The Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) has accused Turkey of seeking to manipulate Iraq’s sovereignty by leveraging diplomatic channels to normalise what it views as an occupation of Iraqi territories.
The statement came as a response to the recent demand made by Fidan that Iraq designate the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as a terrorist organisation during his meeting with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hüseyin in Baghdad on Wednesday.
The KCK, an umbrella organisation for several confederalist political Kurdish groups, asserted that Turkey was aiming to pit Kurdish movement against Iraq and denounced Fidan’s remarks on Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity during the meeting as a calculated attempt to whitewash Turkey’s military presence within Iraqi borders.
The organisation emphasised that Turkey’s establishment of military installations within Iraqi borders, including numerous bases and intelligence centers, constitutes an infringement on Iraq’s territorial integrity.
“The first step towards securing Iraq’s territorial integrity lies in having Turkish forces withdraw from Iraqi territory,” the KCK said.
The organisation further criticised Fidan’s past activities, pointing to allegations that he played a role in orchestrating violence and killings during his tenure as the head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organisation (MİT).
The KCK called Fidan’s diplomatic talks a hypocritical attempt to manipulate diplomacy to promote his controversial past actions, recalling an audio recording of senior Turkish officials discussing a false flag operation that would lead to an invasion of Syria.
In the recording, which was posted on YouTube in March 2014, a voice allegedly belonging to Fidan said: “If necessary, I will send four men to Syria. I will have them fire eight rockets at Turkey and create a justification for war.” YouTube was subsequently blocked in Turkey.
Fidan’s comments on Turkey’s fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) were false, KCK said. According to the organisation, Fidan was the one who ordered staff at Turkey’s Mosul consulate to not resist during the jihadist group’s storming of the premises in 2014.
ISIS had famously captured the consulate in the scope of 10 minutes, and announced they were “ready for talks” with Turkish authorities.
Turkey and ISIS “continue their relationship out in the open” via Minister Fidan and Turkish intelligence, said the KCK.
