Turkey considers cross-border operations

The US refusal to do anything about the PKK a group that the US labels as terrorist is one sign of the bogus nature of the war against terror. As Chomsky has noted there are several varieties of terrorists and some are tolerated by the US and others are even encouraged.


Erdoğan says Iraq cross-border operation on table
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan called on the United States and Iraq to deal with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) based in northern Iraq, but said Ankara would take military action itself if necessary.



The government is under mounting pressure from the public and army to tackle the PKK based in mountainous northern Iraq. Dozens of civilians and soldiers have been killed in recent weeks in attacks across Turkey. The influential National Security Council (MGK) reviewed yesterday measures against the PKK, including plans to set up a buffer zone in Iraqi territory.

"First our neighbor Iraq and the United States should take steps on this issue because this is an issue of a struggle against terrorism," Erdoğan said in an interview aboard his plane during campaigning in eastern Turkey late on Tuesday. Asked if he believed Baghdad and Washington would honor promises to combat the PKK, Erdoğan's response was lukewarm. "I wish to remain positive."

Washington, while classing the PKK as a terrorist group, fears any major operation by its NATO ally in northern Iraq could anger Iraqi Kurdish allies and stoke wider conflict in a relatively peaceful region of that war-torn country. Financial markets were rattled earlier this month by reports of a major incursion into northern Iraq, which Turkey denied. Military sources said there had been a limited cross-border raid -- a relatively frequent occurrence since the mid-1990s. Any major cross-border operation would require parliament’s approval. Parliament, where Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has a big majority, is currently in recess ahead of July elections.

“We are continuing discussions with the armed forces. If needed we will take the necessary steps [for a cross-border operation] because we cannot allow the PKK any longer to carry out attacks,” Erdoğan said through an interpreter. The armed forces have recommended a cross-border offensive into northern Iraq, where up to 4,000 PKK militants are based. Tens of thousands of troops have been sent to the border. Analysts say the threat of an incursion may have as much to do with domestic politics ahead of the July 22 election as with security issues. Nationalist concerns over Kurdish separatism and EU attitudes towards Turkey are playing an important role. The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, Turkey and the European Union.

Erdoğan also said he expected to speed up reforms required for European Union membership after the July 22 election. He predicted the result returning his AK Party government to power would deliver a strong mandate for change in Turkey. He rejected accusations of a hidden Islamist agenda that have soured his relations with the secularist establishment and momentarily unsettled the financial market usually well-disposed towards his government. “Of course the elections have slowed down [the EU reforms] a bit, but [after the election] it’s full steam ahead,” Erdoğan said.

Turkey began accession talks in October 2005 but critics say reforms needed for Turkey to become a member of the bloc have slowed in the past two years amid disputes over Cyprus, human rights, judicial reform and other sensitive issues. The bloc suspended discussions last December in eight of the 35 chapters, or policy areas, that it must work through, due to Ankara’s refusal to open its ports to EU member Greek Cyprus. The election of Nicolas Sarkozy as French president has complicated matters for Turkey, a large, relatively poor and predominantly Muslim country. Sarkozy has said Turkey has no place in the 27-nation EU, but he has recently sought to postpone a debate on changing the goal of the negotiations. France is expected to agree to the EU opening talks on two new policy areas next week. Asked if he expected Sarkozy to stop Turkey’s EU talks or change criteria, he replied: “I don’t have a feeling like that ... This process will have problems, but I [recently] talked to Mr. Sarkozy and it was a positive conversation.”

Turkey urges dealy in Kirkuk referendum

Obviously there is a conflict brewing in Kirkuk and already there has been violence. If Kirkuk votes to becomes part of the Kurdish region there will be even more conflict and Turkey will part company with the US and Israel.


Feb 20, 2007 12:59:00 PM MST

Turkey urges Iraq to delay referendum on oil rich city of Kirkuk (Turkey-Iraq)

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) _ Turkey‘s prime minister urged one of Iraq‘s two vice-presidents on Tuesday to delay a referendum on the future of Kirkuk, fearing Iraqi Kurdish groups could seize control of the northern oil-rich city.

Turkey, which has been trying to quell a Kurdish insurgency for more than two decades, is concerned about the growing power of Iraqi Kurds and has repeatedly warned Iraqi Kurdish groups against trying to seize control of Kirkuk.

Iraq‘s constitution calls for a referendum on Kirkuk‘s future by the end of the year. The Kurds want to incorporate the city and its rich oilfields into their self-ruled region _ a move the Turks have strongly opposed.

