[Rudaw] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
launched its first military operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the newly-established autonomous Kurdistan Region in the fall of 1992 with the involvement of thousands of troops, hoping to remove the Kurdish rebels on its borders with Iraq and Iran. Three decades on, Ankara launched the latest phase of its Operation Claw against the group in the Region last week. Some questions that emerge are why is the Ottoman Turkish army conducting a fresh campaign now? And what can it change on the ground?
| A Kurdish politician who used to be close friends with the PKK’s jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan decades ago, said that Turkey’s latest operation is a preparation for its alleged full-scale operation, expected to commence in 2023, to regain control of Iraqi land which used to be part of the Ottoman Empire. |
The PKK was formed in 1978, stating its goal of obtaining increased political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey. It spent the first six years fighting other Turkey-based Kurdish political parties, to pave the way for its dream of leading the Kurdish movement in the country. In 1984, the PKK began its armed struggle against Ankara inside the country while boosting its camps in what is now the Kurdistan Region, following an agreement with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). |