A quiet area of Iraq could heat up,
forcing Americans to send in more troops
OTTAWA - It was the one area of Iraq
relatively free from sectarian violence
and terrorist bombings. It was also the
only region fervently pro-American.
But all that could change following the
bombing of villages in northern Iraq's
Kurdistan province by Turkish fighter
planes, resulting in close to 2,000
fleeing after homes were destroyed in
villages and unconfirmed numbers of
Kurds killed.
According to Turkish officials, the
bombings of recent days, along with
hot-pursuit incursions by Turkish
troops, targeted sanctuaries of the
leftist Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK,
and benefited from American intelligence
information pinpointing PKK command and
control facilities in northern Iraq.
Turkish officials originally said the
air attacks had the prior approval of
the Bush administration, permitting
Turkish planes to fly within U.S.
controlled airspace. However, American
spokespersons denied specifically
approving the bombings, though later
acknowledging Washington had prior
knowledge of the attacks.
Notwithstanding U.S. attempts to
initially deny approving the bombings,
the fact they admitted prior awareness
of Turkey's intentions and provided
critically important intelligence
identifying PKK operational sites,
Washington has chosen to run the risk of
alienating the one group in Iraq, the
Kurds, who've steadfastly supported the
American invasion and occupation of
Iraq.
The Kurd's goodwill has permitted the
U.S. to concentrate its military forces
in central Iraq where most of the
sectarian violence carried out by
extremists and al-Qaida forces occurs.
The co-operation of Kurdish leaders
in buttressing the current
Shiite-dominated coalition in Baghdad
has been instrumental in keeping the lid
on further violence amongst Iraq's
factions. The president of Iraq, Jalal
Talabani, is himself a Kurd and has been
a voice of moderation in Iraq's shaky
democracy.
The bombings however, clearly could
change the equation in Iraq's Kurdistan
region. Whatever Iraq's Kurds may think
about the Turkish Kurds of the PKK using
their territory for attacks into
south-eastern Turkey, their goodwill
could be severely tested over the
Americans' accepting Turkish military
attacks against their territory.
Not surprisingly, the president of
the Kurdistan government, Massoud
Barzani, refused to meet U.S. Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice during her
Dec. 18 visit to Baghdad. The Kurdistan
prime minister, Nechirvan Barzani, said
it was "... unacceptable that the United
States, in charge of monitoring our
airspace, authorized Turkey to bomb our
villages."
President Talabani denounced the
attacks as a "crime" against Iraqi
Kurds.
Following a third Turkish air-strike
Massoud Barzani demanded Ankara halt its
attacks. He said he "vehemently
condemned" the bombings which were
killing innocent people.
For his part, U.S. President George
W. Bush, in a telephone conversation
with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, reportedly reiterated his
backing for the operations against the
PKK, a position likely to further
infuriate Kurds.
While the long-term fallout from the
bombings is unpredictable, they draw
attention to the issue of Turkey's
policies and attitudes towards its large
Kurdish minority, approximately 20
million of Turkey's 75 million
population.
Until recent years, Turkish
governments wouldn't even acknowledge
Kurds existed, euphemistically calling
them "mountain Turks."
The Kurdish language was forbidden in
schools or broadcast on the radio or
television. A famous anthropologist was
imprisoned for using the term "Kurd" in
an academic paper.
Newspapers and magazines considered
to be promoting Kurdish themes were
regularly banned, as were political
parties thought to be pro-Kurdish.
Denying Turkish Kurds their own
identity ultimately led to the founding
of the PKK, which launched an insurgency
in 1984, resulting in close to 35,000
killed and widespread devastation in the
Kurdish region.
This suppression of anything Kurdish
only began to change in the 1990's
because of Turkey's application to join
the European Union.
Notwithstanding Erdogan's seemingly
more moderate policies towards Kurdish
issues -- which some consider mere
window dressing for the EU's benefit --
recent attacks within Turkey by the PKK,
resulting in numerous casualties amongst
Turkish troops, aroused the Turkish
population.
Many demanded Turkey invade PKK
sanctuaries in northern Iraq, an action
Turkey's chief of staff had already
called for.
The recent military operations by
Turkey presumably are at least partially
intended to appease the Turkish public,
especially since a large-scale ground
invasion during winter conditions
becomes increasingly difficult.
However, if the Turkish authorities
want a long-term solution to Kurdish
discontent it will require concrete
steps to respect the right of Kurds to
their own cultural traditions and
identity and initiatives to greatly
improve the overall socio-economic
situation in predominantly Kurdish
provinces.
This can only be accomplished by a
dialogue of goodwill and mutual respect
which includes the reconciliation of
Kurdish militants, not by military arms.
Harry Sterling, a former diplomat, is
a commentator. He served in Turkey.
