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Iraq refuses to allow Turkey to send
troops across the border in pursuit of PKK rebels
28.9.2007
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September 28, 2007
ANKARA, Turkey , -- Iraq refused to accept a
key Turkish demand to send its troops into the
neighboring country in pursuit of fleeing separatist
Kurdish PKK rebels, officials said Friday.
Both sides, however, signed a counterterrorism pact
as a first step of cooperation on the issue. In
Iraq, Kurdish authorities signaled they might agree
to the deal after Ankara's demand to send troops
into Kurdistan 'northern Iraq' in pursuit of PKK
rebels was dropped.
Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani apparently
rejected the demand under pressure from the local
Iraqi Kurdistan administration, which strongly
opposes any Turkish military intervention in
Kurdistan region 'northern Iraq'.
"It was not possible to reach a deal on chasing
Kurdish rebels, however, we hope this issue will be
solved in the future," Turkish Interior Minister
Besir Atalay said. "We are expecting this
cooperation against terrorism to be broadened as
much as possible."
Al-Bolani said discussions on the key demand would
continue and said Iraq wanted to evaluate the best
mechanism to tackle the problem. |
Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay, left, greets
his Iraqi counterpart Jawad al-Bolani as he arrives
for talks to discuss Turkish concerns over
separatist Kurdish rebels holed up in bases in n
Iraq, in Ankara, Sept. 26, 2007
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Instead, the countries committed themselves to
cracking down on activities of 'terrorist' groups,
stopping their financial and logistic support,
capturing and extraditing members of such groups and
preventing them making propaganda through media.
Al-Bolani hailed the deal _ which came at the end of
four days of negotiations _ as an "important step"
in countering terrorism and said "Iraq would not
allow Kurdish rebels targeting Turkey".
"The PKK is an organization that aims to harm
Turkey," al-Bolani said after the signing ceremony.
"The Iraqi government cannot accept that its
neighbours and especially Turkey, are subjected to
danger that emanates from our country.
"You can be sure that the necessary steps will be
taken in the coming period to prevent terrorist
acts," he said.
But officials in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region
complained that the agreement had been reached
without their consultation and had expressed their
concerns about such treatment that would allow
Turkish troops to enter their territory.
"We are not committed to any security agreement
connected to Kurdistan's security that was drawn up
without any active participation from the regional
government," Brig. Gen. Jabbar Yawar, an
undersecretary for the ministry governing Kurdistan
protection forces known as Peshmerga.
“The agreement would not be valid unless it is
approved by the Kurdish parliament,” said Kemal
Kirkuki, the vice speaker of Kurdish parliament in
Kurdistan on Wednesday.
The government of Iraq's Kurdistan autonomous region
will
not accept any
security agreement sealed by Baghdad and Ankara
without its consent, a Kurdish official said on
Thursday.
Ankara has threatened to stage a military incursion
into Kurdistan 'northern Iraq' to eradicate rebel
bases there if U.S. or Iraqi forces fail to take
action. Earlier this year, Turkey massed troops on
its rugged border with Iraqi Kurdistan.
At a meeting with Turkish foreign minister Ali
Babacan in New York on Tuesday, Iraqi foreign
minister Hoshyar Zebari who is also a Kurd, warned
that “there would be problems about such a treaty
unless it is studied carefully”.
During a visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
in August, both sides agreed to try to root out the
rebels. But al-Maliki said Iraq's parliament would
have the final say on the efforts.
Since 1984 the PKK took up arms for self-rule in the
country's mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey. Turkey
is home to over 25 million ethnic Kurds. The
conflict has killed tens of thousands of people. The
PKK is considered a terrorist group by the United
States and the European Union.
Washington has warned Ankara against an incursion
into Kurdistan region 'northern Iraq', wary that it
may destabilise a relatively peaceful region of the
country and fuel fresh tensions between Turkey and
the Iraqi Kurds, the strongest allies the US has in
the area.
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. Turkey
is home to over 25 million ethnic Kurds.
Ira's 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'.
Al-Bolani said Friday's agreement also needed to be
approved by relevant authorities.
There have been reports of occasional Turkish
shelling of rebel positions inside Iraqi Kurdistan,
and commandos are believed to periodically conduct
"hot pursuit" missions across the border.
Turkey staged a series of major cross-border
operations in the 1990s against suspected rebel
hide-outs in the mountains.
Source: AP | AFP
**
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
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