07.09.2004, 12:58
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Mr Verheugen is on a four-day visit to Turkey, his last before the Commission prepares its report. After meeting Turkish leaders, he flew to Diyarbakir, the main city in south-east Turkey. A conflict there between Kurdish separatists and the Turkish security forces in the 1980s and 1990s cost an estimated 30,000 lives and led to accusations of human rights abuses against both sides.
Turkish commentators said Mr Verheugen's trip to the south-east, where he will meet local officials and representatives of non-governmental organisations, was a crucial part of his fact-finding mission. Recognition of the cultural and civil rights of Turkey's large Kurdish minority has loomed large in the EU negotiations process so far.
Mr Verheugen is on a four-day visit to Turkey, his last before the Commission prepares its report. After meeting Turkish leaders, he flew to Diyarbakir, the main city in south-east Turkey. A conflict there between Kurdish separatists and the Turkish security forces in the 1980s and 1990s cost an estimated 30,000 lives and led to accusations of human rights abuses against both sides.
Turkish commentators said Mr Verheugen's trip to the south-east, where he will meet local officials and representatives of non-governmental organisations, was a crucial part of his fact-finding mission. Recognition of the cultural and civil rights of Turkey's large Kurdish minority has loomed large in the EU negotiations process so far.