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Kurdish lawmaker slams U.S. over military
assistance to Turkey
20.12.2007
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December
20, 2007
Baghdad, -- A Kurdistan Alliance leader
criticized on Thursday the U.S. policy of providing
military assistance to Turkish troops in their
bombing of Kurdistan 'northern Iraqi regions',
describing the cooperation as a violation of Iraqi
sovereignty.
While stressing the strength of U.S.-Kurdish
relations, Kurdish leader and lawmaker Dr Mahmoud
Othman said, "U.S.-Turkish cooperation in the
bombing of regions in northern Iraq is a violation
of Iraqi sovereignty and a breach of U.S. commitment
to protect Iraq's sovereignty and borders."
"It also contradicts the declaration of intentions
and principles signed by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki and U.S. President George W. Bush last
month, which provides for U.S. protection of Iraqi
borders and national government," the
parliamentarian indicated.
Slashing the United States for providing "incorrect
intelligence reports" to the Turks, Othman said,
"The victims of the Turkish shelling were
civilians," in referernce to a Turkish bombing of
villages in Iraq's Kurdistan region a few days ago. |
Dr
Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish legislator, member of the
Kurdistan National Democratic Union |
On Tuesday Turkish
Ambassador to Washington Nabi Sensoy said that the
U.S. administration provided his country with
necessary intelligence that led to raids in
Kurdistan region 'northern Iraq' on Turkey's Kurdish
PKK militants on Sunday.
On Monday, about 500-600 Turkish troops penetrated
two kilometers into the Kurdistan region in pursuit
of members of the Turkey's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
in 'northern Iraq'.
Iraqi Kurdistan 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',www.ekurd.net
Turkey fears this could
fan separatism among its own large Kurdish
population in southeast Turkey.
In October,
Othman said
"We warn against any military action because it will
add to the complexity of the situation and create
more enemies for the United States and Turkey. They
have to reconsider their policies," Othman
explained.
"The U.S. must be aware of the magnitude of threats
posing on a daily basis against the territories of
Iraqi Kurdistan Region," said Othman, accusing the
Turkish government of trying to throw a monkey
wrench into the democratic experiment of the
Kurdistan region.
"If Turkey is really keen on fighting PKK members,
why shouldn't it fight them on its lands now that
there is an intensive presence of PKK inside
Turkey," wondered Othman.
Earlier
Othman said
"Considering the PKK as a terrorist party will give
Ankara an excuse to crush the Party inside Iraq,"
"Turkey has been committing the crime of terrorism
against the Kurdish people since almost 100 years
and isn't granting them their rights." That's why
it's not sensible to describe the PKK as a terrorist
organization. Because the PKK is struggling against
the terrorism committed being committed by the
Turkish government,"
Othman added.
Turkey has massed up to 100,000 troops along the
frontier in preparation for a cross-border operation
to crush about 3,000 guerrillas of the PKK, blamed
for attacks that killed 15 Turkish soldiers.
Since 1984 the PKK
took up arms for self-rule in the country's mainly
Kurdish southeast of Turkey. A large Turkey's Kurdish community
openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK for a
Kurdish homeland in southeast of Turkey.
The PKK demanded Turkey's recognition of the Kurds'
identity in its constitution and of their language
as a native language along with Turkish in the
country's Kurdish areas,www.ekurd.net
the party also demanded
an end to ethnic discrimination in Turkish laws and
constitution against Kurds, granting them full
political freedoms.
VOI
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