Thread: Archive Latest News - Think Tank - 16/08/07 - 03/11/07

EU Urges Turkey Not to Attack Kurdish Rebels in Iraq

Turkey's parliament is expected on Wednesday to grant permission for a military attack on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, de****e warnings from the EU and the US.

The EU understands "Turkey's efforts to fight terrorism," said an EU Commission spokeswoman about Ankara's saber-rattling stance against Kurdish rebels in neighboring Iraq, according to DPA news agency.

However, it's imperative that "Turkey approach the problem in cooperation with the appropriate parties," she added.

Parliamentary approval would give the Turkish military a free hand to act when it sees fit, though Ankara has played down the possibility of an imminent attack.

Erdogan called on Iraq Tuesday to crack down on Kurdish rebels, "Passage of this motion does not mean an immediate incursion will follow, but we will act at the right time and under the right conditions," Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his ruling AK Party on Tuesday, Oct. 16.

Recent attacks on Turkey

Over the past few weeks, members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) have staged renewed attacks on targets in Turkey from Iraqi territory. According to the Turkish government, over two dozens soldiers and civilians were killed.

Both the EU and the US have classified the PKK as a terrorist organization. The Turkish government estimates that there are around 3,500 Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq.

De****e the PKK's presence, the region is relatively peaceful and the US has expressed concerns that an attack would destabilize the last calm area in Iraq.

Turkey threatens to withdraw support

Ankara's decision comes at a time of tension in US-Turkish relations as the House of Representatives considers a resolution to call the World War One mass killings of Armenians by Turkey's Ottoman Empire a genocide. Turkey has threatened to withdraw its logistical support for the war in Iraq, including use of a strategically important airbase on Turkish territory, if the measure is approved.

In its quest for an ethnic homeland in southern Turkey, the PKK has been active since the early 1980s. Ankara attributes more than 30,000 deaths to the group's armed struggle.

"In the past several years, Turkey has conducted 24 cross-border military operations," Akin Birdal, human rights activist and a member of Turkey's parliament, told the Germany daily Frankfurter Rundschau. "None of them had lasting success. Why should the 25th time be different?"

EU Urges Turkey Not to Attack Kurdish Rebels in Iraq | Iraq Updates

PM Barzani on Al Jazeera TV: PKK problem needs political solution

In an interview Sunday with Al Jazeera Television’s Arabic news channel, Mr Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, said that the PKK problem cannot be solved through military means.

The Prime Minister also stated that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) would not allow its territory to be used to launch attacks on any neighbouring country.

“We are extremely sorry about the killing of 13 Turkish soldiers. We condemn this act. The more bloodshed continues, the more complicated the problem becomes. There must be an end to this violence.”

Mr Barzani also said that it is time for Turkish politicians to change their approach and find a new and long lasting solution: “The PKK has expressed it willingness to find a political solution and we have to try, along with Turkey, to find that solution”. The Prime Minister added that 20 years of military conflict had not resolved the problem.

Prime Minister Barzani said, “The PKK is not a problem for Turkey alone, it has caused us problems in the past. We have been unable to rebuild and populate many border villages because of its activities.”

Prime Minister Barzani said, “For the past 16 years we have enjoyed good relationships with Turkey. Turkey helped us during the Anfal campaign, along with the UK and US it helped protect the Kurdistan Region. It has been an important neighbour in the past, and it will continue to be one. The KRG is serious about improving relations with Turkey.”

He also stated that the KRG should have been included in the security agreement between Ankara and Baghdad and called on the federal government in Baghdad to include the KRG. He said, “Realistic observers know that we must have a say in this matter.”

PM Barzani on Al Jazeera TV: PKK problem needs political solution | Iraq Updates

Voices from Kurdish Iraq on Turkey
Kurdish Iraqis near the Turkish border react to Ankara's decision to allow cross-border incursions into northern Iraq, to hunt down Kurdish PKK rebels.

MATEEN, KURDISH, 50, RETIRED, IN DOHUK

I am 40-50km (25-30 miles) from the Turkish border. I could hear the shelling from Turkey earlier this week and it was heavier than ever. It's been going on for a few months.

There is great concern here locally about what Turkey is doing. This is the only secure region in Iraq. Tens of thousands of refugees have come here from other parts of the country, from Mosul, from Baghdad.

So, if there is any incursion from Turkey, it will mean the whole country will be in turmoil.

I have never come across any of the PKK. If they are here at all they would be in the highlands on the border with Turkey, not in the residential areas.

Even if there were a few hundred PKK in the whole region - there are thousands in Turkey. Turkey should sort out its own problems inside its own borders before doing anything else.

Turkey should handle this internal issue through dialogue. It cannot continue to deny the millions of Kurds inside Turkey their rights.
Turkey is using the PKK as an excuse to invade our area.

It has other agendas - shared by Iran and Syria - all of whom are against any Kurdish entity coming into existence, even inside Iraq.

The main reason why Turkey is doing this now is to disrupt next month's Kurdish referendum in Iraq.

