|
Time running out on Kurdish rebels in
Iraq, Turkey tells US
23.12.2006 |
|
|
|
ANKARA, December
22, -- Turkey wants the United States to take
concrete steps against Iraq-based separatist Kurdish
rebels, a special Turkish envoy said Friday, warning
that time was running out for Ankara to see
substantial progress in eliminating the threat posed
by the militants.
Retired general Edip Baser, Ankara's coordinator
with Washington in the fight against the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), said he would
discuss "priority concrete steps" with his US
counterpart, retired general Joseph W. Ralston, when
they meet in January.
"We (Turkey) have a time frame in our minds," Baser
told the NTV news channel. "If we have not come up
with concrete steps by the end of that time frame
... then we (Turkey) will say there is no need for
us to dally any longer and we will call off this
joint effort."
There could be a "parting of ways" if the United
States rejects measures that Turkey believes should
be in place against the rebels, Baser said.
He acknowledged that it was "not realistic to expect
concrete, important steps against the PKK in one
day," but said Ankara would like to see a sign of
progress by early next year.
Baser underlined that should the need arise, Turkey
would carry out a cross-border operation on its own
to crack down on the rebels in their camps in
Kurdistan (northern Iraq).
"This is not an issue anyone can meddle in," he
said.
Turkey has long been pressing the United States and
Iraq to stamp out the PKK presence in Kurdish-held
Kurdistan northern Iraq, which Ankara says
the rebels use as a springboard for attacks on
Turkish targets across the border.
But the United States and Baghdad have been
reluctant to crack down on the rebels, saying they
are swamped by violence in other parts of the
country.
Washington has argued for other types of measures,
such as cutting off the PKK's finances, before a
military operation.
Growing impatient, Ankara has threatened
cross-border operations against PKK camps in Iraq, a
move Washington opposed on grounds that joint action
by United States, Turkey and Iraq would produce
better results.
In August this year, Turkey and the United States
appointed Baser and Ralston as their envoys to
better coordinate their joint struggle against the
rebel group. The two men have been meeting since
September.
More than 37,000 people have been killed since 1984,
when the PKK, classified as a terror organisation by
Turkey, the United States and the European Union,
took up arms for self-rule in the country's mainly
Kurdish southeast.
The rebels declared a unilateral ceasefire from
October 1, saying it hoped this would pave the way
for a dialogue to resolve the conflict.
But the truce, like the previous ones called by the
PKK, was quickly rejected by Turkey.
AFP
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"
Southeast Turkey. The Kurds have no rights in
Turkey.
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
|
® 