On Turkey-Iraq Border, Rumblings of War, Trucks

Oct 25, 12:53 PM

Current Headlines: By Christine Spolar, Chicago Tribune

Oct. 25--CIZRE, Turkey -- Whole families in this poor Turkish borderland depend on how fast and freely their men can roll trucks in and out of Iraq. Now truckers are looking to the hills and highways to gauge the possibility of a devastating blow to their cross-country lives: Turkey invading Iraq in search of Kurdish rebels and shutting down the nearest border crossing.

"In Cizre, when we're born all we see is the border and the truck," said Hamza Naz, who trundles metal skewers from southeast Turkey to kebab sellers in Iraq. "Trucking is all we do. If there is an operation, they will shut this down. And if they shut this, they will shut down a lot of lives."

Hectic diplomatic efforts continued Wednesday as Turkey appeared to be making preparations for a possible move into Iraq to quell cross-border attacks by the PKK rebel group. The Associated Press reported Wednesday the first sighting of a warplane over this border city since the current crisis began. The state-run Anatolia news agency reported that Turkish planes and helicopters hit mountain paths used by the rebels, although it appeared the attacks were inside Turkish borders.

Much of the countryside seemed calm, but Turkish soldiers riding in unmarked commercial buses were visible on major roadways Wednesday, heading south toward the Iraqi border.

By 8 a.m., dozens of troops were draping camouflage near armored vehicles on roads just outside this city of 100,000; passersby who ventured to watch were abruptly ordered away by soldiers with guns drawn.

Turkish television, on state-run and independent channels, maintained unrelenting news coverage of Turkey's suffering from the PKK, especially an ambush Sunday that left 12 Turkish soldiers dead and eight missing. Major television stations covered the 12 funerals in 11 cities Wednesday; at night, the airwaves were full of anti-Kurd rhetoric.

"I don't see a positive end to this," said Abdullah Abak, the acting mayor of Cizre and a Kurd in what is a Kurdish-dominated area of Turkey. "My heart wants to be positive, but I can't see anything good coming. Turkey wants the PKK."

There were conflicting reports Wednesday about the potential scope of Turkey's military retaliation. Turkish leaders have been biting in their criticism of the Iraqi leadership -- and particularly Kurdish leaders who control the northern region of Iraq -- and have warned that a large-scale incursion is imminent.

But they also appeared Wednesday to be listening to appeals from NATO allies, and the United States in particular, to delay military action. The George Bush administration, which has relied on Kurdish allies for its Iraq campaign , is intent on maintaining stability in that part of the country. The free flow of commerce across Turkey's border has been important to American troops in Iraq as well: Nearly a third of the fuel they use passes through Turkey.

Turkey's National Security Committee, made up of President Abdullah Gul and top generals, met in Ankara to discuss the threat in Iraq and recommended that parliament impose economic sanctions to force Iraq to quash the PKK. Northern Iraq has enjoyed hefty investment from Turkish business interests, and there is a brisk cross-border trade among Kurdish businesses. Turkey also provides electricity to northern Iraq.

Reports on Turkey's state-run Anatolia news agency about military activity appeared to be deliberately vague. Helicopters and warplanes struck rebel mountain paths, the agency said, but it did not indicate whether Turkish pilots had crossed the border.

Cross-border action has been cited in one report by The Associated Press -- but the incursion happened last weekend. The AP, quoting an unnamed government official, said Wednesday that Turkish helicopters had chased Kurdish rebels 3 miles into Iraqi territory Sunday.

The PKK, known formally as the Kurdistan Workers' Party, is considered a terrorist group by the U.S., but the rebels have not been constricted since U.S. forces entered Iraq in March, 2003. This week, as thousands of protesters in Istanbul, Ankara and other cities rallied against the PKK, Turkey criticized the U.S.-backed Iraqi government's inability to quell the attacks.

The PKK trains and resupplies itself in the mountains of northern Iraq; regional leaders who are Kurds have said they do not support the PKK but that Turkey has refused to negotiate over the rebel group.

The PKK is a touchy subject in Turkey and in this region of the country where Kurds abound. Abak, the acting mayor of Cizre, is keenly aware of the tense relations between Turkey and its Kurdish population. He got his job this spring after the last mayor, also a Kurd, was forced out by the Turkish government for praising PKK leaders.

"The Turkish government doesn't listen to us. They don't help us, and whenever we want to talk about the PKK, they tell us we are the same as the PKK," Abak said. "People, of course, are very worried here now. People have some sympathy for the PKK, yes, but when they go to bed at night, they are also thinking about themselves.

"The people here are very afraid of an operation in Iraq. The Kurdish people here are not rich. The economy is already bad. To shut the border, it will be worse."

Individual families bet their life savings on the truck route that passes through Cizre and Silopi and into Iraq. The trail of trade has blossomed since the invasion of Iraq. Kurdish businesses have embraced Turkish goods. Kurds in Turkey have made nice profits by hauling in cheaper goods from Iraq.

Naz has been working the truck route with his brothers for years. He hauls in kebab skewers from Skendera; his older brother trucks the skewers into Iraq and back. The brothers have invested all their money in the trucking business.

Naz, like many of the truckers stopping on the road near the crossing just beyond Silopi, motors the countryside in a modern, big-haul vehicle. He bought it last year with money borrowed from relatives and still owes them $110,000.

If Turkey makes an incursion, Naz senses a personal catastrophe.

"I usually make 15 trips a month. This month, I've come five times," he said. "I put $300 in my pocket with every trip. If the troops go in tomorrow, what am I going to do?"

One of the few options left would be to join the rebels, he said sadly.

"If the work stops here," he said, "we might all end up in the mountains."

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