KurdistanObserver.com
Kurdistan President: Kurds Will Fight Turkish Raids
BBC- Oct 19, 2007
Barzani repeated calls for talks between Turkey and Iraq's Kurds
The president of the
Kurdistan Region in Iraqi Kurdistan has said his people will defend themselves
if Turkey attacks Kurdish rebels based in the region.
Massoud Barzani
rejected accusations that his government provided cover for Kurdish Workers
Party (PKK) fighters.
On Tuesday, the Turkish parliament authorised cross-border raids against the PPK
which it blames for attacks soldiers and civilians in Turkey.
Ankara has said that military action is not imminent.
"We frankly say to all parties: if they attack the region of Kurdistan under
whatever pretext, we will be completely ready to defend our democratic
experiment and the dignity of our people and the sanctity of our homeland," Mr
Barzani said.
He said Iraqi Kurds were not to blame for the actions of the PKK and reiterated
a call for Turkey to hold talks with the Kurdish authorities in the regional
capital, Irbil.
The government in Ankara has refused to talk directly to the Kurdish regional
authority in northern Iraq, insisting all its dealings must go through Baghdad.
Through Baghdad
BBC Baghdad correspondent Ian Pannell says that in reality any attempt to deal
with the PKK will ultimately have to go through the Kurdish Regional Government
rather than Baghdad, but that would be a step too far for Ankara.
PKK fighters have launched attacks on Turkish territory from Iraq
Any direct talks with the northern government would amount to a tacit acceptance
that the Kurds in Iraq have precisely the kind of autonomy that the PKK is
fighting for in Turkey, our correspondent says.
A Kurdish website has quoted the PKK as saying it will not leave the Iraqi
Kurdistan region and is prepared for a confrontation. The source cannot be
verified.
On Thursday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari called on Kurdish rebels to
leave the north of the country as soon as possible, to avoid the area being
targeted by the Turkish military.
Also on Thursday, thousands of Iraqi Kurds staged protests against Turkey's
threats of invasion in the cities of Arbil and Dohuk.
The United States called on Turkey "to refrain from actions inside Iraq that
could cause an international crisis".
