Yalcin Doğan:Mines exploding while money vanishes
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Kasım 30, 2005 12:11
"Get rid of this police station, this is Iraqi land."
The person giving this order is not an Iraqi. It is an American wearing the outfit of a Kurdish peshmerha fighter. And the place he is giving this order is on the border between Turkey and Iraq. However, this police station is not in fact on Iraqi land. It is on Turkish land. And on top of this, it is one of the few police stations working to prevent the flow of PKK from northern Iraq into Turkey.
What is the goal of the Americans here? Why are they traveling around in peshmerga outfits? And what is the power that is allowing the PKK to stay in the Kandil Mountains? Is there any connection between these things and the orders given to "get rid of the police station" on the Iraq-Turkey border?
Prior to the incidents in Semdinli which gained so much attention, there were a chain of interesting events in the Southeast. The question of "what happened there between 1999-2005 that we have returned to these days?" is being asked a lot now.
During 199-2005, the PKK divided into 3 parts. Osman Ocalan separated from the PKK. Another group, like Ocalan, separates, wanting to bring PKK action into politics. This becomes their basic goal. Murat Karayilan stays up in the mountain and moves to the head of this terror group.
Between 1999-2005 the government made many mistakes. It remained passive during this period of the PKK's breakup. This passivity and inactivity affected the people of the region, who started to proclaim their weariness in the face of terror activity. But, pushing 2005 to one side, mines in the region were exploding at the end of 2004 already. In the space of a few days, 17 soldiers and police were killed by PKK violence at one point at the end of that year. Despite this, the government is slow on the necessary response to all this.
Another factor that led the government astray was statements by certain regional leaders who promised the administration "I am close to the PKK." As though Turkey had a goverment willing to speak to the PKK, and these leaders were going to be the vehicle for communication!
These same people would then turn to the PKK and say "I have close ties with the government." Public servants assigned to the region were all saying the same thing: "let whatever happens happen, I will leave this region some day anyway."
Another factor is that none of the economic aid earmarked for the region ever made it to its intended goal. Roads, bridges, investments; these were all passed over, and the money instead was shared out among local powers.
The number one priority in the region today must be to bring about trust on the part of the regional people in Ankara and the Republic of Turkey. The trust must be refreshed.
What is the goal of the Americans here? Why are they traveling around in peshmerga outfits? And what is the power that is allowing the PKK to stay in the Kandil Mountains? Is there any connection between these things and the orders given to "get rid of the police station" on the Iraq-Turkey border?
Prior to the incidents in Semdinli which gained so much attention, there were a chain of interesting events in the Southeast. The question of "what happened there between 1999-2005 that we have returned to these days?" is being asked a lot now.
During 199-2005, the PKK divided into 3 parts. Osman Ocalan separated from the PKK. Another group, like Ocalan, separates, wanting to bring PKK action into politics. This becomes their basic goal. Murat Karayilan stays up in the mountain and moves to the head of this terror group.
Between 1999-2005 the government made many mistakes. It remained passive during this period of the PKK's breakup. This passivity and inactivity affected the people of the region, who started to proclaim their weariness in the face of terror activity. But, pushing 2005 to one side, mines in the region were exploding at the end of 2004 already. In the space of a few days, 17 soldiers and police were killed by PKK violence at one point at the end of that year. Despite this, the government is slow on the necessary response to all this.
Another factor that led the government astray was statements by certain regional leaders who promised the administration "I am close to the PKK." As though Turkey had a goverment willing to speak to the PKK, and these leaders were going to be the vehicle for communication!
These same people would then turn to the PKK and say "I have close ties with the government." Public servants assigned to the region were all saying the same thing: "let whatever happens happen, I will leave this region some day anyway."
Another factor is that none of the economic aid earmarked for the region ever made it to its intended goal. Roads, bridges, investments; these were all passed over, and the money instead was shared out among local powers.
The number one priority in the region today must be to bring about trust on the part of the regional people in Ankara and the Republic of Turkey. The trust must be refreshed.