Storm Warnings : Turkey- Iraq - by René Wadlow
The Government of Turkey is under pressure from the military and part of the population to do something after a land mine exploded on Sunday 7 October some 25 kilometres inside Turkey from the Iraq border in south-eastern Sirnak Province. The mine killed 13 soldiers, and the Army is frustrated by the fact that PKK fighters can carry out attacks on Turkish soil and then cross the frontier into Iraqi Kurdistan. The Turkish Government is under pressure to please the Army after the Army accepted the election of former Foreign Minister Abdullal Gul as President. Some, especially in the military, felt that Gul’s Islamic convictions put the secular nature of the Turkish state in danger. There was even talk of a military coup to prevent Gul’s election. While these objections to Gul have calmed, the Turkish military can expect some favors in return for their moderation on the political front. Punitive raids into Iraq might be such a favor. The PKK is made up largely of youth, influenced by Marxism, independent of traditional Kurdish tribal leaders. It started a program of violence against the Turkish State and against Kurds who were considered allies of the Turkish government. The PKK is strong in the poor mountainous areas where the State authorities had difficulty to penetrate. The PKK has military bases in northern Iraq and training camps in Syria.
René Wadlow is the editor of the online journal of world politics www.transnational-perspectives.org and the Representative to the United Nations, Geneva, of the Association of World Citizens. Formerly, he was professor and Director of Research of the Graduate Institute of Development Studies, University of Geneva. To get a copy of the complete report write to him at: Wadlowz@aol.com
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