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Iraq: Turkey urged to seek Baghdad's help
on Kurdish militants
27.4.2006
By
Kathleen Ridolfo |
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Despite Turkey's suspicion of the largely
autonomous Kurdistan region in Iraq (Kurdistan),
Iraq's Kurds could play a positive role in improving
Ankara's relations with its own Kurdish minority.
As Turkey masses troops on its border with Iraq in
preparation for a possible large-scale military
incursion to eliminate Turkish-Kurdish fighters from
the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) hiding out in
Iraq, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met
with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul in Ankara
on April 25.
Despite weeks of press reports suggesting that the
United States has given tacit approval for a Turkish
military operation, Rice maintained in remarks to
reporters that any such action could threaten to
destabilize Iraqi Kurdistan. |
Kurdistan national flag, Kurdistan-Iraq
Photo: AFP |
"We need to work with the new Iraqi government and
we will do that. We've had a trilateral mechanism on
this issue and I hope that we can reinvigorate it
when there is a new Iraqi government" in place, Rice
said.
Meanwhile, Gul quietly criticized the U.S. approach
to terrorism. "Taking one [terrorist] organization
more seriously while showing greater tolerance to
another creates a weakness in the field of
counterterrorism and in the international arena," he
told reporters. Both the United States and Turkey
have labeled the PKK a terrorist organization.
But Gul denied that any operation is in the works,
saying that the troop buildup is an annual spring
exercise by Turkish forces. "Our security forces are
taking measures because with the arrival of spring
the terrorists have become active and are
infiltrating our borders," he said. "This is what is
being done, and there is nothing new."
U.S. Offers Intelligence
Rice confirmed to reporters in Ankara on April 25
that the United States has stepped up its
cooperation with regard to the PKK by sharing
intelligence information with Turkey. "We believe
that it is important that we make joint efforts
through information sharing and other means to
prevent any vacuum for being used as a way to
inflict harm here in Turkey," she said, according to
the State Department website (http://www.state.gov).
Istanbul-based NTV reported on April 21 that the
United States was providing Turkey with "pinpoint"
intelligence, adding that all of the PKK's
communications have been placed under observation.
The United States is also reportedly working with
Turkey to cut off the PKK's financial support.
Meanwhile, some Turkish media have maintained that
the United States has given Turkey the green light
to carry out reconnaissance missions inside Iraq.
The Turkish media has fueled rumors in recent days
about preparations for a large-scale operation.
Istanbul's "Ortadogu" reported on April 23 that the
Turkish armed forces deployed two brigades to the
Iraqi border in preparation for the operation, which
would include air strikes against six PKK camps in
the Qandil Mountains sheltering an estimated 6,000
militants.
The report contended that Iran and Syria were
briefed on the operation, which planned to extend
some 100 kilometers inside Iraq, and both countries
gave their support. Iran has been carrying out its
own operations against Kurdish militants from the
Kurdistan Free Life Party, an offshoot of the PKK,
along the Iran-Iraq border in recent weeks. Both
Iran and Syria have large Kurdish minority
populations.
Iraq's Kurds Criticize Turkey
Iraq's Kurdish leaders have been critical of Turkish
behavior in recent months, and have raised
speculation that Turkey aims to destabilize Iraqi
Kurdistan.
Relations between Ankara and Kurdistan had been
tense since the overthrow of the Hussein regime,
particularly because of Turkish support for Iraq's
Turkoman population and its claims over the oil-rich
city of Kirkuk.
The tensions were exacerbated when transitional
Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Ja'fari visited Ankara
without notifying President Jalal Talabani or
Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari (both Kurds) in
February. Kurds interpreted the visit as a threat by
al-Ja'fari, following their calls for him to give up
the nomination to the premiership due to his poor
performance in the transitional government.
More recently, Kurds have taken offense to the fact
that Ankara has not included Kurdish leaders in the
dialogue on the PKK issue, but rather sought
exclusive talks with the United States, according to
some media reports. This stance is more broadly
linked to a Kurdish demand that Ankara recognize the
legitimacy of the regional government in Kurdistan.
But, the Turkish-Kurdish division has much more to
do with Turkey's relations with its minority Kurdish
population than with the Kurdistan region in Iraq.
Attacks on Turkish cities attributed to the PKK or
its splinter groups have risen dramatically in the
past year, with at least eight bombings since
January. For Turkey, the PKK is not only an obstacle
to EU accession, but to democratic advances in the
country. According to turkishdailynews.com on April
21, the Turkish-Kurdish divide is widening, and
nationalist sentiment is on the rise. In some areas
of the country, campaigns are under way to encourage
businesses not to employ Kurds, the website
reported.
Turkey's handling of its Kurdish population has
continued to raise questions from local and
international observers. According to an April 26
report on bianet.org, some 55 minors remain in
custody inside a Diyarbakir prison after being
arrested for their alleged involvement in a wave of
protests in the city earlier this year. More than
200 minors were initially arrested but most of them
have been released. The Diyarbakir Bar Association's
Children's Right Center has threatened to take
Turkey to the European Court of Human Rights if the
children are not released, the website reported.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticized Turkey for
detaining one of its researchers in southeastern
Turkey in early April, saying the researcher was
detained, though not charged, and faced deportation
after investigating alleged abuses by the Turkish
police and government-armed local defense units.
"The desire [by Turkey] to cover up human rights
abuses is evidently still very strong despite recent
moves towards more accountability in Turkey's bid
for membership in the European Union," HRW said in
an April 12 press release.
A Missed Opportunity?
Iraq's Kurdish leaders could play a key role in
ameliorating Turkey's relations with its own Kurdish
population. And it is likely that Iraq's Kurdish
leaders would welcome the opportunity. Such a
request from Ankara would signal its recognition of
the positive role that can be played by Kurdistan's
regional government.
Moreover, it is in the interests of Iraq's Kurdish
leaders to maintain solid relations with their
northern neighbor, in order to reinforce stability
in the region and boost the region's economic
development.
Turkey has always expressed the concern that Iraq's
Kurdistan government would spur calls at home for
greater Kurdish autonomy. But Iraq could also play a
mediating role between Turkey and its Kurdish
population. It could be to Turkey's benefit to
recognize what Iraq's Kurds could bring to the table
through such dialogue.
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