Azerbaijan, Baku, 26 February / corr. Trend R. Hafizoglu/ According to an expert, even the military assault carried out by the Turkish army in the north of Iraq against the terrorist organization PKK will not be able to fully destroy the terrorists, it will weaken them. "The military operations by the Turkish army in the north of Iraq is not enough to destroy terrorist organizations," Arif Keskin, the Turkish political scientist said to Trend during a telephone call from Istanbul.
The Turkish army launched a large-scale assault with its 10,000 troops in north Iraq against PKK terrorists on 23 February.
"The Turkish government is doing its best not to let the terrorists in north Iraq enter the territory of the country," Keskin, the director of the Center for Strategic Studies of Eurasia said. According to the expert, unlike other terrorist organizations, the capture of the PKK leaders will weaken the organization. "I am sure that the military assault is aiming at destroying and capturing the terrorist leaders. This will reduce the financial resources of the terrorists," he said.
Keskin said that the military assault conducted by Turkey in north Iraq is an attempt to demonstrate its power and military potential to the countries in the region. The Iraqi government does not wish for a military intervention against PKK," Keskin said According to the expert, the fact that Iraq does not take part in the military assault though it has declared PKM to be terrorist organization is due to the authority of the Kurds.
Shanli Bahadir Koch, the Turkish researcher and political scientist said that it is impossible to fully eliminate the PKK terrorists by military assault. ""Even if measures are taken it will not be able to completely eliminate the terrorist network, the military operations will hinder the free activities of PKK leaders," Koch said to Trend by electronic mail from Istanbul.
Before launching a military assault Turkey averted all pro-Kurdish demonstrations within the country," the political scientist said. According to Koch, the large-scale military operations will hinder the support to the PKK leaders and will bring good spirits to the Turkish people.
Koch said that the army, by launching military operations in north of Iraq, demonstrates that US will not always support the Iraqi Kurds.
Ahmad Tagi, the expert of strategic research centre Ferrat in Iraq, agrees with the opinion that the military operations of Turkish Arms are not enough for the complete elimination of PKK terrorists. "Even the military operations are a danger for the independence of Iraq as a state, we cannot eliminate terrorism at all through the military operations," Tagi, stated to trend News by a telephone from Karbala on 25 February.
Tagi believes that the Turkish Government alongside military operations should implement propaganda. "Most PKK members are from poor families and it is easy to attract them to minor sums," Tagi said.
The current Iraqi government is not strong enough to organize any military operation against PKK. "For the country, which is experiencing a crisis, forming a new army against PKK by the Iraqi Government could lead to a State collapse and a separation and independence of North Iraq," he noted.
Rajab Tayyib Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, stated his country did not intend to capture north Iraq, but rather struggle against PKK terrorists. The official statement by the Iraqi government noted that the military operations of the Turkish Army in the north of the country create a danger for independence of the state, and therefore, they demand the immediate withdrawal of the army from the territory of Iraq.
PKK terrorists have been in a military struggle since 1984 to establish an independent Kurd state in the south-west of Turkey. According to the media, the number killed, as a result of military operations, has reached 37,000.
The correspondent can be contacted at: [email protected]