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KurdistanObserver.com
Turkey and Kurdistan: The Non-Invasion
June 6, 2007
Today, news outlets were abound with stories suggesting that the terrorist state
of Turkey had begun invading Southern Kurdistan. Rumor had it that the Turkish
military buildup in Turkish-occupied Northern Kurdistan along with the border of
Southern Kurdistan boiled over into a 50,000-troop invasion of Southern
Kurdistan--designed to eliminate the threat from the Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK) in Qandil Mountain, despite the fact that the Turks have been unable to
defeat the PKK in Northern Kurdistan. According to one story "this is only the
first wave of Turkish invaders, with more to come." From there, the AP and
Reuters went to their sources in Ankara, Hewler, and Baghdad, and ran with
pieces suggesting that the Turks were engaged in what one anonymous Turkish
official called "hot pursuit". All of a sudden, it looked like the sum of all
fears -- a full-fledged Turkish intervention in Southern Kurdistan.
However, it quickly turned out that this was not an invasion.
A White House official deferred comment to the
State Department, which began this morning to put out the line that there was no
indication of a cross-border invasion by the Turkish terrorists. A State
Department spokeswoman, Janelle Hironimus, explained to the reporters that the
department was unaware of "any Turkish incursion" into Southern Kurdistan
calling the story "false."
For the Kurds, that military build-up is "worrisome" but not anxiety-inducing,
according to Peter Galbraith, a former U.S. ambassador to Croatia and longtime
confidante of the Kurdistan political leadership.
That's not to say that the threat of a Turkish invasion is gone. While such a
move would represent an extreme step -- especially after Defense Secretary Bob
Gates pointedly warned the Turkish terrorists against "unilateral" moves into
Southern Kurdistan. The Turks' military buildup along the border of Northern and
Southern Kurdistan provides them with a none-too-subtle reminder to the Kurds of
their vast military capabilities. Little of enduring significance occurred along
the Kurdish border today, but as long as the Turks remain belligerent and racist
in their posture against the Kurds, the potential for conflict remains.
So what was the actual incident that sparked today's brief-but-intense
international controversy? According to Reuters, it was a statement by an
official from Southern Kurdistan! Apparently, Jabar Yawir, Deputy Minister for
Peshmerga Affairs in Kurdistan, said: "This afternoon 10 Turkish helicopters
landed in a village in Mazouri, which is ... 3 km (2 miles) inside the [Southern
Kurdistan] border. They landed with around 150 Turkish special forces. After two
hours they left and there were no confrontations with the PKK," he told Reuters.
He added that the village was in a PKK-controlled area. |
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