KURD ISTITUT E - Institutkurde.org · ter, Nuri al-Maliki, for his part, ordered that a commit-tee...

KURDEDE PARIS

N°273

DECEMBER 2007

INSTITUT

Information and liaison bulletin

The publication of this Bulletin enjoys a subsidyfrom the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGCID)

aqnd the Fonds d’action et de soutien pour l’intégration et la lutte contre les discriminations (The Fund for action and support of integration and the struggle against discrimination)

This bulletin is issued in French and English

Price per issue : France: 6 €— Abroad : 7,5 €Annual subscribtion (12 issues) France : 60 €— Elsewhere : 75 €

Monthly reviewDirecteur de la publication : Mohamad HASSAN

Numéro de la Commission Paritaire : 659 15 A.S.ISBN 0761 1285

INSTITUT KURDE, 106, rue La Fayette - 75010 PARISTel. : 01-48 24 64 64 - Fax : 01-48 24 64 66

www.fikp.orgE-mail: [email protected]

THE PRESIDENT OF KURDISTAN, MASSUD BARZANI,REFUSES TO MEET CONDOLEEZA RICE IN IRAQ AS A

PROTEST AGAINST THE TURKISH ARMY’S OPERATIONSIN IRAQI KURDISTAN

N 26 December, theTurkish Armed Forcesconfirmed that they hadcarried out a new air

raid against PKK positions inIraqi Kurdistan. In a commu-niqué published on its Inter-net site, the Turkish General

Staff declared that it had“struck objectives relating tothat group during a targetedoperation carried out efficientlyin the morning of 26 Decem-ber”, without giving anydetails about possible vic-tims. The Turkish Army also

launched a new operation inTurkish Kurdistan. Groundunits, Cobra helicopter gun-ships and Sikorsky helicoptertransports were involved inthis operation, carried out inthe mountainous ranges ofKupeli and Gabar, in SirnakProvince. On 25 Decemberthe Turkish General Staffannounced that its troops hadkilled 11 Kurdish PKK fight-ers and captured two others

Contents :

• THE PRESIDENT OF KURDISTAN, MASSUD BARZANI, REFUSES TO MEET CONDOLEEZARICE IN IRAQ AS A PROTEST AGAINST THE TURKISH ARMY’S OPERATIONS IN IRAQIKURDISTAN

• KIRKUK: THE KURDISTAN PARLIAMENT ACCEPTS UNO’S PROPOSAL TO POSTPONE THEREFERENDUM ON THE CITY’S STATUS FOR SIX MONTHS

• BERLIN: THE GERMAN AUTHORITIES FREE, AHEAD OF TIME, THE ASSASSINS OF SADEGHSHARAFKANDI AND THREE OF HIS COMPANIONS OF THE KURDISTAN DEMOCRATICPARTY OF IRAN

• ANKARA: THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT REJECTS THE PROVISIONAL MEASURES TO SUSPEND ALL PUBLIC ACTIVITY DEMANDED BY THE PROSECUTION AGAINST THE PRO-KURDISH DTP WHICH IS THREATENED WITH BANNING

• THE LOWEST DEATH ROLL IN IRAQ SINCE FEBRUARY 2006: 568 IRAQIS KILLED IN DECEMBER

• DAMASCUS: THE SYRIAN LEAGUE FOR THE DEFENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS CONDEMNSTHE TRIALS AND SENTENCES OF KURDS BY THE HIGH COURT OF STATE SECURITY, A SPECIAL EMERGENCY COURT

• TURKEY-E.U.: PARIS SUCCEEDS IN HAVING THE WORD “ACCESSION” REMOVED FROM A EUROPEAN COMMUNIQUÉ ON THE NEGOTIATIONS WITH TURKEY

• THE IRANIAN NUCLEAR CRISIS: RUSSIA STARTS DELIVERING FUEL WHILE THE US INTELLIGENCE REVEALS, FOR THE FIRST TIME, THAT IRAN HAD SECRET PLANS EVEN BEFORE 2003

• AS WELL AS …

O

• 2 • Information and liaison bulletin n° 273 • December 2007

in 48 hours in the Sirnakmountains. This is the thirdair strike against the PKK thatthe Turkish Army has con-firmed since 16 December, inaddition to a “small scale”land operation. According tothe Turkish press, the airoperation was followed, on18 December by a land incur-sion of limited scale — 500 to700 commandos. On 25December the Turkish Armyannounced that 150 to 175Kurdish fighters had beenkilled during the 16 Decem-ber strikes, which mainly tar-geted the Qandil massif, amountainous region of IraqiKurdistan where several hun-dreds of PKK fighters arelocated. According to theTurkish General Staff, some200 targets were destroyed inthe course of this raid, includ-ing 16 command, trainingand logistic bases, 82 caches,ten anti-aircraft batteries aswell as 14 PKK munitiondumps. In a previous com-muniqué, on 16 December,the Turkish Army had indi-cated that some air raids last-ing three hours and, followedby artillery fire, had targetedQandil PKK bases.

Various sources from theKurdish authorities indicatedthat bridges, houses and evena school had been destroyedin about a dozen villages ofIraqi Kurdistan. Some fami-

lies had fled their homes toseek refuge in nearby villagesor caves, according to theseofficials. For its part, the PKKreported seven deaths — twocivilians and five fighters.According to the privateTurkish TV channel NTV,about fifty planes had takenpart in these raids, whileCNN-Turk, on 16 December,spoke of about twenty planes.

On 1 December last, the Turk-ish Army had carried outsimilar operations South-Eastof the border locality ofCukurca. These raids andshellings had not, however,been immediately confirmedby the Iraqi, Kurdish andAmerican authorities. The5November last, TurkishPrime Minister Recep TayyipErdogan had met US Presi-dent George W. Bush at theWhite House. The two lead-ers had committed them-selves to exchanging moreinformation on the PKK, fol-lowing the adoption by theTurkish Parliament of a reso-lution in favour of cross-bor-der interventions. At the endof a five-hour meeting on 28December, the National Secu-rity Council (MGK), whichincludes the country’s highestcivilian and military officials,welcomed the results of the16 December operationsagainst the PKK in Kurdishterritory in Iraq and stressedthat “the areas of civilian habita-

tion had not experienced anydamage”. “It has been shownthat, in addition to heavy lossesinflicted on the terrorist organi-sation, its supply and communi-cations systems had, to a largeextent, been destroyed”, statedthis body in a communiquépublished on its Internet site. In his monthly televisionmessage to the nation, theTurkish Prime Ministerdeclared, on 30 December,that Ankara would continueto “use with determination thepolitical, military, social andeconomic means” to fight thePKK.

Following the TurkishArmy’s operations, the WhiteHouse expressed its anxietyat the danger of an escalation.Scott Stanzel, a White Housespokesman, indicated that theUS authorities have “clearlyindicated to the Turkish govern-ment that anything that couldlead to an escalation or to civil-ian losses was worrying”. How-ever, the US, that controlsIraqi air space, suppliedTurkey with help for these airraids into Iraqi Kurdistan.The head of the TurkishArmed Forces General Staff,General Yasar Buyukanit,declared on the Kanal D TVchannel that the US forceshad supplied certain informa-tion but “what is important isthat, last night, the UnitedStates opened the air space of

n° 273 • December 2007 Information and liaison bulletin • 3 •

Northern Iraq (Kurdistan). (…)In doing this, the United Satesapproved the operation”. On 19December, the Pentagon’sspokesman, Geoff Morrell,pointed out that Turkey hadwarned the US that it wasgoing to launch an air raid onPKK positions in Iraqi Kur-distan 16 December, describ-ing this “coordination” as “ade-quate”. “We received notifica-tion before the bombardment”,he declared during a pressconference, confirming, forthe first time, that the Penta-gon had been informed of theTurkish plans. “This was com-municated to us via the Ankaracoordination centre, which wasopened a few months ago, and inwhich Turkish and Americanmilitary personnel work togetherto share information”, speci-fied, refusing to say whetherthe United States had sup-plied information in the tar-gets aimed at by Ankara. On2 December, the Turkish jour-nalist, Rusen Cakir, an experton the PKK, had consideredon the NTV channel that “theAmericans and the Iraqis under-stand that Turkey is going to actin one way or another. So theyhave done what is needed tolimit the damage”.

The incursion into Iraqi Kur-distan, the only provincespared the violence current inIraq, was announced at themoment of Mrs. Condoleezza

Rice’s visit to Iraq. She wentfirst of all to Kirkuk, then toBaghdad, where she met thePrime Minister Nuri al-Mali-ki. The US Secretary of Statewho was making a one-dayvisit to Iraq on 19 December,refused any direct commenton the Turkish incursion dur-ing a press conference withher Iraqi opposite number,Hoshyar Zebari, organisedafter a meeting with Presi-dent Jalal Talabani in Bagh-dad. However, she stressedthat the United States, Turkeyand Iraq had “a common inter-est in stopping the activities ofthe PKK, who threaten the sta-bility of the North”. “This is aTurkish decision. We have clear-ly expressed our government’sanxieties to the Turkish govern-ment regarding an action thatcould lead to civilian victims ordestabilise the North”, declaredMrs. Rice. Mr. Zebari judgedthe Turkish operations “unac-ceptable”. To mark his disap-proval of American supportof Turkey, the Kurdish Presi-dent, Massud Barzani, can-celled a planned meetingwith Mrs. Rice in Baghdad.

The Iraqi government andParliament condemned thestrikes as an attack on thecountry’s sovereignty andwere moved by the civilianvictims thus caused. On 16December, Iraq summonedthe Turkish Ambassador in

Baghdad to demand the end-ing of these Turkish Armyoperations in Iraqi Kurdistan,stating that these operationscould affect the “friendly rela-tions” between the two coun-tries. On 17 December, theIraqi Parliament indicated, ina declaration that “Turkishplanes have bombed Iraqi vil-lages in Kurdistan, near theTurkish border, causing manyinnocent civilian victims (…)We firmly condemn this viola-tion of Iraq’s sovereignty and ofthe principle of neighbourly rela-tions”. The Iraqi Prime Minis-ter, Nuri al-Maliki, for hispart, ordered that a commit-tee be created to come to thehelp of the Kurdish familiesthat had been obliged to fleetheir villages after the recentTurkish strikes. “Mr. Malikihas ordered the creation of acommittee that is due to visit thedisplaced families (in Kurdis-tan). They will each receive 1million dinars”, this is about830 dollars, stated a commu-niqué on 30 December fromthe Prime Minister’s pressservice. The UN High Com-mission for Refugees (HCR)stated on 18 December thatover 300 families (about 1,800persons) had fled their homesafter some intensive Turkishshelling of Iraqi Kurdistan.Some villages had to flee,sometimes barefooted in thesnow, from their homes in theQandil Mountains. “We were


sleeping when the Turkishplanes bombed our village (…)We had to leave the house as wewere suffocated by the dust I…)Before it was Saddam whodestroyed our homes, now it’sthe Turks (…) We have to leavewithout knowing what we haddone wrong”, declared a 75-year-old farmer from Qalatu-ga village. Another villagersaid he did not understandwhy the Turkish air force tar-geted his school, “razed to theground” by the strikes. Thebuilding of this school, begunin 2004, was nearly finishedand was due to be officiallyopened shortly.

