|
Iraqi VP in Turkey as Ankara moves closer
to incursion
16.10.2007 |
|
|
|
October
16, 2007
ANKARA, -- Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi
arrived in Turkey for talks Tuesday as Ankara sought
parliamentary approval for a military incursion into
Kurdistan region 'northern Iraq' against Kurdish PKK
rebel bases.
Hashemi, who flew in to Istanbul, was scheduled to
meet Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and
President Abdullah Gul in Ankara.
His visit came a day after the Turkish government
formally submitted a motion to parliament asking for
a green light to launch attacks on Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) rebels based in northern Iraq.
Approval, which is expected to be granted in a vote
on Wednesday, would be valid for one year and allow
the government to decide the timing, scope and
frequency of any cross-border operations. |
Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (L) and
Iraq's Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi (R) pose for
the media before a meeting in Ankara October 16,
2007 Reuters |
Both Iraq and the United States have urged Ankara
not to follow through on the incursion threat, but
Turkey argues its hand has been forced by the lack
of US and Iraqi help cracking down on PKK
activities.
In Baghdad, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki
called an emergency cabinet meeting Tuesday to
discuss the Turkish stance.
In a statement, Maliki said Iraq "will not accept
military solutions" to the situation, "even though
we realise and understand the worries of our Turkish
friends."
In its most explicit call for restraint to date, the
White House urged Turkey to refrain from a
unilateral action that could further destabilise
Iraq.
"We all have an interest in a stable Iraq and a
desire to see the PKK brought to justice," spokesman
Gordon Johndroe said.
"But we urge the Turks to continue their discussions
with us and the Iraqis, and to show restraint from
any potentially destabilizing actions."
The White House is concerned a Turkish incursion
might upset one of the few areas in Iraq enjoying
relative stability and impact nearby countries that
also harbor Kurdish populations.
Mounting violence by the PKK, listed as a terrorist
group by Turkey, US and EU, has ramped up pressure
on Erdogan to take tougher measures against the
rebels.
But the prime minister hinted last week that Turkish
military incursion is unlikely to be immediate.
Ankara says the PKK enjoys free movement in northern
Iraq and obtains weapons and explosives there for
attacks inside Turkey.
Turkey says the rebels use Iraqi Kurdistan territory
as a safe haven. Iraqi and Kurdish authorities in
Kurdistan region strongly reject the claim.
Iraqi Kurdish politician says, Turkey is using a
Kurdish separatist PKK rebel group as an excuse to
invade Kurdistan region 'Iraq' to prevent the
establishment of Kurdistan state in the Kurdish
autonomous region in 'northern Iraq'.
Ankara is anxious to prevent the emergence of a
Kurdish state in Kurdistan region 'northern Iraq',
fearing this could fan separatism among its own
large Kurdish population in southeast Turkey. Turkey
is home to over 25 million ethnic Kurds..
The threats of a Turkish incursion coincide with a
time of tense US-Turkish relations over a pending
vote in the House of Representatives for a
resolution labelling the World War I mass killings
of Armenians by Turkey's Ottoman Empire a genocide.
Turkey and Iraq signed an accord last month to
combat the PKK but failed to agree on a clause
allowing Turkish troops to engage in "hot pursuit"
-- as they did regularly in the 1990s -- against
rebels fleeing into Iraqi territory.
Observers here also doubt that the embattled Baghdad
government, which has virtually no authority over
northern Iraq, can cajole the Iraqi Kurds into
action against the PKK.
More than 37,000 Turkish soldiers and Kurdish PKK
guerrillas have been killed since 1984 when the PKK
took up arms for self-rule in the country's mainly
Kurdish southeast of Turkey.
AFP
**
Kurds are not recognized as an official minority in
Turkey and are denied rights granted to other
minority groups. Under EU pressure, Turkey recently
granted Kurds limited rights for broadcasts and
education in the Kurdish language, but critics say
the measures do not go far enough.
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.
Others estimate over 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.
Turkey is home to over 25 million ethnic Kurds, some
of whom openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK for a
Kurdish homeland in the country's mainly Kurdish
southeast of Turkey.
Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed
severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish language,
prohibiting the language in education and broadcast
media.
The Kurdish alphabet is still not recognized
in Turkey, and use of the Kurdish letters X, W, Q
which do not exist in the Turkish
alphabet has led to judicial persecution in 2000 and
2003
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
|
® 