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Iraqi Vice President warns against Turkish
incursion
27.3.2007 |
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March 27, 2007
ANKARA, Turkey, -- Iraqi Vice President Tariq
al-Hashimi who is visiting Turkey, on Tuesday warned
against a possible Turkish incursion into Iraq to
fight separatist Kurdish guerrillas and promised to
prevent cross-border attacks by the rebels.
"We want both countries to respect the borders of
each other and expect the sides to be against such a
thing," al-Hashimi said upon his arrival in Ankara
for a one-day visit. He was responding to a question
about a possible Turkish incursion into his country
to hunt down guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers
Party, or PKK.
Al-Hashimi reiterated promises by Iraq to prevent
attacks by the rebels. "Iraq will never allow its
soil be used as a base for attacks against other
countries, especially against its brother and
friend, Turkey," he said.
Turkey's political and military leaders have
expressed frustration with the level of Iraqi
cooperation and U.S. help in eradicating PKK rebels
holed up in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. The
United States has warned Turkey against entering
Iraq, fearing such a move could lead to tension with
local Iraqi Kurdish groups, a key U.S. ally. |
Iraq's Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi.
Photo:AP 2007 |
A Turkish general earlier this month said up to
3,800 Kurdish rebels were positioned in northern
Iraq near the Turkish border and he reasserted his
country's right to cross the border to hunt
separatist Kurds who launch attacks from bases
there.
"Turkey can always take the appropriate measures
against the separatist terrorist organization in
northern Iraq," Land Forces Commander Gen. Ilker
Basbug said during a visit to Diyarbakir.
Basbug said, however, that the issue of possible
Turkish military operations should "not feature more
than is necessary in the public agenda" — a sign
that the military did not want the issue to stir
tension with Iraq.
Last week, Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul ruled out
any cross-border attack amid unconfirmed reports
that Turkey was massing troops on the Iraqi border.
Al-Hashimi was scheduled to meet with President
Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul on Tuesday
to discuss the security situation in Iraq — which he
described as "bad" — and opportunities for more
investment there.
On Sunday, al-Hashimi asked for more support from
fellow Arabs, saying that could help keep his
country from being abandoned to terrorists and
foreign powers.
Regional leaders are to convene for an Arab Summit
on Wednesday in Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian capital.
Turkey's prime minister also was scheduled to attend
the Riyadh meeting.
AP
** 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
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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