In a report published 19December, the British thinktank, Chatham House, esti-mated that any military oper-ation aimed at dislodging thePKK was “probably in vain”and Ankara would “probablynever” defeat the PKK. ThePKK is “a very motivated forcethat enjoys a local support andthe protection offered it by theinaccessible terrain of the borderregions”, pointed out this Lon-don based centre. ChathamHouse also imputes the Iraqigovernment’s “reluctance” tofight the PKK to the “militaryrisks this would involve”. “Evenif it succeeded in chasing themout of the mountains, this couldleave the door open to radicalIslamists to transform the regioninto a stronghold in the style of

Tora Bora”, the former Talibanhideout in Afghanistan, addsthe report. “The Kurds areenjoying a political renais-sance”, Chatham House fur-ther stressed.

Conscious that armed strug-gle will not be enough, theTurkish government hasannounced that it is workingon already existing amnestylaw for “repentant rebels” towiden its scope. Projects forraising the standard of livingof the Kurdish population,mainly by encouragements toinvest and by subsidies, arealso being studied. The Headof the General Staff, GeneralYasar Buyukanit, hadstressed last May the fightingthe Kurdish fighters was notjust limited to his forces. “Thestruggle against terrorism doesnot only cover military measuresbut economic, cultural and socialmeasures”, he had declared inan attempt to mobilise thegovernment, accused of“lethargy” on the military andpolitical fronts. In his column

in Today’s Zaman, Dogu Ergil,a subtle connoisseur of Turk-ish politics pointed out: “Mr.Erdogan seems to have under-stood that unless the Kurdishconflict is resolved, neither thepolitical stability of the countrynor the future of his party can beensured”.

Turkish Kurdistan is thepoorest zone in Turkey, acountry that is applying tojoin the European Union. Mil-lions of Kurds have been dri-ven from their villages orhave had to flee the fightingto emigrate towards the bigcities. Ten years ago,Diyarbekir, the politico-cul-tural capital, had 350,000inhabitants. Today it hasalmost one and a half million,amongst which a very largenumber of families live belowthe poverty line. Turkey,which has the second largestArmy in NATO after that ofthe United States (515,000men) has been massing100,000 men on the 380 Km-long-border since April 2007.

KIRKUK: THE KURDISTAN PARLIAMENT ACCEPTS UNO’SPROPOSAL TO POSTPONE THE REFERENDUM ON

THE CITY’S STATUS FOR SIX MONTHS

N 26 December, the Par-liament of Iraqi Kurdis-tan accepted the UNproposal to postpone

for six months a referendumon the Kirkuk issue, initially

planned for the end of theyear. “The Parliament of Kur-distan has accepted by a majori-ty, the proposal of the UN repre-sentative in Iraq, Staffan de Mis-tura, to postpone the referendum

O


on Kirkuk for six months”,announced the Speaker of theKurdish Parliament, AdnanMufti. The six months delayshould be used to set up, inKirkuk and elsewhere in thecountry, machinery for reset-tling populations displaced inthe context of manipulatingprovincial borders by the for-mer regime. Saddam Hus-sein’s policy of forced Arabi-sation forced tens of thou-sands of Kurds into exile andsettled in their place popula-tions brought from otherregions of Iraq. Article 140 ofthe Iraqi Constitution stipu-lates that a referendum musttake place before 31 Decem-ber 2007 to decide whetherKirkuk is to pass under theauthority of the Kurdistanregional government. TheKurds have made the holdingof this referendum a clearcondition of their support forthe Shiite-dominated Bagh-dad government, in officesince the passing of the Con-stitution in 2005.

The Kurdistan regional gov-ernment had agreed to theUN proposal on one of thethorniest issues in Iraq. On 17December, the Prime Ministerof Kurdistan, NechirvanBarzani, announced that hisgovernment had accepted thepostponement proposed bythe United Nations. “Theapplication of Article 140 has

been delayed for technical rea-sons(…) The problem is not topostpone this application but toextend the period for applyingthis article (…) The region’sgovernment is in favour of thisextension”, he had affirmedfollowing a meeting at Najafwith the most influential reli-gious leader of the Iraqi Shi-ites, Ayatollah Ali Sistani.The Parliament of Kurdistanhad, on the same day, heardStaffan de Mistura defend hisplan. “Your reaction should bedictated by reason and not bypassion (…) Otherwise everyonewill suffer the consequences”,Mr. de Mistura had main-tained. A communiqué pub-lished on 17 December by theUN aid mission for Iraq(UNAMI) pointed out thenecessity of a “technical delay”and welcomed “the generalagreement” received from theIraqi and Kurdish authorities.The UN communiqué pointsout that it has been “indicatedat UNO that the most appropri-ate next stage is to start in Janu-ary 2008, and for six months, aprocess of easing the applicationof Article 140”. To support theUN envoy in Iraq, the US Sec-retary of State, CondoleezzaRice, visited Kirkuk on 18December where the Ameri-can Foreign Minister met rep-resentatives of the Kurdish,Sunni and Shiite Arab, Christ-ian and Turcoman communi-ties.

Moreover, the Kurdish andArab parties of the Kirkukregion reached an agreementon 3 December on a powersharing formula. The Presi-dent of the Kirkuk regionalCouncil, Rizgar Ali, of thePatriotic Union of Kurdistan(PUK) welcomed this agree-ment before the press “as apositive stage towards the devel-opment of Kirkuk and towardscooperation in decision-makingand partnership”. According toan Arab member of theprovincial council, RakanSaid al-Juburi, the agreementannounced gives his commu-nity a better representation inthe bodies that will be set upfollowing fresh local elec-tions. “For the first time, theduties of assistant governor andof Chief assistant of the judiciarywill be attributed to us”, hewelcomed. “Responsibilitieswill be distributed equally withup to 32% each to the Kurds,Arabs and Turcomen. Theremaining 4% will be attributedto the minorities, like the Assyri-ans, Chaldeans and Armenians”,he added. The 41-memberregional council is dominatedby the two Kurdish parties(Massud Barzani’s KDP andJalal Talabani’s PUK) with 26seats. The Arab parties havesix seats and the Turcomennine. The Arab organisationshave been boycotting theregional organisation for sev-eral months.


BERLIN: THE GERMAN AUTHORITIES FREE, AHEADOF TIME, THE ASSASSINS OF SADEGH SHARAFKANDI

AND THREE OF HIS COMPANIONS OF THE KURDISTANDEMOCRATIC PARTY OF IRAN

AZEN Darabi, sen-tenced to life imprison-ment for the murder ofseveral Iranian Kurdish

leaders in Berlin in 1992, andconsidered by the Germans asan Iranian secret agent, wasfreed ahead of time on 10December and expelled toIran from Frankfort Airport.He has spent fifteen years inprison. The Mykonos trial,from the name of the Berlinrestaurant where the killingstook place, had damagedGerman-Iranian relations fora long time — and, morewidely, the E.U.’s relationswith Teheran.

Kazam Darabi, today 48 earsof age, and his Lebaneseaccomplice, Abbas Rhayel, 39years, had been sentenced forlife in April 1997 for the mur-ders, in a Berlin restaurant on17 September 1992, of thechief of the Kurdistan Democ-ratic Party of Iran (KDPI),Sadegh Sharafkandi andthree of his companions.They had come to Berlin spe-cially to take part in a meet-ing of the Socialist Interna-tional. Kazam Darabi was thehead of the commando andAbbas Rhayel the one who

fired the fatal shots. Twoother Lebanese who had alsobeen found guilt, MohammedAtris, who served a five yearsand three months in jail andYussef Amin, who wasexpelled to the Lebanon in1999 after serving more thanhalf his 11-year sentences. Inthe verdict, Iran was directlyimplicated “at the highestlevel of the State”, that isopenly accused of terrorism,a world first. The sentence,following on three years ofhearings, highlighted by evi-dence by the former IranianPresident in exile, Abdolhas-san Banisadr, who hadaccused Iran of being a terror-ist state. There followed adiplomatic crisis of a year.Iran recalled its ambassadorsto Europe, the E.U. recalledtheirs from Teheran.

In October, the Germanauthorities had announced,unexpectedly, their intentionof shortening the sentences ofthese two men and expellingthem, while Iran had beentrying for several years past,to secure Kazem Darabi’srelease. At the time Germanyhad denied any political bar-gaining, arguing the classical

K

process, in Germany, thatallows the release, after atleast 15 years detention, ofprisoners sentenced for life.However, a little earlier in theyear the legal authorities hadexcluded the likelihood ofKazem Darabi being rapidlyfreed. They had argued the“particularly heavy” load ofthe crime committed. Theprisoner was considered byIsrael a precious bargainingcounter for gaining informa-tion about the fate the Israelipilot Ron Arad, whose planehad been shot down overSouth Lebanon in 1986. ThatState had, indeed, tried to putpressure on ChancellorAngela Merkel this autumn,to prevent the announcedrelease of the two prisoners.The name of Darabi was alsoraised as a bargaining counterwhen Germany was seekingto secure the release of a Ger-man tourist, Donald Klein,imprisoned in Iran and sen-tenced for illegal entry intoIranian territorial waters. TheGerman was finally releasedin March, after 15 monthsdetention.

Thus Germany has closed apainful chapter in Irano-Germn relations. A spokes-man for the Berlin regionalMinistry of the Interiorannounced his expulsionwhen Kazem Darabi had


already left German airspaceearly in the evening. HisLebanese accomplice, AbbasRhayad, Lebanese Hezbollahactivist, was expelled as farback as 6 December to anunspecified destination. TheGerman Federal Prosecutor’sOffice, the competent authori-ty for terrorist cases, repeated“there is no connection(between the expulsion of

Kazem Darabi and AbbasRhayel) an other cases”. Theformer lawyer of the privateparties associated with theprosecution judged theseearly releases “incomprehensi-ble”. Considering them morethe consequence of “politicalpressures” and will be “inter-preted by Iran not as a sign ofgenerosity but as a sign of theWest’s weakness”.

