Barzani insists Kirkuk part of Kurdish region

This is from todayszaman.

This issue has virtually disappeared from mainstream media but it is still there bubbling away under the surface. The referendum that is supposed to determine the future of Kirkuk has never happened and it is not even clear now if it ever will happen! The Kirkuk region is rich with oil and neither the central govt. nor the Arabs and Turmen in Kirkuk are ready to agree that it is part of Kurdistan. However, the Kurds may do as they have done with the oil, get tired of waiting for a solution and go ahead and take de facto control of Kirkuk.

Barzani insists Kirkuk part of Kurdish region
Iraq's disputed city of Kirkuk and its oil reserves belong to the Kurdish region, Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said on Thursday when he met with Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht in Arbil, northern Iraq.
Asked at a joint press conference with De Gucht on Thursday whether the oil fields in Kirkuk belonged to the Kurdish region or the federal government of Iraq, Barzani said: “The Iraqi Constitution states that the oil reserves are the property of all Iraqis. But Kirkuk, together with its oil reserves, is part of Kurdistan,” he said.
Iraqi Kurds run three provinces in northern Iraq and claim the ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk is also part of their semi-autonomous region. Kurdish claims on Kirkuk are a source of tension between the city's Kurds and non-Kurdish population, made up of Turkmens and Arabs. The Iraqi Constitution envisions a referendum on the status of Kirkuk, but the vote, although planned earlier, has never taken place because pre-referendum requirements, such as a census, could never be carried out. Turkey, which shares close ethnic ties with Turkmens, calls for a compromise among Iraqi groups on the status of Kirkuk. The United States is also cautious about Kurdish claims over Kirkuk, fearing it could lead to clashes that could affect the entirety of Iraq.
Control of Kirkuk and the distribution of oil revenues in northern Iraq are among the key disputed issues between the Kurdish administration and the Baghdad government. De Gucht backed Iraq's federal system and said problems between the Kurdish region and the central government should be resolved on the basis of principles of the Iraqi Constitution.
Before traveling to Arbil, De Gucht met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and Human Rights Minister Wejdane Mikhail in Baghdad to discuss security and reconstruction six years after the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Iraq Kurds warn Turkey over raids

This is from the bbc. Interesting that there is no warning to the US which at the very least opened up Iraqi airspace to the Turkish aircraft and probably provided intelligence as well. The Kurds are well aware of US double crosses so maybe they don't feel it is worth commenting upon!
I guess it was impossible to work out a compromise that was acceptable to Turks and Kurds. Certainly the US has been most reluctant until now to sanction Turkish attacks, hoping that the Kurds or Iraqi govt. would act.


Iraq Kurds warn Turkey over raids
The president of the Kurdish region in northern Iraq has warned Turkey to halt its strikes against rebel Kurdish positions in the border area.
Massoud Barzani said he "vehemently condemned" the bombardments, which he said had killed innocent people.

Turkish jets have carried out three strikes on Kurdish targets and one ground foray over the past eight days.

Turkey blames rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) for launching attacks on Turkey from bases in Iraq.

Ankara approved cross-border raids on PKK bases in October, saying the Iraqi government and its US backers were not doing enough to halt attacks.

Formal complaint

"The bombing targeted safe and secure areas and innocent people," Mr Barzani told a news conference in the northern city of Suleimaniya.




"Several people were either killed or wounded. We held consultations with [Iraqi] President Jalal Talabani and we will continue our consultations with other concerned parties to put an end to these aggressions and put an end to the shelling of villages."

President Talabani - also a Kurd - was standing beside Mr Barzani as he delivered the condemnation.

He said his government had lodged a formal complaint with Turkey - but that he did not want to worsen tensions over the issue.

Turkey's ambassador to Iraq has been summoned to the foreign ministry to hear a formal complaint, reports the BBC's Humphrey Hawkesley in Baghdad.

Up to 10 people are reported to have been killed in the strikes - it is not known whether they are rebels or civilians.

As many as 2,000 people have fled the areas under attack.

US support

In a telephone conversation with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, US President George W Bush reiterated his backing for Turkey's operations against PKK rebels, said a White House spokesman.

They discussed "the importance of the United States, Turkey and Iraq working together to confront the PKK", said national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

The PKK - which is designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US, and the EU - is thought to have about 3,000 rebels based in Iraq.

For decades, it has been fighting for a Kurdish homeland separate from Turkey.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/7159529.stm

Published: 2007/12/24 17:49:08 GMT

© BBC MMVII

Conflict between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan

This conflict threatens to break out into violence from time to time and the US unwillingness to tackle rebels in northern Iraq is causing friction between the US and Turkey.

PM Erdogan grows furious, castigates Barzani


The New Anatolian with AP / Ankara

10 April 2007


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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday retaliated to blunt remarks of an Iraqi Kurdish leader warning Iraqi Kurds against interfering in Turkey's southeast.

"The price for them will be very high," said Erdogan challenging the words by Iraqi Kurdish regional administration leader Massoud Barzani, who said Iraqi Kurds would retaliate to any Turkish interference in northern Iraq by stirring up trouble in Turkey's southeast.

"He's out of place. He'll be crushed under his words," Erdogan said. "Northern Iraq, which is a neighbor, is making a serious mistake: the price for them will be very high," he warned.

