Business as usual at Habur gate Despite claims that Turkey is on the eve of a wide-ranging cross-border operation to strike Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) camps in northern Iraq, the major border gate between the two nations, Habur, is functioning as usual.

Trucks loaded with various commodities head for Iraq regularly; a long queue of vehicles on the road approaching Habur also shows that nothing has changed since a recent Cabinet decision to impose sanctions on the country.

In early October the Turkish army reportedly deployed nearly 100,000 troops along with heavy arms and long-range artillery at the border with Iraq. Some analysts suggested that the latest deadline for a military operation would be mid-November, as adverse winter conditions will pose a considerable obstacle after then. However, there has thus far been no military activity observed around the Habur gate. No military restrictions, no checkpoints; nothing more unusual than a few television crews hanging around the gate area.

Muhammet Kaya, a 37-year-old truck driver, worries that a possible military incursion would stop his business. “No matter what, the gate should remain open for trade,” he says. Kaya is one of nearly 20,000 drivers who earn their livelihood from trade along the border. “This gate is the only source of income for me, as well as for the region. If it is closed there is no option left to us. There is no factory for us to work at. Besides, we cannot do anything other than driving.”

The intensive trading and business relations between Turkey and northern Iraq reaches an annual volume of nearly $5 billion. It is no secret that major construction projects in northern Iraq are dominated by Turkish companies. In addition to this, food, energy and health supplies are mainly supplied by Turkish firms. The economy of the Kurdish regional administration in northern Iraq depends entirely on Turkey.

Trucks full of construction materials are still pouring into northern Iraq. Osman Yılmaz drives a truck loaded with iron bars for construction, headed toward Arbil. “I got the material from an Iskenderun steel and iron plant. On every corner in the city of Arbil, there are new construction projects. Houses, public buildings and new roads and bridges are everywhere.”

The Habur border gate also serves US troops in Iraq, as the majority of US logistical supplies are transported via the entry. The drivers of three trucks carrying such materials said they picked up the supplies from the US İncirlik airbase in Turkey and are heading for the Iraqi city of Tikrit. “There is a small device in our trucks which enables the Americans to watch our moves minute-by-minute via satellite. They can pinpoint our location,” he added. Another truck driver in the convoy complains that the Americans do not provide enough security inside Iraq. “Our lives are in danger and they do not care. We’ve been attacked many times by machine guns.”

The drivers say they are able to make a complete trip every 10 days or fortnight, earning a total of around YTL 300. Following recent modernization of the Habur gate, the customs process is a lot faster on the Turkish side. But the Iraqi side is still slow and lacks a computerized system, requiring much of the paperwork to be written out by hand. “We constantly have to fight to accelerate things, and pay fines unnecessarily at Zaho. Beside this, they do not treat us in a friendly manner at all.” Despite this, the drivers say they strongly oppose a military incursion if it will mean the closure of the Habur gate.