ANKARA: THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT REJECTS THE PROVISIONAL MEASURES TO SUSPEND ALL PUBLIC ACTIVITY

DEMANDED BY THE PROSECUTION AGAINST THE PRO-KURDISH DTP WHICH IS THREATENED WITH BANNING

N 27 December, theConstitutional Courtrejected demands bythe Public Prosecutor

for restricting the activity ofthe Party for a DemocraticSociety (DTP – pro-Kurdish),which is being prosecutedand threatened with banningbecause of alleged links withthe Kurdistan Workers’ Party(PKK). The Court consideredthat the conditions requiredfor taking such measuresagainst the DTP for the dura-tion of its trial did not exist.The DTP welcomed this deci-sion but stressed by theCourt, but stressed that it wasstill being threatened withbeing closed down, “This is apositive decision even if it doesnot constitute any sign about the

root of the case”, stated theDTP Member of parliamentSelahattin Demirtas. “Thedemands of the Public Prosecu-tor were illegal and the Courtapplied the law”.

The Public Prosecutor hadcalled for the banning of theDTP, that holds 20 of the 550seats in the Parliament, fromputting forward candidates atelections, of taking part inpolls on the lists of other par-ties or as independent candi-dates. He had also demandedthe freezing of any financialaids the party might enjoyswell as on the recruiting ofnew members. Thesedemands for these measuresof distraint were included inthe charge sheet sent to the

Constitutional Court inNovember by the Prosecutorof the Court of Appeals. Theprosecutor recommendedbanning the DTP on thegrounds that it could be “asource of activities prejudicial tothe independence of the Stateand its indivisible unity”. Theproceedings started againstthe DTP come at a time whenTurkey has been waging mili-tary operations, since 16December, against Kurdishfighters entrenched in IraqiKurdistan.

Furthermore, on 17 Decem-ber, in Ankara, the Turkishpolice took in for questioningthe President of the DTP,accusing him of having “usedfalse documents to avoid mili-tary service”. Nurettin Demir-tas, elected in November tothe Presidency of the DTP,was arrested at about 7.30p.m. (5.30 p.m. GMT) atAnkara’s Esenboga Airport,on his return from a visit toGermany. He was led to aforensic medicine Institute, aprocedure prior to beingplaced in detention. Accord-ing the CNN-Turk televisionchannel, Mr. Demirtas, 35years of age, is being suedwith 183 other people forhaving avoided military ser-vice by making “use of falsereport of unfitness” and facestwo to five years' jail.

O


THE LOWEST DEATH ROLL IN IRAQ SINCEFEBRUARY 2006: 568 IRAQIS KILLED IN DECEMBER

T least 568 Iraqis werekilled in December inattacks and assassina-tions — the lowest fig-

ure since February 2006,according to figures by theMinistries of Defence, theInterior and Health. Accord-ing to this assessment, 480civilians, 24 soldiers and 64police were killed in Decem-ber, making a total of 568people. In all, 937 peoplewere injured in December,according to the figures of theIraqi Ministries: 730 civilians,51 troops and 156 police. Onthe other hand, 251 “terror-ists” were killed and 1,146were arrested according tothe same assessment. TheSunni Arab militia mobilisedby the US Army against al-Qaida, some dozens of whomhave been killed in attacks inthe last few weeks, are count-ed amongst the civilians. Atleast 637 people were killedin February 2006, a monthmarked by the bomb attackon the Shiite Mausoleum ofSamarra (125 Km North ofBaghdad), which hadunleashed a wave of sectarianviolence in Iraq, essentiallybetween the Shiite and Sunnicommunities. The peak of thisviolence was reached in Janu-ary 2007, with 1,992 deaths

recorded by the three Min-istries. In November 2007, 606Iraqis were killed, comparedwith 887 in October and 840in September. Alongside thisdrop, the number of UStroops killed in Iraq has alsobeen diminishing regularlysince last May.

Iraq has been experiencing arelative improvement in secu-rity since the end f the sum-mer. This is particularlynotable in Baghdad, wherethe bomb attacks, kidnap-pings, executions and clashesbetween armed groups havesharply diminished. Accord-ing to a recent report by theUS Administration, attackshave dropped by 62%throughout the country sinceJune. The US and Iraqiauthorities see here proof ofthe success of a vast offensivelaunched in February 2007 inthe capital and the rest of thecountry. This improvement isalso the result of the mobilisa-tion of Sunni Arab militiaagainst al-Qaida, and thetruce decreed by MoqtadaSadr’s powerful Shiite militia,the Mahdi’s Army.

Anxious to curb the violence,the US General Staff has pro-vided its active support for

A

the creation of “concerned localcitizens” (CLC). On 3 Decem-ber, the Iraqi governmentordered the Ministry of theInterior to undertake thecommand of 12,000 “con-cerned local citizens” in theBaghdad region and to beginpaying them. The US Armyhas revealed the fact that itwas forming, arming andpaying some 60,000 “con-cerned” Iraqi citizens through-out the country, mainly SunniArabs, to control the violenceat local level. Credited withhaving contributed to reduc-ing the level of violence, thesome 200 CLC groupsalready formed are derivedfrom tribal militia thatappeared last year in theWestern region of Anbar. Tostruggle against al-Qaida’sblind massacres, the Sunnitribal Sheikhs of the provincehad undertaken to set upgroups of young militia,made responsible for policingthe areas of their tribal influ-ence.

Since mid-November, threelarge-scale bomb attacks havetake place in the capital, caus-ing at least 36 deaths. The restof the country has not beenspared. On 8 December a sui-cide bomber blew up his carbomb against a police build-ing in Baiji (Northern Iraq),killing at least six policemenand wounding sixteen others.


The day before, at Moq-dadiyah (North) a womanhad set off the explosive beltshe was wearing in the build-ing used b a militia fightingagainst al-Qaida in Iraq, caus-ing 16 deaths and 27 injured.On 12 December, three carbomb attacks committed a fewminutes apart caused 40deaths and dozens of injuredin Amara, which is mainlyShiite in population. Thistriple attack is the bloodiest inIraq for several months andoccurred in a region wherestruggles for influencebetween factions have intensi-fied since the gradual with-drawal of British forces. Thebombs exploded in one of themain thoroughfares of Amara,the capital of MaissanProvince, located some 365Km South of Baghdad, mainlyinhabited by MarshlandArabs. Most of the victimswere killed or injured by thesecond and third bombs thatexploded as a crowd ofonlookers had gathered infront of a parking area, wherethe explosion had taken place.

According to figures pub-lished on 5 December by theIraqi Red Crescent, almost110,000 displaced personswere able to return to theirhomes in Iraq in October. Inall, the number of people dis-placed inside Iraqi territoryhas dropped from 2.3 to 2.19

million. The Red Crescent alsoestimate that slightly over25,000 Iraqis refugees havereturned from Syria since 15September. According toreports coming from the prin-cipal countries offering themasylum, namely Syria andLebanon, the situation there isbecoming daily more andmore precarious for therefugees. According to theHuman Rights Defence group,Human Rights Watch (HRW),the Lebanese authorities havebegum to put pressure on the50,000 Iraqi refugees livingthere. According to Bill Fre-lick, of HRW, those refugeeswho do not have valid visasare too often just thrown intojail until they agree to leavethe Lebanon. Syria is becom-ing less and less hospitableand the conditions for sur-

vival are constantly deterio-rating.

On the other hand, on 10December, Iraq asked the UNSecurity Council to extend fora further year, the mandate ofthe US-led coalition, specify-ing that this was the lastextension and that it could,indeed be shortened. UStroops will remain on Iraqisoil after 2008, but Baghdadwants to amend the terms oftheir mission. Since the begin-ning of the year attacks havedropped by 55%, followingthe deployment of 30,000additional troops since mid-June. The increasing recourseto “concerned local citizens”backed by US troops, mostlyorganised by Sunni tribalChiefs, is said to have bornfruit, despite initial criticisms.

DAMASCUS: THE SYRIAN LEAGUE FOR THE DEFENCE OFHUMAN RIGHTS CONDEMNS THE TRIALS AND SENTENCES

OF KURDS BY THE HIGH COURT OF STATE SECURITY,A SPECIAL EMERGENCY COURT

N 16 December, the Syr-ian police dispersed ademonstration of sever-al dozens of Kurds

before ht High Court of StateSecurity, a special emergencycourt. The demonstrators,coming out I response to acall from three Kurdish par-ties (banned in Syria) wished“to protest against the decision

of the authorities to put fiveKurds on trial before this court”,pointed out the SyrianLeague for the Defence ofHuman Rights (LSDDH).Some demonstrators wereknocked about and beatenwith sticks by the police thenforced into trucks that tookthem out of Damascus, wherethey were released.

O


TURKEY-E.U.: PARIS SUCCEEDS IN HAVING THE WORD“ACCESSION” REMOVED FROM A EUROPEAN

COMMUNIQUÉ ON THE NEGOTIATIONS WITH TURKEY

Furthermore, the same courtsentenced four Kurdishdetainees to imprisonment.Abed Salhab, MohammadAnas Saleh, and RadwanSheikh Mohammad, all threeaccused of “being members ofan organisation aiming at alter-ing the economic and social sta-tus of the State”, were respec-tively sentenced to ten, fiveand four years imprisonment,the LSDDH indicated. RamiSayed was sentenced to fouryears detention for “havingspread false information aimedat weakening the nation”.The LSDDH expressed its“profound anxiety” at the sen-tences passed and denouncedthe special courts, that “violatethe essential freedoms guaran-

teed by the Syrian Constitutionand Human Rights treaties”. Itcalled for “the immediate free-ing of all political detainees”.On 15 December, US Presi-dent George W. Bush calledfor the immediate freeing ofdozens of the regime’s oppo-nents arrested in recent days.“The Syrian regime continues todetain hundreds of prisoners ofopinion and has arrested overthirty members of the NationalCouncil in recent days”,declared Mr. Bush, referringto the Council recently set upround the “Damascus declara-tion”, a call for democraticchange in Syria. “All thesedetainees must be freed immedi-ately”, Mr. Bush stressed inhis communiqué.

N 14 December, the for-mer Spanish PrimeMinister, Felipe Gonza-lez, a former opponent

of Turkey’s joining the Euro-pean Union was chosen topreside the “think tank”desired by Nicolas Sarkozy toconsider the future of Europe.The mandate of the group,which is due to make itsreport in 2010, is to imaginethe face of Europe in the per-spective of 2020-2030, and

does not specifically mentionTurkey. Nicolas Sarkozy hadannounced during the elec-tion campaign that he wouldstop the negotiations withTurkey if elected. He hassince moderated his stand byaccepting to open talks onthose chapters that do notdirectly lead to membership.He has, however, conditionedthe pursuit of these negotia-tions to the setting up of agroup of “wise men” who, so

O

he says, cannot imagine thefuture of Europe in the next20 years without also think-ing about the place it wouldleave for Turkey. However,the group’s mandate makesno direct reference to thereply needed regardingTurkey’s candidacy, nor toEurope’s borders — but the“wise men” will have tobegin by assuring the stabilityof “the European region in abroad sense”.

