EU enlargement chief Guenter Verheugen on Tuesday welcomed Turkey's progress in granting cultural rights to its Kurdish minority but said the government should further expand liberties in the impoverished mainly Kurdish southeast.
"Since it obtained a European perspective, Turkey has taken steps on giving cultural and social rights for the Kurds," he told reporters while visiting a small village near the regional capital of Diyarbakir.
"These were only the beginning. More could be done on cultural rights," he added, calling on authorities to allow Kurds to fully exercise their liberties.
After Turkey became an official candidate for EU membership in 1999, the government has allowed its Kurdish minority to broadcast and teach in their mother tongue in a ground-breaking move as part of EU-minded reforms.
http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/040907093637.78c7kdf4
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