Oktay Eksi: Turkey cannot win the war against PKK with this strategy

It seems that the show of the Turkish government that said it would only recognize the central Iraqi government as a counterpart ends here.

 

As you know, the one-year extension of the current mandate, which expires on October 17, authorizing the Turkish army to launch cross-border operations into northern Iraq was approved last week.

 

We decided to summarize the parliamentary mandate debates done since they were not reflected to the public opinion as they should have been.

 

Sukru Elekdag, the main opposition Republican People's Party Istanbul parliamentarian stressed that the government had no "aversive" strategy regarding the struggle with terrorism. Establishing the source of the threat was the first condition in creating such a strategy and that threat was sourced from the region in northern Iraq, under the control of Barzani.

 

"If Turkey wants to end the existence of the PKK in northern Iraq, it should break the Barzani's will of protecting and supporting the PKK," he also said.

 

"Turkey has the responsibility and the mission to show the authority in northern Iraq that their support to the PKK would lead a severe consequence...Turkey must force Barzani to make a decision between Turkey and the PKK. If Ankara fails at this, the mandate equates to a bluff," he added.

 

Elekdag also gave successful examples of this strategy.Â"Greece did not dare to act when we told them that extending the territorial limits over six kilometers would be viewed by Turkey as casus belli. Like wise, the Syria leaders also changed their attitude after Atilla Ates, a former Turkish Land Forces commander, gave this country an ultimatum to stop protecting the leader of the PKK," Elekdag said.

 

Turkey now has good relations with both Greece and Syria after these examples.

 

What is more important, Elekdag had said that the government had a soft spot for the struggle with terrorism because of a mutual agreement reached between Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President George W. Bush on Nov. 5, 2007.

 

Elekdag said, "Turkey promised the U.S. that it would not launch a military operation against the PKK in northern Iraq without U.S. permission," in return for the intelligence provided by this country. As a result "our right of self-defense that we gain from international law is tied to a permission of another country," he had also said.

 

As a matter of fact, he also mentioned the testimony give by two U.S. generals in Congress saying "they were trying to make Turkey and the PKK sit to table for negotiation".

 

Mehmet Bolukbasi, who spoke on behalf of the Nationalist Movement Party had more or less mentioned the same claims. What about Cemil Cicek, responding to the claims on behalf of the government, what had he said?

 

He hadn't even heard these harsh criticisms.