IPS:IRAQ: PKK and Iraqi Kurds seek

[PeaceNet Middle East Team]

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: IPS:IRAQ: PKK and Iraqi Kurds seek

/* Written 12:17 am  Nov  5, 1992 by newsdesk at igc.apc.org in igc:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "IRAQ: PKK and Iraqi Kurds seek peac" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: IRAQ: PKK and Iraqi Kurds seek peace accord, but Turkey fights on


istanbul, nov 2 (ips/nadire mater) -- driven away from their bases
in northern iraq by a combined offensive, the turkish guerrilla
pkk kurds say they are willing to accept a peace accord, but the
turkish government seems determined to flush them completely out
of the region.

three weeks of fighting against the iraqi kurdish peshmergas and
the turkish army, is reported to have taken a heavy toll on the
beleaguered kurdistan workers party (pkk) which on sunday agreed
that it would sign a peace pact with the iraqi kurds.

''the negotiations are not concluded yet. however the agreement
will be signed in a few days. this is not a surrender by any
means. we will not leave our arms. we will retreat further south
and stay in iraq,'' a spokesperson close to the pkk leadership
told ips in a telephone interview from germany monday.

but the turkish army, which has been working in tandem with the
peshmergas to force the pkk to leave bases in the disputed
northern iraq territory, says that such an agreement would not
alter its own crackdown.

''this so-called agreement between the pkk and the peshmergas
cannot have any affect on our operations in iraq. we will stay
there until the marsh is totally dried. our operation is not
based on the combat between the pkk and the peshmerga forces,''
said general dogan gures, turkish chief of staff on sunday.

the iraqi peshmergas and turkish army launched their united
attack on oct 16 -- 12 days after the peshmergas had declared a
kurdish state in the northern iraqi region of kurdistan.

in making that oct 4 declaration, the political administrators of
the iraqi kurds warned the pkk forces to either put down their
weapons or leave the region.

the pkk guerrillas are themselves seeking an independent kurdish
state for the estimated 800,000 kurds in turkey. but the turkish
government refuses to recognise the minority kurds.

the 10,000 strong pkk had previously been dominant in the south-
eastern turkish regions, but government forces clamped down on its
operations there, forcing the turkish based pkk guerrillas across
the border where they joined arms with their brethren.

but from the start, the pkk and the iraqi kurds were at odds with
the militant pkk attempting to assert its authority by imposing an
across the border trade embargo which damaged the already weak
iraqi kurdish economy.(more/ips)

iraq: pkk and iraqi kurds seek peace accord, but turkey fights on(2-e)

iraq: pkk (2)

previously, the pkk had been based in the syrian-controlled bekaa
valley, but was forced out of that region by the syrian government
seeking to better relations with turkey. now the turkish
government is determined not to let the guerrillas cement bases in
iraq.

the pkk has already been forced to leave its bases in haftanin
and shive and the turkish security forces are predicting the
capture of another major camp near the turkish border -- haqurq.
the turkish army is also claiming that it has killed more than
2,000 pkk guerrillas, while losing less than a 100 of its own men.

but with a ceasefire agreement in sight, the iraqi kurds are
asking the turkish army to withdraw.

''the continuing flow of hundreds of turkish troops in northern
iraq is not against the pkk which is already shattered but against
us,'' charged hoshyar zhebari, spokesperson of the kurdistan
democratic party -- one of the two major political parties in
kurdistan. ''the turks are trying to establish a permanent
existence in iraq.''

jalal talabani, the leader of the patriotic union of kurdistan,
the other major iraqi kurd political force, also charged that
turkey is now ''violating the territorial integrity of iraq''.

abdullah ocalan, the pkk leader, has also been quoted in the
press as seeking an end to the fighting and has called for a
''political solution'' with turkey.

''we would welcome any offer for an agreement with turkey even if
it would come through a junior officer. we are ready to stop the
armed fight. however, the 'hawks' within the turkish
administration do not want peace, they want our heads only,''
ocalan has been quoted as saying.

but turkish prime minister suleyman demirel maintains that the
mission is not over. he said he is still ''uncertain'' about the
pkk ''surrender''. ''we will proceed as far as necessary,''
insists demirel.

he adds: ''the political vacuum in northern iraq is intolerable
and we will not allow this area to be  exploited by the pkk.''

but yavuz sabuncu, associate professor of the international
relations department of the faculty of political sciences at the
ankara university, warns that turkey could run afoul of the west
if it continues its assault into iraq territory.

''the current silence of the west might be related with the
obvious consent previously given by the iraqi kurds. however if
the turkish army remains in the region for more than a few months,
the west may turn against turkey, warned sabuncu.
(end/ips/rp/nm/cpg/92)