Turkey's senior prosecutor filed a petition with the Constitutional Court today to close the country's leading pro-Kurdish political party, the latest example of the government's tense relationship with the Kurdish minority here.

That step quickly followed a decision by the court today to outlaw a related pro-Kurdish party that had preceded and given rise to the current one and that, in the court's judgment, had ties to armed rebels.

Both developments underscored the profound wariness and suspicion with which many Turkish officials regard the country's Kurds, as a war in Iraq potentially draws near.

Officials fear that a war would whip up demands for independence and even set off violence among Kurds in southeastern Turkey, near the Iraqi border. That concern has weighed heavily on Turkish leaders during deliberations over whether to support an American-led military invasion of Iraq.