The Hindu : International : Turkey Parliament approves offensive against rebels in Iraq

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Thursday, Oct 18, 2007
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International

Turkey Parliament approves offensive against rebels in Iraq

Ankara appears willing to give more time for diplomacy

ANKARA: Turkey’s Parliament on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a possible cross-border offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, although the government appears willing to give more time to diplomatic pressure on the U.S.-backed Iraqi administration.

Parliament voted 507-19 in favour of empowering the government to order the military to cross into Iraq over a one-year period, Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan said. Legislators burst into applause.

In Washington, President George W. Bush said the United States was making clear to Turkey that it should not launch a cross-border offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq.

“We are making it very clear to Turkey that we don’t think it is in their interest to send troops into Iraq,” Mr. Bush said. “Actually they have troops already stationed in Iraq, and they’ve had troops stationed there for quite a while,” he said. “We don’t think it’s in their interest to send more troops in.”

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared to dismiss Mr. Bush’s comments.

“What’s important is the Parliament’s decision, not what people say,” private NTV television quoted him as saying.

Wide support

Wednesday’s motion — authorising an incursion into Iraq sometime over the next year — had the backing from all of Turkey’s parliamentary parties except a small Kurdish party

Turkish leaders have stressed that an offensive against the rebels of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, would not immediately follow the parliamentary authorisation.

Hours before the vote, Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called his Turkish counterpart to say that his government was determined to halt the PKK “terrorist activities” on Iraqi territory. — AP

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