Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro
de la Prensa-Basm Ozeti
US warns Turkey against operation in Iraq
18 Jul2006
Turkey , Iraq (AFP)
The United States warned Turkey on Tuesday that unilateral military action against Kurdish rebel bases in northern Iraq wouId
be "unwise" after Ankara threatened cross-border operations.
"We have repeatedly said that we believe that unilateral military action across the border with Iraq would be unwise," the US
amabassador to Turkey, Ross Wilson, said in an interview with the NTV news channel.
The warning came after Ankara on Monday urged Baghdad and Washington to act against the separatist Kurdistan
Party (PKK), whose militants have enjoyed safe haven in the mountains of neighboring northern Iraq.
Workers'
Asked whether Turkey would send troops across the border if Iraq and the United States fail to curb the PKK, Justice Minister
Cemil Cicek said Turkey would use its rights under international and domestic law "to the full."
Ankara says the PKK uses bases in northern Iraq as a springboard to launch attacks in southeast Turkey. It has shown marked
impatience with the rebel presence there after 15 security force members were killed over the past week.
"The PKK is not a just a northern Iraq problem -- it's a problem in Europe and it's a problem in Turkey," Wilson said.
He reiterated Washington's support for Turkey's battle with the PKK, which the United States, along with the European Union,
lists as a terrorist group.
"The United States and Turkey have for many years consulted c10selyon issues related to international terrorism ... and Iraq,"
Wilson said.
"1 would expect that Turkey wouId continue to do what Turkey has been doing, which is to consult with us as we consult with
Turkey on steps ... with respect to Iraq."
Reports: Turkish military ordered to plan for offensive into northern Iraq
By SUZAN FRASER
2006-07-18, AP
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Turkey's government has ordered the military to plan for a possible cross-border offensive into
northern Iraq to crack down on autonomy-seeking Kurdish guerrillas based in the area, Turkish media reported Tuesday.
The reports, carried by NTV television and Hurriyet newspaper, came a day after Turkey called on Iraq and the United States to
take action against the Kurdish rebels and issued a veiled threat to attack insurgent bases in Iraq if there is no progress.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman, AkifBeki, refused to comment on the reports but instead referred to Justice
Minister Cemil Cicek's Monday statement in which he called on Iraqi and U.S. forces to take stronger action against the rebels
and warned that if they did not, "Turkey is going to use its international rights until the very end."
The United States has already cautioned Turkey against any unilateral attack on the rebels, who are based in one of the few
stable parts of Iraq. Any incursion into Iraq would also be unpopular with the European Union, which Turkey aspires to join.
The EU has repeatedly called on Turkey to improve Kurdish minority rights, a move that many nationalist Turks see as giving in
to the demands of the autonomy-seeking rebels.
Erdogan on Tuesday appeared to confirm the reports.
"We know how to take care of (our terrorism problem) on our own," he said during a speech in Istanbul. "Our competent units
are making preparations and will continue to do so."
He also seemed to suggest the United States' apparent unwillingness to crack down on the Kurdish rebels was hypocritical given
its declared war on terrorism and its recent backing of Israel's right to defend itself.
"Terrorism is not different in Turkey, in the Middle East, in Afghanistan, in Somalia or in Madrid," Erdogan said. "Terrorism is
terrorism everywhere in the world."
OfficiaIs on Tuesday reported no unusual military activity in the border regions.
The government is facing strong internaI pressure to take action after Kurdish guerrillas killed 15 security forces personnel in the
past week.
The reports said the government had instructed the military to plan and prepare for an attack and weigh the military risks of
such an operation, in particular the possibility of conflicts with local Iraqi Kurdish forces or with U.S. troops.
The Foreign Ministry meanwhile, would weigh the political implications ofan offensive in Iraq, Hurriyet and NTV said.
Any operation was unlikely to take place before the end of August, when the current military chief is scheduled to retire, NTV
said.
Turkish Kurdish guerrilIas are based in the mountains of northern Iraq, an area controlled by Iraqi Kurdish forces who are
Iikely to staunchly oppose any Turkish military push into the area.
The conflict between the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, and Turkish forces has c1aimed the Iives of 37,000 people since the
guerillas took up arms in 1984.
Turkey launched several incursions into Iraq in the mid-1990s in pursuit of the rebels and has hinted on several occasions
recently that it couId go into the region again if Iraq and the United States do not take on the guerrillas.
D.S. commanders, struggling to baUle Iraqi insurgents, have been reticent to fight the rebels.
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