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Turkey: Kurdish intellectual Fırat says
Turkey should recognize the Iraqi Kurdistan
administration
31.10.2007
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October
31, 2007
Ankara, -- Kurdish intellectual Ümit Fırat
believes Turkey should abandon its policy of
rejecting the Iraqi Kurdistan administration and
start implementing immediate social and political
reforms immediately instead of resorting to military
options to end the terrorism of the Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK).
“Turkey should abandon its policy of rejecting an
entity that emerged under Iraqi law and its
constitution and should instead recognize it under
international legal instruments as generated through
the internal developments of Iraq. It should view
the northern Iraqi autonomous Kurdish administration
as a friend. This is the way to end the current
tension,” said Fırat, a writer for the Kurdish
political magazine Serbestî, published in Istanbul
in Turkish.
In addition to carrying the risks of confrontation
with the United States and the peshmergas, a
cross-border operation would increase tension and
make the problem chronic, he said adding, “Northern
Iraq needs peace, and a strong and stable
northwestern border.” |
UMIT FIRAT, Kurdish intellectual in Turkey |
On Sept. 29, 12 people -- seven of whom were village
guards -- were massacred in the Beytüşşebap district
of the southeastern province of Şırnak, and then on
Oct. 21 at least 12 soldiers were killed in near the
village of Dağlıca in Hakkari, stretching Turkey’s
patience to its limit. Parliament passed a motion
authorizing a cross-border operation into Kurdistan
region 'northern Iraq' to hit the Turkey's PKK bases
there if diplomatic efforts fail. For Monday Talk,
Ümit Fırat told us how the developments can be seen
from the Kurds’ perspective.
What would happen if Turkey
entered Iraq?
Turkey will have to deal with two actors if it
enters Iraq: the autonomous Kurdish administration
formed under the Iraqi constitution and the
peshmerga units subordinate to this administration.
The peshmergas are considered part of the Iraqi
army; therefore conflict with them will
automatically mean opening war with Iraq, and this
inevitably carries with it the possibility of
confrontation with the United States. This will all
eventually lead to abandonment of Turkey’s
six-decade-long international policy.
But isn’t the region home
to the PKK?
The actual sphere of influence of the PKK is in
Turkey, and if a solution were sought, measures
should be implemented inside the country. Those who
are settled on Qandil Mountain in northern Iraq got
there through Turkey and return to the same
territory. Turkey would not be able to resolve
anything in Iraq through a military intervention.
The PKK would fulfill its goal of dragging Turkey
into northern Iraq if Turkey launches a military
operation. It will not be easy to present a
cross-border operation as part of a comprehensive
combat against terrorism. Above all, there is a
general assumption that combat against terrorism is
executed by special forces -- not by regular army
units. Besides, for such an operation against
terrorism [to be successful], the consent of the
country where the operation will be carried out is
required. Otherwise, Turkey will be considered an
invader.
And even though the military and the government seek
to present a cross-border operation as a matter of
internal security, this action is declaration of war
under international law. In that case, it will not
be possible for you to call your opponent a
terrorist organization as they become the other
party of the war. In a possible conflict,
international organizations will refer to the
terrorist organization as warring party. In that
case, calls for cease-fires and calls for
implementation of the provisions of the Geneva
Conventions might come into consideration.
Don’t you think that an
army operation would have a role in preventing
further PKK attacks?
The only benefit of the operation would be proof of
military superiority -- which Turkey already has.
Besides, it is obvious that no social problem can be
resolved through military methods. Attempting to
test whether this is the case once more would be too
expensive and risky. I want to emphasize that a
climate of killing and ending lives has emerged in
the region, and attempts should be made to change
that and ensure normalization.
Furthermore, a military incursion by Turkey into
northern Iraq would possibly de-align the Kurds in
the region from the PKK, whereas it would strengthen
Barzani’s KDP [Kurdistan Democratic Party]. Turkey
should be determined to resolve the Kurdish question
if it really seeks to eliminate the PKK terrorism. A
Turkey committed to resolving the Kurdish question
will have the chance to overcome the obstacles in
time.
What should be done?
The post-Saddam developments following the US
occupation in 2003 seriously damaged the “stability”
policies of Turkey to preserve the status quo in the
region. The new situation in Iraq was perceived by
the status quo actors of Turkey as a threat. These
actors never accepted the new state of affairs.
Turkey should abandon its policy of rejecting an
entity that emerged under Iraqi law and its
constitution and instead recognize it under
international legal instruments as something
generated through the internal developments of Iraq.
It should view the northern Iraqi autonomous
Kurdistan administration as a friend. This is the
way to end the current tension -- a friendly state
would not support hostilities. Increasing the
tension will not resolve the problem; quite the
contrary, it will make it chronic. Effective
measures should be taken immediately before further
Beytüşşebap-like incidents are committed. Northern
Iraq needs peace, and a strong and stable
northwestern border.
But the discourse promoted by Barzani and Talabani
does not imply peaceful actions from Turkey’s
perspective.
In such delicate times, even ordinary actions may
fall outside reason and rationale. Considering that
the editor-in-chief of a major daily newspaper in
Turkey provokes the nation to exhibit a strong
reaction and that Barzani makes provocative
statements, it’s only normal if the regular citizens
of the country act in accordance with their basic
instincts rather than reason. History tells us that
such statements are of no use. These remarks and
statements usually speak to the excessive sentiments
of the masses, and they do not transform into
permanent policy. Fortunately the initial outrage is
gradually being replaced by reasonable action and
words, anyway.
ÜMİT FIRAT], Author and editorial board member for
the Kurdish political magazine Serbestî, published
in Turkish in Istanbul, he also writes for the
Turkish dailies Zaman and Radikal as well as the
Bianet Internet news site.
Source: todayszaman com
**
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
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