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Gates to tell Turks to end incursion in
Iraqi Kurdistan region
27.2.2008
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February 27, 2008
NEW DELHI, -- US Defense Secretary Robert
Gates said Wednesday he will tell Turkish leaders
they should quickly end a military operation in
Iraqi Kurdistan and deal with Kurdish disaffection
in a non-military fashion.
"I measure quick in terms
of days, or a week or two, something like that. Not
months," he told reporters in New Delhi.
Gates is scheduled to visit Ankara later Wednesday
and Thursday amid growing tension between Iraq and
Turkey over a five day old Turkish assault against
Turkish-Kurdish PKK separatists in autonomous
Kurdistan region in 'northern Iraq'.
The Baghdad government issued a statement declaring
its "rejection and condemnation of the
Turkish military incursion,
which is considered a violation of Iraq's
sovereignty." |
U.S. Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates |
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday
defended the military offensive against the Turkey's
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as a "rightful
struggle" in self defence.
While Washington has expressed understanding for the
Turkish position, sharing near real-time targeting
intelligence with it on the PKK, it also appears to
be growing impatient.
Asked whether he will personally make the point to
Turkish leaders in Ankara that they should wrap up
the operation quickly,www.ekurd.net
Gates said, "I will make
that point but I must say it has been manifest by
any number of senior officials pretty
straightforwardly to the Turks.
"I also will repeat the point that I made to
(Turkish) President Abdullah Gul when he visited
Washington,www.ekurd.net
which is that military
activity alone will not solve this terrorist problem
for Turkey.
"There certainly is a place for security operations,
but these also need to be accompanied by economic
and political initiatives, and to deal with some of
the issues that provide a favorable local
environment where the PKK can operate," he said.
"They need to deal with some of the issues and
complaints that some of the Kurds have and move this
in a non-military direction in order to get a
long-term solution," he said.
He said the United States would consider helping
Ankara with such an approach if asked.
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.
Turkey has never, and still does not, recognize the
Kurdistan region government (KRG) and refuses to
meet with its representatives in any official
capacity. That reflects Ankara's fear that any
international respect shown to the autonomous Iraqi
Kurdistan region would only embolden Turkey's own
large Kurdish minority to seek similar home-rule
status.
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 | Agencies
**
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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