Turkey‘s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Iraqi Vice-President Adil Abdul-Mahdi the normalization of security sought by the Iraqi constitution has not occurred in Kirkuk and the referendum must be postponed, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported.

Turkey fears Iraq‘s Kurds want Kirkuk‘s oil revenues to fund a bid for independence that could encourage separatist Kurdish guerrillas in Turkey, who have been fighting for autonomy since 1984. The conflict has claimed the lives of 37,000 people.

Erdogan also asked Abdul-Mahdi to stop attacks by separatist Kurdish guerrillas, based in Iraq, on Turkey.

Kirkuk, an ancient city that once was part of the Ottoman Empire, has a large minority of ethnic Turks as well as Christians, Shiite and Sunni Arabs, Armenians and Assyrians. The city is just south of the autonomous Kurdish region stretching across three provinces of northeastern Iraq.

Since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, thousands of Kurds pushed out of the region under Saddam Hussein‘s rule have returned.

Turkey _ a predominantly Muslim country that is an ally of the U.S. and NATO, a friend of Israel and a candidate to join the European Union _ is pushing to increase its influence in the Middle East, where it says it can help negotiate between Islamic countries and the West.

Turkey has not ruled out military incursions into Iraq to hunt separatist Kurds, despite warnings from Washington, which fears that such a move could lead to tensions with the Iraqi Kurdish groups who have been important allies of the U.S.

INDEX: INTERNATIONAL OIL&GAS POLITICS

A Turkish view of Kirkuk

A Turkish viewpoint on the Kirkuk issue. A vote is to be held this year on the status of the city. Kurds hope it will become part of the Kurdish area and are doing everything they can to influence the outcome.


Turkey's proactive initiative on Kirkuk
Friday, February 9, 2007




The seminars held in major US cities on Kirkuk are a manifestation of a new diplomacy effort by Ankara

ELIF ÖZMENEK
There has recently been a growing interest in the U.S. media over the issue of Kirkuk, with the Los Angeles Times naming the city as the next front in the war.

“American officials, regional leaders and residents are increasingly worried that this northern oil-rich city could develop into a third front in the country's civil war just as additional U.S. troops arrive in Baghdad and Al Anbar province as reinforcements for battles there,” read the LA Times of Feb. 1.

The Executive Director of the Institute of Turkish Studies David Cuthell elucidates: “Unfortunately the subject of Turkmens, like many of the subjects that have to do with Turkey or the Middle East, only seems to come up into the focus of the American public and government in times of crises. Now there is potential crisis in the case of Turkmens with respect to events taking place in Kirkuk.”

It is clear that Ankara is very concerned that the planned referendum this year would bring Kirkuk under Kurdish rule, since hundreds of thousands of Kurds have moved to the city in recent years. Turkey sees this population movement as a systematic campaign to change the demographic structure of the city to guarantee an outcome favoring the Kurds in the upcoming referendum.

“There are 10 billion barrels of oil underneath Kirkuk. That is almost 6 percent of the world's known oil reserves” said Cuthell, explaining the economic element that lies alongside the political one in Ankara's concern. Such an economic independence would boost prospects for the Kurds to establish an independent state next to Turkey's southeastern borders. Yet, on the other hand, the White House signals that it will not heed Turkey's demands for postponement of a planned referendum on the fate of the city to a later date.

Ankara, after a four-year roller coaster ride in Turkish-U.S. relations, now knows that the Bush government is not willing to risk their relationship with the Kurds to ease Turkey's concern over an independent Kurdistan. Thus there is a growing interest on the Turkish side to bring the issue of Kirkuk and the situation of Turkmens in the region to the U.S. public.



The Turkish outreach to US public opinion:

While Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül's visit to the United States continues, the Institute of Turkish Studies and the New York Turkmen Institute together organized a series of talks both in New York and Washington. Justice and Development Party (AKP) Balıkesir deputy Turhan Çömez and main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Tokat deputy Orhan Ziya Diren attended these seminars as guess speakers.

Cuthell expressed his appreciation for their visit. “I have to applaud both parliamentarians Çömez and Diren for their effort to bring this issue to the American public.”

Çömez, in a private interview with the Turkish Daily News, stated that the aim of their visit is to change U.S. public opinion about Kirkuk and Turkmens. “I believe that Turkey should verbalize her main concerns at civil society platforms,” he said. “In this respect we will attend several conferences at universities and meet representatives of some nongovernmental organizations. We will explain Turkey's stance and expectations about Iraq and Kirkuk.”

