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

REVUE DE PRESSE-PRESS REVIEW-BERHEVOKA ÇAPÊ-RWISTA STAMPA-DENTRO DE LA PRENSA-BASIN ÖZETi
Turkish Probe February 24, 1994 5
The Kurds of Iraq, in the early 1980s, had their
own problems without the help of Turkey. Saddam
Hussein, who replaced Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr as
president of that country in July 1979, had immediately
become one of the most ruthless dictators in
the region and, as of taking power, was very harsh
to the opposition, including Kurdish, Turkish and
Shi'i groups. During 1980, many Shi'is, Turkomans,
Kurds, army officers and university lecturers were
executed on suspicion that they were disloyal to the
in the north.
The results of this brief operation, launched perhaps
with good intention but poor long-term planning
(as many other cross-border operations in the
1980-90 era), are best summarized in Bolukbasi's
own survey quoted from AFP and BBC reports of
1983:
"The Turkish forces consisting of two-elite brigades
(ca. 7,000 troops) penetrated the .Iraqi territory
between Zakho and Amadiyya by three miles.
regime.
Since Baghdad knew of the operation,
it also launched a simi-
Aware that the Turkomans
were also subject to Saddam's
lar attack simultaneously
tyranny, even Ankara recalled
against the KDP camps from
its Baghdad ambassador on
the south.
July 31, 1980 in protest of the
"...Since Ankara's incursion coincided
with the Iraqi move from
killings, but common interests
overcame the diplomatic crisis
the south, and since it caused
and relations returned to normal
in a matter of weeks.
some damage to the camps of
the KDP either because the
That year, the KDP was already
under the control of Ma-
PKK camps were indistinguishable
from those of the KDP or
soud Barzani, and the PUK
because the KDP camps also
was led by Jalal Talabani, who
housed some PKK militants, it
had, in 1964, severed his relations
with Mullah Mustafa Barra
was allied with Baghdad in
gave the impression that Ankazani
to form this left-wing unity.
Iraqi attempts to crush the KDP
Aside from small groups of
and the PUK. The KDP angrily
Turkish-Kurdish movements,
Masoud Barzanl
denounced the Turkish action
ordinary criminals and local
by saying that the aim of the
Kurds with kin in Iraq, there
Turkish forces was to 'hit the
was no major presence of subversive
armed groups in Iraqi
Kurdistan,' and that it was a
KDP bases in Badinan in Iraqi
territory.
'plot' against the Kurdish liberation
movement."
Though the PKK had decided
in July 1981 to establish relations
with the Iraqi Kurds,
is borrowing Turkish forces for
A KDP statement added: "Iraq
aside from dozens of PKK units
three reasons: Itsinability to
scattered in various areas
militarily destroy the resistance,
along the Turkish border in
the weakness of itsforces and
northern Iraq, there was no major
agreement between this or-
reasons, the Turkish incursion
the war in Iran." Whatever its
ganization and the Iraqi Kurds
only sparked off anger among
in the next two years either.
the Iraqi Kurds at a time Barzani
himself was considering to
In fact, there was no major
cooperation between the PKK
establish some kind of an alliance
with the Turkish Kurds,
and the Iraqi Kurds until 1983.
Jalal Talabani
Not until Turkey,at the end of
even if not the PKK.
May 1983, carried out ~ preemptive
"limited operation" into northern Iraq with nian KDP, led by Abdurrahman Kassemlu, in the
Initially, the PKK had already approached the Ira-
Baghdad's consent in pursuit of "bandits," which first half of 1983. However, whenKassemlu ap-
mainly meant left-wing terrorists and Kurdish separatists
-- including the PKK who were known to be
preparing to return to their country of origin to carry
out new activities. What prompted the operation was
the murder of three Turkish soldiers on May 10 in
Uludere, Hakkari, by the PKK. This attack, like a few
before, had shown Ankara that the PKK had started
to use Iraqi territory with impunity and that Baghdad
was unable to assert its control in the area, despite
the resettlement of many villages from southern Iraq
peared not to be willing to have this kind of a cooperation,
the PKK then turned its attention to the Iraqi
KDP.
Alliance with the KDP
Detailed information on this period was provided
by defectors from the organization in the early
1980s as well as by Turkish terror experts working
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