“This decision is a violation of the sovereign rights of an independent state,” Falah Mustafa Bakir, the head of the Foreign Relations Department of the local Kurdish administration said in statement on Friday. Bakir also noted that this is not in line with the recent democratic initiative of the Turkish governmetn aiming to address the decades-long Kurdish problem.
“We believe this will not solve any problems; whatever the problem is, only dialogue can be a fertile ground for the solution,” Bakir added.
Bakir also noted in the statement that they hope this motion will not cause the deployment of troops by the border of northern Iraq and be a threat to regional peace. This decision is about Iraq's sovereignty and we believe the Turkish government will make the necessary decision about the motion, he said.
Parliament passed a government motion on Oct. 6 to extend by another year a mandate to launch cross-border military operations against the outlawed PKK in northern Iraq. The current mandate for cross-border operations expires on Oct. 17. The Turkish military has carried out 24 air and land operations in the past three decades against targets in northern Iraq. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) launched its operations around the Kandil Mountains and in the Duhok and Zap regions. Last year, the motion was supported by all parties in Parliament except the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), which objects to military measures while a peaceful solution is being discussed.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu is expected to travel to Iraq on Oct. 15-16 to discuss the issue of eliminating PKK camps from northern Iraq and issues related to the extension of the mandate.