For his part, on 12 Decemberthe Turkish Prime Minister,Recep Tayyip Erdogan, con-sidered that France could notblock Turkey’s candidacy tothe European Union, even ifParis succeeded in having theword “accession” removedfrom the European commu-niqué on the Turkey-E.U.negotiations, On France’sinsistence, the E.U. ForeignMinisters avoided using thewords membership or acces-sion in their communiquéabout Turkey of 10 Decem-ber. Thus the documentevokes the holding, beforethe end of the month, of“ i n t e r - g o v e r n m e n t a lconferences” and not of “con-ferences on membership” toopen two chapters of negotia-tions. “If France believes it canprevent Turkey’s accession withthe support of some countries, itis mistaken”, declared Mr.Erdogan during a reception


by an Ankara businessman inAnkara, attended by Ambas-sadors of European Unioncountries. “Because Turkeyremains and will continue toremain decided to advance on theroad to the E.U.”, added thePrime Minister. In theseuncharacteristically sharpterms, Mr Erdogan accusesMr. Sarkozy of sending mes-sages in different tonesdepending on whether headdresses them to Turkey orelsewhere. In his view, theE.U. cannot change the rulesof the game at half time, — anallusion to efforts by Sarkozyto persuade Turkey to opt fora “privileged partnership” withthe E.U. and to renounce realmembership.

The French President hasaccepted that discussionscontinue, but not on chaptersof the negotiations that auto-matically imply membership,such as entry into the eurozone, a position that is,indeed, close to that dis-played by Angela Merkel’sentourage. Paris will, there-fore, approve the opening oftwo new chapters at the endof December — on consumerprotection and trans-Euro-pean networks — which willbe added to the five alreadyopened. The French govern-ment is ready to amend theFrench Constitution to sup-press the obligation of a refer-

endum before the admissionof any new countries, such asMacedonia or Serbia — arisky procedure introducedby Mr. Chirac to defuse theTurkish issue.

Furthermore Turkey has beenunder strong pressure fromthe E.U. to amend or sup-press Article 301 of its PenalCode, which allows judges totry people for “insulting Turk-ish identity” and, in particular,to punish statements aboutthe Armenian genocide of1915. Some Turkish officials,quoted off the record byReuters on 7 December, statethat Turkey will amend thiscontroversial article of itsPenal Code for freedom ofexpression — when the E.U.unblocks negotiations formembership with Turkey.Article 301 allows the trial of

people having “insulted Turk-ish identity” and, in particular,punishes any statementsabout the Armenian genocideof 1915. “There is a politicalwill to changer article 301,which has been decided, but themethods and time table dependon certain on certain measuresby the E.U.”, declared a high-ranking official, off therecord. The E.U. is also call-ing for the rights of religiousminorities in Turkey, such asmaking more flexible therestrictions on the property ofnon-Moslems, like the GreekOrthodox community. TheEuropean summit of Decem-ber 2006 froze eight of the 35chapters of negotiation (themost important ones) so longas Turkey refused to open itsports and airports to shipsand planes coming fromCyprus.

THE IRANIAN NUCLEAR CRISIS: RUSSIA STARTS DELIVERINGFUEL WHILE THE US INTELLIGENCE REVEALS, FOR THE FIRST

TIME, THAT IRAN HAD SECRET PLANS EVEN BEFORE 2003

N 30 December the Iran-ian Foreign Ministerannounced that the firstIranian nuclear power

station would start producingelectricity in the summer of2008. Manushehr Mottakideclared that the Russians,who had helped built theBushehr (South) light waterreactor, would have finished

delivering nuclear fuel by thesummer, which would allowstarting the power station.“The Bushehr power station willstart up at 50% capacity nextsummer”, declared Mottaki,according to the IRNA pressagency. The total capacity of thesite is 1,000 MW”.

After several months delay,

O


Russia began its deliveries offuel mid-December and a sec-ond delivery arrived on 28December. In all, 82 tonnesare du to be delivered accord-ing to the Iranian authorities.Moscow had officiallyexplained the delay on theprocedure by delays in pay-ment but many observershave suggested that Russiawas annoyed that the Irani-ans were not assuring theinternational community in aclearer manner that theirnuclear programme was,indeed, purely civilian. Theuse fuel is due to be sent backto Russia, which helped reas-sure the international com-munity that it would not beretreated to extract plutoni-um for military use. Thespokesperson of the Russiancompany Atomstroiexport,Irina Essipova, had pointedout on 20 December that theBushehr power station“would not be started upbefore the end of 2008”. Rus-sia, which took over thebuilding of the plant from theGerman Siemens company,made two deliveries of fuel toBishehr in the last two weeks.These deliveries are due toend next February. “Six afterthe end of fuel delivery we willbegin testing with this fuel.When the tests have been suc-cessfully completed we will beable to start up the plant”, theRussian builder’s spokesper-

son had explained, adding: “Icannot say how long the testingof the fuel will last”. Mr. Motta-ki, however, indicated “deliv-ery will be complete with thesending of eight shipments”.After the first delivery of fuel,Moscow called on Iran to“stop its uranium enrichmentwork” pointing out that thesupply of fuel to Bushehr“was ensured for the rest of itsworking life”. Iran replied bystating that it was continuingits uranium enrichment,against the wishes of theinternational community, soas to supply its future powerstation at Darkhoyan (South).The Iranian Minister of Fueland Power, Parviz Fattah,stated on 30 December thatIran had begun building theDarkhoyen power station inDarkhoyen, in the province ofKhuzistan (South-West Iran). In a report published on 3December, the US Intelligenceservice stated that Iran had,in fact, stopped its nucleararms plans in 2003 andadmitted that it did not knowits current plans, at the risk ofagainst discrediting GeorgeW. Bush’s discourse on thethreat of weapons of massdestruction. “We judge, with ahigh degree of confidence, thatTeheran stopped its nucleararms programme in the autumnof 2003”, according to theIntelligence services, whothink that Iran does not have

any nuclear weapons at pre-sent. On the other hand, 16other intelligence servicesindicated that Iran apparentlyintends to maintain thenuclear arms option andmight be able to produceenough highly enriched ura-nium to make an atom bombbetween 2010 and 2015. Thisagency reveals for the firsttime that Iran did indeedhave secret plans before 2003and also stresses that Irancontinues to have activities inother possible nuclear activi-ties such as enrichment. TheDemocrat opposition to Bushhas based itself on this reportto demand a “new policytowards Iran”, in the terms ofthe Speaker of the House ofRepresentatives, NancyPelosi, while the head of theDemocratic majority in theSenate, Harry Reid, called fora “diplomatic surge of energy”.Some weeks after PresidentBush had brandished thespectre of a “nuclearholocaust” or a Third WorldWar if Iran had the bomb, theBush Administration is beingpushed onto the defensive byunfavourable comparisonswith the Iraqi precedent,when he had invoked thedanger of Saddam Hussein’sweapons mass destruction.Uranium enrichment, thatIran refuses to suspenddespite two series of interna-tional sanctions and the dan-

ger of a third, is intended toproduce fuel for its futurecivilian power stations, theIslamic regime insists. How-ever, enriched to over 10%,uranium can provide materi-al for a bomb. The note hasappeared at a time when thesix powers taking part in thenegotiations over Iranian

nuclear plans (France, Ger-many, Russia China the Unit-ed Kingdom and the UnitedStates) are discussing a thirdresolution strengtheningsanctions against Iran to get itto suspend its suspectednuclear activities — especial-ly the enrichment of urani-um.


AS WELL AS …

• THE KURDISH DEPUTYPRIME MINISTER HOPESFOR A STRATEGICALLIANCE BETWEEN THEUNITED STATES ANDKURDISTAN. On 11December, the Deputy PrimeMinister, Omar Fatah, indi-cated that the government ofKurdistan hoped to sign aseparate agreement with theUnited States organising along-term American militarypresence on its territory. “Astrategic agreement betweenKurdistan and the UnitedStates would satisfy us”, heinsisted in a statement to thepress at Irbil.

Returning from a visit to theUnited States, he was com-menting on the signing of anagreement between Washing-ton and the Baghdad centralgovernment to maintain US

troops in Iraq on the expiry ofthe UN mandate at the end of2008. “We are satisfied with thisagreement between Washingtonand Baghdad (…) the Kurdishleadership has tried to have thesame thing several times” theDeputy Prime Minister con-tinued. “We are not in favour ofa rapid withdrawal of Americantroops. We want these troops toremain until the establishment ofa democratic and federal Iraq”,Mr. Fatah insisted.

Eight members of the Kur-dish security forces, the pesh-mergas, were killed on 16December in an attack on acontrol post near the town ofKaratappa, in the neighbour-ing province of Diyala. JabarYawar, Commander of thePeshmergas who ensure secu-rity in Iraqi Kurdistan madethe point that “eight peshmer-

gas were killed and five werewounded when terroristsattacked their control post” in ashoot out that lasted over twohours, and that three “terror-ists” were killed. Some pesh-merga units have been sent tothe Karatappa region, wheresome communities of ShiiteKurds are settled, whileDiyala Province is the sceneof an American offensiveagainst the Iraqi emulators ofal-Qaida.

• IRAN: TWO KURDISHFEMINISTS, HAVINGLAUNCHED A CAMPAIGNAGAINST DISCRIMINATO-RY LAWS AGAINSTWOMEN, ARE ARRESTEDBY THE IRANIANAUTHORITIES. An Iranianjudge has accused two femi-nist activists of having con-ducted “terrorist activities” inSanandaj, provincial capitalof Kurdistan Province,according to a report dated 16December by the officialnews agency IRNA. RonakSafarzadeh and Hana Abdi“have been arrested for actioncontrary to national security bytaking part in recent bombattacks in Sanandj and for beingmembers of the PEJAK Group”,declared the judge responsi-ble for the case. According tohim “the counter-revolutionarygroups use civic organisations tocarry out their terrorist actions”.The two young women were


among the feminist groupsthat, several months ago,launched a campaign to col-lect a million signatures toalter laws that discriminatedagainst women. The legalofficial added “people havebeen arrested in Teheran for hav-ing carried out actions in favourof Pejak under cover of the cam-paign for a million women’s sig-natures”. Some internationalorganisations for the defenceof human rights have protest-ed against the arrest of thesefeminist activists, particularlyRonak Safarzadeh and HanaAbdi.

PEJAK, an acronym for theParty for a free life in Kurdis-tan, is linked to the KurdistanWorkers’ Party (PKK). Itwages an armed struggleagainst the Iranian regime.The Province of Kurdistanand the neighbouringprovince of Western Azerbai-jan are the scene of sporadicclashes attributed by theauthorities to “Kurdish sepa-ratist groups”. The forces of theForeign Ministry of Informa-tion announced, on 25November, that it had arrest-ed 11 members of Pejak,accused, amongst other thingsof having “attacked and set onfire a police station in Sanandajand set off several bombs”.

