Turkey Parliament approves military operations in Iraq, Syria

The pro-Kurdish HDP opposed Ankara's move that came as the Kurdistan Region gears up to hold to hold a referendum Monday on secession from Iraq.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Turkish Parliament on Saturday approved the extension for one year of a mandate allowing the army to conduct cross-border operations in Iraq and Syria, a move staunchly opposed by the opposition pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).

The step Ankara took with the backing of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), main opposition Republican Peoples' Party (CHP) and the government's far-right ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) lawmakers comes as the Kurdistan Region gears up to hold a planned referendum Monday on secession from Iraq.

Leaders of the three parties sat down in a meeting that excluded the HDP before MPs voted, reported Kurdistan 24's Ankara bureau.

 

An Iranian Kurdish woman takes a selfie with a man at a rally in Erbil in support of the Kurdistan Region's referendum on independence from Iraq, Sept, 2017. (Photo: AFP)
An Iranian Kurdish woman takes a selfie with a man at a rally in Erbil in support of the Kurdistan Region's referendum on independence from Iraq, Sept, 2017. (Photo: AFP)

Speaking in the name of the government, Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said Turkey had to act to obstruct what he called "illegal ethnic separatist attempts" in Iraq and Syria, two neighboring countries to its south where Kurds have made significant political and military gains.

Canikli reiterated Turkish stance on the protection of the territorial integrity of both countries, calling on the Kurdistan Region to cancel the poll for good.

Kurdistan Region's President Masoud Barzani who pushes the bid for independence has said such a prospect is too late and the vote would go on as planned.

HDP Spokesperson Osman Baydemir harshly criticized the motion which he said was a "declaration of war" on 40-million Kurdish people, divided between Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria.

"Kurdish people will suffer most in case this referendum is held," said Canikli, threatening Erbil authorities that his country was not bluffing as a massive military drill right next to a border crossing with the Kurdistan Region entered its sixth day.

Canikli went on claiming that Kurdish aspirations for statehood were a century-old imperialist plan, implying a Western conspiracy, though the US, UK, and France among other countries have all urged Kurdistan to postpone the vote.

He also repeated President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's belief that the weapons the United States was providing the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fighting the Islamic State (IS) were eventually going to be pointed at Turkey.

 

US-backed Kurdish Women's Protection Units (YPJ) fighters discuss ahead of an operation during the campaign to capture the Islamic State capital of Raqqa, Syria, 2016. (Photo: YPG)
US-backed Kurdish Women's Protection Units (YPJ) fighters discuss ahead of an operation during the campaign to capture the Islamic State capital of Raqqa, Syria, 2016. (Photo: YPG)

YPG's territorial gains in Syria in the fight against the IS and presence of PKK camps in the mountainous areas of the Kurdistan Region are Ankara's two primary arguments for military incursions beyond the border.

Baydemir in response questioned why Turkish authorities disrespected Kurdish right to self-determination while championing statehood for Palestine.

MHP's head of parliamentary bloc Erkan Akcay argued that any military action Turkey would take was not only targeting "terrorists" but also those backing them, implying the US which backs the Kurdish forces in the war against the IS in Syria and Iraq.

Akcay labeled the referendum as "piracy" and a direct threat to the Turkish nation.

Deputy leader of the CHP Ozturk Yilmaz accused the AKP of strengthening Barzani through diplomatic recognition and commercial deals.

Yilmaz, similar to Canikli, stated that only Israel has so far come to the defense of a Kurdish statehood, urging Ankara to mend strained ties with Arab countries namely Syria and leave behind "sectarian" policies that alienated Baghdad.

Turkey fears any form of Kurdish self-rule or statehood in Iraq and Syria will embolden its millions-strong restive Kurdish population in demanding similar rights and lead to the creation of a Greater Kurdistan.

 

Editing by Ava Homa