SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Turkey has launched an investigation against a Kurdish lawmaker for endorsing a commemorative stamp design featuring a map of Kurdistan, which angered Turkey and Iran.
Ankara’s Public Prosecutor launched on Sunday the investigation against Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) lawmaker Berdan Ozturk for “making propaganda for a terrorist organization”, after he made comments over the stamp.
The Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Transportation and Communication released designs of six stamps to mark Pope Francis’ March 7 visit to the Kurdistan Region.
One of the stamps featured the pope and the map of greater Kurdistan which includes the Kurdistan Region and Kurdish areas in Turkey, Iran and Syria.
Iran and Turkey lashed out at the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) over attempts to print the commemorative stamp to mark the pope’s visit.
“Certain presumptuous authorities in the KRG dared to abuse the [pope’s visit] to express their unrealistic aspirations against the territorial integrity of Iraq’s neighboring countries. KRG authorities are in the best position to remember the disappointing outcomes of such deceitful aims,” the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement last week.
It demanded the KRG officials immediately ratify the “mistake”.
Head of Department of Foreign Relations Safeen Dizayee said on Saturday that the KRG has “the utmost respect” for sovereignty of Turkey, Iran and Syria.
KRG Spokesman Jotiar Adil said last week that none of the designs had been approved.
“The design that will be approved for printing will be in accordance with the Constitution and the law,” he added.
