23 October 2001

1. "Turkey rushes troops to Iraqui border", Turkey has rushed aircraft, helicopters and thousands of troops to the Iraqi border.

2. "Missing the Opportunity", Ankara is seriously concerned that Iraq might be a target for a military operation in the war against terror following the NYC attacks in September.

3. "Firsthand Experience", Turkey's struggle with Kurdish rebels could make them invaluable to U.S.-led ground forces

4. "European Parliament to debate Turkey report", the European Parliament General Assembly is to debate French Christian Democrat Alain Lamassoure's report on Turkey on Wednesday Oct. 24. The report evaluates Turkey's progress towards fulfilling EU membership criteria.

5. "Isn't KDP a friend?", Masoud Barzani and the KDP proved their friendship when it mattered. They fought against the PKK at the most critical time and helped Turkey.

6. "Rich Harvest of Mines Near Turkey's Iraqi Border"

1. - Middle East Newsline - "Turkey rushes troops to Iraqui border":

ANKARA

Turkey has rushed aircraft, helicopters and thousands of troops to the Iraqi border.

Turkish defense sources as well as Arab diplomats said Ankara has beefed up forces along its southern border with Iraq as part of preparations for any hostility in the region. The sources said Ankara fears a U.S. attack on Iraq or a drive by President Saddam Hussein against the Kurdish autonomous zone in northern Iraq.
Turkey has also begun patrols by fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters over northern Iraq in an effort to monitor the region. The Turkish military has established camps to accommodate thousands of additional troops who might be needed along the front.

The Turkish sources said air force and army units in the area have been warned to stay at their bases and be ready for any contingency. Ankara has warned against any U.S. attack on Baghdad. Turkey has tried to improve diplomatic and trade relations with the Saddam regime.
At the same time, Turkish leaders are bracing for the prospect that Iraq will be the next target in the U.S.-led war against terrorism. But the leaders have warned against any attempt to establish a Kurdish state in northern Iraq.

One Turkish minister, Abdul Halouk Shai, has warned that a Kurdish state in northern Iraq would spark an immediate response from Ankara. Southeastern Turkey has a large Kurdish population. The Turkish sources said Ankara has discussed the volatile situation in northern Iraq with both Britain and the United States.

On Tuesday, two Turkish soldiers were killed in a rocket attack in the eastern portion of the country. The attack was attributed to Kurdish insurgents.

2. - Sabah - "Missing the oportunity":

ANKARA / by Sukru Elekdag

Former Ambassador Sukru Elekdag writes on the aftermath of events following the September 11 attacks on the US. A summary of his column is as follows:

Ankara is seriously concerned that Iraq can be a target for a military operation during the war against terror which began following the September 11, 2001 attacks. In an interview with famous commentator on CNN last week, Prime Minister Ecevit said that if such a possibility were to come true, Iraq would be divided and that this would create problems for
the independence and territorial integrity of Turkey.

Ankara believes that Iraq can only protect its territorial integrity with an authoritarian regime, and an operation which would result in overthrowing Saddam will lead to a division of the counry in three parts and the foundation of a Kurdish State in the north would be inevitable. During the Ottoman Empire, Iraq consisted of three provinces: the provinces of Shiite Arabs in Basra, Sunni Arabs in Bagdad and Kurds and Turkomans in Musul.The ruthless actions of Saddam against Shiites and Kurds following the Gulf War, increased the hatred among the peoples. Therefore, if Saddam is toppled, the proclamation of independence by the Shiites forming the majority, with the support of Iran is inevitable. In that case, the proclamation of a Kurdish State in the north cannot be prevented by Bagdad.

Ankara who believes that the establishment of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq is against Turkey's vital interests, is of the opinion that such a state would cooperate with some of her neighbours and the PKK terrorist organization and will demand land from our country, further the greater Kurdistan cause and fan the Kurdish nationalism in the region. Considering the fact that the US policy following 1991 adopted the establishment of a Kurdish State, these concerns are not unfounded. In fact, the parliamentary elections in Northern Iraq in May 1992 and the foundation of a Kurdish Government were backed by the US. Today, the US should know that following policies with the aim of establishing a Kurdish State in northern Iraq is contrary to her interests.

