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Books on Turkey
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Update No: 126 - (26/11/07)
Another grave trouble-spot
There are many in the world that seem blithely unaware that there is real
trouble brewing in Turkey, that might yet see a second foreign invasion of Iraq.
It would be of the Kurdish north of the country, adjacent to the south-eastern
areas of Turkey, inhabited by 13 million Kurds.
The problem is the Kurdish Workers' party (PKK), which has remote mountain bases
there from which mischief-makers are sent into Turkey to stir up disaffection
with the central government. About 3,000 of these rebels use northern Iraq as a
base for attacks in Turkey. The PKK took up arms in 1984 with the aim of
creating an ethnic homeland in south-east Turkey, which is mainly Kurdish.
The PKK should stand rather for the Party of Kleptomaniacs and Know-nothings.
They have learnt nothing from those far- off days of mindless Marxist
revolution. The Turkish Kurds voted by a majority for the incumbent party in
government in autumn elections, boycotted by the numbskulls of the PKK.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, under intense domestic pressure to act
after some 50 soldiers were killed in recent weeks, has pledged to send troops
into northern Iraq if such attacks from Iraq continue.
Imminent action likely before winter sets in
Erdogan told a meeting of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) on November 19
that "a cross-border operation is approaching." The meeting was closed
to the media. "This business needs to happen before winter conditions
worsen," he was quoted as saying. "If we don't see concrete things
from the other side, an operation is near," he said.
The death of four soldiers in Sirnak Province on November 13 is likely to
increase pressure on the government to authorize an operation, despite
logistical difficulties as the weather closes in across the rugged, mountainous
region. Security sources said nine others had been wounded in the Sirnak
clashes, which lasted more than an hour.
President Abdullah Gul sent a message to General Yasar Buyukanit, chief of the
armed forces, conveying his condolences to the soldiers' families, the military
and the Turkish public. They were the first casualties of the conflict on
Turkish territory since the previous week, when one soldier and three PKK
guerrillas were killed in clashes.
Separately, the Kurdistan regional government in northern Iraq denied media
reports that Turkish attack helicopters and warplanes seeking PKK rebels had
bombed empty villages in the area on November 13 morning. CNN Turk and NTV,
citing Iraqi officials, reported that nobody had been killed in the bombings.
Jamal Abdullah, a spokesman for the semi-autonomous (Iraqi) Kurdistan Regional
Government, said two Turkish warplanes had dropped flares over a village near
Zakho in northern Iraq on November 12.
The choice lies between weapons and democracy
Erdogan said on November 20 that each one must make his choice between weapons
and democracy. Speaking at the group meeting of the Justice & Development
(AK) Party in the parliament, Erdogan touched on Turkey's struggle against
terror. "Despite all the difficulties, we intend to preserve stability in
Turkey," Erdogan said.
"Those who have nothing to talk about, keep on talking on terror. Turkey's
agenda will not allow terror. We will continue to fight against terror and take
bold steps in other areas for the best interests of the Turkish people,"
Erdogan underlined.
Erdogan stressed that the fight against terror has dimensions involving
politics, diplomacy and military. According to him, certain circles criticize
him for qualifying the Kurds as "brothers and sisters." "Of
course, the Kurds are my brothers and sisters. But so are citizens of Laz (Black
Sea area) of Bosnian and Albanian origin. Everyone living in Turkey are my
brothers and sisters," Erdogan underscored.
"We have gone nine times to Gulf countries, EU countries and America. Why?
To prepare a diplomatic framework for the steps to be taken against terror. So
far, no one is against Turkey as far as the fight on terror is concerned. When
countries believe that Turkey is right, terrorist organizations will no longer
be able to find the support it looks for from these countries," Erdogan
added.
There is one new friend in troubled times - Greece.
Greece and Turkey open gas pipeline
Greece and Turkey are edgy neighbours, who have, nevertheless, been getting on
better of late.
As a symbol of good intentions as well as for more mundane reasons, they opened
a $300 million pipeline on November 18, creating an energy corridor that
connects the rich natural gas fields in the Caspian Sea region to Europe,
bypassing Russia and the volatile Middle East. The 300-kilometre pipeline brings
natural gas from Azerbaijan to Greece and will be extended to Italy and the rest
of Western Europe.
The 178-mile pipeline solidifies improved ties between Greece and Turkey,
linking the long-time Aegean rivals through a project that will give Caspian gas
its first direct Western outlet and help ease Russia's energy dominance as oil
and gas prices soar. The two leaders have sought to use an often-cited good
personal bond to improve relations between their two countries, which have been
strained over decades of territorial disputes in the Aegean Sea. Karamanlis also
shares a personal bond with Erdogan after serving as a witness at his daughter's
marriage in 2004.
"This project will bring significant benefits both for Greece and
Turkey," said Kostas Karamanlis, the Greek prime minister, who inaugurated
the project with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It shows
"we can live in harmony and both gain from it," Mr. Karamanlis said,
shaking hands with Mr. Erdogan in a symbolic meeting on a bridge over the Evros
River, which divides the countries.
The pipeline, which will use natural gas pumped into Turkey from the Shah Deniz
field in Azerbaijan, will initially carry 250 million cubic meters of gas a year
to Komotini, in north-eastern Greece, from Karacabey, in western Turkey. Its
capacity is expected to triple by 2012, when Poseidon, a 132-mile undersea
Greece-Italy pipeline begins operation, forming the Southern Europe Gas Ring
project.
"The project is extremely significant - and fundamentally political,"
said Julian Lee, a senior analyst with the Center for Global Energy Studies, a
London-based research group. "It offers diversified supplies of energy to
Europe without going through Russia - an objective encouraged by the United
States."
Signalling Washington's support, Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman attended the
inauguration ceremony near the Greek-Turkish border. President Ilham Aliyev of
Azerbaijan also attended.
Russia, the world's biggest gas and oil producer, accounts for more than 25
percent of EU gas imports, and Western officials have been scrambling for years
to forge a viable energy strategy that could ease Russia's hold on European
energy supplies.
Greece and Turkey, meanwhile, have been trying to promote themselves as emerging
energy hubs and regional power brokers with a string of energy deals. "This
pipeline will boost prosperity in the region," Mr. Erdogan said. "The
Silk Route will also become an energy route linking East and West through
Turkey."
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