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Erdogan: Turkey could take action against
PKK in Kurdistan-Iraq
18.10.2005
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ANKARA, Oct 18
(Reuters) - Turkey said on Tuesday it would take
steps to end the presence of Turkish Kurd rebels in
the mountains of Kurdistan (northern Iraq), but
stopped short of directly threatening military
action.
Turkish officials have repeatedly demanded U.S.,
Iraqi Kurd and Iraqi government forces crack down on
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) forces in
Kurdistan-(north Iraq) from where rebel leaders
direct their fight for Kurdish self-rule in nearby
Turkey.
"The principal point which we have stressed at these
meetings is that the terrorist presence in northern
Iraq (Kurdistan) must be combatted," Prime Minister
Tayyip Erdogan told a meeting of his parliamentary
party.
"So far, Turkey has maintained a patient stance."
But, he said: "Our nation expects us to take
effective measures to clean up the terrorist
presence in the region. We will take clear and
effective steps to bring this about. I remind you we
will do what is necessary when the time is right."
In the 1990s, Turkish forces launched repeated raids
into northern Iraq (Kurdistan) to hunt down PKK
rebels in the mountainous region. Turkey still keeps
several hundred soldiers inside Iraq, close to the
Turkish border, despite Iraqi calls for them to
leave.
But since the 2003 Iraq war, Turkish troops have not
mounted any operations inside Iraq against the PKK
which is based on the Qandil Mountain in the far
northeast of the country.
U.S. officials admit their troops are too tied up
fighting the insurgency in Iraq to turn their
attention to the PKK which rarely engages in any
hostile activity inside Iraq, though Washington
classes the PKK as a "terrorist" organisation.
Iraqi Kurdish parties are wary of the PKK presence
in their region and the potential conflict it could
cause, but have so far been reluctant to take up
arms against them.
More than 30,000 people, mostly Kurds, have been
killed since the PKK took up arms for Kurdish
self-rule in 1984. Conflict in Turkey's mainly
Kurdish southeast still leads to a steady stream of
casualties for both the army and the PKK.
Reuters
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