However, if a Kurdish State is founded, dependent upon the US on every way, with no outlet to sea, surrounded by unfriendly states, Washington's Middle East policy will be indexed to providing the security of such a state. This would lead Iran and Syria to solve the existing disputes amongst themselves and form a block against Israel and the US. It will not be wrong to say that such a development would lead to results which would harm US interests in the region. When the US reaches her aims in Afghanistan, it is highly probable that the hawks within the Government will force the opening of a second front against Iraq.

Turkey has to be prepared for such a possibility and must not leave the arena to Barzani and Talabani. Otherwise, Turkey will not have a say in the restucturing period after Saddam in Iraq.

3. - Time Magazine - "Firsthand Experience":

Turkey's struggle with Kurdish rebels could make them invaluable to U.S.-led ground forces

By Andrew Purvis

The international war on terror has attracted no shortage of allies in the past month, but few are likely to prove more useful than Turkey. NATO's only Muslim member not only has historical roots in Central Asia and close ties to the region today, but also happens to be the only country with recent experience in the kind of combat the U.S.-led coalition will face in the months ahead. Starting in the mid-1990s, clandestine Turkish special forces waged a successful counterinsurgency campaign along the country's rugged southeastern frontier against a foe - Kurdish rebels - that bears a notable resemblance to the enemy in Afghanistan.

Turkey is also ready, more or less, to serve. Two weeks ago, the country's fractious coalition government overwhelmingly approved the deployment of troops to Afghanistan, should the call come. The Incirlik air base is already refueling allied bombers and fighter jets. And last week Turkey emerged as a potential leader of a post-Taliban peacekeeping force.

The support comes with reservations, however. Domestic opposition to Turkish involvement is growing, and even politicians who back the effort are desperately worried that a widening war will target Iraq, which would destabilize Turkey's eastern frontier. But the lure of closer ties with the West at a time when the country's economy is in desperate need of foreign aid has gained the upper hand, for now. "Turkey doesn't see this as just the Americans' fight," Foreign Minister Ismail Cem told Time last week. "We too have suffered from terrorism. This struggle is ours as well."

The "terrorists" in Turkish parlance are the Kurdistan Workers' Party (P.K.K.), and the country's experience fighting them in the caves and high mountains along the Iraqi border over the past decade underscores both the pitfalls and opportunities of an Afghan ground campaign. Ten years ago, the lessons were mostly negative. Turkey was locked in a "dirty war" with the Kurds that had left thousands of civilians, militants and Turkish soldiers dead and a growing number of people sympathizing with the rebel cause.

Then in 1995 the top brass decided to try something new. Teams of lightly armed special forces were dispatched along the frontier and into Iraq itself, denying the P.K.K. their traditional strongholds and forcing them to fight even in winter. In a tactic called the tiger hunt, commandos worked in tightening concentric circles to trap their prey. "If you see five P.K.K.s, send in 100 troops," was the motto. At the same time, the government launched a "hearts and minds" campaign and an amnesty to fighters willing to come out of the hills.

By the late 1990s the "dirty war" was largely over and the rebellion quelled, though the 1999 capture of P.K.K. leader Abdullah Ocalan in Kenya doubtless helped.

Turkish special forces could play a similar role in Afghanistan, or perhaps train and supply opposition fighters from the Northern Alliance. Ankara already has strong ties with General Abdul Rashid Dostum and his largely Uzbek supporters. The least politically sensitive job would be to head up, along with other moderate Muslim countries like Jordan, a peacekeeping force in the event the Taliban are driven from power.

Further engagement, however, will call for careful management at home. Recent polls show up to 75% of Turks are against the deployment of troops and half are opposed even to the U.S. bombing. Islamic solidarity, never far below the surface, is on the rise. "It has been reduced to us or them," complained Cuneyt Ulsever, a liberal columnist. Even political leaders have qualms, especially about the prospect of targeting Iraq. Toppling Saddam Hussein, they believe, would trigger the establishment of a separate Kurdish state in northern Iraq and spawn similar separatist ambitions in Turkey.

Still, the country has good reasons for helping out. Spurning the U.S. now would isolate Ankara even as it is seeking $9 billion in debt relief to help tackle the worst financial crisis in decades. The vote to commit troops to Afghanistan took place just one day before the World Bank was scheduled to announce a bailout, which it subsequently did. In fact, Western leaders have been remarkably sensitive to Turkey's delicate position, says Cem. "There has been no attempt to impose a moral obligation." Rather, he said, discussions have focused on how friends can help each other in a time of need. Sentiment aside, it appears that both sides have something to give.

