TURKEY:The main Kurdish rebel group, the PKK, tried to deflect a Turkish attack on its bases in northern Iraq by claiming yesterday it was redeploying into Turkey. Such a redeployment would remove the main reason for the Turkish government to mount a cross-border attack into Iraqi Kurdistan; but Ankara is likely to treat the statement with scepticism.
The US was yesterday trying to persuade Turkey against military action that could destabilise one of the few relatively peaceful regions in Iraq. But the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, kept up the rhetoric, claiming Turkey was ready to pay any price for a military incursion, including jeopardising US relations.
The Turkish parliament is set to vote next week on an attack. The government and military want to move against PKK bases because of the rising death toll from attacks. The PKK, classed as a terrorist group by the US and EU, is fighting for autonomy for Turkey's Kurds. Reflecting the deterioration in US-Turkish relations this week, Mr Erdogan said Turkey did not need Washington's permission to attack PKK bases. "Did they [ the US] seek permission from anyone when they came from a distance of 10,000 kilometres and hit Iraq?" he said.
"We are making necessary preparations to be ready in case we decide on a cross-border operation, since we don't have patience to lose more time."
The PKK statement taunted the Turkish government by insisting it would still attack government targets, including politicians. But it portrayed its offensive as Turkish- rather than Iraqi-based: "The source of this war is in north Kurdistan [ eastern Turkey]. . . the guerrillas are not moving to the south [ northern Iraq]; they are moving to. . . places in the north."
US-Turkish relations have been strained by a congressional resolution this week portraying the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks between 1915 and 1917 as genocide. -