Military In Charge of Foreign Policy of the
Terrorist State of Turkey
Turkey's Military , govt
clash over Iraq, Kurds
Sat Feb 17, 2007
By Gareth Jones
ANKARA (Reuters) - The chief of Turkey's
powerful military General Staff accused Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq of
actively backing Turkish Kurd rebels there and said Ankara must take action, a
state news agency said on Saturday.
But, in a sign of growing tensions between
Turkey's army and government over how to combat the guerrillas, Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul said soldiers should remain focused on their duties and let the
politicians deal with political issues.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said earlier this
week Ankara wanted to build ties with the government of the autonomous Kurdish
region in northern Iraq, a move opposed by the army.
"At this moment, two groups are supporting the
PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) in northern Iraq," the state Anatolian news agency
quoted General Yasar Buyukanit, chief of the General Staff, as saying after
talks with U.S. officials in Washington.
Buyukanit was referring to the Iraq's main
Kurdish parties.
"The Iraqi side of our shared border is
completely unguarded. Iraq has conceded the whole border area to the PKK. Many
armed terrorists are on the Iraqi side of the border," Buyukanit was quoted as
saying.
Turkey has long urged U.S. and Iraqi government
forces to crack down on PKK rebels hiding in northern Iraq. Buyukanit put the
total number of rebels in Iraq at present at 3,500.
Washington, which like Ankara views the PKK as
terrorists, says it wants to help Turkey, a NATO ally, but its forces are too
tied up tackling the insurgency in other parts of Iraq.
HINTS
Buyukanit hinted that Turkey might be forced to
take unilateral military action against the PKK in Iraq. Turkey has often issued
such warnings, though analysts say a full-scale invasion would be fraught with
dangers and is highly unlikely.
"Turkey has an obligation to take measures," he
was quoted saying, without specifying what measures these might be.
Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of more
than 30,000 people since the group launched its armed struggle for an
independent Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984.
Ankara fears the Iraqi Kurds plan to set up
their own state in northern Iraq which will in turn embolden the PKK and its
supporters inside Turkey.
Taking a swipe at Erdogan over his recent
comments on talking with the Iraqi Kurds, Buyukanit said he would not sit down
with those who provide support to the PKK.
Speaking in Ankara on Saturday, Gul said the
government had a duty to speak to all groups in northern Iraq to help ensure
they made the right decisions.
"Soldiers speak with weapons ... but in order
not to come to that point politicians and diplomats must do their work too. It
would be a big mistake to turn this issue into a polemic," Gul said before
leaving for Saudi Arabia to discuss regional issues.
Turkey's generals, who see themselves as
ultimate guardians of the country's secular political order, distrust Erdogan's
ruling AK Party because of its Islamist roots.
They are worried that Erdogan may run for
president in an election due in May and start to undermine Turkey's strict
division of state and religion.
