Ankara/Tehran/Baghdad : If the Kurdish forces in Iraq remain firm on the role of independent country, Turkey will impose strong restrictions on Iraqi Kurds. If this happens, the crisis of hunger may strike the Iraqi Kurds. The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned the Kurds that along with these restrictions, Turkey has left open the option of taking military actions against the Iraqi Kurds. However, Turkey has resumed its military exercises by deploying its army near Iraq’s border.
On Monday, in spite of receiving a strong I global opposition, the referendum was conducted in the Kurdish regions of Iraq. Thousands of Kurds had enthusiastically participated in the consensus of this amendment. Similarly, they made announcements for the formation of an independent Kurdistan. According to the Kurdish news channel in Erbil, the referendum had received 78% response which was proposed to be summarized in next few hours. Turkey has been concerned about the after effects of the consensus on the Kurds in Turkey, which in turn might pose a threat to Turkey’s security. On this background, this consensus conducted by the Iraqi Kurds has received an aggressive reaction from Turkey.
Erdogan said that Turkey must not ignore the ongoing movements of the Iraqi Kurds. It has been said that President of autonomous province of Kurd ‘Masoud Barzani’s decision to hold a referendum itself is a betrayal to Turkey. However, Turkey will strive to maintain the integrity of Iraq unchanged. Erdogan has threatened, ”If Kurds from Iraq and Syria pose a threat to Turkey, it has other means to deal with the Kurds.”
Erdogan has stated that monetary restrictions are also a part of this. He added that ‘If Turkey imposes monetary restrictions on the Kurds in Iraq, Turkey might stop transporting the food supplies to the Iraqi Kurds. Similarly, the oil trade of the Kurds might come to a standstill if Turkey cuts offs the oil supply coming from Iraq. Erdogan has indicated that the Kurds might strangle and starve if this materializes.
Turkey has already its deployed tanks and cannons near the northern border of Iraq. Prior to this, Turkey had stated that the military deployment was a part of war drill. However, for the past few days, the Turkish leaders have been threatening to deal against the Kurds
Meanwhile, like Turkey, Iran has also deployed its army near border of Kurd region in Iraq. Iran has announced that the military had been deployed on the borders in order to prevent the after effects of the referendum of the Iraqi Kurds on the Kurds in Iran. At the same time, Iran’s President, Hassan Rouhani, called on the Turkish President, Erdogan to declare their opposition to Iraq’s referendum like Turkey. At the same time, US had indicated that the problems of Kurds in Iraq and other nations would increase due to the consensus. The Abadi government in Iraq is also against the referendum. The Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi also stated that further discussions over the referendum were not possible
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