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US warns Turkey against Iraq incursion,
Erdogan decries 'double standards'
19.7.2006
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ANKARA, July 18,
2006 (AFP) ,-- The United States warned Turkey on
Tuesday that a cross-border operation against
Kurdish rebel bases in northern Iraq would be
"unwise," drawing angry accusations from Ankara that
Washington is using double standards in the region.
"We have repeatedly said that we believe that
unilateral military action across the border with
Iraq would be unwise," the US ambassador to Turkey,
Ross Wilson, said in an interview with the NTV news
channel.
He was speaking after Ankara on Monday urged
Washington and Baghdad to act against the separatist
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), whose militants have
enjoyed safe haven in the mountains of northern
Iraq, signalling that it is ready to take
cross-border action if they fail to do so.
Ankara says the PKK, listed as a terrorist group by
Turkey, the United States and the European union,
uses bases in northern Iraq as a springboard to
launch attacks in adjoining southeast Turkey.
It has made clear that its patience is running out
after rebel attacks claimed the lives of 15 security
force members over the past week.
"The PKK is not a just a northern Iraq problem --
it's a problem in Europe and it's a problem in
Turkey," Wilson said.
"Going to deal with the PKK in northern Iraq will
not solve the problem," he said. "It will not lead
to what we or Iraq or Turkey want to see, which is
the termination of these terrorist activities and
the termination of the death and suffering that the
people of Turkey have faced."
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan quickly hit
back, highlighting Washington's support for Israeli
military offensives against militants in Lebanon and
the Gaza Strip.
"Terrorism is terrorism everywhere," Erdogan said in
Istanbul. "It is not possible to agree with a
mentality that tolerates country A and displays a
different attitude when it comes to country B."
Dismissing the ambassador's warning, Erdogan
reiterated that Turkey would be prepared to conduct
cross-border military operations in northern Iraq
and hinted that contingency plans were already being
drawn up.
"At the end of the day, we know how to take care of
our problems," he said. "The competent authorities
are working accordingly... We keep ourselves ready
against possible developments."
The United States' failure to crack down on the PKK
has often poisoned its ties with Turkey, a key
Muslim ally in the Middle East, and has been blamed
as a prime reason for growing anti-US sentiment
among Turks.
At least 87 PKK rebels and 51 members of the
security forces have died this year in southeast
Turkey, according to an AFP count.
Kurdish militants also claimed responsibility for 11
bomb attacks in urban centres, in which nine people
were killed and nearly 140 injured.
Wilson said Washington had achieved "some success"
in disrupting the flow of funds financing the PKK's
armed campaign and pledged continued support.
The United States, he said, is discussing both with
the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan
regional authorities in the north "the need to take
action to curb PKK activities and their apparent
freedom to maneuver and operate."
Washington is ready "to continue and make more
effective US-Turkish collaboration in Iraq to cut
off funding, apprehend PKK leaders who are operating
there and shut down PKK front groups," Wilson said.
Washington has been unwilling to take action against
the PKK in northern Iraq, arguing that Iraqi and
coalition forces are swamped with violence in other
parts of the country and that military operations
could upset the relative stability of the
Kurdish-populated region.
AFP
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey) wikipedia
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