Turkish premier says a Kurdish state would ‘endanger the region’

ANKARA, Turkey – A Kurdish state would pose a danger to the region, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in an interview with a German newspaper.

“A Kurdish independent state will endanger the region and turn it into chaos,” he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily.

“Changing frontiers will bring about fighting between the neighboring countries, that is why it is better the frontiers remain as they are,” he added, in response to a question about Turkish fears of a Kurdish state in the Middle East.

Turkey has strong economic and political ties with its neighboring autonomous Kurdistan Region, but it has remained opposed to Erbil’s aspirations of independence from Iraq.

For decades, successive Turkish governments have had strained relations with the country’s estimated 15 million Kurdish minority, but last March the government began a peace process with the Kurds that has largely lagged due to foot dragging by Ankara.

Referring to Turkey’s Kurds, Davutoglu said that “everyone in Turkey has the right to participate in the political process.”   

He added that, “The different communities living in Turkey are satisfied with our political system.”

Although Turkey has lifted a ban on the Kurdish language and allowed it to be taught at private schools, it still has not responded to demands that Kurdish children be taught their own language at public schools.

“Over the last 12 years we have met the people’s desires,” he said. “We have changed our educational system (to allow) the Kurdish language along with the Turkish language being used at educational institutions and we will continue eliminating barriers before the Kurdish language,” he promised in the interview.

Responding to reports accusing Turkey of helping the Islamic State (ISIS) and other terrorist organizations, Davutoglu reiterated Ankara’s line about removing Bashar al-Assad from power in Syria.

“If the international community had taken our advice into consideration or had found an alternative to the Syrian regime there would have been no crimes and atrocities against humanity,” he told the daily.       

Turkey has always denied accusations of allowing Islamic militants to cross into Syria for jihad. Ankara has acknowledged, however, that Hayat Boumedienne, a suspect wanted in connection with last week’s deadly attacks in Paris, had escaped across the Turkish border into Syria.