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Iraqi Kurds Deny Supporting PKK Rebels in
Turkey
19.2.2007 |
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February 19, 2007
Erbil, Kurdistan region (Iraq), -- Kurdish
officials in Kurdistan autonomous region (northern
Iraq) reject recent
accusations from
Turkey's army chief that political groups in
Iraqi Kurdistan are providing support for separatist
rebels in Turkey. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from
the northern Iraqi city of Erbil.
Turkey's chief of the army, General Yasar Buyukanit,
was quoted Saturday as saying two main Kurdish
political parties in Iraq support about 3,000
separatist rebels camped out along Iraq's border
with Turkey.
Falah Bakir, director of the office of foreign
relations of the Kurdish Regional Government in
Iraq, or KRG, flatly denies the allegation.
"KRG or the political parties of Kurdistan are not
providing support to the PKK," said Falah Bakir.
He was referring to the Kurdish Worker's Party,
known as PKK, a recognized terrorist group.
Kurdish officials in Iraq acknowledge PKK rebels are
stationed along Iraq's northern border with Iran and
Turkey, but they say the area has long been outside
the control of any government.
Fuad Hussein is a spokesman for the President of
Iraq's Autonomous Kurdistan Region, Massoud Barzani.
"The border area is a difficult, remote area," said
Fuad Hussein. "The Iranian government cannot control
that border. The Iraqi government, even during
Saddam, could not control that area. The Turkish
government cannot control that area."
Turkey's military has long accused Iraqi Kurds of
supporting the PKK, which has conducted a violent
separatist campaign in Turkey since 1984 that has
killed more than 30,000 people.
After the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, Turkey
appealed to the United States to do more to crack
down on the Kurdish rebels inside Iraq. The United
States considers the PKK a terrorist organization,
and has said the majority of PKK members - about
3,000 - operate out of Kurdish regions of northern
Iraq. But U.S. and Iraqi officials have insisted on
diplomacy - not military force - to resolve the
issue.
Falah Bakir says Kurdish officials also support
negotiations, but he says Turkey's dispute with the
PKK is ultimately a problem between the separatist
rebels and the Turkish government.
"PKK is not an Iraqi issue," he said. "It is a
Turkish issue, and we know the sensitivity of Turkey
regarding that. Therefore, we are not part of this
problem."
Kurdish officials in Iraq insist that Iraqi
Kurdistan is interested in improving relations with
Turkey, and point to increasing economic ties with
Turkish businesses.
Within Turkey, there appears to be disagreement
between the country's military and its political
leaders over the PKK issue.
Earlier this week, Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip
Erdogan voiced support for building ties with the
regional Kurdistan government in Iraq, which is
comprised of the same political parties that the
Turkish military says support PKK rebels.
voanews com
** 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 as many as 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 some 20 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
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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