Turkey’s Hidden Agenda

Octoaber 24, 2007
Kurdish Aspect, CO

Kurdish National Congress of North America

Turkey will always find an excuse to carry out its hidden agenda and blame others for the result. Why? Because they have been successful in the past committing the genocide of Ottoman Armenians under the guise of WWI and the world kept silent. No more silence. It is not the same world. It is Turkey that needs to adjust to the new world. This is one trick which is not going to work this time. If Turkey wants to be a regional power it must behave responsibly including the recognition of the genocide of the Ottoman Armenians.

Press Release

Since Turkey’s establishment, its pseudo-democratic policy has been discriminatory and inhumane towards all non-Turkish populations in Anatolia, including the Kurds. Under the pretext of fighting terrorism, the Turkish military has used every violent mean to suppress Kurdish rights. At times Kurds have been led down a path of violence that only has hurt the Kurdish cause. The violence had given Turkey the ammunition it needs to do its dirty deeds against the Kurds, who have tried to resolve their situation by political means.

For over a year Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan has resisted pressure from the Turkish Generals and the ultra-nationalist MHP to enter Iraqi Kurdistan to attack Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) forces. What has changed that now makes Mr. Erdogan request such authorization from the Parliament?

On October 11 the US House Foreign Affairs Committee adopted a resolution labeling the Turkish attacks on Armenians in the period 1915-1923 as genocide. The bill now moves on to the US Congress for a vote. This provoked immediate, angry reaction from the Turkish Government. Now the Turkish Government attempts to pressure the US to stop the vote on the resolution by approving authorization to invade Iraqi Kurdistan.

By threatening to destabilize the only safe area in Iraq, endangering the American army, and to cut the US supply routes to Iraq and Afghanistan by closing down the American airbase in Turkey, the Turkish Government hopes to stop the US Congress vote on the Armenian resolution. This is a test for the US Government. Will they protect the Kurds, their only allies in Iraq, or will they give in to Turkish demands? The US must bear in mind the Turkish Parliament’s 2003 vote denying American troops access through Turkey for the invasion Iraqi.

What are the motivations behind the Turkish Parliament authorization to enter Kurdistan of Iraq? Their ultimate goals are to destroy the achievements of the Kurdistan Regional Government and to stop the referendum on Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution – the vote to determine the fate of Kirkuk.

The Kurdish National Congress condemns the vote by the Turkish Parliament authorizing Prime Minister Erdogan to send Turkish troops into Kurdistan of Iraq to pursue PKK fighters. We call on the Turkish government to solve the Kurdish problem in Turkey peacefully and democratically, not through military action.

We call on the United States Government, the United Nations and the European Union to pressure the Turkish Government to solve the Kurdish problem in Turkey through political dialogue in order to avoid further bloodshed in the region.

We call on the Iraqi Government to stand firmly with the Kurdistan Regional Government to defend their land from any attack carried out by a neighboring country.

In case of an incursion to Southern Kurdistan we at KNC-NA invite all Kurds, friends of Kurds, and all human rights activists around the world to join us in counteracting the Turkish state terror with peaceful means including gathering in front of every consulate and embassy of the Turkish state around the world until they end their violence and negotiate a mutually agreeable solution.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.