Turkey's Tourist Bombs

[Delal]

Regardless on what you view on the PKK is, or regardless of whether or not you believe that this was in fact done by the PKK or some other organization... this is not good news for the Kurds within the borders of Turkey or of southern Kurdistan.

U.S. 'wants Kurdish rebels seized'

(CNN) -- A Turkish military official says the United States has ordered the arrest of Kurdish rebel leaders in Iraq, a Turkish news agency reported.

Turkey has long urged Iraq and the U.S. to take firm action to stop Turkish Kurdish guerrillas based in Iraq from crossing into the country.

Deputy Chief of Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug was quoted by the news agency Anatolia Tuesday as saying the U.S. gave direct orders that leaders of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) be arrested in northern Iraq.

Basburg was speaking after a Kurdish militant group linked to the PKK was reported to have claimed responsibility for a bomb attack Saturday in the town of Kusadasi that killed five people, but this could not be confirmed.

"There are a lot of things that can be done against a terrorist organization. Capture the leadership. They (U.S.) have a serious intention about this issue, more than that, they are determined," private CNN-Turk television quoted Basbug as saying.

"They've given direct orders to capture the leadership."

A Turkish Foreign Ministry official confirmed that the Foreign Ministry spokesman, Namik Tan, told reporters at a news conference Tuesday that Turkey reserved the right to launch its own offensive in Iraq if the government believes it must.

"Turkey will of course take necessary measures when it deems it is necessary," the official quoted Tan as saying. "The opposite is unthinkable."

Turkey's Foreign Ministry said Ankara had given the U.S. a list of suspected PKK rebel leaders in northern Iraq to a U.S. diplomat in January.

Ankara says the rebels have launched several attacks in southeastern Turkey since the end of a five-year-old cease-fire between the group and Turkey last June, and has complained that the U.S. is not doing enough to help stop those attacks.

A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Ankara said he could not comment on military matters and referred all questions to the U.S. military in Washington or in Iraq.

The PKK is considered a terrorist group by Turkey and the United States.

CNN Correspondent Alphonso Van Marsh in Cairo contributed to this report.

Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.



Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/07/ ... index.html

[dyaoko]

PKK condemend Turkey's Tourist Bomb

NORTH KURDISTAN (in Turkey), The Kurdish People's Defence Forces (HPG) issued a statement yesterday denying claims made by the Turkish state and media that their forces have ties to the militant organisation TAK (Kurdistan's Freedom Falcons).The HPG stated that they have since the ending of the unilateral cease-fire in June 1, 2004, never targeted civilians and acted by the principles of a legitimate self-defence and within the frames of international laws
....
http://northerniraq.info/news/index.php ... =1#more615

[Delal]

I saw that as well from yesterday's news, this came out this morning....I think that it is a very bad sign that the US feels it needs to get involved, because in the name of eradicating terrorism they and the international community are going to turn their gaze away from the actions against Kurds by Turkey (even more than before).

[dyaoko]

I belive the news that say US ordered capturing PKK leaders....is a Response to Turkish Anger toward USA in their newspaper...

like this one http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/arti ... wsid=18500
that attacked to USA for not doing anything to pkk.

Osman ochalan , the brother of ochalan told Peyamner that he belives america just wants friendship with kurds and never will capture kurdish leaders....

[dyaoko]

the international community are going to turn their gaze away from the actions against Kurds by Turkey (even more than before).

that makes the duty of KBU even harder...we have to tell the world the Truth about Turkey...we must have plans to publish turth about Turkey...i belive if the world knows what the Turkey has done / is doing to the kurds,,,they would be on our side.

[Piling]

It is a good opportunity for Turkey to enter in Iraqi Kurdistan, but Turkish militaries are not so stupid... they KNOW that they could not trap all the PKK in Qandil moutains... The real aim could be to intervene in Iraqi Kurds' policy, especially Kirkukis...

So I strongly believe that the only one possible answer from Kurds in Iraq, is, like in 2002-2003 : None a Turkish soldier will enter in Kurdistan without fight. Moreover, US supports not very enthusiastically an intervention in "Northern Iraq". Not sure that they allow that a second front would be open, when they try hopelessly to stabilize and pacify the rest of the country.