Open AccessSecurity for States vs. Refugees: peration Provide Comfort and the April 1991 Mass Influx of Refugees from Northern Iraq into Turkey
Author(s) -
Kemal Kirişçi
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
refuge
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.485
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 1920-7336
pISSN - 0229-5113
DOI - 10.25071/1920-7336.21193
Subject(s) - refugee , repatriation , turkish , political science , state (computer science) , government (linguistics) , politics , public administration , law , philosophy , linguistics , algorithm , computer science
In April 1991, the massive influx of Iraqi refugees into Turkey precipitated a political process that led to one of the rare examples of humanitarian intervention. Under pressure from the Turkish government and world public opinion, Western allies declared a safe zone above the 36th parallel in northern Iraq and launched "Operation Provide Comfort." This Operation enabled the extension of relief assistance to almost half a million refugees and their repatriation to northern Iraq within a relatively short period of time. The article tries to establish whether "Operation Provide Comfort" served state security interests or the security of the refugees from Iraq.