• BAGHDAD WANTS TORENEGOTIATE THE 1975

TREATY OF ALGIERS THATDEFINES THE IRAQ-IRANBORDER. On 29 December,the Iraqi Deputy ForeignMinister, Labid Abbawi,announced that an Iraqi dele-gation would be going to Iranin the coming days to negoti-ate slight modifications to theagreement, which has definedthe border between the twocountries since 1975. This ini-tiative, seems to confirm adiplomatic solution to a dis-agreement linked to theTreaty of Algiers, signednearly 33 years ago, andwhich Iraqi Presidentdescribed on 25 December as“null and void”. The IraqiPresident later indicated thatthe treaty was still valid butthat Iraq wished to negotiatecertain changes. The IranianForeign Minister, ManushehrMottaki, quoted by the IRNApress agency on 29 December,as saying “We approve Tala-bani’s latest declaration that the1975 Treaty between Iran andIraq was valid”. “This point ofview can constitute a solid basefor relations between Iran andIraq”, he added.

Labid Abbawi indicated thatthe Iranians had accepted todiscuss changes to the Treaty,without, however, giving anydate for the discussions. “Partof the discussions will concernthe Algiers treaty, we will dis-cuss the border and try to define

clearly its line. There are oilfields on the border and we hopethat the benefits be shared”, hedeclared. “This does not pre-sent a problem for Iraq. Theyhave agreed to negotiations andthere is no problem”, he added.The treaty of Algiers has beencontroversial since it wassigned by Saddam Hussein,at that time Iraqi Vice-Presi-dent and the Shah of Iran, Inthe 1980s, disagreements overthe border plunged Iran andIraq into a war that lastedeight years and caused over amillion deaths. At the heart ofthe claims id the Shatt al-Arab estuary, which allowsaccess to the Arabo-PersianGulf and contains oilfields.According to Labid Abbawi,portions of Iraqi territory arenow flooded because of ero-sion and geographic changesin the region. Iraq also hopesto negotiate with Iran theneutralisation of thousands ofmines that still strew theShatt el-Arab

• FORMER IRANIANPRESIDENT, MOHAM-MAD KHATAMI, WILLLEAD A COALITION OF 21PARTIES IN THE NEXTPARLIAMENTARY ELEC-TIONS. The former Presi-dent of Iran, MohammadKhatami, is returning to theforefront in preparation forthe Parliamentary electionsdue 14 March next. He will

lead a coalition of reformersand moderate conservativeswhose objective is to regaincontrol of the Majlis (the Iran-ian parliament), at presentdominated by President Mah-mud Ahmedinjad’sAbadgaran Party. The coali-tion led by Mr. Khatamibrings together 21 parties,including allies and othersloyal to Ali Akbar HashemiRafsanjani, another formerIranian president and a veryinfluential figure in the politi-cal caste. The reformingalliance aims to campaign bycriticising the country’s eco-nomic situation, including agalloping inflation and theextremism of the positionsadopted by PresidentAhmedinjad, particularly onthe nuclear issue. For someweeks now criticisms direct-ed at President Ahmedinjadhave been increasingly fre-quent and have even beenexpressed in media consid-ered close to the SupremeGuide, Ayatollah Khamenei.Mohammad Khatami, whowas President of the IslamicRepublic from 1997 to 2007,embodies the hopes of awhole of Iranian society, par-ticularly the students, thathopes for a certain moderni-sation of society. These hopeshave been disappointed, part-ly because of the political sys-tem, the principal levers ofwhich remain concentrated in

the hands of the SupremeGuide of the Revolution — afactor which paved the wayfor the return to power of theultra-conservatives in 2004.Meanwhile, the Iranian Presi-dent, Mahmud Ahmedinjad,will be going on the annualpilgrimage to Mecca, in SaudiArabia — a first ever for aHead of State of the IslamicRepublic. “On the official invi-tation of (the Saudi) KingAbdullah, President Ahmedin-jad will take part this year in thepilgrimage to Mecca”, declaredMojtaba Samareh Hashemi,principal adviser to the Headof State on 13 December, asquoted by the Mehr pressagency. “This is the first time,in the history of relationsbetween Iran and Saudi Arabia,that the Saudi King has inviteda President of the IslamicRepublic to come to Mecca onpilgrimage”, declared for hispart Ali Akbar Javanfekr, thePresident’s media adviser.On 11 December, the IranianPresident had stated thatking Abdullah had invitedhim verbally, during therecent summit of the GulfCooperation Council, to goon the pilgrimage to Mecca.This will be 'r. Ahmedinjad’sthird visit to Saudi Arabiasince his taking office in 2005.Iran, which is mainly Shiiteand the mainly Sunni SaudiArabia have been trying, overthe last few years, to

strengthen relations hithertomarked by mutual distrust.These relations have longbeen marked by a tragedy inMecca in 1987, when 402 pil-grims, including 275 Iranians,were killed, according to theofficial assessment, by theSaudi police. The latter wererepressing a traditionaldemonstration by Iranian inMecca against the UnitedStates and Israel. Iran, at thetime, was in the middle of itswar with Iraq, which wassupported by the Gulfmonarchies, including SaudiArabia.

• GREAT BRITAIN HANDSOVER RESPONSIBILITYFOR BASRA TO THE IRAQIFORCES. On 16 December,Great Britain officially hand-ed over responsibility for thesecurity of Basra Province tothe Iraqi forces, at the end ofnearly five years of Britishcontrol of Southern Iraq. Dur-ing an official ceremony tomark the event in the lastBritish military base in theregion, the province’s Gover-nor, Mohammed Mosbah al-Waeli, linked to the Fadilaparty, declared: “This is a his-toric moment, a special day, oneof the greatest days in the histo-ry of modern Basra”. Thou-sands of Iraqi soldiers andpolice took part in the marchpast along the riverbanks ofthe capital of the Great South,



with a cloud of helicoptersflying above them. Motor-boats also crossed the Shattel-Arab, the river at the con-fluence of the Tigris andEuphrates, which leads downto the Gulf. The Commanderof the British forces, GeneralGraham Binns, who led thetroops who captured the cityin 2003, paid homage to theIraqi security forces, insistingthat the were equal to the taskthat was being confided tothem.

This province, of 2.6 millionpredominately Shiite inhabi-tants, is clearly the mostdensely inhabited and richestof the 18 Iraqi provinceswhose control has been hand-ed over to the Iraqis. It is theprincipal centre for theexporting of Iraqi oil, andBasra is the country’s secondlargest city. The Iraqi forcesinsist that the 30,000 soldiersand police present in theregion are in a position tokeep the peace. The provincehas, to a large extent, beenspared the sectarian conflictsthat have caused tens of thou-sands of deaths in the centreof Iraq. But the city of Basrahas been the scene of bloodyclashes between rival Shiitefactions, criminals and traf-

fickers of various sorts. Thefactions have agreed to atruce, for this month, and vio-lence has diminished, but anoutbreak of violence remainspossible in the regions evacu-ated b the British forces. It isfor this reason that a reducedBritish contingent will remainin Southern Iraq, confined toits base round Basra Airportand that a few army instruc-tors as well as a rapid reac-tion force will remain readyin case of need. Great Britainnow has some 4,500 men inIraq, less than a tenth of theforce sent to overthrow Sad-dam Hussein. There havebeen 174 British troops killedin Iraq since the beginning ofthe war in March 2003. TheUnited States have openlysupported the decision oftheir British allies to gradual-ly disengage from Iraq. Afterthe fall of Saddam Hussein,Great Britain controlled fourprovinces in the South,backed by contingents of Ital-ian, Australian, Japanese andothers — most of whom havelong been gone. Of the fourprovinces of which Britainhad charge, three havealready been handed over tothe Iraqi authorities:Muthanna, Zi Qar, and Mis-san. The British forces began

to hand over control of theprovince to the Iraqis lastyear. On 3 September theyhad given control of the cityof Basra’s security to the Iraqiauthorities.

The Province of Basra, troughwhose port transits 80% ofIraqi oil, exports 1.5 millionbarrels of oil per day, whichsupplies virtually the totalityof the Iraqi government’sresources. The wealth in oil ofthis province produces,together with the neighbour-ing province of Missan, some70% of Iraq’s crude. Part ofthis oil is also sold abroadoutside official channels, asource of illicit revenue forsmugglers and other traffick-ers, many of which are sus-pected of having links withlocal militia. Political rivalrieshave divided the citybetween three main factions.The supporters of imam Moq-tada al-Sadr, fiercely anti-American, have considerablestreet influence. His rival, theSupreme Council of theIslamic Revolution in Iraq(SCIRI) enjoys considerableinfluence with the securityforces while the Fadila party,the smallest, is influential inthe civil administration.

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ôzeti

LE FIGARO 4 décembre 2007

L'Irak, le Kurdistanet le débat turcLes États-Unis tiennent à

ce que les cent mille sol¬dats turcs massés à lafrontière des trois provin¬

ces autonomes du Kurdistan ira¬kien n'interviennent pas. Pointn'est besoin d'un front supplé¬mentaire dans une situation déjàcomplexe où le général DavidPetraeus tente, avec un certainsuccès, de reprendre rinitiative.

Le Parti des travailleurs duKurdistan (PKK) a cherché, par sesopérations militaires, à refaire sur-,face afin de conforter un prestigedéclinant. Cette stratégie aberran¬te a redonné l'occasion à l'arméeturque de marquer des points dansla confrontation politique qui sejoue entre le gouvernement éluavec une belle majorité eti'institu-tion militaire qui a longtemps étéla colonne vertébrale de l'État.

Durant les années récentes oùle PKK avait décrété une trêve, lesmilitaires se sont opposés à toutesolution politique que semblaitsouhaiter le gouvernement. Il fau¬dra bien pourtant reconnaître unjour qu'il n'est pas possible derefuser indéfiniment d'accorder delarges droits culturels à une mino¬rité constituant quelque 20 % de lapopulation !

Trop longtemps, la Turquie anié l'identité kurde en n'offrantpour perspective que l'assimila-

ParGérard Chaliand*

« La partiequi se joue

à la frontièreturco-irakienne

est aussiune affaire

turco-turque»

tion forcée. Le PKK ne constitueplus une menace militaire commedurant les années 1990. Une paruede ses militants se trouve en Tur¬quie et parvient toujours à échap¬per aux ratissages des forcesannées, une petite partie -vrai¬semblablement de 2 000 à 3 000 -se tient le long de la frontièreirako-iranienne. Une incursionterrestre -il y en a déjà eu dans lepassé- n'aurait que peu de senssur le plan militaire. En quoi régie-

rait-eJle le problème kurde en Tur¬quie ? Ce serait, en revanche, sur leplan politique, une catastropherégionale. Les Kurdes d'Irak, enobligeant le PKK à rendre les huitsoldats turcs prisonniers, ontmontré leur volonté de ne pas en¬venimer les relations avec la Tur¬quie, tout en déclarant qu'en casd'incursion ils se défendraient.