4. - Turkish Daily News - "European Parliament to debate Turkey report":

ANKARA

The European Parliament General Assembly is to debate the report on Turkey, prepared by French Christian Democrat Alain Lamassoure, on Wednesday Oct. 24, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. The report will then be voted on the next day. The bill that is based on the report states that Turkey has picked up dynamism thanks to becoming an official EU candidate country, that reform movements and political dialogue have all picked up and that despite the economic crisis and other tensions within the coalition, the government supports the reform program and has the political will to see these reforms carried out.

The bill notes that Turkey's EU National Program broadly covers the EU accession criteria and has created a far-reaching program of economic and political reform. It also calls for this program's timetable to be made clear and further recalls all the verdicts at the European Court of Human Rights that went against Turkey.

The fact that Turkey has largely overcome the problems caused by terrorism and that there were no obstacles preventing an acceleration of the democratization process is stressed in the report and it dwells on the need for and importance of constitutional reform.

The bill also states that failure to come up with a satisfactory solution on Cyprus would adversely affect the EU enlargement process. It further expresses satisfaction that Turkey's Parliament is working hard to improve human rights and make intensive reforms for democratization. The bill notes that the decision to dissolve the Welfare Party (RP) was not a human rights violation, but asked for the principles of pluralist democracy to be respected.

The bill states that the scale of corruption in Turkey is worrying and calls for the fight and measures against it to be accelerated. It also touches on the importance of parliamentary control of National Security Council (MGK) activities.

Call for financial support

The bill supports the Turkish government's efforts and initiatives towards economic reform and calls for EU financial support to be provided quickly and effectively.


The bill asks that Ankara take a more constructive approach towards the Cyprus issue and expresses pleasure in the development of Greek-Turkish dialogue. It also reflects the hope that efforts to lift the obstacles regarding the Kurdish language will broaden human rights without constituting a threat to state integrity.

5. - Turkish Daily News - "Isn't KDP a friend?":

Masoud Barzani and the KDP proved their friendship when it mattered. They fought against the PKK at the most critical time and helped Turkey.

By Ilnur Cevik

The headline asks openly "Isn't KDP a friend?" Our answer is clear: Yes of course. They have proven this over time by fighting the PKK separatist terrorist when it really mattered for Turkey.

That means the Kurdistan Democracy Party (KDP) has put its heart into the fight against the separatist organization at a very high cost. Not only the KDP forces but also ordinary Kurds have been killed at the hands of PKK terrorists. The KDP regards the PKK as a terrorist organization and says even if Turkey halts the fight against it Barzani and his forces will continue this fight to the bitter end.

The KDP of Masoud Barzani is the leading power in northern Iraq and will remain so even when Iraq's sovereignty is properly restored throughout that country. It has a very strong tribal background as well as a democratic structure which has been clearly manifested since the KDP has gained control of a major portion of northern Iraq.

It is true that the current situation in northern Iraq is a temporary arrangement with KDP and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) running the region through their respective administrations. They have both done a good job establishing respectable administrations which have been serving the region and its people well. They have managed to build the neglected infrastructure of the region and the process is still continuing. As a matter of fact both administrations want Turkish contractors to be involved in this building process.

At times people here in Turkey have been highly suspicious that the Kurds are quietly building all the institutions of a state and will create a de factor situation. The Kurds vehemently deny this and say even if they wanted to do this it would be practically impossible.

However, it is also true that some of the applications have been more in the direction of state functions and of a more permanent nature than a temporary arrangement. Turks think that this will close the door for the reintegration of the region with Iraq and this is creating nightmares for officials in Ankara.

These kind of misunderstandings can be sorted out with positive applications and goodwill. Some local Kurdish officials may have misrepresented the issue or have created wrong impressions with their nationalistic attitude. But this does not change the fact that the general intention of the KDP is to be a part of democratic Iraq.

The KDP could contribute to the democratic development of the whole of Iraq and not only the north. The Iranians are fully aware of this and the key role Barzani and his administration plays in the region. That is why they are eager to court Barzani and the KDP.