Analysts say that the seminars on Kirkuk held in major U.S. cities are a manifestation of a new diplomacy effort to put a face to Turkey's regional claims that she can not stand by idly and watch a referendum disfranchise the Turkmen population.



Gül's proactive policy is successful:

“One of the things I find rather heartening is that under this current administration the Turkish diplomacy has become very proactive,” Cuthell says. The foreign minister has been to the U.S. on numerous occasions in the last year. I think this is reflective of basically a new foreign ministry and much more activist one. I believe that there is much better job [being done]… one being communicating concerns”

He also states that many U.S. politicians, academics and businessmen started to see that there is a new relationship developing between Turkey and United States that is no longer a younger brother-older brother one. “We are moving into an era of bilateral equality.”

Time will show if the United States will ever accept bilateral equality with Turkey. In the meantime though, the analysts say that Washington has found the AKP a party it can work with and that there is still no alternative at this point in Turkish politics.

*ozmenek@hotmail.com

Iraq refers oil deals to Kurdish authorities angering Turkey

Obviously Kurdistan has been able to convince the central government to devolve some powers to the Kurdish zone or whatever one wants to call it. Turkey very much fears an independent Kurdistan because of the desires of its own Kurdish minority.


Iraq refers Oil deals to Kurds, Angers Turkey
Iraq's oil authority has referred Turkish companies' requests for renewal of their contracts for transportation of oil products to Iraq to Kurdish authorities, prompting an angry reaction from Turkey.

Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) has refused to renew the contracts of Turkish companies exporting oil products to Iraq and said in a letter to the companies that they should get in touch with authorities in northern provinces if they wanted to renew their agreements, Anatolia news agency said.
But SOMO's letter, signed by Director-General Fallah Al-Amri, drew ire in Ankara. State Minister Kürşat Tüzmen confirmed that some companies had received some "strange" letters saying that they should talk to authorities in the north, while others had been given the same instruction verbally. "SOMO's attitude is unacceptable," said Tüzmen to the Anatolia. "If someone is trying to test Turkey's patience, they will pay a heavy price for this."Turkey says Iraq's territorial integrity must be protected and denounces possible attempts by Iraqi Kurds to create an independent state in north of the country. Ankara also insists that oil and other riches of the country must be governed by Baghdad and the revenues must go to all Iraqis.
"Turkey recognizes an undivided Iraq with territorial integrity. Therefore, we talk to the central Iraqi government and SOMO on oil issues," Tüzmen said. "If some people try to impose certain things on Turkey, they will fail. Turkey never allows such a fait accompli." SOMO's oil move comes amid political tension between Turkey and Iraq over the status of the disputed city of Kirkuk. Ankara has been increasingly vocal over the past weeks in criticizing a planned referendum in 2007 on the fate of Kirkuk and demanding a postponement for the vote.
Turkish authorities say a large number of Kurds from different parts of Iraq have flocked to Kirkuk in recent years, in what they see as an effort to change the demographic composition of the city in their favor ahead of the referendum. Other residents of the city, Turkmen and Arab clans, also complain that Kurdish groups are trying to seize control of the city by sponsoring migration of Kurds.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has recently said Turkey would not allow a "fait accompli" on the fate of Kirkuk and hinted that a military option is also on the table. Kirkuk sits atop six percent of the world's known oil reserves and experts believe the city's control would bring significant leverage to Kurds in their attempts for independence. Iraqi government, in response, criticized Turkey for its interference in Iraqi affairs and said Turkish politicians were trying to stir tension in the north.
Turkey, in line with a past decree issued by the Prime Minister's office, speaks to only the Iraqi government and SOMO on issues related to export of oil production to Iraq.
Tüzmen said officials at the Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade have tried to contact SOMO to discuss the letters sent to the Turkish companies, but that there was no response from the Iraqi authorities. "SOMO officials do not answer phone calls" from the Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade, he said. Tüzmen sent a letter to Iraqi oil minister, criticizing SOMO's letter to Turkish companies and urging the Iraqi side to respect the principles previously agreed upon. "Unilateral decisions that do not respect these principles may negatively affect the ongoing trade of oil products between Turkey and Iraq," Tüzmen said in his letter.


29.01.2007

Today?s Zaman İstanbul