ANKARA — A
leading Iraqi Kurd has warned Turkey not to meddle
in Iraq’s affairs, saying that any military
intervention aimed at stalling the creation of a
Kurdish state will end in “disaster.”
Turkey is alarmed at what it sees as a drive by the
Kurds of northern Iraq to cement their autonomy and
possibly seek independence, Reuters reported. The
fear is that such moves could re-ignite separatist
activism in southeast Turkey.
Turkey is especially concerned that the Kurds may
wrest control of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk at the
expense of local Arabs and Turkish-speaking Turkmen.
Thus, Ankara reserves the right to take action to
protect its interests.
Masoud
Barzani |
“Turkey should
not intervene in our domestic affairs,” Masoud
Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party,
told CNN. “The result of such an intervention
would be a disaster for all parties.”
|
Turkish
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and other officials
have stepped up criticism of the Kurds since the
Iraq elections, saying Ankara could not stand idly
by if Kirkuk fell into Kurdish hands. Hurriyet,
Turkey’s top-selling daily, alleges that Iraqi
Kurdish authorities ferried Kurdish voters into
Kirkuk to boost their vote.
In an informal referendum held alongside Iraq’s
parliamentary elections, Iraqi Kurds voted almost
unanimously for independence. This prompted Barzani
to say Kurdish self-rule was inevitable if not
imminent.
The issue has badly strained traditionally warm ties
between the United States and Turkey.
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