|
Turkey, Iraq agree to cooperate against
Kurdish PKK rebels
8.8.2007
|
|
|
|
August 8, 2007
Ankara, -- The prime ministers of Iraq and
Turkey on Tuesday signed a document of cooperation
to end the safe haven that separatist Turkish Kurd
rebels enjoy in Kurdistan autonomous region
(northern Iraq), but Iraq's prime minister said he
could not sign an agreement implementing the promise
until it was put to his parliament.
"We said (in the memorandum of understanding) that
we will cooperate against terrorist organisations,
notably the PKK," Iraqi premier Nuri al-Maliki said
at a joint press conference with Turkish counterpart
Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"We wish that this cooperation starts without
delay... Terrorism should not hamper the development
of our relations," he said.
"Kurdistan is part of Iraq and agreements signed
between countries puts the entire country under
responsibility and would be binding for the sides,"
al-Maliki said.
Ankara has threatened a cross-border operation to
strike at bases of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
in neighbouring Kurdistan (northern Iraq) if Baghdad
and Washington fail to curb the rebels. The PKK has
stepped up its attacks inside Turkey this year. |
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (L) and his
Iraqi counterpart Nuri al-Maliki pose for media
during a welcome ceremony in Ankara August 7, 2007.
Maliki arrived in Turkey on Tuesday |
The two leaders said the memorandum of understanding
paved the way for a security cooperation agreement
between the two countries, to be finalised after
high-level bilateral talks in the coming days.
"Within a short period of time, a large delegation
under the leadership of the (Iraqi) interior
minister will visit. Security officials will come
together and seal an agreement," Erdogan said.
While reaching agreement on Kurdish rebels, al-Maliki
refused to sign the counterterrorism agreement
requested by the Turkish authorities, saying it was
not in his power to commit Baghdad to the agreement
without first putting it before parliament and his
Cabinet, an Iraqi government official said.
Turkey says the PKK, considered a terrorist group by
Ankara, Washington and much of the international
community, enjoys free movement in northern Iraq,
where it obtains weapons and explosives.
Turkey has accused the forces of Massoud Barzani,
president of the autonomous Kurdistan region, of
providing the PKK with weapons, possibly including
ammunition received from the United States.
Officially, Turkey does not recognise the regional
government of Kurdistan led by president Massoud
Barzani.
Observers here doubt whether Maliki's embattled
government, which has virtually no authority in
Kurdistan (northern Iraq), can persuade the Iraqi
Kurds to act against the PKK, whose bloody campaign
since 1984 for self-rule in the mainly southeast
Turkey has claimed more than 37,000 lives.
Maliki insisted Tuesday that the Iraqi Kurds should
abide by agreements signed by the central Baghdad
government.
"Iraqi Kurdistan is part of Iraq... Bilateral
agreements are binding for them as well," he said.
"We are saddened that Turkey is subjected to
terrorism and we will cooperate in this field," he
added.
Ankara has long urged Baghdad to capture and hand
over PKK members, close down organisations linked to
the group and put the PKK on its list of terrorist
organisations.
The planned bilateral security agreement entails
cutting off financial and logistic support to the
group, blocking its media broadcasts, and allowing
for the extradition of rebels and exchange of
intelligence, according to Turkish media reports.
In June, the Turkish army said there were some 5,000
PKK rebels in total, an estimated 2,800 to 3,100 of
them based in the border mountains of Kurdistan
region (northern Iraq).
The PKK has notably stepped up its attacks in the
east and southeast of Turkey this year. In response,
the army has reinforced its units in the region and
amassed troops on the border with Iraq, fuelling
speculation of an impending cross -border operation.
In the latest episode of violence, a soldier was
killed and two pro-government militia wounded in a
landmine blast overnight Monday blamed on the PKK in
the southeastern province of Hakkari.
Washington has warned Ankara against an incursion
into northern Iraq, wary that it may destabilise a
relatively peaceful region of Iraq and fuel tensions
between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds, staunch allies
of the United States.
Turkey also suspects Iraqi Kurds of harbouring
designs to break away from Baghdad and set up their
independent state which, it fears, would embolden
the PKK.
Erdogan hailed his talks with Maliki as "very useful
discussions that had very positive results."
The two sides had also signed a memorandum of
understanding to boost cooperation in the energy
sector and explored ways of boosting economic
cooperation and trade, he said.
Maliki, who also met with President Ahmet Necdet
Sezer, was to leave Wednesday morning and head for
Tehran, where security issues were also expected to
dominate his agenda.
AFP | 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. Kurds
constitute about 20 percent of Turkey's more than 70
million people.
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).
**
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.
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.
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
|
® 