Turkey plans to invest $12 bln in Kurdish package to increase wealth

According to the report Erdogan said they plan to invest 11-12 billion dollars over five years to build two large dams and a system of water canals, complete paved roads and remove land mines from the fields along the Syrian border.    �

Erdogan reminded in the interview that Deputy Prime Minister Nazim Ekren is in charge of visiting the largely Kurdish cities. Erdogan is expected to deliver the long awaited economic and political package to improve Kurdish population’s life standards on April 6 in a visit to southeastern cities, a former adviser has said on Monday.

Erdogan added the fight against PKK is not only military means but also has socioeconomic aspects. Turkey conducted an eight-day ground offensive into Iraq against PKK positions, and Erdogan told the NYT the United States had been fully behind it. “Turkey is not a guest,” Erdogan added. “Everyone who has entered Iraq until now will stay for a while and go away, but we will stay. We are the most important door for northern Iraq to open up to the world. We are the healthiest door” he said. �

“I can openly and freely say that this short process has been done with the total understanding of Turkey, the United States and the central government of Iraq. But the fight against terrorism is not only this. It also has a socioeconomic part, a psychological part, a cultural part”, Erdogan said. “We have relatives in northern Iraq. And people living there have relatives in our southeastern region. With whom will we have good relations other than with ourselves?”   �

The newspaper wrote the government would also dedicate a state television channel to Kurdish language broadcasting. The channel is planned to include Persian and Arabic besides Kurdish. Erdogan said this would be the most important step providing cultural rights to the region.  �

DTP COMMENTS

Pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) slammed on Wednesday Erdogan's economic programme for southeastern regions, saying it's nothing but a "move for local elections".

"The Kurdish problem cannot be solved with factories, Kurdish broadcast on TRT 2 (state TV channel), investments", Selahattin Demirtas, the deputy leader of DTP, told in a press conference in Ankara.

But Demirtas admitted every positive step forward will contribute to the solution of the problem. "However the basic element of the Kurdish is promlem is the efforts to create a nation based on one language, one religion, one etnicity... When the mentality changes you will see the problem will be solved even without packages" he added.