JALAL SHEIK YUNIS, KURDISH, 61, ENGINEER, IN IRBIL

Because of its relative prosperity and security, this province has become an example that other parts of Iraq want to follow.

Should there be an invasion it would destroy what we have managed to build here in the last 15 years.

Bear in mind, economic investment in this region has been largely Iranian and Turkish.

However, if the Turks invade, we would fight them, all of us including those Arab Iraqis who live here.

We are all Iraqis and have strong ties de****e our differences. We have grown used to wars.

People are not scared and the atmosphere is calm.

I feel sure the world will not stand by and allow us to suffer the fate of the Armenians who were massacred by the Ottoman Empire. The world has changed.

DWAN JAMALELDIN GARIB, KURDISH, 27, SALES ANALYST, IRBIL

I don't anticipate a full-scale invasion by Turkey.

I suspect what they are planning is a limited incursion to target the PKK.
But if Turkey launches a full assault, I think people would take up arms and resist, even though they have had enough of wars.

There is a great deal of sympathy here for the plight of the Turkish Kurds and the discrimination they endure in Turkey.

We hope that the world stands up to this Turkish arrogance and protect us.

Voices from Kurdish Iraq on Turkey | Iraq Updates

Explosive potential of Turkish raid
As Turkey's parliament considers military action against Kurdish guerrillas in northern Iraq, BBC world affairs correspondent Nick Childs looks at the tensions the move is causing and the possible regional implications of military action.

Already, ahead of time, the move in the Turkish parliament is prompting a new flurry of diplomacy - and maybe that is the main intention.

But Ankara knows Iraq's central government has little clout in the largely autonomous Kurdish north of the country.

The Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has played down the prospect of any imminent action. Western military sources also say there are no obvious preparations under way for anything big.

But such action would be popular in Turkey. Any major incursion would clearly have significant implications.

The Turkish military might limit itself to small raids, even possibly just air strikes, which might have limited repercussions.

American anxiety

Yet they too would carry risks. Anything which looked like presenting a threat to the city of Kirkuk and its nearby oilfields could provoke a major crisis, which could suck in Iraqi forces, the Americans, maybe even the Iranians.

Clearly, Washington is worried. It does not have the resources to take on further military challenges in Iraq. It is also hugely dependent on Turkish support for its presence there anyway.

And Turkish-US relations are already going through a very difficult phase, complicated by a vote in a US congressional committee condemning the mass killing of Armenians in Turkey in World War I as genocide.

Perhaps conscious of the risk of a rupture in relations between Washington and Ankara, support for the motion in Congress now seems to be waning.

It is a complicated set of calculations for the authorities in Ankara, too, as they try to position themselves in what is a region in flux.

Explosive potential of Turkish raid | Iraq Updates

Iraq official 'satisfied' with Turkey talks

Iraqi vice-president Tareq Al Hashemi was quoted on Wednesday as saying he had achieved his aims in talks with Turkish leaders designed to ward off a Turkish army cross-border incursion.

"I think I got what I wanted (from my talks). Now there is a new atmosphere and we should use it... Iraq should be given a chance to prevent the cross-border terrorist activities," CNN Turk television quoted Hashemi as saying.

Hashemi arrived in Ankara on Tuesday to urge Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to refrain from sending troops into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels based there. Turkey's parliament is due later on Wednesday to approve cross-border operations.

Iraq official 'satisfied' with Turkey talks | Iraq Updates

KRG Statement on Decision by Turkish Parliament

The Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (KRG) is concerned by the decision of the Turkish Parliament granting a one-year authorisation for the Turkish government to conduct military operations in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq against the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK).

We appeal to our friend and neighbour Turkey to refrain from military action in Iraq. The KRG seeks no conflict with Turkey. We do not and will not allow our territory to be used by anyone to attack or undermine Turkey or any of our neighbours. We do not interfere in the internal affairs of Turkey, and we expect the same in return.

The KRG condemns the killing of innocent people in Turkey and does not believe that violence solves any problem. The KRG supports a political process to achieve a comprehensive political solution to the problem of the PKK, which has lasted for 28 years. This problem will not be solved solely through military means. Indeed, a Turkish military attack on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq would make the situation worse, complicating the prospects for a political solution in Turkey and threatening the fragile progress that is being made in Iraq.

The KRG considers good relations with Turkey a top priority. The Turkish people are our friends and neighbours with whom we have much in common. Turkish trade and investment have been instrumental in our region's economic growth. Any problems or disagreements between the KRG and Turkey should be solved through diplomacy and dialogue. The KRG welcomes direct dialogue with Ankara on all issues of common interest or concern, including the PKK. An incursion would be detrimental to all Iraq, to Turkey and the Middle East.

PUKmedia :: English - KRG Statement on Decision by Turkish Parliament

Dr. Barham Salih Meets with Chairman of the British Conservative Party

The independent Institute for International Affairs organized a symposium for Dr. Barham, Iraq Deputy PM titled (Endeavor for Iraq).

Some Middle East Spe******ts and researchers attended the symposium. Dr. Barham presented an accurate and balanced reading of the situation in Iraq, in which he referred to the political, economic and security sides.
He also referred to the achievements and the positive sides. He asserted that Iraq, concerning economy and administration, is heading towards decentralization.

