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

Kurds in Internation - Kurds Demand U.S. Defense

Kurdish leaders said yesterday the United States is obliged by a U.N. resolution to defend them in the event that Turkish forces invade Kurdistan region 'northern Iraq' in pursuit of members of a Kurdish rebel movement.

They also said they will continue to sign oil contracts with international companies while awaiting passage of an Iraqi oil law, de****e objections from Baghdad and the State Department.

"The U.S. forces are mandated by the United Nations to protect Iraq's sovereignty and defend Iraq's people," said Qubad Talabani, the Kurdistan Regional Government's representative in Washington.

But Mr. Talabani, who was accompanied by the head of the Kurdistan government's foreign relations department, said he is worried the United States might not fulfill that commitment.

"We would like stronger reassurances by the United States that they would defend the Iraqi people, be it in the south, north or center, if they were threatened in any way," Mr. Talabani told editors and reporters at The Washington Times.

The officials likely referenced Security Council Resolution 1546, which gives multinational forces in Iraq the authority "to take all necessary measures to contribute to the maintenance of security and stability in Iraq."

In an accompanying letter, then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said the international force will "undertake a broad range of tasks to contribute to the maintenance of security" in Iraq.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said at a later press conference that the United States wants to help end a wave of attacks inside Turkey, but there is a lack of solid information as to where the Kurdish rebels operate from.

Kurdistan claims the Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK, has splintered into a number of factions and that the militants staging attacks in Turkey are based in that country. The Turks claim the PKK — identified by the United States as a terrorist group — is operating from bases in northern Iraq.

"We want to help the Turks with the PKK," said Mr. Gates. "We recognize that Turks are being killed by this organization.

"It is partly a matter of intelligence and how specific the information we can get is. I think that if we were to come up with specific information, that we and the Iraqis would be prepared to do the appropriate thing."

Frustrated by constant PKK attacks, which have left 40,000 dead in the last 20 years, Turkey on Wednesday authorized its troops to cross into northern Iraq to hunt down the militants. Thousands of Kurds took to the streets yesterday to protest that decision, the Associated Press reported.

Ankara called on the United States to defuse the situation by detaining and extraditing PKK members from northern Iraq. But the United States has a very limited military presence in Kurdistan because of the relative security and stability in the region.

A State Department official said there has been no formal request from Turkey to arrest PKK members and noted that Washington has encouraged Turkey and Iraq to cooperate on the issue.

Mr. Talabani and Falah Mustafa Bakir, foreign relations minister in the regional government, warned that the economic and political haven that Kurdistan has provided in Iraq easily can be disrupted if Turkey invades.

"There will be dire consequences. This is the only safe and secure part of Iraq that is supporting the U.S. efforts," said Mr. Talabani, who is the son of Iraqi president Jalal Talabani.

Mr. Bakir said 80 percent of the large-scale investment in Kurdistan comes from Turkey, and that there are between 200 and 300 small, medium and large Turkish companies working in Kurdistan's public and private sector.

Any military incursion would probably cause those investors to leave, he said.

With its own government, security forces and controlled entry points, Kurdistan has pushed forward with its economic development while avoiding most of the ethnic, sectarian and criminal conflict that is killing thousands elsewhere in Iraq.

On Sept. 8, the regional government signed a production-sharing agreement with a subsidiary of Hunt Oil Co. of Dallas and Impulse Energy Corp. to explore for oil in the Kurdistan region of Duhok. The deal was criticized this week by the State Department.

"Hunt Oil has been advised of U.S. policy urging companies not to sign oil contracts with the Kurdistan Regional Government until [an Iraqi] national oil law is passed, as well as the potential political and legal risks inherent in such a contract," spokesman Tom Casey said Tuesday.

But Mr. Talabani said Washington cannot expect Kurdistan just to sit on its hands. "Why should we be put on hold? This is a success story for Iraq. The United States should be pleased," he said.

He said his government will continue to sign contracts with any American companies that are interested. Kurdistan is "open for business," he said.

PUKmedia :: English - Kurds in Internation - Kurds Demand U.S. Defense

Secretary-General Concerned at Turkish Move on Attacking Kurdish Targets in Iraq

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced concern yesterday about the Turkish Parliament’s decision this week to enable the country’s armed forces to take cross-border military action in Iraq against targets of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

“The Secretary-General strongly urges all sides to demonstrate restraint at this delicate juncture,” his spokesperson said in a statement released at United Nations Headquarters in New York. “He welcomes the affirmation by the Turkish Foreign Minister [Abdullah Gül] that Turkey is open to discussing all problems in Iraq.”

