Turkey admits coordination with Iran
By Gareth Jenkins
On June 6, General Ilker Basbug, the commander of the Turkish Land Forces,
confirmed that Turkey and Iran were sharing intelligence and coordinating
military operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - which is
primarily composed of Turkish Kurds - and its Iranian affiliate, the Kurdistan
Free Life Party (PJAK).
Both rebel groups have their headquarters and main training camps in the Qandil
Mountains of northern Iraq. Although it has long been assumed that security
cooperation between Turkey and Iran has included both intelligence-sharing and
the coordination of military operations against the PKK and PJAK, Basbug's
statement is the first public confirmation by a high-ranking Turkish military
official.
Turkey and Iran first signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on security
cooperation on July 29, 2004, three months after PJAK's inaugural congress in
April 2004 and two months after the May 2004 decision by the PKK to return to
violence following a five-year unilateral ceasefire. This agreement was
reinforced on April 17, 2008, by a new MoU which foresaw a broadening and
deepening of security cooperation between the two countries.
Speaking with journalists on the sidelines of an international conference in
Istanbul organized by the Strategic Research and Study Center (SAREM), a
think-tank established by the Turkish General Staff (TGS), Basbug dismissed
suggestions that the two countries' militaries had conducted any joint
operations: "Iran and Turkey have been conducting coordinated, simultaneous
operations on their respective borders," said Basbug. "We are sharing
intelligence with Iran. We are talking and making plans."
Most of the coordination appears to have involved "hammer and anvil"
operations, in which military units from one country have been deployed to
intercept any militants attempting to flee across the border in advance of an
offensive launched by military units in the other country. Although it was not
explicitly confirmed by Basbug, Turkey and Iran are also believed to have
coordinated some military strikes against PKK and PJAK camps in the Qandil
Mountains - these consisting mainly of shelling by the Iranians and shelling
and air raids by the Turks.
The extent of intelligence-sharing remains unclear. It is believed, however, to
consist primarily of one country notifying the other when it has received
intelligence about the location and movements of Kurdish militants on the
other's territory. It is not known whether the sharing of intelligence has also
extended to PKK/PJAK fundraising, organizational and propaganda activities
outside the region, such as in Europe.
The close cooperation represents a remarkable turnaround from the 1990s, when
Iran was often prepared to tolerate the presence of PKK units in the mountains
along its border with Turkey. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, elements
in the Iranian security forces also provided arms, funding and training for
militant Islamist organizations active in Turkey, including some which were
responsible for the assassination of a string of prominent Turkish secularists.
However, Iran had already considerably reduced its involvement with violent
Turkish Islamists and adopted a more conciliatory policy toward Ankara by the
time the foundation of PJAK in 2004 gave it a common cause with Turkey.
Ironically, the Islamic regime in Tehran has always been anathema to the
staunchly secularist Turkish military and the possibility of Turkey becoming
"another Iran" has frequently been the specter the TGS has used to justify its
support for the often draconian suppression of any expression of an Islamic
identity in Turkey.
Many in the Turkish military are frustrated by what they regard as the contrast
between Iran's willingness to cooperate against the PKK and the more ambivalent
attitude of many European countries. They complain that, although the PKK is
included on the EU's list of proscribed terrorist organizations, member states
are often prepared to tolerate PKK propaganda and fundraising activities
provided that the organization does not engage in violence within their
borders.
In a speech to the SAREM conference, General Ergin Saygun, the deputy chief of
the TGS, lambasted some of Turkey's European NATO allies: "I want to take this
opportunity to call once again on some European countries, most of them our
allies, to act in accordance with international rules, particularly the
decisions of the UN Security Council, and the decisions that they have taken as
members of NATO and the EU and cease on an individual, national and
institutional level the protection and support they provide for terrorism and
terrorists who are committing crimes against humanity."
For example, the Kurdish-language satellite television channel Roj TV, which is
believed to be sympathetic to the PKK, is based in Denmark, from where it
broadcasts to Europe and the Middle East, including the predominantly Kurdish
southeast of Turkey.
General Basbug welcomed the May 29 approval by Turkish parliament of a law
which would allow state-owned Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) to dedicate
one of its channels to Kurdish-language broadcasting: "There are some
broadcasts - I am not going to say which ones but you know who they are - which
have a considerable impact," Basbug told reporters at the SAREM conference. "If
[Kurdish language broadcasting on TRT] reduces this impact, then it will
obviously be beneficial."
Neither Basbug nor Saygun commented on Washington's possible reaction to the
public admission of cooperation between the Turkish and Iranian militaries. On
November 5, 2007, the United States promised to supply Turkey with actionable
intelligence for military strikes against the PKK camps in the Qandil Mountains
of northern Iraq in return for an understanding that any incursions would be
limited in scope and duration. The intelligence provided to Turkey by the
United States is believed to include imaging showing PKK assets and movements.
The first Turkish air raids against PKK camps in northern Iraq occurred on
December 16, 2007, and have continued through 2008. In February 2008, Turkish
commandos staged a nine-day ground incursion against the PKK's forward bases in
the Zap region close to the Turkish-Iraqi border.
Some of the imaging used for Turkish military strikes close to the country's
border with Iraq is believed to come from Turkey's Heron unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs). However, most of the imaging for air raids on the PKK's
headquarters and main training camps in the Qandil Mountains, some 100
kilometers from the Turkish-Iraqi border, is thought to come from the United
States.
On the night of May 1-2, Turkish warplanes struck PJAK camps in the Qandil
Mountains. Several of the PKK and PJAK camps in the Qandil Mountains are very
close to each other. It is unclear whether Turkey deliberately bombed the PJAK
camps or whether it mistakenly identified them as belonging to the PKK. There
is currently no indication that the intelligence-sharing between Turkey and
Iran extends to Ankara providing Tehran with imaging of the PJAK camps in the
Qandil Mountains.
Basbug's willingness to confirm publicly that Turkey and Iran are sharing
intelligence and coordinating their military operations is an indication that
the relationship is working and regarded as making an important contribution to
Turkey's war against the PKK. But it also puts Washington in a difficult
position, particularly as it is likely to need Turkey's cooperation if it
attempts to apply pressure to Iran over its nuclear program.
Although it is undoubtedly concerned about both Iran's nuclear ambitions and
the nature of the regime in Tehran, for the time being at least, combating the
PKK is likely to remain the Turkish General Staff's main priority.
Gareth Jenkins is a writer and journalist resident in Istanbul, where he
has been based for the past 20 years.
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
