Iraqi Kurds reveal anti-PKK measure
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Ümit Enginsoy
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 11, 2009 00:00
WASHINGTON - Amid signs of a new dialogue between Turkey and the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq, an Iraqi Kurdish official says they formed a security belt around Qandil Mountain. Turkey cannot resolve the PKK problem through military methods alone, adds the official
The Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq has for the first time announced it has formed a security ring around an area used by the terrorist PKK organization, terrorists as a safe haven near the border with Turkey.
Turkey in the past accused Iraqi Kurds of helping the PKK but over the past several months Turkish officials confirmed some measures were being taken to restrict the terrorist group's activities in neighboring northern Iraq.
As a result Turkey and the Kurdish regional government are now holding talks, some of them high-level, to improve ties.
"To implement measures, we have created a security belt around the Qandil mountain," used by the PKK as a haven, Qubad Talabani, Washington representative of the Kurdish regional government, said Monday at a panel held by the think tank Carnegie Endowment.
"No weapons or ammunition are going into this area and we have prevented our airports from being used by the PKK," Talabani said. "We did what we can to reduce the impact of the PKK on Turkey."
This was the first time Iraqi Kurdish officials revealed detailed information about measures taken against the PKK.
’Political, economic methods also needed’
Talabani, son of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, one of the two top Kurdish leaders in the country, said the PKK was based in both Turkey and northern Iraq and was also navigating through the Iranian border.
This problem cannot be resolved by Turkey through only military methods and requires a wide range of means, including political and economic ones, he said.
On the ongoing dialogue with Turkey, Talabani said only a year ago more than 100,000 Turkish troops had been deployed near the border with northern Iraq and that "relations were in a dire situation."
"But now it is much better, we have a good dialogue. We hope this dialogue will continue," he said.
In recent months, senior Turkish and Iraqi Kurdish officials have been meeting in Baghdad, Arbil, the capital of the Iraqi Kurdish region, and Ankara. The PKK's presence in northern Iraq, from which it has been launching attacks against Turkey, was a major problem in Turkey's relations with the U.S. and the Iraqi Kurds. Some Turkish officials have qualified the PKK's presence in northern Iraq as the single major hurdle before developing ties between Ankara and Arbil, and dialogue was kicked off only after Iraqi Kurds began taking measures against the PKK last year.
The Turkish military has been using U.S. intelligence to carry out limited air operations against the PKK's positions inside Iraq since December 2007.
Turkey in the past accused Iraqi Kurds of helping the PKK but over the past several months Turkish officials confirmed some measures were being taken to restrict the terrorist group's activities in neighboring northern Iraq.
As a result Turkey and the Kurdish regional government are now holding talks, some of them high-level, to improve ties.
"To implement measures, we have created a security belt around the Qandil mountain," used by the PKK as a haven, Qubad Talabani, Washington representative of the Kurdish regional government, said Monday at a panel held by the think tank Carnegie Endowment.
"No weapons or ammunition are going into this area and we have prevented our airports from being used by the PKK," Talabani said. "We did what we can to reduce the impact of the PKK on Turkey."
This was the first time Iraqi Kurdish officials revealed detailed information about measures taken against the PKK.
’Political, economic methods also needed’
Talabani, son of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, one of the two top Kurdish leaders in the country, said the PKK was based in both Turkey and northern Iraq and was also navigating through the Iranian border.
This problem cannot be resolved by Turkey through only military methods and requires a wide range of means, including political and economic ones, he said.
On the ongoing dialogue with Turkey, Talabani said only a year ago more than 100,000 Turkish troops had been deployed near the border with northern Iraq and that "relations were in a dire situation."
"But now it is much better, we have a good dialogue. We hope this dialogue will continue," he said.
In recent months, senior Turkish and Iraqi Kurdish officials have been meeting in Baghdad, Arbil, the capital of the Iraqi Kurdish region, and Ankara. The PKK's presence in northern Iraq, from which it has been launching attacks against Turkey, was a major problem in Turkey's relations with the U.S. and the Iraqi Kurds. Some Turkish officials have qualified the PKK's presence in northern Iraq as the single major hurdle before developing ties between Ankara and Arbil, and dialogue was kicked off only after Iraqi Kurds began taking measures against the PKK last year.
The Turkish military has been using U.S. intelligence to carry out limited air operations against the PKK's positions inside Iraq since December 2007.