ISSN 0951-8657. Published by Socialist Outlook, PO Box 1109, London N4 2UU. © 1995. All rights reserved. Printed by Newsfax International London E15 So much for the 'safe haven' to protect Kurds against Iraq's Saddam Hussein. Bombs are raining down upon Kurdish villages - and the west is doing nothing to stop it.
Such is the hypocrisy of the imperialist powers that the French-British-US United Nations military detachment even suspended its flights over the "safe" area so Turkey could launch its invasion.
As the 35,000 troops push deeper into Iraq, 2,000 refugees have been forced from their homes. Torture is rife. Many Kurdish villages have been burned. F-16 and F.5 planes make regular bombing raids. Civilians are seized and forcibly brought to Turkey.
Far from being a solution, the UN is part of the problem. It goes along with the US, which calls it legitimate self-defence of its key NATO ally Turkey!
From behind the sham of defending the Kurds from aggression the real motivation of western involvement is becoming clear - to ensure US interests in the region and provide a militarised buffer zone to fortress Europe.
It is the ninth cross border operation since 1992. It has no hope of achieving its declared aim of erasing the PKK. Instead the Turkish regime is using it as a way of shoring up its position at home.
It is clear however that the Turkish state will never permit any form of Kurdish self-government. They have to smash the semi-autonomy Iraq's Kurds gained in the aftermath of the Gulf War.
Kirkuk oil has always attracted their attentions.
There are now some indicators to suggest a deal with the US involving a long-term invasion.
Ever since the war ended there has been intensive talk in official Turkish circles about establishing a "Turkish protectorate" in Northern Iraq. Candemir Onhon, the Turkish ambassador in London, gave the game away by refusing to give a time limit on the occupation.
Anti-imperialist forces around the world must mobilise now to demand the immediate withdrawal of the Turkish troops from Northern Iraq.
A defeat for Turkey in this new adventure would mean a defeat for the forces of international reaction and counter-revolution everywhere. Turkey's democratic facade -