|
Turkey seeks US help on rebels as
ceasefire starts
1.10.2006 |
|
|
|
ISTANBUL, October
1, -- Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan will
urge the United States to take concrete action to
crack down on Kurdish guerrillas in Iraq, newspapers
reported on Sunday, as a unilateral rebel ceasefire
went into effect.
Amid growing violence in Turkey's southeast and a
diplomatic push to break up the group, the Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) on Saturday announced a halt to
hostilities from its Kurdistan (northern Iraqi)
base, believed 5,000 militants launch attacks on
Turkey.
Analysts said it was an opportunity to halt a
22-year-old separatist conflict which has killed
more than 30,000 people. They warned violence would
continue if steps were not taken in the political
arena to solve the country's Kurdish problem.
Erdogan has dismissed the
ceasefire. He
said the PKK issue would be at the top of his agenda
when he meets U.S. President George W. Bush in
Washington on Monday amid Turkish perceptions of a
U.S. failure to act against the outlawed group.
"If concrete steps are taken in northern Iraq the
view of the USA will change. We expect concrete
results from the meeting," Milliyet newspaper quoted
Erdogan as telling reporters on his flight to the
United States.
Ankara and Washington have appointed coordinators to
work together in the fight against the PKK and
authorities in northern Iraq have shut down its
offices. Turkey is now seeking more direct action to
halt rebel activities.
The ceasefire was prompted by U.S. pressure on
northern Iraqi Kurdish leaders after Turkey
threatened military strikes on the PKK's Iraqi
bases, according to Ismet Berkan, editor of the
liberal daily Radikal.
"The window of opportunity may not stay open for
long. And we mustn't forget high-level U.S.
initiatives opened this window. I hope we have a
solid plan for what happens next."
"The one thing we need to solve the Kurdish problem
is politics. Once the guns have fallen silent it
will be possible to conduct politics in the region
once again," he said.
The conflict is also fuelled by deep poverty in the
mainly Kurdish southeast which has failed to attract
investment despite pledges by successive governments
to boost development.
ERDOGAN UNDER PRESSURE
Turkey, which has NATO's second-largest army, has
beefed up its military presence along the Iraqi
border but Washington has warned against military
intervention in northern Iraq, the only peaceful
part of the country.
Erdogan is under pressure at home to crack down on
the PKK amid a rise in nationalism ahead of general
elections next year.
But he indicated the intensity of military action
against the PKK could lessen if the rebels do lay
down their arms.
"If the terror group keeps its word the armed forces
will not carry out operations without any reason,"
he said.
The PKK move came in the wake of a ceasefire call by
its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan, who launched the
insurgency in 1984 in a bid to create a Kurdish
homeland in Kurdish southeast Turkey
(Kurdistan-Turkey).
Violence dwindled after his 1999 capture. In the
last two years it flared up again. A shadowy
militant group linked to the PKK has claimed
responsibility for a wave of deadly bomb attacks
against civilians across Turkey over the last year.
Turkey's main Kurdish party, the Democratic Society
Party (DTP), called on Ankara to improve the rights
of the country's some 12 million Kurds to prevent
further bloodshed.
Reuters
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan".
Others estimate as many as 40 million Kurds live in
Big Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey.
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan but
unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag is
banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it is
a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey) wikipedia
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 