The statement added that Mr. Ban calls on the Iraqi Government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to ensure that Iraqi territory is not used to mount cross-border attacks against Turkey.

“Recent attacks by the PKK inside Turkey have been rightly condemned by the international community,” it noted.

PUKmedia :: English - Secretary-General Concerned at Turkish Move on Attacking Kurdish Targets in Iraq

Talabani: Assad's support for Turkish incursion into Iraq oversteps all limits

Riyadh, Oct 20, (VOI) – Iraqi President Jalal al-Talabani slammed his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad for recent statements in which he announced his public support for Turkish military interference in northern Iraq, and said the remarks were contrary to the spirit of Arab solidarity.

"I would personally decline to comment on Syria's stances to maintain historic relations between the two countries. This time I cannot bear this overstepping of all bounds," al-Talabani said in an interview with the international al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper, published on Saturday.

During a visit to Turkey last week the Syrian president said he backs Turkish military operations against the Kurdistan Workers Party's (PKK) fighters inside Iraqi territories.

"How could an Arab president support military interference in the Iraqi republic," al-Talabani wondered. "He would have better followed in the footsteps of the Americans and Europeans and said that he prefers political solution de****e his understanding of Turkey's stance."

Describing the statements as "serious," al-Talabani indicated that al-Assad's stance may harm Iraqi-Syrian relations and explained that his country does not have enough troops to drive PKK separatists out of northern Iraq's Kurdistan region.

"Our constitution explicitly bans the presence of foreign armed troops in Iraqi territories and their launch of armed operations against neighboring countries, but what can we do?"

"Military operations will do harm to democracy in Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Justice and Development (AK) Party, which is an outcome of democracy. Erdogan is a wise man and understands that military interference will not solve the problem or yield tangible results," al-Talabani indicated.

The Turkish parliament on Wednesday voted to allow military strikes against Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq, de****e stiff U.S. opposition and appeals from Baghdad for time to purge the rebels.

Only 19 Turkish lawmakers out of the 555 parliament members voted against the bill, which permitted any Turkish incursion into northern Iraq to pursue fighters allegedly using mountain areas in northern Iraq as a base to attack Turkish targets.

Al-Talabani further explained that his government is making every effort to purge Iraqi cities of Kurdish fighters and curtail their finance. "We closed their offices all over Iraq, including those in Baghdad, which were operating under different names," he added.

Commenting on Turkish government's demands for the arrest of PKK leaders, al-Talabani said, "We cannot do that. How could we capture leaders hiding alongside thousands of men in mountains? The Turkish army itself cannot do that."

Aswat Aliraq

Demonstration in Zakho against Turkish parliament's decision

Duhuk, Oct 20, (VOI) – Thousands of residents in northern Duhuk's Zakho district took to the streets on Saturday morning to protest a decision adopted by the Turkish parliament to authorize the Turkish government to hunt down the banned Kurdistan Workers Party's (PKK) separatists in northern Iraq.

"The Turkish parliament's decision violates Iraq's sovereignty and serves the interests of terrorists inside the country by creating chaos," the head of Kurdistan's region Students' Union in Zakho, Muhammad Bashir, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

"We call on the Turkish people to pressurize its government into halting any military operation inside the region," Bashir indicated.

"Protestors submitted a memorandum to the mayor of Zakho, Hussein Jalti, in which they called for dialogue and rejected Turkish threats to invade the region," according to VOI correspondent who attended the demonstration.

A source from the union told VOI earlier that eight civil society organizations will stage demonstrations in Zakho on Saturday to protest the parliament's decision.

In the presence of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish parliament on Wednesday voted to allow military strikes against Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq, most recently blamed for attacks that killed 15 soldiers early this month.

Only 19 Turkish lawmakers out of the 555 parliament members voted against the bill, which permitted any Turkish incursion into northern Iraq to pursue fighters allegedly using mountain areas in northern Iraq as a base to attack Turkish targets.

The motion came at a time that both Iraq and the U.S. urged Turkey to show self-restraint and to seek a peaceful approach to the crisis.

Zakho district is located 50 km north of Duhuk, the third province within Iraq's Kurdistan region which lies 460 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad and has borders with Turkey.


Aswat Aliraq

UN Envoy to Visit Iraq in Two Weeks for Talks on Broader Role, Official Says

The new United Nations envoy for Iraq will travel to the country in two weeks for talks on a broader role for the world body there, a senior UN official told the Security Council yesterday.

Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe presented the Council with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s latest report on Iraq, echoing the UN leader’s assertion that “there is an opportunity today that should not be missed” for transforming recent positive developments – including the ceasefire declared by the Mahdi Army and the Sunni insurgent alliance against Al-Qaeda – into a basis for achieving national reconciliation.