La menace d'intervention n'estpas levée et le référendum, qui

devait avoir lieu en décembre-avec l'accord du gouvernementde Bagdad- et qui pourrait êtrereporté à 2008, sur la dévolution dela ville de Kirkouk, constitue peut-être la raison essentielle de la pres¬sion turque. Cette ville, majoritai¬rement kurde, a été à l'origine de ladiscorde entre Saddam Hussein etle mouvement kurde pendant plusde trente-cinq ans. Pour les Kurdesd'Irak qui la considèrent commeleur capitale régionale, son appar¬tenance au Kurdistan d'Irak seraità la fois synonyme de réparation

historique et de surcroît de puis¬sance économique. Cette perspec¬tive serait inacceptable pour cer¬tains des hauts responsablesmilitaires turcs confortés par uneopinion publique de plus en plusantikurde, ce qui est inquiétantpour l'avenir de la Turquie elle-même.

Si l'intervention devait avoirlieu, elle viserait à frapper le

Kurdistan d'Irak, non le PKK.C'était déjà le sens de la crise de2003, entre la Turquie et les États-Unis, concernant le refus que leterritoire turc soit utilisé par les

forces américaines pour ouvrir unfront nord contre Saddam Hus¬sein. La condition posée par laTurquie pour accéder à cetterequête était que ses propres trou¬pes participeraient à l'interventionen Irak du Nord, où les Kurdes dis¬posaient déjà d'une région auto¬nome.

L'intérêt du gouvernementturc est de conserver des relationscordiales avec le grand allié améri¬cain dans le cadre de l'Otan et decontinuer à chercher à faire partiede l'Union européenne, ce qui,outre les avantages économiqueset financiers que cela peut lui pro¬curer, équivaut à marginaliserl'armée. La partie qui se joue à lafrontière turco-irakienne est aussiune affaire turco-turque. En tantque dirigeant politique ayant desobjectifs à long terme, le premierministre turc, Recep Tayyip Erdo-gan, sait qu'il faut éviter l'aventured'une telle intervention, mais lespassions sont difficiles à contrôleret les provocations toujours possi¬bles. H faut aussi retenir l'hypothè¬se selon laquelle la dévolution deKirkouk aux Kurdes peut paraîtreinacceptable à l'État turc.

* Géostratège, spécialistedes conflits, auteur de L'Amériqueen guerre, Irak-Afghanistan,aux Éditions du Rocher, 2007.

TURQUIE-IRAK OPÉRATION COMMÂNPO

££££ Incursion de l'armée turqueen territoire irakien contre le PKKISTANBULCORRESPONDANCE

Une centaine de bérets violets, les comman¬dos turcs, auraient mené une brève opéra¬tion en territoire irakien, samedi 1er décem¬bre, contre les rebelles kurdes du Parti destravailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK). Un com¬muniqué publié par l'état-major de l'ar¬mée turque assure qu'un camp de « cin¬quante à soixante terroristes», dans lesmontagnes du nord de l'Irak, a été détruitet que la «puissante attaque » a causé delourdes pertes chez l'ennemi. Plusieurshélicoptères de combat sont égalementintervenus à l'intérieur des frontières ira¬kiennes, depuis la base turque deCukurca.

Une incursion éclair qui devrait enappeler d'autres, comme l'a laissé enten

dre le porte-parole du gouvernement,Cemil Ciçek. L'objectif de cette attaqueest surtout médiatique. C'est la premièreopération depuis que le Parlement turc adonné son accord à une interventiontransfrontalière, en octobre. Et le28 novembre, le premier ministre turc,Recep Tayyip Erdogan, avait autorisé lesforces du général Yasar Bùyiikanit àentrer en action. Un pas supplémentairedans la dissuasion. Mais ce ne sont pasencore les « opérations d'envergure »qu'Ankara menace de lancer depuis lemois d'avril.

Les responsables du PKK ont admis,dimanche, avoir été bombardés, maisdémentent avoir subi des pertes humai¬nes dans l'assaut. Les autorités irakien

nes et la Maison Blanche se sont mon¬trées prudentes. Washington a refusé decommenter ce nouvel épisode, disanttout faire avec l'Irak et la Turquie pourcontrer la « menace terroriste du PKK».Mais l'opération intervient deux joursaprès la visite du vice-secrétaire d'Etataméricain, John Negroponte, au Kurdis¬tan autonome.

Sous la pression diplomatique, desmesures avaient été prises, depuis quel¬ques semaines, par les autorités irakien¬nes pour limiter la liberté de circulationdes rebelles du PKK - 2 000 combattantsqui seraient toujours réfugiés en Irak,selon les renseignements turcs. D'autresont déjà migré vers l'Iran. Ou vers le sud-est de la Turquie, à majorité kurde, oùl'armée turque dirige également des atta¬ques. Quatre rebelles ont été tués, same¬di, dans les provinces de Sirnak et deSiirt. m

Guillaume Perrier

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ôzeti

LE FIGARO 4 décembre 2007

L'Irak, le Kurdistanet le débat turcLes États-Unis tiennent à

ce que les cent mille sol¬dats turcs massés à lafrontière des trois provin¬

ces autonomes du Kurdistan ira¬kien n'interviennent pas. Pointn'est besoin d'un front supplé¬mentaire dans une situation déjàcomplexe où le général DavidPetraeus tente, avec un certainsuccès, de reprendre rinitiative.

Le Parti des travailleurs duKurdistan (PKK) a cherché, par sesopérations militaires, à refaire sur-,face afin de conforter un prestigedéclinant. Cette stratégie aberran¬te a redonné l'occasion à l'arméeturque de marquer des points dansla confrontation politique qui sejoue entre le gouvernement éluavec une belle majorité eti'institu-tion militaire qui a longtemps étéla colonne vertébrale de l'État.

Durant les années récentes oùle PKK avait décrété une trêve, lesmilitaires se sont opposés à toutesolution politique que semblaitsouhaiter le gouvernement. Il fau¬dra bien pourtant reconnaître unjour qu'il n'est pas possible derefuser indéfiniment d'accorder delarges droits culturels à une mino¬rité constituant quelque 20 % de lapopulation !

Trop longtemps, la Turquie anié l'identité kurde en n'offrantpour perspective que l'assimila-

ParGérard Chaliand*

« La partiequi se joue

à la frontièreturco-irakienne

est aussiune affaire

turco-turque»

tion forcée. Le PKK ne constitueplus une menace militaire commedurant les années 1990. Une paruede ses militants se trouve en Tur¬quie et parvient toujours à échap¬per aux ratissages des forcesannées, une petite partie -vrai¬semblablement de 2 000 à 3 000 -se tient le long de la frontièreirako-iranienne. Une incursionterrestre -il y en a déjà eu dans lepassé- n'aurait que peu de senssur le plan militaire. En quoi régie-

rait-eJle le problème kurde en Tur¬quie ? Ce serait, en revanche, sur leplan politique, une catastropherégionale. Les Kurdes d'Irak, enobligeant le PKK à rendre les huitsoldats turcs prisonniers, ontmontré leur volonté de ne pas en¬venimer les relations avec la Tur¬quie, tout en déclarant qu'en casd'incursion ils se défendraient.

La menace d'intervention n'estpas levée et le référendum, qui

devait avoir lieu en décembre-avec l'accord du gouvernementde Bagdad- et qui pourrait êtrereporté à 2008, sur la dévolution dela ville de Kirkouk, constitue peut-être la raison essentielle de la pres¬sion turque. Cette ville, majoritai¬rement kurde, a été à l'origine de ladiscorde entre Saddam Hussein etle mouvement kurde pendant plusde trente-cinq ans. Pour les Kurdesd'Irak qui la considèrent commeleur capitale régionale, son appar¬tenance au Kurdistan d'Irak seraità la fois synonyme de réparation

historique et de surcroît de puis¬sance économique. Cette perspec¬tive serait inacceptable pour cer¬tains des hauts responsablesmilitaires turcs confortés par uneopinion publique de plus en plusantikurde, ce qui est inquiétantpour l'avenir de la Turquie elle-même.

Si l'intervention devait avoirlieu, elle viserait à frapper le

Kurdistan d'Irak, non le PKK.C'était déjà le sens de la crise de2003, entre la Turquie et les États-Unis, concernant le refus que leterritoire turc soit utilisé par les

forces américaines pour ouvrir unfront nord contre Saddam Hus¬sein. La condition posée par laTurquie pour accéder à cetterequête était que ses propres trou¬pes participeraient à l'interventionen Irak du Nord, où les Kurdes dis¬posaient déjà d'une région auto¬nome.

L'intérêt du gouvernementturc est de conserver des relationscordiales avec le grand allié améri¬cain dans le cadre de l'Otan et decontinuer à chercher à faire partiede l'Union européenne, ce qui,outre les avantages économiqueset financiers que cela peut lui pro¬curer, équivaut à marginaliserl'armée. La partie qui se joue à lafrontière turco-irakienne est aussiune affaire turco-turque. En tantque dirigeant politique ayant desobjectifs à long terme, le premierministre turc, Recep Tayyip Erdo-gan, sait qu'il faut éviter l'aventured'une telle intervention, mais lespassions sont difficiles à contrôleret les provocations toujours possi¬bles. H faut aussi retenir l'hypothè¬se selon laquelle la dévolution deKirkouk aux Kurdes peut paraîtreinacceptable à l'État turc.

* Géostratège, spécialistedes conflits, auteur de L'Amériqueen guerre, Irak-Afghanistan,aux Éditions du Rocher, 2007.

TURQUIE-IRAK OPÉRATION COMMÂNPO

££££ Incursion de l'armée turqueen territoire irakien contre le PKKISTANBULCORRESPONDANCE

Une centaine de bérets violets, les comman¬dos turcs, auraient mené une brève opéra¬tion en territoire irakien, samedi 1er décem¬bre, contre les rebelles kurdes du Parti destravailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK). Un com¬muniqué publié par l'état-major de l'ar¬mée turque assure qu'un camp de « cin¬quante à soixante terroristes», dans lesmontagnes du nord de l'Irak, a été détruitet que la «puissante attaque » a causé delourdes pertes chez l'ennemi. Plusieurshélicoptères de combat sont égalementintervenus à l'intérieur des frontières ira¬kiennes, depuis la base turque deCukurca.

