Ankara speaks of “limits being reached” by Kurds, but moves with caution
Ankara (AsiaNews) - “We can no longer stand by and watch, the limit has been reached”: this was Turkish Premier Erdogan’s reaction yesterday to the news of another 12 soldiers killed and sixteen civilians seriously wounded in a PKK attack on a marriage party near the border with Iraq. The response was immediate: Turkish artillery target rebel bases in the Northern Iraqi Mountains leaving at least 32 rebels dead, without inflicting civilians. Officially not one Turkish soldier crossed the border (despite the parliament’s go-ahead 4 days ago), no incursion into Iraqi territory was announced, but clashes along the border have been relentless since yesterday.
Despite public pressure for an “immediate war on terrorism” Turkey’s government and Military seem to moving with more caution than forecast. Yesterday an extraordinary meeting was called in Ankara to decide on a strategy and today meetings will continue between President of the Republic, Gul, and Foreign and Defence ministers as well as the leaders of all the main political parties to set out a common action. The hope is that the United States will not limit themselves to a “no” on a Turkish intervention in Iraq, but that they will join the fight against the PKK with their troops present in Iraq. The same is being asked of the Iraqi government and army, to put and end to the slaughter.
Throughout the night TV talk shows debate the pros and cons of a military intervention against Kurdish terrorism and along with the anger and frustration expressed there were also voices that are convinced that the solution to this problem which has been plaguing Turkey for decades does not lie in weapons, but in concrete political and diplomatic action. Thus political authorities are attempting to calm spirits by assuring that everything possible will be done to heal this immense National pain, but without being sidetracked by emotionalism or sentimentalism. This was reaffirmed yesterday by President Gul in his address to the nation: “Our pain is the pain of the entire nation and it is deep. We all agree that an end must be put to this suffering. But this is not an easy task because, as the whole world knows, we are not faced by a simple and open target that can be easily eliminated. This is why we must find an intelligent and well aimed solution. And everyone must be made aware of this”.
Thus everyone is waiting with bated breath: some mourning victims, others wondering who will be next, others yet hoping for peace and calm, in the certainty that the situation is worsening by the day. One thing however remains certain: open hatred of the Kurds, which unfortunately is consuming the entire nation and unstoppable. No one has asked what the Kurds want neither have the questioned the difference between the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party considered a terrorist organisation by both the united states and European union) and the Kurdish people who have lived on the barren mountains of the non existent Kurdistan ( a triangle bordering Iraq Iran and Turkey) for thousands of years and who have their own legal representation in Turkey’s parliament and who, a san ethnic minority have been seeking peaceful dialogue in the battle to have their identity and rights respected.
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