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Turkish officials have been increasingly vocal in
recent days over their desire to launch cross-border
operations to rein in Kurdish fighters from the
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK or Kongra-Gel) based in
the mountainous areas straddling Iraq and Turkey.
After months of what they deemed as stalling on the
part of the U.S. and Iraqi governments to deal with
the PKK, Turkish officials proposed two new plans.
Officials first contended that Turkey would carry
out cross-border operations with or without the
consent of the Iraqi government. They then suggested
at a 19 July meeting of the foreign ministers of
Iraq's neighboring countries that Iran, Syria, and
Iraq join forces to help eliminate the Kurdish
group, which is considered by its supporters a rebel
group, and by the governments involved, including
the United States, a terrorist organization.
Fighting has escalated between the PKK and the
Turkish government since May, leaving at least 24
PKK fighters and 30 soldiers dead, and by some
accounts, dozens more. The recent spate of terrorist
attacks, claimed by the PKK and groups affiliated
with it, have targeted civilians and soldiers.
In response, after months of what they deemed as
stalling on the part of the U.S. and Iraqi
governments to deal with the PKK, Turkish officials
have proposed two new plans. Officials first
contended that Turkey would carry out cross-border
operations with or without the consent of the Iraqi
government. They then suggested at a 19 July meeting
of the foreign ministers of Iraq's neighboring
countries that Iran, Syria, and Iraq join forces to
help eliminate the Kurdish group, which is
considered by its supporters a rebel group, and by
the governments involved, including the United
States, a terrorist organization.
Turkey's calls for the United States to drive the
PKK from northern Iraq began in the months following
the downfall of the Hussein regime in 2003. The
United States was slow to take up the mantle, saying
that it would not round up PKK fighters until an
amnesty offered by the Turkish government had
expired. Since then, the United States has been tied
up fighting insurgents in other areas of Iraq and
has stalled on Turkey's request.
One unidentified U.S. official responded to Turkey's
cross-border plans by saying that Turkey has the
right to defend itself -- within its borders --
against terrorism, but the United States would not
support Turkish military action against the PKK
should those operations take place inside Iraq or
violate human rights, Andalou news agency reported
on 15 July. That statement appeared to provoke a
harsh response from the Turkish government and may
have contributed to the U.S. "order" for the capture
of PKK leaders in Iraq that was announced by Turkish
General Staff General Ilker Basbug on 19 July,
according to Anatolia news agency.
Regional Implications
The United States would certainly not welcome
further turmoil in the region, which could
destabilize the relative calm in northern Iraq.
Washington would also oppose any action by Iraq's
neighbors -- particularly Iran and Syria -- towards
the PKK since those countries would likely attempt
to send troops into Iraq under the pretense of
hunting for terrorists.
Despite that, Iran has voiced its willingness to
pursue the issue, NTV reported on 19 July. Iranian
Interior Minister Abdulwahid Musavi Lari told the
Turkish news channel: "We do not support the
relationship between the Iraqi Kurdish
[administration] and the PKK in northern Iraq,"
adding, "There is no PKK camp in Iran and we have
fully prevented it." Turkey has claimed in the past
that the Iranian regime gave shelter to PKK fighters
inside its territory, providing the group with
logistical support.
To complicate matters further, Iran is at odds with
its own Kurdish opposition groups, which have called
for greater national rights. The demands have led to
a brutal crackdown by the regime in recent weeks. In
one recent operation against Kurds living in
northwestern Iran, Iranian security agents
reportedly killed a Kurdish activist, bound his
body, and dragged it through the streets,
Kurdishmedia.com reported on 15 July. Numerous Kurds
have been arrested in other security sweeps by
Iranian intelligence, and peyamner.com reported on
14 July that intelligence agents have asked private
call centers to provide the names of people making
telephone calls abroad.
Syria appears less likely to support the plan, as it
seems more susceptible to increased pressure --
whether perceived or real -- to appease Kurdish
demands for national rights. That pressure prompted
the most recent Ba'ath Party conference to pledge to
address the issue of Kurdish rights in Syria.
Kurds in Syria have battled the Ba'athist regime for
decades in an effort to be recognized as citizens
under the law. "Since the advent of Law 93 of 1962,
the Syrian government has classified some 160,000
Kurds as 'ajanib,' or foreigners. They cannot vote,
own property, or work in government jobs. Another
75,000 or so are simply unregistered, and are known
as 'maktumin,' or concealed, having almost no civil
rights," Beirut's "Daily Star" reported on 11 July.
