US working with Turkey to end Kurd violence

THE Pentagon said yesterday it is working with Turkey to resolve a “serious problem” posed by the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, but declined to comment on a media report of secret plans to stop rebel violence.

The news came after officials confirmed the victory of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP party in the recent general election.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which the US State Department lists as a terrorist organisation, has escalated attacks on soldiers and civilians in Turkey in recent months, prompting Turkish calls for a cross-border operation against rebels based in northern Iraq.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said: “We recognise that the PKK is a serious problem and we’re working closely with both the government of Iraq and the government of Turkey to resolve this.”

However, he declined to comment on a US report yesterday that said the Pentagon briefed Congress last week on secret plans for a joint US-Turkish military operation to suppress the rebel movement and capture its leaders.

The PKK, which consists mainly of Turkish Kurds, launched a separatist campaign in 1984. The Turkish government blames it for more than 30,000 deaths.

The group’s goal is to establish an independent, democratic Kurdish state in south-east Turkey, northern Iraq, and parts of Iran and Syria, according to the State Department.

However, syndicated columnist Robert Novak said yesterday that US officials plan a US-Turkish operation that, if successful, would avert a Turkish invasion of Iraq.

The Bush administration has focused on diplomacy to ease tensions along the border between Turkey and Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan.