Arab and non-Arab

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Events in the Arab world over the past few weeks have been especially troubling in one particular respect. It appears that non-Arab minorities in predominantly Arab countries are taking advantage of Western-style democratisation and liberalisation to advance their narrow interests in ways that are detrimental to the national interests of the country's concerned and to the wider Arab cause at large.

Two cases in point stand out: the Kurds of Iraq and the southern Sudanese. These two particular groups have legitimate interests and concerns. They have long been politically subdued and marginalised. The Kurds of Iraq have had a fairly good deal since the ouster from power of Saddam Hussein. Indeed, ethnic Kurds occupy some of the highest positions in the country -- the Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is an ethnic Kurd and so is Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. Moreover, the autonomous northern Iraqi region of Kurdistan is among the most politically stable of Iraqi's regions and enjoys relative security.

It therefore comes as a great disappointment that members of the Kurdish Workers Party (better known by its Kurdish acronym PKK) launched terrorist attacks on Turkish troops killing 12 Turkish soldiers from military bases in Iraqi Kurdistan.

This kind of behaviour is unacceptable at this particular time. It is the type of bellicose action that tests Turkey's patience and might prompt Turkish military retaliation. So far, Turkey has respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq, including that of Iraqi Kurdistan.

True, Turkey cannot comply with the notion of an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq. Turkey refused to permit the US Fourth Division to invade Iraq from Turkish territory in 2003. The Turkish military base in Incirlik is, however, of vital strategic importance to the United States. The US restrains Turkey from retaliating at the moment. But Turkey would not forever stand idly by as PKK fighters attack its troops from their hideouts in Iraqi Kurdistan. An estimated 40,000 were killed in clashes between the PKK and the Turkish armed forced in the past two decades. A peaceful solution must be found to the conflict between Turkey and its ethnic Kurds, but the Iraqi Kurds should stay out of the domestic Turkish politics. They should focus on re-building Iraq. And, they should make sure that the PKK fighters stationed in the rugged mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan don't use Iraqi territory as a springboard to launch attacks on Turkish troops or civilian targets.

In Sudan, too, it seems that the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/ Army (SPLM/A) is becoming restless. The timing of the SPLM/A's withdrawal from the Sudanese government is critical. Sudan is about to embark on peace talks with Darfur's armed opposition groups. The peace talks are scheduled to take place in Libya on Saturday. The position of the Sudanese government is compromised and weakened. It is in this context that Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit asked the SPLM/A and the Sudanese government to "take all articles of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement seriously". Yes, the SPLM might have legitimate grievances, but in the interests of Sudanese peace and stability they should consider rejoining the Sudanese government especially before the Darfur peace talks in Libya. In this respect, the speech of SPLM leader and Sudanese First Vice- President Salva Kiir was encouraging and reconciliatory. The rights and civil liberties of non-Arab ethnic minorities in Arab countries must be respected and upheld, but their leaders should not play in the hands of foreign powers who do not have Arab interests at heart.