Turkey: Kurdish Smugglers | European Journal

Iranian border patrolmen are mercilessly hunting down young Kurds who try to smuggle cheap diesel oil across the border to Turkey. Ankara has said nothing, supposedly not wanting to strain relations with Tehran.The Iranian border patrol?s most recent known victim was handed over to Turkish authorities in January. But Ankara has had little response to the captures and killings so far, turning a largely deaf ear to protests from relatives and human rights activists. Turkey imports more than one third of its oil and natural gas from Iran, so it likes to keep relations cosy. The EU is prodding Turkey to change its policies toward Iran and improve the economic circumstances of the region?s Kurds. For more go to http://www.dw.de/dw/episode/9798/0,,15757292,00.html