|
Iraq-Turkey crisis toned down but not over
19.11.2007
|
|
|
|
November 19, 2007
BAGHDAD,-- The crisis between Iraq and Turkey
on the Turkey's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has
toned down but has not yet ended, Ali al-Dabbagh,
the spokesman for the Iraqi government, said on
Sunday.
"The efforts exerted by the (Iraqi) government to
solve the crisis with Turkey have lessened the
tension between the two sides," Dabbagh said.
He referred to "tremendous efforts exerted by the
Iraqi Kurdistan Region government to ban the
activities of the PKK."
"The crisis, however, requires more efforts by both
the Iraqi and Turkish sides to allay Turkey's
concerns about the presence of Turkey's PKK fighters
inside Iraqi borders," he said, denying knowledge
about reports that large numbers of PKK fighters
entered Iran.
"The areas between Iraq and Iran are bumpy and not
easy to cross," stressed Dabbagh.
Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of the
autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region, had earlier this
month announced "tight" measures including
"prohibition of PKK fighters from traveling via
Kurdistan airports and the strengthening of control
over the Makhmour camp and checkpoints to deny them
access to provisions."
The crisis on the Iraqi Kurdistan-Turkish borders
unprecedentedly flared up during the past couple of
weeks after the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which
is outlawed in Turkey, escalated operations against
Turkish forces. Fighters of the PKK, holed up in
mountainous areas in Kurdistan 'northern Iraq', had
killed, wounded, and captured more than 40 Turkish
soldiers as of late.
After the PKK escalations, the Turkish government
received the thumbs up from parliament to carry out
a military operation against the PKK inside Iraqi
Kurdistan region territories.
Iraqi Kurdish politician says, Turkey is using
Turkey's 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', Turkey fears
this could fan separatism among its own large
Kurdish population in southeast Turkey.
www.ekurd.net
Turkey rejects direct talks with Iraqi Kurdistan
government, Officially, Turkey does not recognise
the regional government of Kurdistan led by
president Massoud Barzani.
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.
www.ekurd.net
More than 37,000 people have died since the PKK took
up arms in 1984 for self-rule in Turkey's mainly
Kurdish southeast.
VOI
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 