Kurdish language to be taught in schools, saying he had respect for the language and for those who wanted to be taught their mother tongue.
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