Israel pushing for Kurdish state?

By Atul Aneja

Relations between Turkey and Israel appear to be souring rapidly amid reports that Israeli commandos are training Kurds in northern Iraq to encourage the emergence of an independent Kurdish state.

Israel has vociferously denied these reports, which acquired prominence in a recent article written by the American investigative journalist, Seymour Hersh, in The New Yorker magazine.

In a damage control exercise, the Israeli Deputy Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, rushed to the Turkish capital, Ankara, last week where he addressed this issue. At a press conference, Mr. Olmert said, "I conveyed at every opportunity that we are not in northern Iraq and that we have never been active in that region. It is a lie that Israel is cooperating with Kurds." Israel and Turkey have been known as "strategic partners" and have had a strong military relationship. Israel has also viewed Turkey as its strategic anchor in West Asia - a region that has been intensely hostile towards it. Turkey, however, has a huge stake in seeing that northern Iraq does not become independent.

Fears of secession

Turkey fears that an independent state at its doorstep Iraq could become the nucleus for a larger Kurdish nation, which could incorporate parts of its territory where Kurds reside in large numbers. Iran and Syria, which also have large Kurdish populations on their soil also share these apprehensions and have stood opposed to Kurdish secession in northern Iraq.

Notwithstanding Israel’s denial, the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, signalled his unhappiness by declining to meet Mr. Olmert. He met Naci Otri, Prime Minister of Syria - Israel’s arch foe, who was also visiting Turkey at the same time. Differences between Turkey and Israel have also come out in the open over the Israeli treatment of Palestinians.

Mr. Erdogan has not given much credence to reports of Israeli presence in northern Iraq, indicating that the dissonance could also be driven by other factors. Analysts point out that Ankara has begun to perceive that Israel opposes Turkey’s attempt to enter the European Union - its core foreign policy objective. MANAMA

http://www.hindu.com/2004/07/26/stories/2004072604511400.htm