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Joe S.
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QUOTE
Turkey threatens Iraq incursion
Posted Sun Jul 22, 2007 0:35am AEST
Turkey has warned that it could send troops into northern Iraq after today's
general elections if talks with Iraqi and US officials fail to produce
effective measures against Kurdish rebels based there.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he has invited his Iraqi
counterpart, Nouri Al Maliki, to visit Ankara after the vote to discuss the
presence of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels in northern Iraq.
Accusing Washington of failing to fulfil its pledge of curbing the PKK, Mr
Erdogan says he will seek trilateral talks in order to resolve the problem.
"We will ask them to take whatever steps are necessary or we will do
whatever is necessary," he said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul says the country will not hesitate to
act to eliminate the threat posed by the PKK, which both Ankara and
Washington list as a terrorist organisation.
"Our aim is not to enter Iraq but to neutralise the terrorist organisation,"
he said.
"We will use our right [to self-defence] as long as the terrorist
organisation continues to harm Turkey."
The PKK has been fighting for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish
south-east since 1984 in a bloody conflict that has claimed more than 37,000
lives.
The rebels have stepped up their attacks this year and the Army has massed
troops on the border with Iraq, fuelling speculation of a cross-border
operation.
In the latest fighting, PKK rebels armed with rocket launchers attacked a
police checkpoint late on Friday in the south-eastern town of Semdinli,
close to the border with Iraq and Iran, the Anatolia news agency reported.
It said two police officers were slightly injured in the attack.
Dominant issue
Mounting PKK violence has been a dominant campaign issue ahead of today's
vote, with the opposition accusing Mr Erdogan and his Justice and
Development Party (AKP) of being soft on the rebels.
Some Government ministers have been the targets of protest by angry crowds
at funerals for soldiers slain in fighting with the rebels.
Opinion surveys tip the AKP to win today's elections and secure a second
term in power, with some suggesting that it may garner more than 40 per cent
of the vote for a solid parliamentary majority.
The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the right-wing
Nationalist Action Party (MHP), which both advocate a tougher stance against
the PKK, are expected to make it into Parliament as well.
Ankara says the rebels enjoy safe haven in northern Iraq, where they obtain
weapons and explosives for cross-border attacks against Turkish targets.
It also accuses northern Iraqi Kurds of turning a blind eye to the PKK
presence on their territory and even of supporting the rebels.
Washington opposes any Turkish military action, fearing this could
destabilise the relatively peaceful region and further strain already tense
ties between Ankara and the Iraqi Kurds, staunch allies of the United
States.
http://www.rawstory.com/showarticle.../stories/2007/07/22/1984733.htm?section=world
END QUOTE
Meanwhile, other stories are reporting that Turkey has 140,000 troops on the
Iraqi border.
Turkey threatens Iraq incursion
Posted Sun Jul 22, 2007 0:35am AEST
Turkey has warned that it could send troops into northern Iraq after today's
general elections if talks with Iraqi and US officials fail to produce
effective measures against Kurdish rebels based there.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he has invited his Iraqi
counterpart, Nouri Al Maliki, to visit Ankara after the vote to discuss the
presence of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels in northern Iraq.
Accusing Washington of failing to fulfil its pledge of curbing the PKK, Mr
Erdogan says he will seek trilateral talks in order to resolve the problem.
"We will ask them to take whatever steps are necessary or we will do
whatever is necessary," he said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul says the country will not hesitate to
act to eliminate the threat posed by the PKK, which both Ankara and
Washington list as a terrorist organisation.
"Our aim is not to enter Iraq but to neutralise the terrorist organisation,"
he said.
"We will use our right [to self-defence] as long as the terrorist
organisation continues to harm Turkey."
The PKK has been fighting for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish
south-east since 1984 in a bloody conflict that has claimed more than 37,000
lives.
The rebels have stepped up their attacks this year and the Army has massed
troops on the border with Iraq, fuelling speculation of a cross-border
operation.
In the latest fighting, PKK rebels armed with rocket launchers attacked a
police checkpoint late on Friday in the south-eastern town of Semdinli,
close to the border with Iraq and Iran, the Anatolia news agency reported.
It said two police officers were slightly injured in the attack.
Dominant issue
Mounting PKK violence has been a dominant campaign issue ahead of today's
vote, with the opposition accusing Mr Erdogan and his Justice and
Development Party (AKP) of being soft on the rebels.
Some Government ministers have been the targets of protest by angry crowds
at funerals for soldiers slain in fighting with the rebels.
Opinion surveys tip the AKP to win today's elections and secure a second
term in power, with some suggesting that it may garner more than 40 per cent
of the vote for a solid parliamentary majority.
The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the right-wing
Nationalist Action Party (MHP), which both advocate a tougher stance against
the PKK, are expected to make it into Parliament as well.
Ankara says the rebels enjoy safe haven in northern Iraq, where they obtain
weapons and explosives for cross-border attacks against Turkish targets.
It also accuses northern Iraqi Kurds of turning a blind eye to the PKK
presence on their territory and even of supporting the rebels.
Washington opposes any Turkish military action, fearing this could
destabilise the relatively peaceful region and further strain already tense
ties between Ankara and the Iraqi Kurds, staunch allies of the United
States.
http://www.rawstory.com/showarticle.../stories/2007/07/22/1984733.htm?section=world
END QUOTE
Meanwhile, other stories are reporting that Turkey has 140,000 troops on the
Iraqi border.