Necirvan Barzani, prime minister of the KDP administration, is leading a government which is serving the people. The Iranians hosted him last week and he could have gone on from there to his trip to Europe. But he made a point of coming to Ankara to iron out some of the misunderstandings. Ankara has openly told him its concerns. Necirvan Barzani has explained to them his side of the story and his concerns. Now is the time to mend fences and make a fresh start on the part of friendship and cooperation.

6. - Reuters - "Rich Harvest of Mines Near Turkey's Iraqi Border":

SIRNAK (Turkey) / by Osman Senkul

High in the mountains of southeastern Turkey near the Iraqi border, Remzi Eren walked slowly over fields toward the village of his birth, drawn by the grapes still thriving there five years after everyone left.

The grapes in sight, his foot touched on something metallic. In an instant, Remzi lay dead alongside his young friend Fettah. Fighting between Kurdish separatists and Turkish forces died away two years ago in this part of the southeast.

But land mines that pepper the area frequently claim victims. They hinder a state-sponsored ``Return to the Villages'' campaign and could pose a danger to refugees, should the conflict now raging in Afghanistan spread toward Turkish frontiers.

``There are thousands of land mines in the remote areas and roads of southeast Turkey,'' said Hanefi Isik, land mines committee member of the Turkish Human Rights Association.
Many people have shared the fate of Remzi and Fettah, taking their goats to graze, seeking grass and hay.

Many villages, small huddles of low stone buildings, remain out of reach, ringed by a crop no one, soldier or civilian, dares harvest. Crops are left to wither and rot.

Unwelcome Remnants

More than 30,000 people have died in 17 years of fighting between Kurdish rebels and soldiers. Villages were cleared to rob the guerrillas of potential support and supplies. The guerrillas melted away into northern Iraq after the capture of their leader, Abdullah Ocalan, who has been sentenced to death.

``Then the second phase of disaster began, for villagers and for soldiers,'' said Isik of the human rights association.

Figures show some 200 people have been reported dead and several hundred wounded in land mine explosions in southeast Turkey. The statistics reflect the sheer eagerness of people impoverished by years of conflict to return home.

Hakkari province governor Orhan Isin said he had halted the Return to the Villages campaign for communities high in the mountains and in remote areas by the Iraqi and Iranian borders.
``Unfortunately we have had many casualties from land mines in our region and we have closed certain areas for villagers.''

Turkey has yet to sign the 1997 Ottawa Convention banning mines, which are estimated to kill some 26,000 people throughout the world every year, many of them non-combatants. But Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said this year Ankara planned to accede -- a move coming far too late for many.

Huseyin Baskaya, governor of Sirnak province neighboring Hakkari, said the authorities had given permission for the resettlement of many villages, but they preferred people to wait until next spring.

``What can we do? How can we clean the area?'' he said. ``The best way is to asphalt all the damaged parts of the roads and bury the mines deep, which is what we do.''

Osman, from Cigli village, illustrated a problem all too common throughout the world where mines have been laid. He struggles to gather sparse wood from a rocky hillside. Across the way rises a hill rich with trees, but off limits.

``Yes, it would be easier over there, but it is also deadly,'' Osman says.

Uncharted Territory

Isik of the human rights association says neither the soldiers nor the guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) know any more where many of their mines lie buried.

``During the clashes, troops from various parts of Turkey were deployed in the area and mined the surroundings of settlements to cut the logistical support of PKK fighters,'' he said. ``But later they went back to their original bases with the land mine maps, or the maps were lost.''

The land mines could prove an additional danger if, as Turkey fears, the United States turns its focus from Afghanistan to Iraq in pursuit of the perpetrators of September's attacks on Washington and New York. The United States has said it could act elsewhere but made no express reference to any military action against Iraq.

Ankara fears a repetition of the flood of refugees that crossed from Iraq into this area after a U.S.-led coalition drove an Iraqi invasion force from Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War ``We are very sensitive on this matter and our allies are aware of our sensitivity,'' said state minister Sukru Sina Gurel.

Isik said the danger for outsiders could be as great as for those seeking only to return, at long last, to their homes.
``There remains an unknown number of land mines on the routes that would be used by refugees, especially from Iraq,'' Isik said.