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Iraqi Foreign Minister says reducing
Turkish troops on border will ease tension
15.7.2007
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July
15, 2007
BAGHDAD,-- The Iraqi government is ready for
dialogue with Turkey to address its "legitimate
security fears" from Kurdish rebels, Foreign
Minister Hoshyar Zebari said.
Zebari made his comments Friday during a telephone
conversation with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah
Gul, who told the Iraqi minister that Ankara expects
more cooperation from Baghdad in fighting terrorism,
according to an Iraqi Foreign Ministry statement.
On Monday, Zebari said
Turkey had massed 140,000 soldiers
along the border — a figure the U.S. disputed.
Zebari said troop levels in the region were often
increased during the spring and summer in response
to increased activity by the Kurdistan Workers Party
or PKK, which has been fighting for an independent
Kurdistan within Turkey for decades.
The PKK operates from bases in northern Iraq. |
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari |
Gul said in remarks published Saturday that Turkey
has asked Washington for an explanation about
allegations that separatist Kurdish guerrillas based
in Iraq were being supplied with U.S. weapons.
The allegations were made earlier this month by two
PKK rebels who surrendered to Turkish forces and
claimed they had seen two U.S. armed vehicles bring
weapons to their camps in northern Iraq. The
allegations were made in videos released by the
Turkish military.
"The Iraqi government and people are deeply worried
about the continued Turkish military reinforcements
on Iraq's northern border and putting an end to
reinforcements will hep reduce tension and
strengthen confidence between the two countries,"
Zebari said, according to the statement.
Zebari, a Kurd, said that Iraq is ready either for
bilateral talks or three-way talks that will include
the United States "to discuss and deal with all
matters especially Turkey's legitimate security
fears from attacks and activities by the Workers
Party." The statement said Zebari expressed Iraq's
readiness to invite the tripartite committee to meet
in Baghdad as soon as possible.
Turkish officials have repeatedly said they are
considering military operations against the PKK in
Iraq, a move that the United States fears would
cause further instability.
Washington says it is working with Turkey to combat
the PKK but that it is focused on combatting
insurgents opposing U.S. forces.
The Iraqi statement quoted Gul as saying that Turkey
does not want its relations to deteriorate with Iraq
and that the PKK not be able to "poison the
relations between the two people."
The PKK has escalated attacks this year, killing
around 70 soldiers so far. More than 110 rebels were
killed in the same period.
More than 30,000 Turkish soldiers and Kurdish PKK
guerrillas have been killed since 1984 when the PKK
took up arms for a Kurdish homeland in the country's
mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey.
AP
** Ankara is anxious to prevent the emergence of a
Kurdish state in Kurdistan region (northern Iraq),
fearing this could fan separatism among its own
large Kurdish population in southeast Turkey .
Kurdish politician says, Turkey is using a 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).
** 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.
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.
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.
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)
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