Election surprise: Speculation grows Turkish army is under orders to destroy PKK’s Iraq HQ

Election surprise: Speculation grows Turkish army is under orders to destroy PKK’s Iraq HQ
Some reports indicate Turkish forces are preparing to attack the HQ of the PKK in the Qandil Mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan. / Wary Abdullah.
By Akin Nazli in Belgrade June 6, 2018

Speculation that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to raise the Turkish flag over the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) headquarters in Iraq’s Qandil Mountains prior to the elections scheduled for the day of June 24 is mounting in Turkey’s media.

A growing military campaign aimed at the target near the Turkish and Iranian borders, seemingly waged with Washington and Baghdad’s blessing, is in evidence. Seizing the HQ of the PKK—listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the European Union and the US and a true bete noir for Turkish nationalists given the insurgency it has waged against the Turkish state for decades—would be expected to swing votes in what could be closely fought parliamentary and presidential elections.

On June 3, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told the state-run Anadolu news service that "Qandil is no longer a far away goal for us", while later on in the day, Erdogan said during a dinner speech given in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir that with the “counter-terrorism operation” in Afrin, northern Syria, having been successfully carried out, “now it is time for Qandil”, the pro-Erdogan Daily Sabah reported.

In his latest column in Milliyet daily, veteran media pundit Guneri Civaoglu recalled the election victory achieved by then PM Bulent Ecevit following the arrest of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in 1999. His column was headlined “The Timing of Qandil”.

“Would the occupation of Qandil blow a storm of votes just as the Cyprus Peace Operation [in 1974] and the arrest of Ocalan did?” Civaoglu asked rhetorically, adding: “It is obvious it will generate a strong wind. Anyway, Erdogan and his AKP party’s need is not for an earthquake to shift a large number of votes. Five to six points would be enough [for victory].”

“The Turkish army has almost reached the PKK's headquarters on Mount Qandil as part of a three-month campaign in northern Iraq to eradicate the leadership of the terrorist organisation,” the Daily Sabah reported on June 4. The newspaper added that the army was already 25 kilometres into northern Iraq and had taken control of the Bradost region and entered the Barazgir valley, considered a gateway to the Qandil Mountains. On June 5, Turkish special forces, who participated in Operation “Olive Branch” against PKK-affiliated groups in Afrin, relocated to Qandil to join the possible offensive, the newspaper’s report added. The first moves of the operation reportedly took place as far back as March.

Also on June 5, US Army Colonel Sean Ryan, spokesman for the US-led coalition formed to fight Islamic State, pledged support for Turkey’s operations in northern Iraq.

“Operations by Turkey in Iraq is done through close cooperation with the government of Iraq. Turkey is a close ally and member of the US-led coalition against ISIS and the Coalition does not foresee conflict with our mission to defeat Daesh,” Ryan said in a tweet, using two other names applied to Islamic State.

Further backing the theory that Erdogan views the Qandil operation as a big priority during this election season, one of his top advisors, Ilnur Cevik’s, wrote in his latest Daily Sabah that the “the PKK chieftains at Qandil are the target”.

In pro-Erdogan daily Yeni Safak, Ibrahim Karagul was more open about the perceived top objective of the Qandil advance. His piece carried the headline: “The [Turkish] flag will be raised in Qandil by the June 24 elections!”

Also on June 6, Anadolu reported that Turkish air strikes killed 6 PKK terrorists in northern Iraq.

Ismail Metin Temel, the Turkish army chief who commanded the Afrin operation, is reportedly to command the push to Qandil.

“Muharrem Ince, the Republican People's Party's (CHP’s) presidential candidate, criticised Temel, accusing him of applauding Erdogan while he was criticising Ince at a meeting,” the Daily Sabah observed.

The CHP has formed a broad formal alliance with other opposition parties to fight Erdogan and his AKP in what will be the most pivotal elections in modern history for Turkey.

The opposition alliance will set out to step up warnings to the electorate that votes for the AKP and Erdogan could leave Turkey facing one-man rule for generations to come. The elections will bring to an end almost a century of parliamentary rule in the country and usher in a presidential republic led by a nearly all-powerful executive president. Critics say that if Erdogan wins it will be as if he has undergone a “coronation” after 16 years at the top of Turkish politics. Under the constitutional changes, there will be no prime minister and parliament will play a curtailed role in Turkey’s affairs.

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