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Turkish PM warns Iraq, but hopes Iraqi
Kurdistan incursion won't be needed
16.10.2007 |
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October
16, 2007
ANKARA, Turkey,-- Turkish Prime Minister
Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that securing
parliament's permission to launch a major attack on
Kurdish PKK separatists in Kurdistan region in
northern Iraq did not necessarily mean a military
incursion was imminent.
"I sincerely wish that this motion will never be
applied. Passage of this motion does not mean an
immediate incursion will follow, but we will act at
the right time and under the right conditions,"
Erdogan told his AK Party in televised remarks.
Erdogan called on the Iraqi government and Iraqi
Kurds to take a stand against Kurdish rebels on
their territory or face the consequences.
"The central government in Iraq and the regional
government in northern Iraq must put a thick wall
between themselves and the terrorist organization,"
Erdogan said, referring to the Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK).
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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan |
His warning came one day
after the government formally sought parliamentary
approval for a cross-border operation into Kurdistan
autonomous region in northern Iraq to strike at
rebels based there.
"The sole target of a possible incursion is the
terrorist organization," he said, referring to the
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), whose members use
northern Iraq as a base from which to attack Turkey.
A military operation will take place "if there is a
need, at the right time, at the right place and in a
manner to obtain the best result," Erdogan said.
Faced with an escalation in separatist violence,
Turkey's cabinet asked parliament on Monday for
permission to launch cross-border offensives.
Parliament will debate the motion on Wednesday. It
is expected to pass easily given the ruling AK
Party's large majority and strong support for
military action from the main opposition parties.
Ankara has long complained that the United States
has not done enough on its own or through the Iraqi
government to crack down on some 3,000 PKK rebels
based in Kurdistan 'northern Iraq'.
Turkey says the rebels use Iraqi Kurdistan territory
as a safe haven. Iraqi and Kurdish authorities in
Kurdistan region reject the claim. Officially,
Turkey does not recognise the regional government of
Kurdistan led by president Massoud Barzani.
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.
Iraq has urged Turkey not to resort to military
action on its territory, calling on it to be "wise
and patient".
Iraqi Deputy President Tareq al-Hashemi was due in
Ankara on Tuesday for talks.
Washington has also urged restraint on Turkey, a key
NATO ally strategically located at the meeting point
of Europe and the Middle East.
The prospect of NATO's second largest army crossing
into mainly Kurdish northern Iraq helped to propel
global oil prices towards a fresh all-time high of
$88 a barrel on Tuesday.
The Turkish lira was down almost 2 percent against
the dollar.
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.
Reuters | 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)
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