In August, the Council adopted resolution 1770 expanding the UN’s role in Iraq, including in support of a national dialogue. Mr. Pascoe said the Secretary-General’s new Special Representative, Staffan de Mistura, will immediately explore possibilities toward that end “when he reaches Iraq in two weeks.”

Mr. Pascoe confirmed that the ceiling for international civilian staff in Baghdad has been raised from 65 to 85, adding that the number of staff authorized for the northern city of Erbil has risen from 29 to 35. In addition, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has “adopted an area-based approach that expands activities where circumstances are more permissible.”

The Under-Secretary-General also issued a strong appeal for Member States to support the UN’s efforts. “Importantly, the United Nations must be afforded the necessary political and humanitarian space to implement the new mandate and the ability of the Organization to talk with all sides must be protected and respected,” he said.

“Security arrangements and financial and logistical backing are also essential for the success of the UN Mission in Iraq,” he added.

Mr. Pascoe voiced gratitude to countries now supporting the UN’s work in Iraq while urging States to provide additional resources for the mission. He pointed out that a trust fund established to support the ‘Distinct Entity’ that provides protection for the UN will be exhausted next month, while needs are clear “at least through 2008.”

He warned that, without an immediate infusion of funds, “the ability of the UN to operate in Iraq could be severely compromised.”

The magnitude of the challenges facing Iraq call for an international response which the UN is well-placed to meet, he said. “It is our belief that the new UN mandate, matched by strong international support, provides the necessary framework to move toward building a more stable Iraq.”

PUKmedia :: English - UN Envoy to Visit Iraq in Two Weeks for Talks on Broader Role, Official Says

Bashmakh Border Crossing Reopened

After solving the problems with the Iranian government, today Bashmakh Border Crossing between Kurdistan Region and Iran will be reopened officially.

Mr. Nazim Omar, the representative of KRG in Tehran told PUKmedia that “Bashmakh Border Crossing between Kurdistan Region and Iran will be reopened officially today, at 12:00, in the presence of political parties’ and governments’ representatives. It could be used for the purpose of transportation transaction from tomorrow onwards.”

PUKmedia :: English - Bashmakh Border Crossing Reopened

Violence flares up in northern Iraq's Kurdish region
AMBUSH, EXPLOSIONS STRIKE AROUND KIRKUK WHILE TENSIONS WITH TURKEY ARE ON RISE

BAGHDAD - In the latest bout of violence around the northern oil city of Kirkuk, insurgents blew up an oil pipeline, battled a convoy carrying bodyguards of a deputy prime minister and ambushed a police chief, Iraqi officials said on Friday.

Meanwhile, a top Kurdish leader issued a statement vowing to "defend" Iraqi Kurdistan from potential attacks by the Turkish army.

The violence on Friday underscored the continued instability of the area surrounding Kirkuk, where some Sunni insurgents fled this year from strongholds in Baghdad and Baquba after increased American troop deployments in central Iraq.

The deputy prime minister, Barham Salih, a Kurd, was not in the convoy, according to an Iraqi security official in Kirkuk. But the ambush and fighting, which took place 60 miles south of Kirkuk, left one member of the convoy dead and another wounded, according to an official from Salih's office.

Farther north, one of Kurdistan's two most powerful leaders warned Turkey that Kurds would defend themselves against an invasion. The statement, by Massoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, reiterated in stronger terms previous admonitions by Kurdish leaders that Turkish forces should not cross into Iraqi Kurdistan to drive out Kurdish guerrillas who use mountain bases as safe havens after attacks inside Turkey.

A spokesman for the Kurdish Regional Government quoted a statement by Barzani saying, "If the Turkish army attacks Kurdistan, we are ready to defend the Kurdistan Regional Government and protect the democracy that Kurdish people live under."

While American officials continue to highlight recent gains against Sunni extremists in western and central Iraq, there are concerns that Al-Qaida in Iraq and other jihadist groups may be in a position to gain power around Kirkuk by exploiting the city's tense social and political situation. In one example of that influence, the police near Kirkuk recently discovered a couple carrying a marriage license issued by the Islamic State of Iraq, a militant group linked with Al-Qaida in Iraq.

The Kurds are intent on consolidating their control of Kirkuk, and many Sunni Arabs resettled there by Saddam Hussein now feel threatened, spawning fears that they will collaborate with extremists.

In another attack 30 miles west of Kirkuk, gunmen ambushed the convoy carrying the Iraqi police commander of the town of Riyadh, Capt. Abdullah Jabouri, according to the police in nearby Hawija. Jabouri escaped, the police said, but two guards were seriously wounded.