The verbal sparring was set off by Barzani over the weekend when he said in an interview with al-Arabiyah television that Iraqi Kurds could "interfere" in Kurdish-majority Turkish cities if Ankara interfered in northern Iraq.

A pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) official, party's Diyarbakir office head Hilmi Aydogdu, was arrested due to remarks resembling that of Barzani. He was then released by court.

Barzani previously told in another interview that the Kurds in Turkey should draw their own path. The change in his remarks comes amid raising tension due to looming presidential and general elections which has almost turned into a hidden fight between the allegedly political Islamist government and the secular sections of the society.

Barzani's remark also touched an extremely sensitive nerve in Turkey, where more than 37,000 people have been killed in fighting between Turkish security forces and the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) since 1984, most of them in the southeastern region bordering Iraq.

Over the weekend, nine security officers were dead either in clashes or due to from landmines in the eastern and southeastern parts of the country, despite an ongoing unilateral ceasefire announced by the PKK. Turkey refused the ceasefire but the DTP, claimed to be a mouthpiece of Abdullah Ocalan, inmate leader of the terror group, has been using the PKK's decision as a tool against the government to lay ground for further political representation of Kurdish masses in Turkey.

Turkey fears that any moves toward greater independence for Kurds in northern Iraq could incite Turkey's own estimated 14 million Kurds to outright rebellion.

The political rhetoric adopted by Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party focusing on promoting all embracing citizenship notion over ethnic emphasis is seen a tool to pass through this time of ambiguity regarding the stability near its eastern border.

Turkey is also especially concerned about Barzani's bid to incorporate the oil-rich northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk into his semiautonomous region, fearing that Iraqi Kurds will use the city's oil revenues to fund a bid for independence.

Last week, the Iraqi government decided to implement a constitutional requirement to determine the status of Kirkuk - which is disputed among several different ethnic groups - by the end of the year. The plan is expected to turn Kirkuk and its vast oil reserves over to Kurdish control, a step rejected by many of Iraq's Arabs and its Turkmen - ethnic Turks who are strongly backed by Ankara.

Some in Turkey have hinted at military action to prevent the Kurds from gaining control of Kirkuk. Particularly, cross-border operation was seriously discussed during the second half of last year in political back corridors and Parliament gathered for a close vote in order to authorize the AK Party government for that purpose.

Barzani's remarks made front page news and drew rage in Turkey, with opposition parties criticizing the government for not responding harshly to the Kurdish leader's threat.

"We're a state whose history traces back to centuries. Our history as a state includes not only northern Iraq but also Baghdad," Erdogan challenged.

Also the foreign minister of Turkey, Abdullah Gul, expressed his uneasiness about the remarks but only said, "All will see our response."

At a press conference in Parliament, AK Party's deputy group leader Irfan Gunduz branded the remarks provocative saying he, speaking on behalf of his party, condemns Barzani's statement which came in a time when Turkey feels great sorrow due to fallen soldiers.

He also warned Iraqi Kurds saying Barzani should be capable of calculating what such remarks would cost him, both during the U.S. forces are there and after the left Iraq, and cited the consequences of irresponsible moves of Saddam Hussein.

He called Barzani's words an erroneous response to the helping hand of Turkey and added that Turkey is powerful enough to silence all threats to its security and future. "No one should try Turkey's patience," he added.

Opposition rebukes govt over remarks

The remarks also surfaced fierce reaction among the political arena in Turkey with several party leaders condemned Barzani and called on the government to employ a harder line against the regional Kurdish administration.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy group leader Haluk Koc accused Barzani of behaving arrogantly and blamed the U.S. for its support to the regional administration.

"We have to see who encourages Barzani. Who give landmines to the PKK? Are they product of the U.S.? I have to ask the prime minister, who is on a show in the Black Sea while we're grieving here [due to fallen soldiers], the foreign minister, who welcome all questions with a smile, and the interior minister, why do you remain silent? Is not 10 deaths enough to talk?" Koc concluded.

Social Democrat People's Party (SHP) leader Murat Karayalcin, in a written statement, said that the response of the people, beginning with Kurdish origin Turkish citizens, should be appropriately sharp.

True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar also criticized the government for what he branded inaptitude and apathy in particular regarding the remarks of Barzani and in general foreign policy issues.

"His boldness is result of lack of determination of Turkey's government," said Agar referring to Barzani but added that no one should try Turkey's force. Turkey has the biggest armed forces in the region, he added.

Gul asks US to warn Barzani

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul telephoned U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Saturday saying that he was very disturbed by Barzani's comments, reports said on Monday.

Gul reportedly asked Rice to ensure that Barzani does not again make such statements, which he described as being a threat to the territorial integrity of Turkey.

Turkey's Special Iraq Envoy Oguz Celikkol has also gone to the U.S. over the weekend to express Turkey's uneasiness regarding the recent developments.

Celikkol is also expected to raise worries about recent remarks by Retired Chief of Joint Staff of the U.S. Army General Richard Myers who stated stated on Saturday that fight against terrorist PKK is not a priority for the U.S. since essential struggle in Iraq is against the extremist groups that are violating Baghdad and other regions of Iraq.

State Minister Kursad Tuzmen, responding to a suggestion by Motherland Party (ANAVATAN) leader Erkan Mumcu to close Habur border gate for three days as a sanction, said that Turkey will do what it has to do in good time.