|
Turkish military chief stresses need for incursion
into Kurdistan region of Iraq
31.5.2007 |
|
|
|
Turks: We'll enter Iraq to hit Kurds
May
31, 2007
ANKARA, Turkey, -- Turkey's military massed
more troops and tanks on the border with Kurdistan
region (Iraq) Thursday as the country's military
chief said he was ready to stage a cross-border
offensive to fight Kurdish guerrillas.
Gen. Yasar Buyukanite said he had already sought
government approval to mount military action.He
complained about what he said was a lack of help
from allies in fighting the Kurds as Turkish leaders
publicly asked the United States and Iraq to destroy
and scatter rebel bases inside Kurdistan region
(Iraq). Previously, Buyukanit has said Europe was
not doing enough to limit the activities of
fundraisers and other sympathizers of the Kurdish
separatist group, the PKK.
«It is obvious that Turkey does not receive the
necessary support in its fight against terrorism,»
Buyukanit said at an international security
conference in Istanbul. «I should state clearly that
there are countries which directly or indirectly
support PKK terrorism. We feel truly saddened
because of this.»
Turkish troops, reinforced by planes and helicopter
gunships, have killed 14 PKK guerrillas in
operations near the border since Monday and the
deployment on the border made it more difficult for
the rebels to retreat to bases in Kurdistan region
(northern Iraq), the military said.
Military trucks hauled more tanks and guns to the
border area Thursday, local reporters said. The U.S.
State Department said Wednesday that it has seen
nothing to substantiate reports of a significant
movement of Turkish military forces in the area near
the country's border with Kurdistan region (northern
Iraq).
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his
government would back any military decision to stage
a cross-border offensive, but that the military has
not asked for written permission. But Buyukanit said
he had already asked for approval during a news
conference on April 12.
«I have already said what has to be said, I don't
have to ask for anything in written form,»
CNN-Turkish television quoted Buyukanit as saying
Thursday. «An operation into Iraq is necessary,»
Buyukanit said on April 12.
Buyukanit's remarks appeared to put Erdogan's
government under pressure to ask for approval from
Parliament to send soldiers into Kurdistan region
(northern Iraq) to fight separatist Kurdish
guerrillas. The United States opposes any unilateral
Turkish military action, fearing it could
destabilize northern Iraq _ the most stable part of
the war-torn country.
Past cross-border operations have yielded mixed
results, with many guerrillas sheltering in
hide-outs and emerging to fight again once the bulk
of Turkish units withdrew from Kurdistan region
(northern Iraq). A government official, speaking on
condition of anonymity because he was not authorized
to talk to the media, said the military could set up
a buffer zone in Kurdistan region (northern Iraq) to
block Kurdish rebels from entering Turkey.
Turkey had set up a buffer zone along the 200-mile
(330--kilometer) border in 1997 but gradually
withdrew the bulk of its troops under international
pressure, leaving about 1,000 inside Iraq. Those
troops act as monitors, but have not pursued the
rebels.
«To set up a buffer zone, Turkey needs to secure the
consent of both Washington and the Iraqi Kurds,»
said Nihat Ali Ozcan of the Economic Policy Research
Institute in Ankara. «However, the military buildup
clearly puts more pressure on U.S. and Iraqi forces
to do something quickly.»
Turkish intelligence reports said Iraqi Kurdish
groups, who had fought against Turkey's Kurdish
guerrillas alongside Turkish soldiers in past
incursions, were preparing defenses on their side of
the border, apparently in case of any Turkish
incursion.
The Turkish military says up to 3,800 rebels are now
based in the border mountains of Kurdistan region
(northern Iraq), and up to 2,300 operate inside
Turkey.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands of troops
since the guerrillas launched a war for autonomy in
the Kurdish-dominated southeast in 1984.
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 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.
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.
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
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 