TURKISH DEFENCE SOURCES SAY ALBANIA SELLING ARMS TO KURDISH REBELS
Report by Tedi Blushi: "Albania: Arms for Kurdish Rebels"

Gazeta Shqiptare, Tirana
10 Sep 07
Albania

An operation by Turkish troops, which ended with the seizure of a
major arsenal of weapons belonging to Kurdish Communist Party rebels,
has brought to light another case of Albania’s arms trading with other
countries. Among the arms and ammunition seized, the Turkish Army
noticed that a large amount of them used to belong to the Albanian
Army. According to Turkish news agencies, citing sources at the
Turkish Defence Ministry, most of these weapons were Albanian-made
Kalashnikov assault rifles. It is not yet known how these Albanian
weapons fell into the hands of the Kurdish rebels.

Still, one of the leads being followed by the Turkish authorities
is that these weapons were sold by Albania to the Kurds via various
companies involved in the export and import of weapons and that they
were illegally smuggled through an international criminal network.

Turkey, which is a NATO member, has complained about this incident
to the United States. Ever since 1983, some 30,000 people have lost
their lives in the Turkish-Kurdish conflict. The Kurds are fighting for
Kurdistan – an independent state or an autonomous state within Turkey.

Armenia

This is another case within the last few months of the Albanian
Government’s risking its relations with Turkey, one of Albania’s
closest allies. Some months ago, this country tried to ship a
consignment of heavy weapons to Armenia, but the Turks prevented these
weapons from reaching their destination, turning back an Albanian
ship loaded with 60 containers of weapons. Since the mid-1990s,
Armenia and its neighbour Azerbaijan have been locked in a conflict
that has caused thousands of victims on both sides. As is known,
most of Azerbaijan is inhabited by a Turkish-speaking population,
so Turkey has always been very sensitive to what happens there.