Turkish PM in spat over Denmark's pro-Kurdish TV station

"ANKARA (AFP) Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended Tuesday his boycott of a news conference in Denmark attended by a reporter from a pro-Kurdish television station.

Erdogan decided to shun the joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen after the latter turned down his request that the Roj TV journalist be told to leave.

"How can we come together in a press conference with a member of a medium which is under the patronage of a terrorist organization? That was not possible for me," Erdogan said at Ankara airport after flying in from Denmark.

He remained defiant when asked whether his stance might cast a pall on Turkey's respect for press freedom at a time when the country is bidding to join the European Union."
The Kurdistani