Une incursion éclair qui devrait enappeler d'autres, comme l'a laissé enten

dre le porte-parole du gouvernement,Cemil Ciçek. L'objectif de cette attaqueest surtout médiatique. C'est la premièreopération depuis que le Parlement turc adonné son accord à une interventiontransfrontalière, en octobre. Et le28 novembre, le premier ministre turc,Recep Tayyip Erdogan, avait autorisé lesforces du général Yasar Bùyiikanit àentrer en action. Un pas supplémentairedans la dissuasion. Mais ce ne sont pasencore les « opérations d'envergure »qu'Ankara menace de lancer depuis lemois d'avril.

Les responsables du PKK ont admis,dimanche, avoir été bombardés, maisdémentent avoir subi des pertes humai¬nes dans l'assaut. Les autorités irakien

nes et la Maison Blanche se sont mon¬trées prudentes. Washington a refusé decommenter ce nouvel épisode, disanttout faire avec l'Irak et la Turquie pourcontrer la « menace terroriste du PKK».Mais l'opération intervient deux joursaprès la visite du vice-secrétaire d'Etataméricain, John Negroponte, au Kurdis¬tan autonome.

Sous la pression diplomatique, desmesures avaient été prises, depuis quel¬ques semaines, par les autorités irakien¬nes pour limiter la liberté de circulationdes rebelles du PKK - 2 000 combattantsqui seraient toujours réfugiés en Irak,selon les renseignements turcs. D'autresont déjà migré vers l'Iran. Ou vers le sud-est de la Turquie, à majorité kurde, oùl'armée turque dirige également des atta¬ques. Quatre rebelles ont été tués, same¬di, dans les provinces de Sirnak et deSiirt. m

Guillaume Perrier

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

Turquie/Irak

jfj Incursion militaire contre le PKK02 décembre 2007

Vendredi, le gouvernement turc avait donné son feu vert pour une opéra¬tion armée contre des bases des kurdes séparatistes dans le nord de l'Irak.Une centaine de membres des forces spéciales ont ainsi franchi la frontièrepour attaquer un camp tenu par les rebelles du Parti des travailleurs duKurdistan, le PKK. L'attaque faisant une vingtaine de morts parmi lessoixantaine de rebelles présents. Selon le communiqué de l'état-major turc,ce genre d'opération coup de poing va se reproduire. Il y a quelques se¬maines, la Turquie avait menacé de lancer une grande offensive contre lesbases des séparatistes kurdes dans le nord de l'Irak après une attaquekurde contre des soldats turcs.

Avec notre correspondant à Istanbul,Jérôme Bastion

L'état-major turc a confirmé dans lasoirée avoir mené « la première de

ses opérations visant à mettre horsd'état de nuire le PKK en Irak du nord ».Le communiqué précise que ces opéra¬tions ne visent pas les populations loca¬les tant qu'elles n'ont pas une attitudehostile vis-à-vis des militaires turcs.

Une opération ponctuelle, héliportée,contre un campement provisoire du PKKsitué à une vingtaine de kilomètres àl'intérieur du territoire irakien.

Cette incursion n'est pas confirmée parla rébellion elle-même, ni non plus par

les Kurdes irakiens, ni même parles forces armées américainesen Irak.

Une vingtaine de tués

Ce sont une centaine de com¬mandos, les « bérets violets »comme on les appelle ici, qui ontété déposés sur ce camp de larébellion, d'abord bombardé depuis les airs, avant d'être pris d'assaut.L'attaque a fait une vingtaine de tuésparmi la soixantaine de rebelles pré¬sents.

Une intervention prévisible, réclaméedepuis des mois et en quelque sorteannoncée vendredi par le Premier minis-

II y aurait en Irak près d'un millier decamps du PKK comme celuici, toujours intégrés dans le paysage. Seulle visage du leader du parti Abdullah Ôca¬lan peint à même la montagne trahit leurprésence. (Photo : Paulina Zidi)

tre qui disait en avoir laissé la respon¬sabilité, mercredi, à l'armée.

Si l'on en croit le communiqué de l'état-major, ce genre d'opération coup depoing va se reproduire.

Incursion turque au Kurdistan: "pas de victime"selon le PKK

ERBIL (Irak), 2 déc 2007 (AFP) -

Un haut responsable du Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan a reconnudimanche que des hélicoptères turcs avaient bombardé des combat¬

tants du PKK la veille au Kurdistan irakien, mais nié que le raid ait faitdes victimes comme l'affirme Ankara.

Le groupe, qui avait dans un premier temps démenti l'incursion turquedans le nord de l'Irak, a réitéré une précédente offre de cessez-le-feufaite à Ankara.

"Il y a eu une frappe aérienne menée par des hélicoptères le long de lafrontière", a déclaré au correspondant de l'AFP à Erbil, capitale du Kur¬distan irakien, un responsable du PKK qui a requis l'anonymat.

"Aucun de nos combattants n'a été tué", a-t-il affirmé, interrogé au télé¬phone depuis un lieu qu'il n'a pas précisé.

La veille, le même responsable avait démenti toute incursion, terrestreou aérienne, de l'armée turque au Kurdistan irakien.

L'armée turque a annoncé être intervenue samedi dans le nord de l'Irakcontre un groupe d'une cinquantaine de rebelles du PKK, leur infligeantselon elle de "lourdes pertes".

Selon Ankara, l'artillerie et des éléments aériens ont attaqué "à l'intérieurdes frontières de l'Irak" un groupe de 50 à 60 combattants du PKK.

C'est la première fois que l'armée turque passait aux actes depuis le feuvert des députés, en octobre, à des opérations militaires en territoireirakien. Ces raids ont pour but de répondre à des attaques menées par lePKK en Turquie depuis ses bases arrière en Irak.

Le PKK "veut résoudre la crise avec Ankara", a assuré le même respon¬sable kurde, renvoyant à un communiqué officiel de l'organisation sépa¬ratiste transmis dimanche à l'AFP.

Le mouvement rebelle y dit qu'il "déposera les armes si les autoritésturques répondent positivement à un certain nombre de conditions".

Le PKK exige que la Turquie "admette les droits du peuple kurde dans saConstitution", "reconnaisse la langue kurde comme la seconde langueofficielle du pays" et libère les membres du PKK, dont ses leaders, ac¬tuellement détenus en Turquie.

L'organisation séparatiste exige également le "retrait de l'armée turquedu sud-est de la Turquie", la création d'un comité conjoint entre la Tur¬quie et le PKK pour préparer son intégration au sein du processus politi¬que, et l'annonce par le Premier ministre Recep Tayyip Erdogan d'uneamnistie générale de tous les combattants du PKK.

Le communiqué ne fait aucune mention du bombardement mené samedipar l'armée turque.

Fin octobre, le PKK avait affirmé être disposé à respecter un cessez-le-feu si l'armée turque renonçait à ses projets d'incursion et si l'Etat turcrespectait les droits politiques et culturels de la minorité kurde en Tur¬quie.

Ce cessez-le-feu conditionnel avait été rejeté dès le lendemain par Anka¬ra.

"Il n'y a pas eu d'incursion. Juste un bombardement le long de la fron¬tière", a affirmé Fouad Hussein, le chef de la présidence kurde et princi¬pal collaborateur du président du Kurdistan autonome Massoud Barzani.

Le gouvernement central de Bagdad n'a jusqu'à présent fait aucun com¬mentaire officiel sur le bombardement turc.

En visite en Irak, le secrétaire d'Etat adjoint américain, John Negroponte,a déclaré à Bagdad: "nous sommes tous d'accord pour dire que le PKKest une organisation très négative, un groupe terroriste qui ne doit pasêtre autorisé à opérer depuis le territoire irakien contre la Turquie".

"Nous avons l'objectif commun de mettre fin à leurs activités", a-t-ildéclar


Turquie/Irak

jfj Incursion militaire contre le PKK02 décembre 2007

Vendredi, le gouvernement turc avait donné son feu vert pour une opéra¬tion armée contre des bases des kurdes séparatistes dans le nord de l'Irak.Une centaine de membres des forces spéciales ont ainsi franchi la frontièrepour attaquer un camp tenu par les rebelles du Parti des travailleurs duKurdistan, le PKK. L'attaque faisant une vingtaine de morts parmi lessoixantaine de rebelles présents. Selon le communiqué de l'état-major turc,ce genre d'opération coup de poing va se reproduire. Il y a quelques se¬maines, la Turquie avait menacé de lancer une grande offensive contre lesbases des séparatistes kurdes dans le nord de l'Irak après une attaquekurde contre des soldats turcs.

Avec notre correspondant à Istanbul,Jérôme Bastion

L'état-major turc a confirmé dans lasoirée avoir mené « la première de

ses opérations visant à mettre horsd'état de nuire le PKK en Irak du nord ».Le communiqué précise que ces opéra¬tions ne visent pas les populations loca¬les tant qu'elles n'ont pas une attitudehostile vis-à-vis des militaires turcs.

Une opération ponctuelle, héliportée,contre un campement provisoire du PKKsitué à une vingtaine de kilomètres àl'intérieur du territoire irakien.

Cette incursion n'est pas confirmée parla rébellion elle-même, ni non plus par

les Kurdes irakiens, ni même parles forces armées américainesen Irak.

Une vingtaine de tués

Ce sont une centaine de com¬mandos, les « bérets violets »comme on les appelle ici, qui ontété déposés sur ce camp de larébellion, d'abord bombardé depuis les airs, avant d'être pris d'assaut.L'attaque a fait une vingtaine de tuésparmi la soixantaine de rebelles pré¬sents.

Une intervention prévisible, réclaméedepuis des mois et en quelque sorteannoncée vendredi par le Premier minis-

II y aurait en Irak près d'un millier decamps du PKK comme celuici, toujours intégrés dans le paysage. Seulle visage du leader du parti Abdullah Ôca¬lan peint à même la montagne trahit leurprésence. (Photo : Paulina Zidi)

tre qui disait en avoir laissé la respon¬sabilité, mercredi, à l'armée.

Si l'on en croit le communiqué de l'état-major, ce genre d'opération coup depoing va se reproduire.

Incursion turque au Kurdistan: "pas de victime"selon le PKK

ERBIL (Irak), 2 déc 2007 (AFP) -

Un haut responsable du Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan a reconnudimanche que des hélicoptères turcs avaient bombardé des combat¬

tants du PKK la veille au Kurdistan irakien, mais nié que le raid ait faitdes victimes comme l'affirme Ankara.

Le groupe, qui avait dans un premier temps démenti l'incursion turquedans le nord de l'Irak, a réitéré une précédente offre de cessez-le-feufaite à Ankara.

"Il y a eu une frappe aérienne menée par des hélicoptères le long de lafrontière", a déclaré au correspondant de l'AFP à Erbil, capitale du Kur¬distan irakien, un responsable du PKK qui a requis l'anonymat.

"Aucun de nos combattants n'a été tué", a-t-il affirmé, interrogé au télé¬phone depuis un lieu qu'il n'a pas précisé.

