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Turkey warns Iraqi Kurds, Baghdad urges
swift withdrawal
25.2.2008
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February 25, 2008
CIZRE, Turkey, -- The Turkish army Sunday
warned Iraqi Kurds not to shelter Kurdish rebels
fleeing its military offensive in Kurdistan
'northern Iraq', as Baghdad labelled the incursion a
"threat" to its sovereignty.
As fighting intensified, the army said it had killed
another 33 militants of the Turkish-Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK), taking the rebel toll,
according to Turkish figures, to 112 since the
cross-border incursion began Thursday evening.
PKK rebels "are trying to flee southwards in panic,"
the general staff said in a statement.
"Local Iraqi groups are expected to prevent members
of the terrorist organisation -- the biggest enemy
of regional peace and stability -- from entering
their region and being given protection there," it
said.
The warning raised the spectre of a potential
confrontation with the autonomous Kurdistan region
administration, and just hours later Baghdad called
for a swift Turkish withdrawal.
A statement issued by the government of Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki urged Turkey "to withdraw
its forces from Iraqi soil as soon possible" and
specifically described the operation as "a threat to
Iraqi sovereignty."
Previously, Baghdad had appeared to accept Turkey's
assertions that the offensive posed no threat to its
territorial integrity.
Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds are both US allies,www.ekurd.net
and the likelihood of
armed confrontation between the two has been a major
cause of concern for Washington as it seeks to avoid
a relatively stable area of conflict-torn Iraq being
thrown into chaos.
Ankara has long accused the Iraqi Kurds of
tolerating and even aiding the PKK by providing them
safe haven, weapons and ammunition.
The Turkish army also confirmed that one of its
helicopters had been "destroyed," but gave no
details of the incident. PKK rebels had claimed
shooting down a Turkish attack helicopter Saturday
in a border region near the town of Amadiyah.
The army said eight Turkish soldiers were killed
Sunday, bringing their losses since Thursday to 15.
The PKK claimed it had killed 47.
Earlier Sunday, the United States had also called on
Ankara to wrap up its incursion as swiftly as
possible.
"The shorter the better," US Defence Secretary
Robert Gates said in Canberra.
Gates, who is expected in Ankara next week,
suggested Ankara adopt economic and political
measures to win over Turkey's sizeable Kurdish
community and erode popular support for the rebels.
"Just using the military techniques are not going to
be sufficient to solve the problems," he said.
The United States is providing its NATO ally with
real-time intelligence on PKK movements.
Explosions and gunfire were heard Sunday in and
around Hakurk, a PKK stronghold, some 20 kilometres
(12 miles) from the Turkish border and more than a
dozen Turkish warplanes were seen flying missions
over the area.
The Firat news agency, considered a PKK mouthpiece,
reported air raids and fighting in the region of
Zap,www.ekurd.net
home to a major PKK base
west of Hakurk and said about 5,000 Turkish soldiers
and 60 tanks were advancing toward nearby Haftanin,
close to the border town of Zaho.
A senior PKK military leader, Bahoz Erdal, called on
Kurds across Turkey, especially those living in
urban areas, to rise up in response to the
offensive.
"If they want to wipe us out, our youths should make
life in the cities unbearable," Firat quoted Erdal
as saying. "Kurdish youths should unite... and burn
hundreds of cars every night".
Erdal also slammed the United States and Iraqi Kurds
for helping Turkey.
"US reconnaissance planes are overflying the region.
They instantly convey to the Turkish army
information about the position of our forces and
then Turkish warplanes come and bomb," he said.
He accused Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, also a
Kurd, of having "invited" the Turkish army to the
Qandil mountains along the Iraqi Kurdistan-Iranian
border, where one of the PKK's main bases is
located.
Turks are also fearful of the autonomy the northern
Iraqi Kurdistan region enjoys with its own flag,
institutions and even oil exploitation contracts
with overseas companies.
A fully independent Kurdistan state in Iraq would
only fuel separatist sentiment in Turkey's own
Kurdish population, they fear.
Iraqi Kurdistan politician says, Turkey is using
Turkey's 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', Turkey fears
this could fan separatism among its own large
Kurdish population in southeast Turkey.
Over 39,000 Turkish soldiers and Kurdish PKK
guerrillas have been killed since 1984 when the PKK
took up arms for self-rule in the country's mainly
Kurdish southeast of Turkey. A large Turkey's
Kurdish community openly sympathise with the Kurdish
PKK rebels.
The PKK demanded Turkey's recognition of the Kurds'
identity in its constitution and of their language
as a native language along with Turkish in the
country's Kurdish areas, the party also demanded
an end to ethnic discrimination in Turkish laws and
constitution against Kurds, ranting them full
political freedoms.
The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by
the U.S. and the EU.
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, a
large Turkey's Kurdish community 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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