On the same day, Dr. Barham met with David Cameron, Chairman of the British Conservative Party.

On Tuesday 16/10, Dr. Barham met with the Kurdish community there and they exchanged there views about the current situation of Kurdistan, Iraq and the region and the possibilities of a Turkish incursion into Iraqi Kurdistan.

In the meeting, he put emphasis on the steps of implementation of Article 140 which enhances Iraq’s integrity and preserves and provides the rights of the Kurds and the peoples of Iraq.

Dr. Barham also organized interviews for the Arabic and British media channels and discussed Iraq and Kurdistan Region situations as well as the possibilities of a Turkish incursion into Iraqi Kurdistan.

PUKmedia :: English - Dr. Barham Salih Meets with Chairman of the British Conservative Party

Turkey parliament votes to send troops into Northern Iraq

Turkey's parliament resoundingly approved a motion yesterday allowing troops to cross into northern Iraq to hunt down Kurdish rebels hiding there, brushing aside appeals from the United States and the Baghdad government.

As parliament voted in Ankara by 507 votes to 19 in favour of the motion, US President George W. Bush said it would not be in Turkey's interests to send troops into northern Iraq.

Iraq's government said yesterday it would send a team to Ankara for further talks to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has played down expectations of any imminent attack but the parliamentary vote gives Nato's second biggest army the legal basis to cross the mountainous border as and when it sees fit.

"What matters is what parliament has said," Erdogan told reporters as he left the assembly after the vote.

Bush on genocide row

Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek told parliament any army incursion would target only rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). He said Turkey would also continue to use economic and diplomatic measures in its fight against terrorism.

Bush, however, repeated US concerns. "They [Turkey] have had troops stationed there for quite a while. We don't think it's in their interest to send more troops in," he told a news conference.

In an attempt to defuse US tensions with Turkey on another key issue, Bush urged the Democratic-led Congress to drop a resolution calling the First World War massacre of Armenians in Turkey "genocide".

"One thing Congress should not be doing is sorting out the historical record of the Ottoman Empire," he said, branding the measure "counterproductive".

Syrian President Bashar Al Assad meanwhile said during an official visit to Ankara he backed Turkey's fight against terrorism.

"We support the decisions the Turkish government has put on its agenda against terrorism and terrorist activities," Bashar told reporters after talks with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul.

"We see this as Turkey's legitimate right," the Syrian leader said.

Turkey parliament votes to send troops into northern Iraq | Iraq Updates

Masses Organized Demonstrations in Kurdistan Region

Erbil and Duhok, masses including students and civil servants today, organized a demonstration of protest against Turkish Parliament decision to conduct military operations in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq against the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK).

“No to war …yes to diplomatic solution” was their slogan.
A memorandum prepared by students’ association was submitted to UN representative and a number of other countries embassies in Iraq.

PUKmedia :: English - Masses Organized Demonstrations in Kurdistan Region

Editorial: Iraq doesn't need Turk-Kurd war

After an overwhelming vote by Turkey's parliament yesterday, the Turkish army appears poised to launch a cross-border offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq. President George W. Bush and Iraqi leaders must act quickly and decisively to prevent the incursion, which could destabilize the most peaceful part of Iraq, shake oil markets and spark a regional crisis with unpredictable consequences.

At a news conference yesterday, Bush cited intense diplomatic efforts to convince Turkey that there are better ways than an invasion to stop the Kurdish separatist rebels from staging attacks against the Turkish army. "There's a lot of dialogue going on," Bush said, "and that's positive." But past U.S. complacence about this issue leaves little room for persuasive negotiations. If the United States could shift enough troops from elsewhere in Iraq to seal Kurdistan's border, that would satisfy Turkey. But U.S. forces are already stretched too thin for that.

The U.S. and Iraqi governments have failed repeatedly to pressure Kurdish leaders to close their borders to prevent cross-border raids or to expel separatist rebels. Several dozen Turkish soldiers and civilians have been killed, and the Turkish army has now massed more than 160,000 troops on the border of Kurdistan awaiting the order to attack.

Exacerbating U.S.-Turkish tensions further is the resolution proposed by the House Democratic leadership to condemn the massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Turkish troops of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, labeling it genocide. While the resolution has merit - admission of genocide is a prerequisite in Turkey's bid for membership in the European Union, a desirable Western goal - its timing was unfortunate, adding fuel to anti-U.S. sentiments in Turkey's parliament. It is now losing support in light of the imminent offensive.

Anger at the resolution was largely responsible for Turkey's threat to prohibit use of its air space to resupply U.S. troops in Iraq, who get more than 70 percent of ammunition and spare parts flown in from a U.S. air base in Turkey. The rest comes from an air base in Kuwait, already operating to full capacity. Road convoys from Jordan would be at risk.

Far more important, however, is the need for U.S. and Iraqi leaders to persuade Turkey that the Kurdish rebel threat will be addressed once and for all.

PUKmedia :: English - Editorial: Iraq doesn't need Turk-Kurd war