The pipeline was attacked near the village of Safra, about 40 miles west of Kirkuk. Initial reports suggested that insurgents had used an improvised explosive device, said Col. Sadr Adeen Abdullah of the Iraqi army. The explosion sent plumes of thick black smoke drifting all the way to Kirkuk, he said.

The United States military command in Baghdad reported the deaths of two American soldiers. One soldier died from a "non-combat-related illness" Wednesday after being flown to a military ho****al in Germany. Another soldier was killed on Thursday by an insurgent attack in southern Baghdad.

Also Friday, one of Iraq's most influential Sunni politicians, Adnan al-Dulaimi, became the latest Iraqi leader to demand that the former defense minister, Sultan Hashem Ahmed, be given a stay of execution. Ahmed was convicted of war crimes and genocide in connection with his role in Saddam's 1988 attacks on the Kurds. But many Iraqi officials believe he was an honorable military officer.

Ahmed and Ali Hassan al-Majid, better known as Chemical Ali, are to be hanged once the American military turns them over to Iraqi officials. American officials say they are waiting for Iraq to resolve an internal legal dispute about the two men. Late Friday, an American spokesman said both men were in American custody "with no scheduled date for transfer."

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Kurdish Rebel Leader Threatens To Attack Pipeline To Turkey

A Kurdish rebel leader, Murat Karayilan, threatened on Saturday to strike an oil pipeline running into Turkey if the Turkish military targets bases of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq.

"When Turkey starts a military operation against our bases, we will defend ourselves by targeting economic sites and one of our options is to hit the oil pipeline going from Kurdistan to Turkey because of the great economic value of this pipeline to Turkey and its army," Karayilan said.

The most senior leader in Iraq's Kurdish region, Massoud Barzani, appeared to raise the stakes in the standoff on Friday, warning Turkey that the region would defend itself against any cross-border military strike on rebel bases.

The tough line taken by the Kurds has stoked worries that a Turkish incursion could ignite a wider cycle of conflict and unrest in one of the few stable corners of Iraq.

Barzani said urgent talks were needed on all sides. But Turkey has flatly declared it is out of patience with escalating attacks by separatist guerrillas who use hideouts in northern Iraq.

As both Baghdad and Washington struggled to avert conflict between two of its key allies in the region, Turkey's prime minister insisted that the camps of Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq must be destroyed and rebel leaders extradited to Turkey for trial.

Nasdaq 100 Flash Quotes

2 soldiers killed, 4 injured in bomb attacks in N Iraq

Two Iraqi soldiers were killed and four security members were wounded in two roadside bomb attacks in and south of the Iraq's northern oil industry hub of Kirkuk on Saturday, a local police source said.

"A roadside bomb detonated before midday near a passing army patrol in the al-Hawijah area, 70 km south of Kirkuk, killing two soldiers and injuring another," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Another roadside bomb went off while a police patrol was passing by in central Kirkuk, wounding three policemen and destroying their vehicle, the source added.

Insurgents frequently attack Iraqi security forces accusing them of collaboration with U.S. occupation.

Kirkuk, some 250 km north of Baghdad, has witnessed increasing tension, since the collapse of Saddam Hussein regime in 2003, as Arab and Turkmen population in the city are fighting Kurdish efforts to join the city to their autonomous region just to the north.

2 soldiers killed, 4 injured in bomb attacks in N Iraq

Turkish PM raises possibility of joint military operation with Iraq against PKK

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said a joint military operation with Iraq may be launched against the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) should negotiations fail.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki had confirmed that "if there was no result from the talks, we would carry out this (anti-PKK) operation together," Erdogan said during an interview with Kanal 24 TV.

Erdogan also called on the Iraqi government to close all PKK camps in northern Iraq.

"What will satisfy us is the closure of all PKK camps, including their training facilities, and the handover of the terrorist leaders to us," Erdogan told reporters after attending Friday prayers at an Istanbul mosque.

The Turkish parliament on late Wednesday passed a motion by 507 votes to 19, authorizing the military to carry out an incursion into northern Iraq to attack the estimated 3,000 PKK fighters there.

The move has aroused international concerns over a possible military conflict between Iraq and Turkey, although Erdogan said the passing of the motion doesn't mean an immediate military incursion.

Massoud Barzani, leader of the autonomous Kurdish authorities in Iraq, on Friday said they will defend themselves against any Turkish cross-border military attacks. He also called on urgent talks to ease the standoff.

The PKK is outlawed in Turkey. Some 3,000 PKK fighters, including its leaders, are believed to be hiding in mainly Kurdish northern Iraq.

The group, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, launched an armed campaign for an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey in 1984 that has claimed more than 30,000 lives.

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