PURSUING THE PKK
Turkey Prepares for Incursions into Iraq
SPIEGEL ONLINE - October 11, 2007, 12:23 PM
www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,510821,00.html

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan intends to seek parliamentary
approval for military incursions into northern Iraq to pursue Kurdish
rebels. The US is warning against such a move and Iraq has said it would
amount to a violation of its sovereignty.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is to present a motion to
parliament asking for approval for military incursions into northern Iraq to
pursue Kurdish rebels there.

He told CNN-Turk TV on Wednesday that he could present the bill as early as
Thursday. It would then be voted upon as early as next week and would give
the government a one-year authorization to launch military operations across
the border against the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

"It does not mean that everything will happen once we have the
authorization," Erdogan said. "We want to have the authorization in hand so
as to make a swift decision when it becomes necessary."

Erdogan suggested Turkey may not take immediate action but may rather wait
to see if the US and the Iraqis crack down on the PKK bases in northern
Iraq. "If you're against it, make your attitude clear and do whatever is
necessary," the prime minister said. "If you cannot do it, then let us do
it."

Pressure has mounted on Erdogan this week after 15 soldiers were killed over
the weekend in the mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey. The bloodshed
continued on Wednesday -- one policeman was killed and several people were
injured when a bomb was thrown into a tailor's shop in Diyarbakir, the
largest city in Turkey's southeast.

Erdogan's AKP party has a strong majority in parliament, but even if the
bill passes, that does not mean a military operation would immediately
follow. By law, the government needs parliamentary authorization for the
deployment of Turkish troops outside the country.

Ankara is exasperated at the mounting PKK violence and inaction from the
Iraqis to stop cross-border attacks. The PKK have engaged in a bloody
campaign for autonomy since 1984, which has claimed more than 37,000 lives.

On Wednesday, Turkish warplanes and helicopter gunships bombed suspected PKK
positions along the border and Turkish authorities arrested 20 Kurds,
including eight women, who entered the country from Iraq. The authorities
suspect them of being PKK supporters.

Cooling Relations between Ankara and Washington

On Wednesday Erdogan voiced his frustration with the US failure to help
remove the PKK's safe haven in northern Iraq. He told CNN-Turk that a series
of consultations between the US and Turkey "did not produce the expected
results," and were "wasted time."

Relations between Turkey and the US have been further damaged by a
Congressional bill that would label the Ottoman massacre of Armenians during
World War I as genocide. The House of Representatives Foreign Affairs
committee approved the resolution on Wednesday despite the objections of US
President George W. Bush.

Washington warned Turkey Wednesday against unilateral action in northern
Iraq. "We do not think it would be the best place for troops to go into Iraq
from Turkey at this time," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told
reporters.

The US wants Turkey to cooperate with Iraq to resolve the security issue.
Ankara and Baghdad signed an accord last month to combat the PKK but Iraq
objected to a clause that would have allowed Turkish troops to pursue
fleeing rebels across the border.

An Iraqi government spokesman said Wednesday that any Turkish military
incursion would be regarded as a violation of Iraq's sovereignty. "We are
aware of the size of the threat Turkey is subjected to, but this does not
give Turkey the right to enter Iraq territories," Ali al-Dabbagh said.

Baghdad has little influence in the largely autonomous Kurdish north, while
Washington does not want to rock the boat in what is Iraq's most peaceful
region.

smd/ap/afp/reuters