MARDİN -  Journalist Nihat Kaya, who stated that AKP-KDP took advantage of the void created in the 3rd World War and launched an attack across the border, said: "Kurds will either face a massacre or gain their own status."

 

With the cooperation of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Turkey launched a new air and land operation against Zap, Avaşin and Metina in the Federated Kurdistan Region on April 17. While reactions to the attacks from the Federated Kurdistan Region and Iraq rose, the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave a note to the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad. The Ministry said the operation was "provocative" and called for Turkey to withdraw all its forces from Iraq and to respect Iraq's sovereignty.

 

Journalist Nihat Kaya, who made evaluations to the Mesopotamia Agency (MA) about the operations, pointed out that the balances in the region would change and said that Iraq could be divided.

 

'TURKEY IS TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE VOID'

 

Emphasizing that there was a great void in terms of international powers in the region with the Russia-Ukraine war, Kaya noted that it was expected that Turkey would attack taking advantage of the void.  Kaya stated that Turkey is in a position that favors itself in the balance between NATO and Russia, and that Turkey has profited from the Ukraine crisis militarily and economically. Kaya stated that a similar situation was revealed in the political sense and reminded that although the whole world closed its doors to Russia, Turkey did not do this. Pointing out that despite the tension between Turkey and Russia, its close relations continue, Kaya stated that Turkey was planning to attack to take advantage of this atmosphere and that the KCK was the one that first noticed this. Kaya emphasized that the main aim of Turkey is to take advantage of the void.

 

TURKEY AIMS TO OCCUPY

 

Expressing that Turkey is aiming to occupy another part of the Federated Kurdistan Region, Kaya said, “If you pay attention, starting from 2017, Turkey attacked some parts of Southern Kurdistan and they settled down. The region in the middle was the Zap region. Now, they are inside the borders of Iraq and tehy are settling. That's why the name of the operation is Claw-Lock. Starting from the Iranian border to the Syrian border, it was to capture some hills in almost every part of the region and to provide a coordination. This is an 'occupation' area. They did it out of the void left by the ongoing 3rd World War."

 

TURKEY BENEFITTED FROM THE POLITICAL CRISIS IN IRAQ  

 

Stating that Turkey's operations in the Federated Kurdistan Region, both by land and air attacks, were normalized by international forces and Iraq, Kaya said, "Even though there is no serious international approval, they are violating the borders. But there was fear of what the economic and political consequences would bring. They took sides with both the USA and Russia. There are also problems inside Iraq. This was a situation that tied the hands of Iraq. With both of these going on, it was seen as a suitable time for the AKP-MHP government and the operation started on this basis.”

 

THE NATURAL GAS AND OIL

 

Noting that with the Russia-Ukraine war, new problems will arise in meeting Europe's natural gas needs in the future, Kaya stated that the KDP and Turkey want to turn this in their favor. In this context, Kaya said: “There is no attack on the Garê region at the moment, but it may happen in the coming days. Because Garê is an important natural gas and oil field. This was found in a research conducted 10 years ago. Barzani and Erdogan want to make an agreement on this issue and present it to the world."

 

Expressing that there is international support in favour of Barzani and Erdogan, Kaya said that oil and natural gas in the region are being marketed, and efforts are being made to get the support of other states, especially Europe."

 

IRAQ MIGHT BE DIVIDED AT THE END

 

Evaluating the statements from Iraqi State officials, Kaya reminded that elections were held a year ago in Iraq and the President has not been elected yet, and said that the Iraqi officials' statements were meaningless. Reminding that Iraq is experiencing contradictions and conflicts within itself, Kaya said, "It is necessary to say that Turkey has an involvement in this confusion." Referring to Muqtada Es Sadr's statement, Kaya stated that Sadr did not seriously oppose Turkey's interventions and said: "Iraq is not in unity within itself. These statements do not reveal anything serious. I think there is a risk that Iraq might be divided at the end of this. Because I do not think that groups such as Nuri al-Maliki, Haydar Abadi, Hadi Amiri, who receive support from Shiites from Iran, will easily come to terms with countries like Turkey and the USA. Because in 2003 everything fell apart.”

 

REACTIONS WILL RISE

 

Emphasizing that Turkey's operation will result in serious losses, Kaya said that the geographical dominance in the region is in the hands of the HPG. Expressing that it was not easy for Turkey to get the result it expected, Kaya said that if the operation continues, the reaction of the Iraqi public will increase. Kaya pointed out that the developments may cause the balances in the region to change and Iran would not want Turkey's influence in Iraq to increase.

 

'AN ATTITUDE MUST BE DEVELOPED AGAINST THE KDP'

 

Reminding the importance of taking a stand against the KDP in the face of the ongoing war, Kaya said: “If you notice, everyone who comments avoids saying that those attacking the HPG are peshmerga forces. The main reason for this is that the peshmerga has a historical meaning for the Kurds. Using this name, the KDP is attacking guerrilla forces. Its value must be kept alive. If the KDP is not worthy of this name, everyone who bears this name should take a stand against it. People must say that he calls those forces Peshmerga, but they are not actually the Peshmerga they know.  Southern Kurdistan forces and politicians need to take a stand against this. Peshmerga is not this, it is something else."

 

THE TARGET OF THE THIRD WORLD WAR IS THE KURDS

 

Reminding that Armenians were massacred in the First World War and Jews in the Second World War, Kaya emphasized that the Kurds are the targets of the Third World War. Kaya continued his words as follows: “Kurds will either face a massacre or gain their own status, make their existence accepted by the world and show that they are legitimate. This requires a serious struggle. Just sitting down and tweeting from social media as some people do is not something that corresponds to this period. It is necessary to take a more serious stance and to step up the struggle. Taking a passive attitude is not enough. This reaction needs to be channeled in a different way. Otherwise, the Third World War may result in loss for the Kurds. If the right attitude is developed, the Kurds can impose their legitimacy and gain status. Otherwise, the loss would be great.”

 

 

MA / Ahmet Kanbal