IRAQ-TURKEY-KURDISTAN

Guardian: 'Turks must swallow a bitter pill'

Ankara presses US to remove Kurds from oil-rich Kirkuk

Saturday April 12, 2003
The Guardian

KurdishMedia.com Editorial, April 10
"The US secretary of state, Colin Powell, said he had reached an accord with Turkey to have Kurdish forces pull back from Kirkuk, the oil-rich city in northern Iraq. It appears that Kurds were only wanted for the 'dirty job'. After Kurds liberated Kirkuk, then their services are not required. The question for the US is this: why should Turkey, the one country that refused to help the US in the war against Iraq, have any say in the future of Iraq?

"This is the first reward that Kurds get for sacrificing their lives in the liberation of Iraq. Perhaps the US and Britain have more surprises for Kurds. By retreating from Kirkuk, Kurds will lose more than the most important city of Kurdistan; they lose their national pride and dignity."


Kamal Mirawdeli Kurdistan Observer, April 11
"Whatever happens, however [many] sacrifices we make for keeping Kirkuk, it is worth it. Thousands of Kurds in exile are prepared to go back to live or die in Kirkuk. The Kurdish people everywhere will oppose [Kurdish leaders] and dishonour them if they surrender to a simple threat by Turkish fascists.

"Stay in Kirkuk. Occupy and fortify all strategic positions. Ask tens of thousands of Kurds to join Kurdish people in Kirkuk. I sincerely hope and appeal to Kurdish leaders not to surrender to the Turkish threat and sell their dignity, honour and all their past history and struggle. This is the most defining moment in our history."


Taha Akyol Milliyet, Turkey, April 11
"Of course the US will give something in return to the Kurds, because they fought against President Saddam, but they will not be given Kirkuk or the oil. For Kirkuk to change hands would turn the region to hell. What will those who rejected the second motion [to allow US troops to be stationed in Turkey] be thinking now? If they had accepted the request, the US would not have been dependent on the [Kurdish] peshmergas, and Turkish and American soldiers would have entered northern Iraq together, preventing any ethnic chaos."


Mehmet Ali Birand Posta, Turkey, April 11
"Everything at this stage is in the hands of the Americans. If Washington gives the green light, then the Kurds can take Kirkuk and do as they please. Any Turkish soldiers entering northern Iraq would come face to face with the US army. Trying to remove the Kurds from Kirkuk would probably mean clashing with the US, and put [Turkey] at great risk.

"But if Washington wants to maintain its long-term relations with Turkey it must exercise maximum caution to Ankara's sensitivities. Generally speaking, winning a military victory is easy. More difficult is dressing the wounds, winning the hearts and establishing a new order that is acceptable to everybody. That is the biggest task the coalition countries face."


Tehran Times Editorial, April 10
"[Kurds and Shia Muslims] still remember the failed Shia and Kurdish uprising of 1991. The US had initially expressed support for the uprising, but then US troops inexplicably stood by and watched as Iraqi forces loyal to President Saddam killed approximately 250,000 Shia and 250,000 Kurds.

"Naturally, the Iraqi Kurds and Shia still bear a grudge against the US over the betrayal and are suspicious of US intentions in Iraq. This is one reason why US officials do not want to see a coalition of legitimate Iraqi opposition groups take control of Iraq. It seems that the US is still opposed to the will of the Iraqi people and the establishment of real democracy in Iraq."


Stavros Lygeros Kathimerini, Greece, April 11
"Nothing is settled, but the most likely scenario is that the Kurds will benefit, their quasi-state in northern Iraq made stronger and larger. The Americans will support them because they realise that the Kurds see them as liberators. Kurdistan will not only be a more friendly environment but a lever for exerting pressure on surrounding countries. Washington is trying to reassure the Turkish leadership. But everything points to the fact that the Turks will have to swallow a bitter pill. The only other option is outright recklessness."


Wall Street Journal Editorial, April 11
"One has to wonder about the wisdom in giving the green light to the Turkish military. It's not hard to imagine how a single incident involving a Turkish soldier and a Kurdish fighter could explode. Had Turkey allowed 60,000 US soldiers to be based in south-eastern Turkey for a move into northern Iraq those troops would now be keeping order in the region and Turkey would have a lot less to complain about."


Times Editorial, April 11
"Sensitive, but firm, policing by coalition troops will be needed. Turks and Kurds alike must find the resolve to keep the promises of restraint they made on the eve of war, and not to jeopardise the complex endgame now playing out. There is no plan for a new Kurdistan, and there must be no war within a war in northern Iraq. Wise words came [on Thursday] from the US president, when he pledged that 'the goals of our coalition are clear and limited' - an intention that should steady the nerves of Turks and Kurds alike."