Tuesday, March 20, 2007
As PKK threaten attacks, Turkish army goes on alert
Security, Turkey, Kurdistan
(Washington Times) Turkey has put its army on alert to stave off any attacks by Kurdish rebels during a spring festival beset by unprecedented political problems this week. The crisis includes a widening rift between the military commanders and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, warnings of more attacks by Kurdish extremists and a rising nationalist fervor that is worrying Turkey's European partners.
Complicating the task of the Erdogan government is the possibility of strained relations with the United States over the prospect of a separate Kurdish state in northern Iraq and the threat that the U.S. Congress might brand the World War I killings of Armenians by Turkey's Ottoman rulers as genocide. Turkish press reports have said the volume of problems is unprecedented in Turkey's modern history.
Military leaders have warned that regardless of Turkey's application for membership in the European Union, the army will remain the ultimate guardian of the republic. At the same time, Gen. Ilker Basbug, the commander of land forces, reaffirmed Turkey's right to send its troops to Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish rebels waging a 32-year war for independence. Against such a background, most of Turkey's 10 million Kurds prepared to celebrate Norooz, a spring festival that is also observed in Iran and Afghanistan.
The guerrilla Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the main fighting force of the Kurdish opposition, has threatened terrorist attacks over the holiday, particularly against the country's thriving tourist resorts. A number of Kurdish politicians, including members of the legally recognized Democratic Society Party, have been rounded up for interrogation. In the predominantly Kurdish area of Diyarbakir in southwestern Turkey, the authorities refused to grant permission for festivals.
Complicating the task of the Erdogan government is the possibility of strained relations with the United States over the prospect of a separate Kurdish state in northern Iraq and the threat that the U.S. Congress might brand the World War I killings of Armenians by Turkey's Ottoman rulers as genocide. Turkish press reports have said the volume of problems is unprecedented in Turkey's modern history.
Military leaders have warned that regardless of Turkey's application for membership in the European Union, the army will remain the ultimate guardian of the republic. At the same time, Gen. Ilker Basbug, the commander of land forces, reaffirmed Turkey's right to send its troops to Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish rebels waging a 32-year war for independence. Against such a background, most of Turkey's 10 million Kurds prepared to celebrate Norooz, a spring festival that is also observed in Iran and Afghanistan.
The guerrilla Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the main fighting force of the Kurdish opposition, has threatened terrorist attacks over the holiday, particularly against the country's thriving tourist resorts. A number of Kurdish politicians, including members of the legally recognized Democratic Society Party, have been rounded up for interrogation. In the predominantly Kurdish area of Diyarbakir in southwestern Turkey, the authorities refused to grant permission for festivals.
Labels: Erdogan, Gen. Ilker Basbug, Kurdistan, Norooz, PKK, Turkey
