Ferai Tinc: PKK threats aimed not just at neighbors, but Iraq too

And once again, questions are arising about just how necessary the ethnically-based alliances between the PKK and the Barzani and Talabani leaderships really are.

A member of Talabani's close circle, and a leader of the Suleymaniye region's Iraqi Kurdistand Patriotic Union, Imed Ahmet, Friday warned PKK members in the area, "Do not attack our neighbors, Turkey and Iran, from our soil." Further, he said "If you want to stay on our lands, you are required to follow our laws."
 
The Iraqi Kurds have the power to effect politics inside Iraq. Looking at the current situation, their economic interests lie in the stability of Iraq. And they know well that cooperation with neighbors like Turkey and Iran will only contribute to this stability.
It is clear to many Iraqi Kurds that PKK and Pejak (a group tied to the PKK) actions will only harm these neighborly relations. Not just this, but voices of criticism aimed at the PKK have begun to rise not only from the US, but from the EU too.

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Political groups wanting to take part in the democratic process have to be willing to allow democratic competitors, as well as a certain level of transparency. The PKK is spreading a sort of Kurdish nationalistic terror throughout the region, not just aimed at Turkey, but also within Iraq.

But why is the PKK being allowed to act so freely in the region? The answer to this question lies in the fact that neither Talabani nor Barzani was able to bring about a stong Kurdish union in Iraq before this.  And so the PKK stepped in, like a life-saving device, to balance the broken edges between the Talabani and Barzani sides. The PKk was used at different times by both sides. As a stong and democratic structure deepens in Northern Iraq, there will be a greater and greater desire on the part of the leadership to get rid of the terror groups living there.

Iraqi Kurds, as they take part as partners in the rebuilding of their country, will of course prefer to make links with the other Kurdish tribal leaders in the region. They will not want to see foreign Kurds on their political stage at this time. This much is already clear from the election results coming out of Erbil today.

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Just as the PKK is fighting to win identity for the Kurds living in Turkey, it is also sabotaging the steps taken by Turkey towards integration. Inner peace is being prevented. Actually, if you look at the reality of the situation, the PKK is not only holding Turkey, but also the Northern Iraqi administration under pressure.

The presence of the PKK in Iraq is a serious threat to Iraq's inner stability. Though no one is aware of this yet, when critical subjects like Kirkuk arise on the national agenda, it will become clear that the PKK is a threat not to just Turkey and Iran, but to Baghdad also. Cemil Bayik, who made an announcement in the name of the PKK on Saturday, said that if and when the Arabs fight the Kurds for Kirkuk, the PKK will be on the side of the Iraqi Kurds. He underlined that, for the Iraqi Kurds, the PKK was indespensible. And so, while Iraq searches for a solution to the questions surrounding Kirkuk, the PKK was the first to mention the word "war" in reference to that northern, oil-rich city. The PKK threatens Baghdad with civil war. I can only suppose that this is the last thing that the Iraqi Kurds, who are busy trying to rebuild their region, really want to hear.