Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro
de la Prensa-Basm Özeti
it would stop fighting Ankara and retreat from Turkey to seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict. But the powerful
Turkish military has played down the peace bid as a "ploy" urging the rebels to either surrender or face the army.
Turkish troops had frequently carried out operations against the PKK in northern Iraq, an area outside Baghdad's
control since the 1991 Gulf War which Ankara says the PKK uses as a jumping board for attacks on Turkey. The KDP,
led by Massoud Barzani, controls the strip of land near the Turkish border and often helps Turkey in its cross-border
operations.
Ecevit did not say how many Turkish soldiers were taking part in the incursion, but Turkish press reports said that
some 10,000 troops have penetrated deep into the mountains of northern Iraq. The clashes in northern Iraq were evidence
that the "terrorist PKK was still in existence," Ecevit said.
"The terrorists are armed and are just beyond our border. In other words, they are lying in ambush," he added.
Turkey's incursions have attracted storms of criticism from Baghdad, which accuses Ankara of violating its territorial
integrity.
(Voice of America)
January 8, 2001
Talabani in Ankara
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INTRO: The leader of one of the main Kurdish factions in northern Iraq is due to arrive (late on Monday) Ankara for
consultations with Turkish officials. The Kurdish leader's visit comes amid reports of a Turkish troop build-up in
Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq. Arnberin Zaman has more from the Turkish capital.
TEXT: Jalal Talabani is the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, or P-U-K, a Kurdish faction that is beginning
to win the the support of Ankara. Turkish offici~ say Mr. Talabani will meet with Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, as
well as with other senior Turkish officials. The officials declined to offer any details about the substance of the proposed
talks. The announcement of Mr. Talabani's visit follows reports that at least 500 Turkish troops have pushed
160 kilometers inside northern Iraq, into areas under P-U-K control. The Turkish forces are widely expected to launch
a joint offensive with Mr. Talabani's forces against rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party - the P-K-K - who are
entrenched in a 40 kilometer strip of territory along the Iran-Iraq border.
Until recently, P-K-K forces had been using bases in northern Iraq to launch strikes against Turkey in an effort to gain
autonomy and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey. But the P-K-K rebels abandoned their fight in 1999, following the
capture by Turkish forces of their leader, Abdullah Ocalan. P-K-K forces are now trying to carve out territory for
themselves in northern Iraq.
According to Iraqi-Kurdish officials, P-K-K rebels have occupied at least 45 villages in areas previously under the
control of Mr. Talabani's forces.
According to Turkish media reports, Turkish troops made their move into northern Iraq following pleas for assistance
from Mr Talabani.
Northern Iraq has remained under the control of the P-U-K and a rival Iraqi-Kurdish faction, the Kurdistan
Democratic Party, or K-D-P, since the end of the Persian Gulf War in 1991. That is when the United States and Britain
declared a no-fly zone over the Kurdish enclave to protect some three million Iraqi-Kurds from possible attack by the
government of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Turkey has long been concerned that the loss of Baghdad's influence over its Kurdish provinces could result in the
emergence of an independent Kurdish state on its borders. Iraqi-Kurdish officials confirmed Monday that Turkey has
been stepping up pressure in recent months on the P-U-K and the K-D-P to sign a peace agreement with the central
government in Baghdad. The officials add that Turkey has also asked the K-D-P leader, Massoud Barzani, to come to
Ankara to hold three-way talks with Mr. Talabani and Turkish officials.
It remains unclear whether Mr Barzani will respond positively
to the Turkish invitation.
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