Demirel denies similarity between Kosovo and Kurdish problem

Turkish President Suleiman Demirel denied yesterday any similarity between the status of Kosovo's Muslims and the Kurds in Turkey.

He accused the Kurdistani Workers Party of promoting this idea, aiming to deform the image of the Turkish government before the international public opinion.

Demirel said Turkey does not discriminate against its citizens and that it does not regard them as a minority as is happening with the Albanians in Yugoslavia. He said they are an integral part of the society and that they assumed high positions in the republic.

This comes on the heel of NATO attacks on Yugoslavia due to ethnic strife, where some of the citizens of the NATO countries questioned (in favor and against) why the Kurds in Turkey are not being helped the same way as Albanians in Yugoslavia.