BAGHDAD, 24 October 2007 — Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki yesterday ordered the closure of offices run by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), saying Iraq would no longer allow the “terrorist” group to operate on its soil. “The PKK is a bad terrorist organization and we have taken a decision to close its offices and not allow them to work on Iraqi soil,” Maliki said in a statement issued after talks with visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan.
“We are putting all our efforts to eliminate their terrorist activities that threaten Iraq and Turkey,” said Maliki, who has been under increasing pressure from Ankara and Washington to act against the Iraq-based Kurdish rebel threat to Turkey.
Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, who is a Kurd, said earlier that Iraq had begun undertaking a series of measures to thwart the rebels, “including restricting their movements, (their) funding and closing of their offices.” Babacan used his high-profile visit to reassure Iraq that Turkey wants a diplomatic solution to the problem of Kurdish rebel bases but rejected a conditional cease-fire offer made by the guerrillas.
Babacan rejected a truce offer made by the PKK on Monday in return for an end to Turkish military action. Tens of thousands of Turks protested across Turkey yesterday during the funerals of the slain soldiers.
“We are all soldiers, we will smash the PKK,” mourners chanted at one such funeral, while a placard at another funeral read “Treacherous Talabani ... give us the dogs,” referring to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. Talabani — also a Kurd — has said that Baghdad is unable to capture and hand over PKK rebels based in northern Iraq as requested by Ankara.
In London, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara had not ruled out military action, sanctioned by parliament last week. “The Iraqi government must know that we can exercise this mandate we have received from the Turkish parliament at any time,” he said after talks with his British counterpart Gordon Brown.