However, it remains unclear whether the Syrian
government intends to do more than pay lip service
to the issue. Syria would be more than likely to
support the Turkish plan if the political climate
were different. However, given Iraqi and U.S.
accusations against Syria for its apparent support
of terrorism in Iraq and other international
pressures on Syria that forced its recent withdrawal
from Lebanon, it is unlikely that Syria would accept
the Turkish plan at this time.
Iraqi Government Unlikely To Help
Iraqi officials in the interim and transitional
governments have also stalled on the issue of the
PKK, contending that while the government wants to
assist Turkey (Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Ja'fari
vowed in May to do "all we can" on the Iraqi side of
the border), the Iraqi military does not have the
capabilities to launch operations in Iraq's vast
mountainous regions.
Interior Minister Bayan Jabr told NTV on 18 July
that Turkey should seek approval from the Iraqi
National Assembly if it intends to launch
cross-border operations. "We are ready for
cooperation against the Kurdistan Workers Party [PKK]
or any other terrorist organization. We need to help
each other on the issue," said Jabr, adding:
"However, there is a government and parliament
elected in Iraq. The parliament can grant permission
for Turkey's cross-border operation; it is bound to
the parliament's decision."
Even if the National Assembly were to approve the
plan, it is unclear if the Iraqi military would have
the right to do so under the terms of the
Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), Iraq's
interim constitution, which gives Iraq's Kurdistan
Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan (PUK) peshmerga forces control over areas
of northern Iraq. It is highly unlikely that the
Kurds would ever support attempts by the Iraqi
military to launch operations against the PKK in
Kurdistan.
The Shi'ite-led transitional Iraqi government faces
other internal obstacles that preclude its approval
of the Turkish plan, namely an alliance it formed
with the Kurdistan Coalition list following January
elections to form the leadership of the transitional
government. Support among Kurds for the Shi'ite-led
government has waned in recent weeks, as Kurdish
leaders, including Iraqi President Jalal Talabani,
have claimed that al-Ja'fari has sidelined the
authority of Kurdish ministers as he takes steps to
monopolize power.
Kurds are also dismayed at the transitional
government's failure to address issues relating to
the normalization of Kirkuk, a multiethnic oil rich
city. The city was the site of a massive
resettlement campaign undertaken by Saddam Hussein's
regime that uprooted and displaced 1 million Kurds.
The TAL calls on the transitional government to
"expeditiously" remedy the injustice caused by the
Hussein regime in altering the demographic character
of certain regions, including Kirkuk. Turkey is
likely to become wrapped up in the imbroglio because
it supports Iraq's Turkomans (ethnic Turks), who,
like the Kurds, claim a majority in the city.
Kurdish Woes
Kurdish activists close to the PKK say that the
movement has tried to change its stance to
nonviolence, but to no avail. They contend that the
government seeks nothing short of their
annihilation, despite Kurdish calls for their rights
under a democratic Turkish state. "Today, we believe
in the diplomatic and political struggle in order to
obtain our legitimate rights," Murat Karayilan, the
military leader of the PKK, told AP in an interview
published on 12 July. He vowed, however, to fight
Turkey if attacked. The group called a cease-fire in
1999 with Turkey after its leader Abdullah Ocalan
was captured and imprisoned.
The PKK canceled the cease-fire last year, saying
the government had not done enough to meet demands
for Kurdish national rights. The Kurdish language
was banned in Turkey until 1991, and broadcasting in
the Kurdish language was only legalized last year.
Other reforms have enabled Kurds for the first time
to give their children Kurdish names on legal
documents.
Karayilan's calls for greater equality come at a
time when Turkey is under increasing pressure as it
vies for membership in the European Union. The
Turkish government has been widely criticized in
Europe for its human-rights record with the Kurds,
who live primarily in southeast Turkey. Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at European
diplomats last week, telling CNN Turk that he
doesn't appreciate their trips to Kurdish areas in
the east and southeast of Turkey. "They go to
Diyarbakir. Where do they go? They go to Hakkari.
Fine, but if you want to hold talks with us, mister,
you must do that in Ankara, the capital," Erdogan
said.
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