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Iraq seeks clarification on Turkish
military build-up
27.4.2006
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ANKARA, April 27,
2006 (AFP) - Iraq handed a note to Turkey on
Wednesday seeking information on a recent Turkish
military build-up on the Iraqi border, officials
here said.
Iraqi Ambassador Sabah Omran "gave us an official
note requesting information about what measures are
being taken at the border," a Turkish diplomat said.
She denied media reports that the note included a
protest against cross-border operations by Turkish
commando units pursuing armed rebels of the
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has fought for
Kurdish self-rule in southeast Turkey since 1984.
"There are no such operations and the note did not
include such a protest," the diplomat said, speaking
on condition of anonymity.
Officials at the Iraqi embassy were not available
for comment.
Thousands of armed militants of the PKK have found
refuge at bases in northern Iraq since 1999, when
the group declared a unilateral ceasefire after the
arrest of their leader, Abdullah Ocalan.
The PKK, which called off the truce in June 2004,
has markedly stepped up violence this year and
officials say they have begun to infiltrate Turkey
in growing numbers, as they do each year with the
advent of spring.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said Tuesday after
talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
that Turkey had no plans for a cross-border
operation, but he reiterated Turkey's unhappiness
with US and Iraqi cooperation against the PKK,
blacklisted as a terrorist group by both Ankara and
Washington.
The Turkish army conducted incursions into Iraq
before the US-led invasion of the country in 2003.
The NTV news channel said the Iraqi note, as well as
a similar note given to to the Turkish embassy in
Baghdad, included a protest over "small-scale
hit-and-run operations" by Turkish commandos against
PKK bases in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Foreign ministry spokesman Namik Tan said the Iraqi
ambassador was told the border reinforcements were
part of measures enhanced every year with the
arrival of spring, when the snows melt and make
passage through the mountains along the border
easier for the rebels.
"The presence and activities of the PKK in Iraq
makes these measures compulsory," he said. "We
conveyed again to the ambassador our view that the
presence and activities of the PKK in Iraq must be
terminated."
Rice pledged US support against the PKK on Thursday,
but opposed cross-border operations, saying they
could complicate efforts to restore stability in
Iraq.
She called for the resumption of trilateral meetings
between Ankara, Baghdad and Washington to discuss
measures against the PKK once the new Iraqi
government takes office.
The Kurdish conflict in Turkey has claimed more than
37,000 lives since 1984, when the PKK launched its
armed separatist campaign.
AFP
Southeast Turkey: Northern Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey)
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