e island and has since
acted as patron state to the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,"
which only Turkey recognizes. A separatist insurgency begun in 1984
by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - now known as the People's
Congress of Kurdistan or Kongra-Gel (KGK) - has dominated the
Turkish military's attention and claimed more than 30,000 lives.
After the capture of the group's leader in 1999, the insurgents
largely withdrew from Turkey, mainly to northern Iraq. In 2004, KGK
announced an end to its ceasefire and attacks attributed to the KGK
increased. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and in 1952 it became a
member of NATO. In 1964, Turkey became an associate member of the
European Community; over the past decade, it has undertaken many
reforms to strengthen its democracy and economy, enabling it to
begin accession membership talks with the European Union.

Turkmenistan
Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan
became a Soviet republic in 1924. It achieved its independence upon
the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. President Saparmurat NIYAZOV
retains absolute control over the country and opposition is not
tolerated. Extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves could prove a
boon to this underdeveloped country if extraction and delivery
projects were to be expanded. The Turkmenistan Government is
actively seeking to develop alternative petroleum transportation
routes in order to break Russia's pipeline monopoly.

Turks and Caicos Islands
The islands were part of the UK's Jamaican
colony until 1962, when they assumed the status of a separate crown
colony upon Jamaica's independence. The governor of The Bahamas
oversaw affairs from 1965 to 1973. With Bahamian independence, the
islands received a separate governor in 1973. Although independence
was agreed upon for 1982, the policy was reversed and the islands
remain a British overseas territory.

Tuvalu
In 1974, ethnic differences within the British colony of the
Gilbert and Ellice Islands caused the Polynesians of the Ellice
Islands to vote for separation from the Micronesians of the Gilbert
Islands. The following year, the Ellice Islands became the separate
British colony of Tuvalu. Independence was granted in 1978. In 2000,
Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name ".tv"
for $50 million in royalties over a 12-year period.

Uganda
The colonial boundaries created