Turkish Military Operation In Kurdistan Imminent
Trend News Agency
Oct 17, 2007
Turkey is certain to launch a military campaign in northern Iraq to repel
frequent attacks of Kurdish separatists, Russian experts said on Tuesday.
The Turkish government asked parliament on Monday to authorize military
operations against the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has
stepped up attacks on Turkey from the Iraq. Lawmakers plan to debate the issue
on Wednesday.
"An operation to prevent further incursions of Kurdish militants will certainly
be conducted," said Yevgeny Satanovsky, the head of the Middle East Institute, a
Moscow-based political think tank.
Turkey has been amassing troops near Iraq, and shelling suspected rebel
positions along the border. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on
television earlier that the proposed operation would aim to clear the region of
PKK fighters, who currently number about 3,500.
Satanovsky said Ankara's incursion would be a large-scale military operation,
involving artillery, armor and aircraft.
"We have yet to see how long this operation will take, but it is clear that it
will be a large-scale undertaking resulting in serious destruction on the
territory of Kurdistan," the expert said.
He said the possibility of an attack on Kurdistan is very high, because it would
directly influence the political future of Turkey.
The Turkish military has been insisting on a decisive strike against the
separatists, against urgings from Washington. The president, parliament, and the
ruling party are under pressure to back the military.
"If in situation when Turkey is threatened [by separatists], the government does
not support the army, the army will choose another government," Satanovsky said,
referring to a possibility of a military coup in the country.
Leonid Ivashov, president of the Academy of Geopolitical Sciences in Moscow,
also stressed the possibility of a Turkish attack against Kurdistan and said
that a military conflict in northern Iraq would create a new "hot spot" of
instability near the Russian borders.
"What would Russia get [in the case of a military operation in Kurdistan]?" the
expert said. "We would get a whole sphere of instability, risks and challenges
that would be very hard to deal with."
Russian lawmakers passed an appeal to the Turkish government on Tuesday, calling
on it to show "wisdom and restraint," and warning about possible negative
consequences of a cross-border military campaign.
The State Duma, the lower house of parliament, said an incursion into northern
Iraq would further destabilize the war-torn region, and added that terrorist
threats should be tackled by the U.S.-led anti-terrorism coalition in the Middle
East nation.
Meanwhile, Turkey's prime minister said on Tuesday he hoped an imminent
cross-border military operation against Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq
would not be necessary.
The premier said earlier the government wanted parliamentary approval for the
operation to remain in force for a year, so that the army could "tackle problems
as they arise." ( RIA Novosti )
