11.04.2007

Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani’s provocative statements about Ankara’s policy toward northern Iraq over the weekend have turned all eyes to the Kurdish leader amid heated presidential debates in Turkey. Barzani, who threatened to interfere in predominantly Kurdish cities as retaliation if Turkey attempts to intervene in Iraq, angered Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who said the price of Barzani’s remarks would be very high. The fact that outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants killed 10 Turkish soldiers in the past three days in eastern Turkey as well as Barzani’s statements have led Turkey to reconsider the measures that will be taken against northern Iraq. The commonly held view behind the reason for Barzani’s statements is that he relies on the US and aims to gain support from Kurdish citizens.

Yeni Şafak’s Fehmi Koru explains that there is a different Iraq before Turkey after the collapse of the Saddam regime, where there are new leaders who do not know what they should do in the positions they hold with their inexperience in administration, military and diplomatic issues, and Barzani is one of them. He thinks that if the Iraqi politicians had been experienced enough in state affairs, Iraq would not be shaken by giant problems each and every day, they would not make statements like those of Barzani and they would generally understand they need to develop far-reaching relations with Turkey. Koru feels that Iraqi politicians have a presupposition that the US will never withdraw from the country as he particularly points to the northern Iraqi Kurdish leaders who believe that although the US will withdraw from the region, a US presence will continue in northern Iraq that will maintain security in the region. However, Koru thinks that Kurds are very experienced in that the US has let them down many times in the past. “They were betrayed three times during the Saddam period, each time suffering,” he notes. As for what Turkey should do following Barzani’s statements, Koru thinks it is important for Turkey to keep in mind that Barzani is an inexperienced politician, so it should remind Barzani and the Iraqi public that Turkey is against Iraq’s fragmentation and that holding a referendum in Kirkuk and the end of a PKK presence in northern Iraqi is in their interests, too.

Milliyet’s Taha Akyol claims that Barzani is encouraged by the US to make such challenging statements against Turkey, and that is why Turkey directed its first reaction to the United States, he says. Akyol affirms that the US relies on the stability in the northern part of Iraq, where it is otherwise bogged down; however, Barzani is being over-confident about this and causes problems with his unbalanced and reckless statements. “The United States, which gives utmost importance to energy security, cannot dare to allow Barzani to come up with new problems in the region,” he asserts. Akyol thinks that Barzani’s threatening statements are the outcome of Pan-Kurdish feelings as he aims to influence the Sorani Kurds under the leadership of another Kurdish leader, Jalal Talabani, and gain ground.

Radikal’s Hasan Celal Güzel questions the factors that may have led Barzani to make such challenging statements. He rules out the possibility that Barzani may be encouraged by the military power of the peshmergas, because both Talabani and Barzani know very well that a one-hour operation by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) would be enough to defeat the peshmergas. In this context, he interprets Barzani’s statements as a message to Kurdish citizens and separatist pro-Kurdish groups in southeastern Anatolia. “In a way, Barzani is attempting to wage a psychological war in Turkey and gain support from the Kurds. He is trying to bring the US and Turkey face to face,” he explains. Güzel reminds Barzani of one important thing and says the US presence in Iraq is temporary. But Kurds and Turks have lived together in this land for centuries, and Iraqi Kurds should not forget that we will again be here after the US is gone.