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Turkey accuses Iraqi Kurdistan of
harbouring 'terrorists', discuss possible economic
sanctions
31.10.2007
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October
31, 2007
ANKARA, -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan accused a top Iraqi Kurd leader of
"harbouring" terrorists and said his cabinet would
on Wednesday discuss economic sanctions against
Iraqi Kurdistan.
Turkey has massed troops along its border with Iraqi
Kurdistan to back its threats to carry out military
strikes on Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
separatist rebel bases in Kurdistan 'northern Iraq'.
In an accompanying war of words, Erdogan and other
Turkish leaders have been particularly outspoken in
their criticism of Massoud Barzani, president of the
Kurdistan regional government in 'northern Iraq'.
"What they (Barzani's followers) are doing there is
quite simply harbouring a terrorist organisation,"
Erdogan said late Tuesday during a reception for
Turkey's national day.
Erdogan said his cabinet would discuss possible
economic sanctions against Iraqi Kurdistan at a
meeting on Wednesday. |
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan |
Turkey's National Security Council, made up of
military and political leaders, has recommended
sanctions.
The prime minister made it clear that Ankara would
only negotiate through Baghdad, rather than talk
directly with the Iraqi Kurdistan administration.
"Turkey's contact is not Barzani. Our contact is the
government in Baghdad," he was quoted as saying by
the Anatolia news agency.
"If terrorist organisations encroach on Turkish
territory, we will use all means available to us
under international law," he added.
Turkey has never, and still does not, recognize the
Kurdistan region government (KRG) and refuses to
meet with its representatives in any official
capacity. That reflects Ankara's fear that any
international respect shown to the autonomous Iraqi
Kurdistan region would only embolden Turkey's own
large Kurdish minority to seek similar home-rule
status.
Kamel Shaker, a top Iraqi Kurdish leader, said the
talks collapsed because of a tough Turkish military
stance.
"The failure of the meeting in Ankara was due to the
intransigent attitude of the Turkish military which
believes that if it meets with representatives of
Kurdistan, they would lose face," he said. www.ekurd.net
"They do not want to meet with the representatives
of Kurdistan, or have a dialogue with president
Massoud Barzani. They do not want Kurdistan."
"Turks have Kurdophobia," said Mahmoud Othman, a
member of the Kurdistan Alliance bloc in parliament.
"They are afraid of anything Kurdish." www.ekurd.net
The Turkish army pounded Turkey's Kurdish rebels
near the Iraqi Kurdistan border Tuesday, with Cobra
helicopters firing missiles at rebel positions on
the Cudi mountains in Sirnak province. Three
soldiers were killed in the clashes, officials said.
Ankara has warned the United States that its failure
to help end the PKK safe haven in Kurdistan
'northern Iraq' would harm the relationship between
the two long-standing NATO allies.
Scheduled to meet US President George W. Bush at the
White House on November 5, Erdogan has called for
"concrete, urgent steps" against the PKK, which
Washington, like most of the international
community, considers a terrorist group.
"The problem of the PKK terrorist organisation is a
sincerity test for everybody," Erdogan said. "I will
tell him (Bush) that this test carries great
importance for the region and in determining the
fate of our future relations.
"Our talks (with Bush) will make them better
understand that Turkey's patience has run out and
that we are determined to unhesitatingly take all
the steps to finish off terrorism," he said.
In a separate diplomatic initiative, UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon announced he would travel to
Turkey this weekend to attend a ministerial meeting
of countries neighboring Iraq.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to attend
the Istanbul meeting which is likely to be
overshadowed by the Turkish threats of military
action.
The Turkish army has reportedly massed about 100,000
troops along the Iraqi border after parliament gave
approval for a military incursion to root out the
militants.
Tensions at the frontier increased after October 21
when PKK rebels, who Turkey says infiltrated from
northern Iraq, ambushed a military unit and killed
12 soldiers. Eight troops were captured.
The army has confirmed killing 65 rebels since then.
The crisis will enter a crucial diplomatic stage
Friday when Rice meets Turkish leaders in Ankara
before Erdogan's
Washington visit.
She will hold talks with Erdogan, Foreign Minister
Ali Babacan and President Abdullah Gul, a US embassy
official said.
Washington, strongly opposed to Turkish military
action in Kurdistan region 'northern Iraq', is stuck
in an awkward position between two key allies --
NATO member Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds.
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
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