Allowing Turkish military operations on Iraqi territory does not benefit Iraq or its people, but rather legitimises the Turkish invasion, Murat Karayılan, a member of the executive committee of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), said in an interview on Thursday as a high-level Turkish delegation met with Iraqi officials in Baghdad.
The high-level meeting between Ankara and Baghdad has resulted in Iraq banning the PKK’s activities in the country, while Turkey is preparing for a new military campaign in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).
During the interview, Karayılan provided insights into the ongoing dynamics between Turkey and the Iraqi authorities.
Karayılan recalled that prior to February 2021, an important Turkish delegation visited Baghdad and proposed an ultimatum to the Iraqi authorities: join forces with Turkey against the PKK, or Turkey would take matters into its own hands and expel the PKK from Gare with the help of its technical and military capabilities.
According to Karayılan, the recent continuous visits and diplomatic talks with various forces in the region, including trips to the United States, are aimed at renewing these proposals and seeking support for what Karayılan calls an invasion. Although Turkey is trying to repeat these demands both in Baghdad and Erbil (Hewler), according to Karayılan, they have not yet fully achieved their goals.
Karayılan also highlighted a recent meeting between Turkish intelligence and Iraqi military officials at the border, which he interpreted as a move by Turkey to involve other parties in its campaign against the PKK. He stressed that Turkey has been pressing Iraq for a long time over the new trade route and the water dispute.
The PKK member expressed concern about the current Iraqi government’s apparent lack of knowledge and strategy on the Kurdish issue and Turkey’s expansionist policy. He suggested that a more informed government would not allow discussions or plans for such a mass military operation within Iraq’s borders.
Claiming that there are 50,000 Turkish troops in Iraq, especially in the Bashiqa region, Karayılan argued that their presence is illegal and a violation of national sovereignty.
According to Karayılan, Turkey’s planned military operation in the area of Gara (Garê) Mountain near the city of Duhok is a threat to the security of Mosul and it would be a grave mistake to support it.
The strategic 39-kilometre-long Gara mountain is a focal point for Turkey. The PKK, which is engaged in a protracted conflict with Turkey, maintains a presence in the region. Turkey previously launched intensive attacks on the Gara region in February 2021 in an attempt to end the Kurdish group’s presence there, but these offensives ended in failure.
In order to ensure the success of the planned campaign in the region, Turkish political and military officials have held numerous meetings with the Iraqi central government and officials from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq over the past three months in an attempt to gain local support for the operation.
