IRAQ HINTS AT JOINT OPERATION AGAINST PKK FIGHTERS
Mark Tran and agencies

Guardian Unlimited
Wednesday October 17, 2007

Iraq was today reported to have raised the prospect of a joint
operation to stop Kurdish rebels from mounting raids against Turkey
from Iraqi territory.

The news came as Nuri al-Maliki’s government sought to head off a
Turkish military incursion that could destabilise Iraq’s northern
Kurdish region.

"Give us another chance – if necessary, let’s conduct a joint
operation," the CNN Turk television channel Mr Maliki as saying
during a phone conversation with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his Turkish
counterpart.

Mr Maliki’s reported offer came as the Turkish parliament began
debating a motion that would authorise Turkish forces to cross into
northern Iraq in pursuit of fighters from the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers party (PKK).

Earlier, Mr Maliki affirmed Iraq’s commitment to stop Kurdish
rebels from mounting attacks on Turkey from inside its borders. His
announcement followed a meeting of a government crisis committee set
up in an attempt to address the tensions with Turkey.

Turkish military authorities have been pressing for an attack against
PKK fighters based in northern Iraq. In recent weeks, rebels have
killed more than a dozen Turkish soldiers, sparking public pressure
for tough action.

Speaking in London, the Iraqi deputy prime minister, Barham Salih,
urged Turkey not to violate international law and Iraq’s sovereignty.

"There would be serious implications for Iraq and Turkey, and
[intervention] will not help anyone," he said. "We have ways and
means to resolve the situation."

The Nato secretary general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, also urged restraint
in a telephone call to the Turkish president, Abdullah Gul.

"He [Mr Scheffer] expressed his view that all parties should exercise
the greatest possible restraint, particularly in this time of great
tension," the Nato spokesman James Appathurai said in Brussels.

Mr Maliki yesterday sent the Iraqi vice president, Tariq al-Hashemi,
to Ankara for urgent talks amid fears an attack would destabilise one
of the few areas of Iraq to have largely been spared the sectarian
violence that has plagued the rest of the country.

Iraq restated its commitment to an anti-terrorism deal it signed
with Turkey last month, which saw both countries agree to take all
necessary measures – including financial and intelligence steps –
against the PKK and other militant groups.

The US and EU have been putting heavy pressure on Turkey to not launch
an attack. The crisis has been complicated by Turkish frustration
with the US over moves in Congress to declare the 1915 killing of up
to 1.5 million Armenians by Turks as genocide.

As well as straining ties with the EU and US, military action could
also hurt the Turkish economy, which has recovered strongly from a
crisis in 2001.