Unlike Others, Turkey
Opposes Use of One Terror Group to Fight Another (Daily
Sabah, Turkey)
"Some say
that it's good Turkey is bombing ISIS but that hitting PKK
targets is mistaken. The reason the critics offer is that the PKK is fighting ISIS. So we need to ask: Since when is it
OK to use one terrorist organization to eliminate another? One need only recall
how often certain governments have supported terrorist groups only to see them
turn against those very governments. The fact is that one terrorist
organization cannot be defeated with another."
Fighting terrorism in all of its forms is an essential
component of international law and public order. Turkey's two-front offensive
against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in Syria and the Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) in Iraq is based on this basic
principle. On both fronts, Turkey is acting in accordance with international
law and coordinating its efforts with its neighbors and allies. The operations
will continue until the ISIS threat is eliminated from the Turkish-Syrian
border and the PKK stops its terrorist attacks and
lays down its arms. Over the last seven months, Turkey has detained more than
500 ISIS-related individuals and arrested about 100. In addition, more than
1,600 foreign citizens suspected of ISIS-related activities have been expelled
and 15,000 foreign individuals have been prohibited from entering Turkey. Last
week, several hundred Turkish and foreign nationals suspected of having ISIS links
were detained in Turkey. These operations will continue until any and all ISIS
networks are undermined.
Attempts are being made, however, to question and even
delegitimize Turkey's offensive against ISIS on the one hand and the PKK on the other. Some say that it's good Turkey is bombing
ISIS but that hitting PKK targets is mistaken. The
reason the critics offer is that the PKK is fighting ISIS.
So we need to ask: Since when is it OK to use one terrorist organization to
eliminate another? One need only recall how often certain governments have
supported terrorist groups only to see them turn against those very
governments. The fact is that one terrorist organization cannot be defeated with
another. ISIS is a terrorist organization and arrayed against it is an
international coalition in which Turkey is a part. The PKK
is a terrorist organization and it is recognized as such by dozens of countries
- including the E.U. and the United States. The PKK's
participation in the Syria war and the battle against ISIS is no excuse for
whitewashing its terrorist activities in Turkey or Iraq.
Yet there is an even more nefarious and cynical attempt
to equate all Kurds with the PKK. It sounds like a
parody but some major Western newspapers have posted columns under such
headlines as Turkey bombs Kurds fighting
ISIS. Facts have never been so distorted. The PKK
is not "the Kurds" and the Kurds are not the PKK.
Turkey is not bombing the Kurds but hitting the headquarters, training camps
and arsenals of the PKK, which it uses to attack
Turkish citizens and security forces. Since the June 7 general elections alone,
the PKK has carried out over 300 terrorist attacks
across Turkey. No one should expect Ankara to turn a blind eye to such terrorism
on its territory. Those who try to turn the PKK into
a peace dove should remember that this is a group responsible for the deaths of
over 40,000 people - including thousands of Kurds. The PKK
is known for its brutal executions of Kurdish opposition members in Turkey and
Syria. It has killed large numbers of Kurds who refused to join its fight.
Outside Turkey, it fought Iraqi Kurds in the 1990s before MasoudBarzani finally got things under control. The PKK continues to see the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) as its main rival for Kurdish leadership in the Middle
East. There are millions of Kurds who reject the PKK's
old-fashioned Marxist-Leninist ideology and belated nationalism.
The PKK lobby in the West may
romanticize the PKK, but the fact of the matter is
that it is a terrorist organization that first manipulated and now had sabotaged
the peace process in Turkey. PKK propagandists
conveniently forget that it was the PKK itself that
ended the cease-fire and declared that the peace process was over. Over the
last two years since imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan made his call on the PKK
to begin disarming, the terrorist group has carried out hundreds of terrorist
attacks within Turkey and across the Turkish-Iraqi border, killing dozens of
civilians and security forces. Turkey has made it clear that the peace process
will resume when the PKK lays down its arms and halts
all of its terrorist activities.
As we have pointed out on innumerable occasions, the United States is only one of many countries that from time to time...
Terrorist attacks and peace talks cannot be conducted at the
same time. Whether dealing with the Irish Republican Army in Britain, the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in Columbia or the Moro Liberation Front
in the Philippines, governments universally sought to secure a balance between
peace talks and public order and security. Instead of driving the process of
democratization, the PKK chose to terrorize the
political space.
Therefore, calls on the Turkish government to continue the process
of reconciliation while saying nothing about the politics of terrorism of the PKKare misplaced. Instead of
preaching to Turkey about peace and diplomacy, officials and commentators
should be loud and clear about the PKK terrorism which
has claimed half a dozen lives over the last week alone.
During the last 12 years, President RecepTayyipErdoğan has introduced
radical measures to improve the political and economic conditions of Kurds in
ways that in the past were simply unimaginable. Today there are dozens of
Kurdish lawmakers in Parliament. Kurds enjoy the same rights as all other
citizens and are no longer afraid to express their identity. The government has
invested billions in Kurdish-populated areas. Kurds are part of Turkey's past
and future, and this holds true not only for the Kurds of Turkey but for those
living in the neighboring countries. In addition to introducing democratic
measures, Turkey has also fostered excellent relations with Iraqi Kurds. This
week, [KGR President] Barzani
issued a clear statement about recent developments and again called on the PKK to stop its terrorist activities and give peace a
chance.
When ISIS attacked Iraqi Kurds in Sanjar,
it was again Turkey that accepted them into the country. Finally, it was
President Erdoğan who asked Bashar al-Assad to
grant Syrian Kurds their rights - including identity cards. This was before the
Syrian war. In the case of Kobani, in a single week, Turkey
evacuated the city by accepting close 190,000 Kurdish citizens. It was Turkey
that facilitated the passage into Kobani of Iraqi Peshmerga
and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) to battle ISIS.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
Therefore, it is an outright lie to claim that Turkey is
"fighting the Kurds" when in fact it is targeting PKK
headquarters and its terrorist camps. Turkey will continue to fight ISIS and
the PKK, both of which pose a threat to Turkey's
national security. This is in the interests of the citizens of Turkey as well
as its neighbors and allies.