La veille, le même responsable avait démenti toute incursion, terrestreou aérienne, de l'armée turque au Kurdistan irakien.

L'armée turque a annoncé être intervenue samedi dans le nord de l'Irakcontre un groupe d'une cinquantaine de rebelles du PKK, leur infligeantselon elle de "lourdes pertes".

Selon Ankara, l'artillerie et des éléments aériens ont attaqué "à l'intérieurdes frontières de l'Irak" un groupe de 50 à 60 combattants du PKK.

C'est la première fois que l'armée turque passait aux actes depuis le feuvert des députés, en octobre, à des opérations militaires en territoireirakien. Ces raids ont pour but de répondre à des attaques menées par lePKK en Turquie depuis ses bases arrière en Irak.

Le PKK "veut résoudre la crise avec Ankara", a assuré le même respon¬sable kurde, renvoyant à un communiqué officiel de l'organisation sépa¬ratiste transmis dimanche à l'AFP.

Le mouvement rebelle y dit qu'il "déposera les armes si les autoritésturques répondent positivement à un certain nombre de conditions".

Le PKK exige que la Turquie "admette les droits du peuple kurde dans saConstitution", "reconnaisse la langue kurde comme la seconde langueofficielle du pays" et libère les membres du PKK, dont ses leaders, ac¬tuellement détenus en Turquie.

L'organisation séparatiste exige également le "retrait de l'armée turquedu sud-est de la Turquie", la création d'un comité conjoint entre la Tur¬quie et le PKK pour préparer son intégration au sein du processus politi¬que, et l'annonce par le Premier ministre Recep Tayyip Erdogan d'uneamnistie générale de tous les combattants du PKK.

Le communiqué ne fait aucune mention du bombardement mené samedipar l'armée turque.

Fin octobre, le PKK avait affirmé être disposé à respecter un cessez-le-feu si l'armée turque renonçait à ses projets d'incursion et si l'Etat turcrespectait les droits politiques et culturels de la minorité kurde en Tur¬quie.

Ce cessez-le-feu conditionnel avait été rejeté dès le lendemain par Anka¬ra.

"Il n'y a pas eu d'incursion. Juste un bombardement le long de la fron¬tière", a affirmé Fouad Hussein, le chef de la présidence kurde et princi¬pal collaborateur du président du Kurdistan autonome Massoud Barzani.

Le gouvernement central de Bagdad n'a jusqu'à présent fait aucun com¬mentaire officiel sur le bombardement turc.

En visite en Irak, le secrétaire d'Etat adjoint américain, John Negroponte,a déclaré à Bagdad: "nous sommes tous d'accord pour dire que le PKKest une organisation très négative, un groupe terroriste qui ne doit pasêtre autorisé à opérer depuis le territoire irakien contre la Turquie".

"Nous avons l'objectif commun de mettre fin à leurs activités", a-t-ildéclar

(EuroNews


Guerre des mots entre Ankara etles rebelles du PKK

2 décembre 2007

Cette dernière a mené une action ciblée avec des hélicoptères et des tirs d'artillerie contre un groupe d'une cinquantainede rebelles. L'état-major turc affirme avoir infligé de lourdes pertes au PKK, ce que dément le groupe armé

Abdullah GUI a rappelé que les députés turcs avaient donné leur feu vert en octobre à ce type d'opérations. Le président turca également réaffirmé qu'elles se poursuivront si nécessaire.

Il semble être soutenu par une large partie de son opinion publique à l'image de ce stambouliote : "Je pense que ces opéra¬tions doivent continuer. Nous en avons assez et cette zone doit être sécurisée car nous avons perdu beaucoup de vies etnous sommes toujours en deuil".

Cette opération turque est démentie par le gouvernement nord-irakien et dénoncée par ce kurde : "Nous condamnonsfermement cette incursion turque au Kurdistan irakien. Nous peuple kurde, nous n'acceptons pas cette ingérence et nousallons demander au Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies de condamner la Turquie pour cet acte". Ankara affirme avoirutilisé des renseignements fournis en temps réel par Washington.

El Watan 3 décembre 2007La guerre en Irak et l'intervention militaire turque

Une équation rendue complexeFinalement, l'armée turque n'a tenu compte d'aucune mise en garde, et les différentes milices kurdes, qui

entendaient l'en dissuader, ne se sont pas opposées samedi à son attaque visant des combattants du PKK(parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan) qui, selon Ankara, disposent de bases dans le nord irakien.

Y a-t-il là un quelconque élémentnouveau à une situation déjà

complexe, avec une internationalisa¬tion de fait, et surtout une perte deresponsabilité de l'autorité centraleirakienne sur des régions entières,pour ne pas dire le pays entier?Assurément non, puisque depuis desannées, rappellent nombred'analystes, l'armée intervenait enprofondeur en territoire irakien, saufque cette fois, il y a eu implication detoute la classe politique turque et quedans le même temps, l'opinion inter¬nationale était prise à témoin. Il resteque l'intervention de samedi a suscitédes réactions pour le moins bizarres.Et c'est seulement hier qu'un respon¬sable du PKK a reconnu que deshélicoptères turcs avaient procédé àdes bombardements la veille auKurdistan irakien, dans le nord del'Irak, affirmant cependant que le raidn'avait fait « aucune victime ». Laveille, ce même responsable avaitdémenti toute incursion, terrestre ouaérienne, de l'armée turque au Kur¬distan irakien. « Il y a eu une frappeaérienne menée par des hélicoptèresle long de la frontière », a déclaré àErbil, capitale du Kurdistan irakien, le

responsable qui a requis l'anonymat.«Aucun de nos combattants n'a ététué », a-t-il affirmé.

L'armée américaine à Baghdad aindiqué de son côté ne disposer« d'absolument aucune information »sur une incursion. L'armée turque aannoncé être intervenue contre ungroupe d'une cinquantaine de rebelleskurdes du PKK, leur infligeant selonelle de « lourdes pertes ». SelonAnkara, l'artillerie et des élémentsaériens ont attaqué «à l'intérieur desfrontières de l'Irak » un groupe de 50à 60 combattants du PKK. Après doncdes semaines de tractations diploma¬tiques, la Turquie a recouru à l'optionmilitaire. L'opération s'est produite ausud-est de la localité turque deCukurca, dans la province de Hakka-ri, juste à la frontière, a indiqué l'état-major sur son site internet. «Sinécessaire, a-t-il ajouté, d'autreséléments de l'armée interviendrontdans la région », en l'occurrence desunités terrestres. Accusant les Kur¬des d'Irak alliés des Américains, desoutenir le PKK, la Turquie a menacéde lancer une opération militaire dansle nord de l'Irak pour en déloger lesrebelles qui se servent de cette région

comme d'une base arrière pour leursactions dans le sud-est de la Turquie.

La Turquie, qui dispose de ladeuxième plus grande armée del'Otan en effectifs (515 000 hommes)après les Etats-Unis, a massé 100000 hommes à la frontière irakienne,longue de 380 km. Le 21 octobre, desrebelles venant du Kurdistan irakienavaient tué 12 soldats lors d'uneattaque près de la frontière irakienne,accroissant les menaces d'une inter¬vention militaire turque contre le PKKen Irak.

Le Premier ministre Recep TayyipErdogan avait autorisé mercredil'armée à réaliser une opérationtransfrontalière contre les rebelleskurdes en Irak. « Il s'agit d'une opéra¬tion contre une cible bien précise etce n'est pas une surprise, car laTurquie a dit et répété qu'elle allaitsévir contre les terroristes dans lenord de l'Irak», a commentél'analyste militaire Armagan Kuloglusur la chaîne d'information NTV. Cegénéral à la retraite a estimé qu'unevaste offensive de l'armée n'est pasd'actualité mais que d'autres opéra¬tions similaires pourraient être me

nées dans les jours prochains avec,si nécessaire, une implicationd'unités d'élite malgré les difficilesconditions hivernales dans cette zonemontagneuse.

Entre-temps en Turquie, dans leszones escarpées situées à proximitéde la frontière irakienne, dans laprovince de Sirnak, les troupes tur¬ques ont intensifié leurs opérationscontre les rebelles kurdes. Deshélicoptères de combat ont pilonnécertains secteurs afin d'empêcher leretour des rebelles dans leurs cachesirakiennes. Au-delà de l'ampleur decet engagement, c'est sa médiatisa¬tion qui est relevée cette fois, puisqueles combats sur cette bande fronta¬lière n'ont pas cessé depuis fortlongtemps.

Ainsi que les accusations ou à tout lemoins un fort sentiment de suspicionqui marque les relations entre voisinset bien au-delà. C'est le cas depuis aumoins 2002 quand les Turcs suspec¬taient un complot depuis cette fron¬tière, les amenant à avoir l' surtout ce qui se passait dans cetterégion.

T. Hocine

IRAK : Les Turcs bombardentHH.Iffl 3 décembre 2007L'armée passe aux actes pour répondre à des attaques menées par le PKK depuis ses bases

arrière en Irak. Le PKK réitère son offre de cessez-le-feu.Un haut responsable du Parti des travailleurs du

Kurdistan (PKK) a reconnu dimanche que deshélicoptères turcs avaient bombardé des com¬

battants la veille au Kurdistan irakien. "// v a eu unefrappe aérienne menée par des hélicoptères le longde la frontière", a déclaré un responsable du PKKqui a requis l'anonymat. "Aucun de nos combattantsn'a été tué", a-t-il affirmé.

L'armée turque, elle, a annoncé être intervenuecontre un groupe d'une cinquantaine de rebelles duPKK, leur infligeant selon elle de "lourdes pertes".("est la première fois que l'armée turque passait aux

actes depuis le feu vert des députés, en octobre, àdes opérations militaires en territoire irakien. Cesraids ont pour but de répondre à des attaques me¬nées par le PKK en Turquie depuis ses bases arrièreen Irak.

Le PKK "veut résoudre la crise avec Ankara", aassuré le même responsable kurde, renvoyant à uncommuniqué officiel de l'organisation séparatiste. Lemouvement rebelle y dit qu'il "déposera les armes siles autorités turques répondent positivement à uncertain nombre de conditions". Le PKK exige que laTurquie "admette les droits du peuple kurde dans sa

Constitution", "reconnaisse la langue kurde commela seconde langue officielle du pays" et libère lesmembres du PKK, dont ses leaders, actuellementdétenus en Turquie.

Tout cela avait été rejeté par Ankara. Kn visite enIrak, le secrétaire d'Ktat adjoint américain, JohnNe

KURD ISTITUT E - Institutkurde.org · ter, Nuri al-Maliki, for his part, ordered that a commit-tee...

Documents

Transcript of KURD ISTITUT E - Institutkurde.org · ter, Nuri al-Maliki, for his part, ordered that a commit-tee...