Erdoğan ready to start regional war to retain power, KNK warns

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan could start a new regional war in the Middle East in order to stay in power, according to the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) warned. The new statement from the Kurdish political organization, which represents Kurdish political and diplomatic interests on the world stage, warns that the region has become the “epicenter” of the global conflict and calls for a fair trial for the “solution” proposed by the Kurds. crisis caused by Erdoğan’s policies.

Erdoğan outlined plans for an imminent military campaign against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (KRI), promising to end the Kurdish conflict once and for all. guerrillas by summer. Turkey regularly carries out airstrikes in Iraq’s Kurdistan region and has established several military bases on Iraqi soil to support its controversial cross-border offensives.

This proposed operation, which will take place in coordination with Baghdad and the Iraqi Kurdish authorities, could seriously destabilize the country. region, warns the KNK. “The war planned by Erdoğan could therefore turn into a war with regional and global repercussions. The Kurds of Syria, Iran, Turkey and elsewhere will not remain silent. Arab countries, as well as Iran, may not accept Turkish aggression in their region and may choose to respond to it. »

Such an invasion would constitute an “occupation” of Iraqi Kurdistan, the KNK said, noting that Turkey has killed 170 civilians in the region since 2015, using supposedly banned airstrikes and chemical weapons.

“The long-term goal of these attacks is to destroy the autonomous status of the Kurdistan Region and ensure Turkish control of strategic territories in northern Iraq, including important areas around Mosul and Kirkuk “, added the KNK, stressing that such an operation would have the consequence of endangering Kurdish unity and thus constitute a boon for hostile state actors in the region.

Erdoğan is willing to put the region at risk in order to strengthen his grip on domestic power and achieve economic gains to counter the devastation caused by his economic policies, the KNK reiterated. “Erdoğan’s government is still not interested in a political solution.”

The KNK linked the proposed operation to the recent defeats of Erdoğan’s governing coalition in local elections. “As they did after electoral setbacks in 2015 and 2019, they are choosing to intensify military operations against the Kurds in order to galvanize nationalist support and find pretexts to suppress any dissent. »

The KNK particularly highlights the “Iraq Development Road” project, which “provides for the construction of a 1,200 km rail and road link from the Iraqi port of Al Faw in Basra passing through the Kurdish areas to ‘at the Turkish border in order to facilitate emergency transport’. a necessary economic recovery.

Turkey “seems to condition the success of the project on the destruction of the PKK and the creation of a security zone”, declared the KNK, stressing that this project serves as a pretext to attack remote Kurdish regions, around thirty kilometers away. of the border. the mentioned route of the development road.

“Under the cover of the Turkish-Iraqi development road, Erdoğan wants to achieve his real goal, namely to complete the Turkish occupation of northern Iraq and separate the Kurdistan region from northern and eastern Syria,” said the KNK. “This raises the question of whether the Iraqi government will tolerate such Turkish actions in the name of better relations and whether the economic impact of a broader war in Kurdistan will render the supposed benefits of the route worthless.”

In response to these proposed “violation(s) of international law, ethnic cleansing and demographic change,” the KNK calls for dialogue and a negotiated political settlement led by the imprisoned Kurdish leader. Abdallah Öcalanwho has been held incommunicado for more than three years.