Turks target Iraqi Kurds as US flyovers backed by parliament

THE Turkish parliament yesterday voted to open the country’s air space to US warplanes, giving concrete backing to the US-led war against Iraq, just hours after an opening blitz on its south-eastern neighbour.

In a closed-door session, the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) forced through the motion on overflight rights, saving itself from a second embarrassing defeat after deputies, in an earlier vote this month, refused to allow a massive deployment of US troops in the country for a possible attack against Iraq from the north.

The motion, which is valid for six months, also allows for the deployment of Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq where Ankara fears that local Kurds could declare an independent state.

According to Ankara the United States has reluctantly agreed that Turkish troops should be allowed to enter northern Iraq, a mountainous area run by local Kurdish factions since it was wrenched from Baghdad's control after the 1991 Gulf War.

In the motion, the government said that a Turkish military presence in northern Iraq was required to prevent the emergence of Ankara's nightmare scenario an independent Kurdish state.

Ankara fears Iraqi Kurds might take advantage of a war to break away from Iraq and declare independence, setting an example for their restive cousins across the border in Turkey's southeast.

Turkey also wants the troops to stop a possible rush of refugees towards its border and assist them inside Iraq.

The soldiers would also take measures to prevent Turkish Kurdish rebels who have sheltered in the enclave since declaring a unilateral ceasefire in 1999, from taking advantage of a war to launch new attacks against Ankara, according to the motion.

Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin told the NTV news channel earlier yesterday that Turkish troops could move into the area once the motion was adopted by parliament, without waiting for a possible movement of refugees.