Submit your comments on this article | |||
Europe | |||
Turks, PKK exchange threats | |||
2005-07-21 | |||
ANKARA - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Wednesday that Ankara is running out of patience with a safe haven that armed Turkish Kurd rebels enjoy in neighboring northern Iraq as the militants said they were ready to fight the Turkish army if it enters the region. âWe have a certain degree of tolerance for the moment, but we cannot continue like this much longer,â Erdogan told reporters accompanying him on a trip to Mongolia, the daily Hurriyet reported. âWe must put the PKK problem behind us,â he said, referring to the Kurdistan Workersâ Party, blacklisted as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union. The PKK responded with a threat to turn northern Iraq into a âquagmireâ for the army if it launches cross-border operations to clean up on guerrilla camps there. âWe are prepared for a possible attack. ... We will make it fail and turn (northern Iraq) into a quagmire for the forces that will carry it out,â a statement by the PKKâs military wing said.
The PKK statement was published on Wednesday on the Internet site of the Germany-based MHA news agency, which is close to the rebels and regularly publishes their statements. Erdogan argued that international law gives Turkey the right to make military incursions into northern Iraq in self-defense against the PKK if the Iraqi authorities fail to act. âTurkey can conduct such an operation in line with international rules,â the Milliyet newspaper quoted Erdogan as saying. âNo doubt, Turkey will do this after consulting the Iraqi authorities,â he said. âBut the time may come when it will do it without consulting. Why? Because this is an internationally recognized right.â Erdogan said he raised Turkeyâs concerns with both US President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari when he met them in June and May, respectively. He complained that Washington has failed to respond in kind to the support Ankara gave to US-led efforts against terrorism, particularly in Afghanistan, after the September 11 attacks, Milliyet reported.
On Tuesday, the Turkish armyâs number two, General Ilker Basbug, said Washington had ordered the arrest of senior PKK commanders in Iraq.
| |||
Posted by:Steve White |
#1 [obligatory comment that PKK is a terrorist organization that must be dealt with for the good of human kind] too bad, yippy doggy boy. Had your chance - you blew it, like everything else you are responsible for. Go whine with the French, cause we are still cheesed. |
Posted by: 2b 2005-07-21 04:29 |