ARMENIA IS NO LONGER A SAFE PLACE FOR PPK: ZAMAN
News.am
12:54 / 10/17/2009
Armenia-Turkey rapprochement "put the outlawed" Kurdistan Worker’s
Party (PKK), Sedat Gunec writes in Turkish Zaman daily.
"Many PKK members traveled to Armenia after the Turkish Armed Forces
(TSK) launched cross-border operations in northern Iraq in February
2008 to eliminate PKK camps in the region. But as relations develop
between Armenia and Turkey, members of the PKK currently living in
Armenia are making plans to leave the country in search of a new safe
haven. A pro-PKK radio station that airs regular broadcasts for PKK
circles recently announced on its Web site that Armenia is no longer
a safe place to live and that PKK members should leave the country
as soon as possible," Gunec said.
Special services have information that the next destination for
terrorist organization may become Cyprus.
"It has also been reported that the PKK has camps called Gyumri,
Yerevan, Lachin and Kalbajar – all named after cities in Armenia and
Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani territory – near the Armenian-Turkish
border. The PKK reportedly operates organizations including the Kurdish
People and Religious Association, Yezidi Kurds Women Association and
Kurdish International Cultural and Information Association to help
sustain the PKK both financially and otherwise.
Observers hypothesize that Armenian-Turkish diplomatic relations may
grow to encompass bilateral cooperation on security measures after the
Zurich Protocols are ratified by the two countries’ parliaments. The
fight against terrorism and drug trafficking will be leading items
on the agenda for cooperation measures between Armenia and Turkey,"
Gunec concludes.