PKK Offer Turkey
Conditional Ceasefire
SULAIMANI, (Southern Kurdistan), Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) -Kurdish guerrillas offered
Ankara a ceasefire on Monday, on condition that the Turkish military abandons
plans for a incursion into Iraqi Kurdistan and ends attacks against the PKK
guerrillas.
"We are ready for a ceasefire if the Turkish army stops attacking our positions,
drops plans for an incursion and resort to peace," said a statement posted on a
website run by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
"We are calling for a peaceful solution and distancing ourselves from violence,"
said the statement.
"If Turkey stops attacking us, the battle will stop and we will start the peace
action. We are ready to start dialogue and we are ready to join the political
process if Turkey give us the chance," it said.
The declaration was preceded by Iraq President Jalal Talabani, himself a Kurd,
telling reporters a ceasefire offer would be forthcoming.
It came after Turkey confirmed eight soldiers were missing after weekend clashes
with the PKK near the Iraqi border killed at least 12 Turkish troops, ramping up
public pressure on the government to take action.
Amid rising tensions, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan assured an alarmed
international community that Ankara would exhaust diplomatic efforts before
resorting to military action.
"We will continue to exert these diplomatic and political efforts with good
intention to resolve this crisis caused by a terrorist organisation," Babacan
told reporters after talks in Kuwait.
"But in the end, if we don't reach a result, there are other means that we may
be forced to use."
Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said he was expecting Babacan in Baghdad for
crisis talks on Tuesday.
However, Babacan would not immediately confirm the visit.
"I have had an intention to visit Baghdad for some time. But I do not confirm at
the moment whether this visit will take place or when it will take place,"
Babacan said on his return from Kuwait.
The United States has urged Erdogan to hold off on military action, but the
prospect of Turkish soldiers being held captive is likely to turn up the heat on
the government.
Washington strongly opposes any unilateral Turkish military action, fearing it
would further destabilise the situation in Iraq.
"We want the Iraqi government to take swift action to stop the activity of the
PKK. We're communicating with the Turkish leadership, with the Kurdish
leadership and the Iraqi leadership," said Fratto.
He said the United States was prepared to share intelligence with the Turkish
government to fight ethnic Kurdish rebels, but that Washington did not want to
see "wider military action" on the border.
Iraqi ministers told a crisis session of parliament that the government refused
to send troops in hot pursuit of the rebels but vowed to cut supplies to the
PKK.
Defence Minister Abdel Qader al-Obeidi told lawmakers Iraq had "no intention" of
redeploying troops from elsewhere in the war-torn country for such a mission,
according to top government aide Sami al-Askari.
Obeidi appeared to put the onus on the US military to take action by saying that
security in Iraq was the responsibility of US-led forces who have been in the
country since the March 2003 invasion.
The PKK has given the names of all eight soldiers it claims to be holding.
