A spokesman from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office described the scheduled Kurdish independence referendum - expected to take place on Monday - as a ‘terrible mistake’. Photo: Xinhua
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https://scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/2112585/turkey-seeks-avoid-uncontrollable-fire-it-extends-troop Middle East
Turkey seeks to avoid ‘uncontrollable fire’ as it extends troop deployment in Iraq ahead of Kurdish independence vote
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the country would take security, economic and political steps in response to the ‘illegitimate’ referendum
A Kurdish man holds a flag during a rally in Arbil, Iraq, celebrating an independence referendum that is scheduled to take place on Monday. The vote has brought heavy opposition from neighbouring Turkey and other international powers amid fears of destabilisation. EPA-EFE/MOHAMED MESSARA
Turkey’s parliament voted on Saturday to extend by a year a mandate authorising the deployment of Turkish troops in Iraq and Syria, stepping up pressure against an independence referendum in northern Iraq’s Kurdish region scheduled for Monday.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Turkey would take security, economic and political steps in response to the referendum, which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman described as a “terrible mistake” that would trigger new regional crises.
The United States and other Western powers have, like Turkey, urged authorities in the semi-autonomous Iraqi region to cancel Monday’s vote. They say the move by the oil-producing area distracts from the fight against Islamic State.
In Iraq, a Kurdistan regional government delegation arrived in Baghdad for talks with the ruling Shiite coalition in an effort to defuse tensions, but a senior Kurdish official said the vote was still going ahead.
“The delegation will discuss the referendum but the referendum is still happening,” Hoshyar Zebari, adviser to Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani, told Reuters.
Turkey, which has Nato’s second-largest army, said on Friday that the Iraqi vote would threaten its security and force it to slap sanctions on a neighbour and trading partner, although it did not specify what measures it might take.
Asked on Saturday if a cross-border operation was among the options, Yildirim told reporters: “Naturally, it is a question of timing as to when security, economic and security options are implemented. Developing conditions will determine that.”
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim (right) oversees parliamentary vote to renew the country’s military intervention in Iraq and Syria, with a Kurdish independence vote scheduled to be held on Monday. Photo: AP
Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and his deputies vote to extend the country’s military intervention in Iraq and Syria. Photo: AP
The mandate approved by Turkey’s parliament on Saturday was first passed in 2014 with the aim of tackling threats from within its southern neighbours Iraq and Syria. It had been due to expire in October.
Arbil must immediately refrain from this terrible mistake, which will trigger new crises in the region
Turkey is home to the largest Kurdish population in the region and is itself fighting a Kurdish insurgency on its soil. But it is also the main conduit for oil exports from Iraq’s Kurdish region and it has said that any break-up of neighbouring Iraq or Syria could lead to a global conflict.
In a speech to parliament, Turkish Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli voiced concern about the referendum’s impact on the region’s ethnic and sectarian relationships, saying it could trigger an “uncontrollable fire”.
“Pulling out just a brick from a structure based on very sensitive and fragile balances will sow the seeds for new hatred, enmity and clashes,” he said.
A particular area of concern is the multi-ethnic oil city of Kirkuk, which lies outside the recognised boundaries of the autonomous Kurdish region and is claimed by Baghdad. It is dominated by Kurds but is also home to Arabs, Assyrian Christians and Turkmen, whom Turkey has long seen itself as the protector.
“If the referendum is not cancelled, there will be serious consequences. Arbil must immediately refrain from this terrible mistake, which will trigger new crises in the region,” Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin tweeted on Saturday.
Militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) launched a rocket and mortar attack from the Iraqi side of the border on Turkey’s Semdinli district on Saturday, killing one Turkish soldier and a worker in the area of a military base, the Hakkari governor’s office said in a statement.
A Lebanese Kurd takes a selfie while holding a portrait of Kurdish regional president Massoud Barzani. Photo: AFP
The PKK launched its separatist insurgency in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict. It is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
The Iraqi army’s chief of staff, Lieutenant General Othman al-Ghanmi, met his Turkish counterpart, General Hulusi Akar, in Turkey and they discussed the “illegitimate” referendum, Turkey’s military said.
Turkish soldiers participate in military exercises near the Turkish-Iraqi border just days ahead of a Kurdish independence referendum that many foreign powers have urged not to go ahead amid fears of unrest. Photo: EPA
“The importance of maintaining Iraq’s territorial integrity and political unity was stressed once again,” it said.
The Turkish army launched military exercises on Monday near the Habur border crossing to Iraq. Military sources said they were due to last until September 26, the day after the planned vote.
On Saturday the military said additional units had joined the exercises as they entered their second stage.