While the attention of the world has remained drawn to the escalating conflict between Israel
and the Palestinians and their increasingly elusive search for a lasting settlement, another
great threat to peace in the Middle East has manifested itself in the form of a massive
incursion of Turkish troops deep inside Northern Iraq. This build up of forces has been
taking place since well before Christmas and has to date reached in total an estimated ten
thousand armed men. They have been crossing the Iraqi border in small units each of about
500 with vehicles and are now dispersed across the territory of South Kurdistan known as
the "no fly zone" which remains under UN protection and the administration of the Iraqi
Kurdish parties, KDP and PUK. Admittedly there have been repeated incursions in the past
of units from the Turkish army inside Northern Iraq in pursuit of PKK guerrillas, but this
time the scale greatly exceeds any previous operation. The Turks have allegedly entered
upwards of 300 km into Iraqi territory. They are now working intimately with Iraqi Kurdish
parties, particularly now with the PUK whose leader Jalal Talabani has recently returned
from Ankara. Indeed Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has claimed that his country's
troops are merely providing technical support for the PUK and KDP's actions to remove the
PKK from their land.

The lack of any comment from journalists in the world's media or from Western
governments on what appears to be a major preparation by Turkey for armed conflict are
themselves causes for the gravest disquiet. It is hard to avoid concluding that Europe and
America are turning a collective blind eye to Turkey's actions because they subscribe
toTurkey's war aims which are to eliminate the PKK guerrillas. It it inconceivable of course
that Western intelligence agencies are unaware of the unfolding events in this strategically
and economically crucial part of the world. Exactly how far the aims of this present
operation were detailed in the 1998 Washington Agreement is uncertain. But it is clear that
the objective comes at the cost of threatening to embroil the neighbouring states of the region
into a new Middle East war. The PKK, who have been faithfully standing by their peace
proposals and awaiting positive signals from Turkey, have warned that an outbreak of
fighting risks spreading uncontrollably throughout the region and inside Turkey itself. This
dangerous game plan certainly has high stakes for all concerned. Another sinister aspect is
the possibility that Turkey is seeking to establish a more permanent presence in the area.
There are even reports that Turkey is ready to make some deal with Baghdad which would
enable Saddam to regain border control over its sovereign territory.

We believe that Turkey is not simply acting alone in this potentially explosive military
campaign and urge all those parties involved to halt their war preparations. We are
furthermore issuing this appeal to urge those in responsible positions at the highest level of
government in Europe of confrontation. We also urge Ankara's political and military rulers
to think again before it is too late and a major Middle Eastern war with unforetold
consequences ensues.These events are as important for peace in the Middle East as the
Palestine-Israel conflict and should be recognised as such by the world's media.

There is still time for a peace process to begin with a positive response on all sides and the
good offices of international authorities.

2 February 2001
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Please sign and fax to 020 7250 1317
Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish question
Patrons: Lord Avebury, John Austin MP, Lord Rea, Lord Dholakia, Baroness
Sarah Ludford MEP
John Bowis MEP, Julie Christie, Harold Pinter, Noam Chomsky, Arthur Miller
Tel 020 7586 5892 Fax 020 7483 2531
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The Kurdistan Observer
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