2007年VOA标准英语-Turks Ponder Attack on Kurdish Guerillas in Ira

By Barry Newhouse/Margaret Besheer
Istanbul/Kani Masi, Iraq
28 June 2007

There is growing concern in Turkey and in northern Iraq about a Turkish military buildup for a possible incursion against Kurdish rebel bases in Iraqi territory. From Istanbul, VOA's Barry Newhouse reports, Turks are divided about whether a cross-border operation would do much to stop rebel attacks in Turkey. And in villages along Iraqi Kurdistan's border with Turkey, VOA's Margaret Besheer reports, residents say artillery¹ strikes are coming across the border, making life difficult.

From Barry Newhouse in Istanbul, Turkey:

A local PKK military leader, walks over a bridge in Mezdori village in northern Iraq near the Iraqi-Turkish border, 7 June 2007

Turkey's fight against the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, dominates domestic news coverage², with television footage of soldiers' funerals and front page newspaper stories about the military buildup. Since 1984, fighting between PKK guerillas and the Turkish military has killed some 30,000 people, but in recent months the army has threatened a major incursion into northern Iraq to decisively end the insurgency³ Turkey says is being run by militants⁴ over the border.

 

But many Turks are still unsure about whether that is necessary.

Skeptics say a cross-border operation could not end an insurgency that the army has failed to put down even after several previous operations inside Iraq.

"Most people want to enter into northern Iraq, and it seems like all of them believe that it will solve all of the problems of Turkey," said Onur Gunay, a graduate student of sociology at Bosporus University in Istanbul. "But it's obvious that the Turkish army has entered a lot of times, and nothing changed."

Turkish political leaders also have expressed skepticism that a cross-border operation would end the Kurdish rebel insurgency. But many Turks have serious concerns about what they perceive as a threat from the autonomous⁵ Kurdish government in northern Iraq. Many Turks believe the Iraqi Kurdish leaders have ties to Kurdish rebels in Turkey.

The Turkish military says PKK rebels use bases in northern Iraq to train and prepare for attacks inside Turkey. In recent months, a string of bombing and gunbattles in southeastern Turkey has targeted soldiers and checkpoints. The Kurdish government denies it supports the PKK and says the rebels' campaign has in fact harmed Iraqi Kurds.

But many Turks are skeptical⁶ of the denials, and are increasingly wary⁷ of involvement in the region by Turkey's NATO ally, the United States. In a recent opinion poll measuring what people in Turkey perceive as the country's biggest threat, the United States was first and Iraqi Kurds were second. Leyla Tausanoglu, a political columnist⁸ for the independent Cumhuriyet newspaper, says many Turks are skeptical of American plans because of the Iraq war, and are now suspicious of U.S. ties with Iraqi Kurdish leaders.

"The Americans can say, 'stop this - what are you doing?' They don't," she said. "This means they are implicitly⁹ supporting the PKK, fighting with the Turkish army."

The United States, like Turkey, classifies the PKK as a terrorist group.

Turkey's military has repeatedly asked the central Iraqi government and U.S. officials to do more to crack down on rebel bases in northern Iraq. So far, U.S. and Iraqi officials have urged dialogue to resolve the situation. The U.S. Defense¹⁰ Department says Washington understands the threat of terrorism Turkey faces from the PKK, but that the U.S. does not believe a Turkish military excursion into Iraq would be helpful.

Many Turks hope negotiations¹¹ will be the answer to solving the separatist insurgency. This man, who works as a sunflower farmer in a village outside Istanbul, says he grieves for the Turkish soldiers killed by Kurdish rebels, but more fighting will not solve the problem.

"We condemn¹² these attacks, and America has a big share of the solution in these problems," he said. "The problem must be solved, without shedding blood or invading a country."

From Margaret Besheer Kani Masi, Iraq:

But limited Turkish strikes inside Iraq have already had an impact on villagers on the Iraq side of the border.

In the remote mountain region of Kani Masi, Iraqi Kurds in the hamlet of Bedhoe tell VOA that most of the residents have fled in recent weeks. They say Turkey has stepped-up shelling in the area and are concerned that a full-scale invasion is imminent¹³.

Ramadan Abdulrahman, like many of his neighbors, says he thinks Turkey will invade soon. He says he has seen a daily increase in the Turkish troop presence along the border, and he believes they are coming closer to entering the Iraqi villages.

Fruit orchards¹⁴ dot the picturesque¹⁵ valley nestled among the mountains. Most people here raise sheep and goats, and grow apples, apricots and other fruits.

Faisal Mohammed Ahmed is from the village of Derishki. He says residents are terrified of the shelling. He says they can't work on their farms, or take their goats outside the village because they are afraid of more shelling.

Many villagers complain that the Turkish shelling, which comes over the mountains from the Turkish side of the border, has killed their animals. They also say Turkish soldiers have come into Iraqi Kurdish villages close to the border and confiscated¹⁶ their sheep and goats, and even detained some of the farmers. Turkey denies its forces have crossed the Iraqi border.

The villagers say they do not support the rebels, but they defend their actions.

Farmer Ramadan says the PKK would not fight, if the Turks did not attack them in the first place. He says, if the Turkish army enters Iraqi Kurdistan, the PKK will fight. But he, like others in this area, says the best way to solve the problem is through dialogue, not war, because, in war, there are no winners.

1 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

2 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

3 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

4 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

5 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

6 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

7 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

8 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

9 implicitly   

adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地

参考例句：

• Many verbs and many words of other kinds are implicitly causal. 许多动词和许多其他类词都蕴涵着因果关系。
• I can trust Mr. Somerville implicitly, I suppose? 我想，我可以毫无保留地信任萨莫维尔先生吧？

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

12 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

13 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

14 orchards   

（通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They turned the hills into orchards and plains into granaries. 他们把山坡变成了果园，把平地变成了粮仓。
• Some of the new planted apple orchards have also begun to bear. 有些新开的苹果园也开始结苹果了。

15 picturesque   

adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的

参考例句：

• You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。
• That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。

16 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。