Since around April 1, an estimated 7000-10,000 Turkish troops have crossed the Turkey-Iraq border and are pressing deep into southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq) to attack fighters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), according to reports carried by Kurdish Media (<http://www.kurdishmedia.com>). A parallel offensive has been launched in the Kurdish-populated south-east provinces of Turkey.
The invasion, which has all but been ignored by the mainstream media, is further proof that Ankara is not willing to answer the PKK's unilateral cease-fire and offer of a political settlement based on the recognition of the Kurds' language and cultural rights.
The offensive is being backed by US-supplied Cobra attack helicopters and fighter jets. The Turkish military said the invasion was justified because "many PKK groups have been moving toward the Turkish border", however no proof was provided. The assertion contradicts the PKK's repeated announcement that it has ended the armed struggle and has ordered its forces to withdraw to positions outside Turkey's borders.
Turkey's military action is aimed at eliminating remaining PKK guerilla units inside and outside the country. "The Turkish armed forces will continue to fight until there are no more terrorists in the mountains", a military official told Reuters.
The incursion into Iraqi territory has been condemned by Baghdad and criticised by the Arab League. It was met with silence by Turkey's US and European NATO allies. The invasion is taking place within the US-British enforced "no-fly zone" which prevents the Iraqi air force from defending its air space. The no-fly zone was imposed supposedly to provide a "safe haven" for Kurds.
The Turkish invasion is being conducted in connivance with the forces of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which rules southern Kurdistan with the approval of Washington.
The Turkish offensive followed soon after a major speech by the US Defence Secretary William Cohen which praised Turkey as Washington's key NATO ally. Turkey is "regionally strategic to the security of the entire Middle East", Cohen declared.
Addressing the American-Turkish Council, Cohen paid tribute to Turkey for supporting US military operations against Iraq and also revealed that Turkey was to join Britain, the Netherlands and Norway in the development of the US$200 billion "US Joint Strike Fighter" aircraft.
Turkey's membership of the NATO military alliance has long furnished it with the sophisticated hardware needed to wage operations against the much less equipped Kurdish guerilla forces.
A statement issued by the presidential council of the PKK, the party's exiled leadership, said that the party would persist with its "peace project" and initiatives. However, if attacked by the Turkish military, PKK guerillas would inevitably defend themselves.
Writing in the April 4 Kurdish Media, Ali Abunimah pointed out that the reasons for the deafening silence of the US-dominated world capitalist media about the latest Turkish invasion of southern Kurdistan are simple: "Turkey is a close ally of the US and Israel. Its appointed role is to act as a US military base on Iraq's northern flank, and to encircle the Arab world in alliance with Israel. In exchange, the US supplies it with deadly weapons and pressures Europe to overlook Turkey's torture chambers ...
"The reason the media and the US government need to keep quiet about Turkey's repeated mini-invasions of Iraq is because to mention them would interfere with the fictional pretext for the United States' own nefarious role in northern Iraq. Currently, the US and its faithful servant Britain are bombarding northern Iraq on a nearly daily basis, killing Iraqis and destroying livestock and infrastructure. The stated reason for this is 'enforcement' of the illegal 'no fly zones', ostensibly to protect the Kurds from the depredations of Saddam Hussein!
"How embarrassing then that Turkey is allowed to freely commit atrocities against the Kurds in Iraq. How embarrassing that a member of the brave and righteous NATO alliance, which went to war to save Kosovars from intolerance and ethnic-cleansing, should be carrying out its own much more bloody campaign against the Kurds in an unseen corner of Asia minor. Hence you will not hear a squeak of protest from Washington or London."
Meanwhile, in the other "secret" war, on April 6, US and British jets killed 14 civilians and wounded 19 during bombing raids in southern Iraq. The Iraqi News Agency said 18 waves of warplanes carried out 24 bombing missions. US air strikes killed two people on April 4. The attacks and deaths were barely reported in the mainstream press.
The hypocrisy cannot be any more glaring. If a car bomb had exploded in central New York, killing 14 people, would the world's press have restricted the coverage to the news briefs section? Would governments around the world have said nothing?
BY NORM DIXON