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Turkish military in step with
US
By Nadire Mater
ISTANBUL -
Turkey's chief of military staff General Hilmi Ozkok has
spoken of the "inevitability" of Turkish military
involvement in a war on Iraq, despite parliament not
sanctioning US forces a foothold on Turkish soil.
"Unfortunately, we are left to choose between
worse and worst, not between good and bad," Ozkok said
"If we would remain completely uninvolved in the war we
will be faced with the same losses should we have been
involved," he said in a public statement. "But we would
remain without any say in the post-war situation or in
any compensation for our losses from the war."
Heavy US military mobilization was reported
following his remarks in the southern Mediterranean
ports of Iskenderun and Mersin and in Silopi and Mardin
towns close to the Iraqi border. US military convoys are
reported to have resumed transportation of personnel,
vehicles and supplies after a week's break.
The
military moves, that run opposite to the verdict of
parliament, point to plans for a second resolution in
the Turkish parliament soon, says Yavuz Onen from the
Human Rights Foundation. "In legal terms, Turkey is
under US occupation because the US military presence is
devoid of any framework under Turkish law," Onen told
IPS. "Notwithstanding the parliament decision, US troops
have rented land in southeast Mardin for a year. The
government will have to move another resolution to bring
the de facto situation into a legal framework."
Turkey's power behind the throne, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, was elected to parliament on Sunday, leaving
the road clear for him to become prime minister and
allow a possible second vote to let US troops into the
country.
Erdogan, chairman of the governing
Justice and Development party, won a seat in the eastern
province of Siirt, 60 miles from Turkey's border with
Iraq, with about 85 percent of the votes. Erdogan was
barred from standing for parliament in the election that
his party won in November because of a previous
conviction for inciting religious hatred. But once his
party took power in parliament, with almost two-thirds
of the seats, it changed the constitution, enabling him
to stand.
While Erdogan has left his options
open he has expressed a desire for a second UN
resolution prior to any troop deployment. And it is
thought that a reshuffle and a vote of confidence in the
new government may come first.
Also of priority
is review of a resolution that was also blocked in
parliament at the same time that the vote on US troops
was taken: Turkish troops have not yet been given
parliamentary sanction to operate outside of their
borders, as it is expected that they will want to do in
northern Iraq once war begins.
At the heart of
the Turkish military moves are questions over the Kurd
minority divided between southern Turkey and northern
Iraq. Kurds in Iraq have been protesting against Turkish
military intervention following a US attack on Iraq. The
Turkish military is warning already of retaliation.
Fifteen years of internal conflict with Kurdish
guerrillas has left the Turkish government wary about
the emergence of any Kurdish state. Turkey is more
concerned with preserving Iraq's territorial integrity
than with the fate of Saddam Hussein's regime, former
prime minister Bulent Ecevit told US leaders on a visit
to Washington last year.
Turkey fears that a
Kurdish move towards independence or autonomy in Iraq
could stir up its own Kurd population of about 12
million in a total of 68 million. Kurds were split
across four countries after the collapse of the Turkish
Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century. The split has
left a population of 12 million Kurds in Turkey, 2
million in northern Iraq, about 1 million in Iran and
close to 1 million in Syria.
General Hayri Ates,
secretary of the pro-Kurdish HADEP (People's Democracy
Party) in Turkey is critical of Ozkok's stand, "His
position is far from public expectations," he says.
"Considering the heavy losses from the 15 years of
conflict in southeast Turkey, we are against any
military intervention in northern Iraq."
But
Turkish intervention in northern Iraq has been
continuing for some time, says analyst Umit Firat.
"Turkish troops frequently launch cross-border
operations and strike northern Iraq in countless air
raids," he told IPS. "Turkey fears the replacement of
Saddam Hussein by a democratic regime that could grant
northern Iraqi Kurds more freedom." That would give
Kurds a stronger voice to resist both Iraqi dictatorship
and Turkish intervention.
Turkey is reported to
be considering a multi-ethnic equation for northern Iraq
where the local Turkoman population would become a part
of an autonomous administration if the present status
quo were destroyed. In Ankara's view, such an approach
would safeguard Turkey's greater influence in the region
in the aftermath of a collapsed Saddam regime.
But Firat believes that "Turkey is making a
mistake in playing the Turkoman card". The move would
only lead to "conflict and competition between the Kurds
and Turkomans who have been coexisting in the area for
decades without significant conflict," he says.
The Washington-based Human Rights Watch (HRW)
has raised concerns over any Turkish military
intervention in northern Iraq. "The record of the
Turkish military in combating Kurdish rebels at home
raises serious concerns about its engagement in northern
Iraq during or after any war," the group warned in a
briefing paper "Turkey and War in Iraq: Avoiding Past
Patterns of Violation".
"If Turkish operations
in northern Iraq bear any resemblance to those in
southeastern Turkey, we can expect to see a human rights
disaster," says Elizabeth Andersen, executive director
of the Europe and Central Asia division of HRW. "The
best bet against a repeat performance would be to keep
past abusers out of northern Iraq, and to make sure
civilian monitors are on the ground to observe the
military's conduct."
(Inter Press
Service)
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