7
October 2002
2. "Struggle for justice against EU", KNK and former PKK Council of Leadersmember Osman Ocalan filed a suitcase against the European Union for including Kurds to their "list of terrorist organizations". The European Court of Justice notified the application to the EU Council of Permanent Representatives.
3. "Brussels keeps Turkey waiting on EU entry", Turkey will not be given a date for the start of negotiations on its membership of the European Union when the first 10 countries in the queue are told next week that they will be allowed to join. A date could be in the offing, however, if EU leaders are impressed by the outcome of the Turkish general election on November 3.
4. "Gurel warned EU: Turkey will review relations with EU if Copenhagen summit fails", Gurel mentioning the importance of the Copenhagen Summit indicated that the progress report is only a technical one but disappointment in Copenhagen may influence Turkey-EU relations in a very bad way.
5. "Turkey Port Key to U.S. Oil Policy", CEYHAN - this small southern Turkish port would hardly seem to be at the heart of America's strategic oil policy.
6. "Justice party has secret agenda: Turkish PM", Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said on Sunday he suspected the front-runner in upcoming elections, the Justice and Development Party (AK) , of having a "secret" Islamic agenda that could pose problems for the strictly secular Muslim nation, Anatolia news agency reported. (...) "Be it AK or HADEP, these two parties could create trouble for Turkey," Ecevit said.
7. "Turkey threatens to use force against Iraqi Kurds", Turkey threatened Sunday to use force to prevent the establishment of a Kurdish state in neighboring northern Iraq as it grappled with a tough security dilemma over US demands for support against Baghdad. The country has long been among the most trusted Muslim allies of the United States, but the crisis over Iraq has put the two NATO countries in opposite positions, with Turkey dreading that its worst nightmare -- an independent Kurdish state -- could be in the making.
8. "Turkey to protect interests in northern Iraq like in Cyprus", Turkish parliament Speaker Omer Izgi has said that Turkey will "at the right time" protect its "rights" in the oil-rich areas of northern Iraq in the same way it protected its interests in northern Cyprus. Izgi said that Mosul, Kirkuk and Al-Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq were Turkoman regions and it was "very important and beneficial for Turkey" that the oil fields there were operated by the Turkomans.
1. - Ozgur Politika - "KADEK called on for a solution":
Stating that they would insist on democratic unity unconditionally, KADEK called on "all parties constituting the Kurdish liberation movement, and dominant powers including Turkey to solve the problems that might cause conflicts and separations through dialogue".
MHA/FRANKFURT / 6 October 2002
A written statement by KADEK Council of Leaders pointed out that
the Middle East has entered into the process of biggest turmoil in its
history, adding the following: "Transformation and re-structuring
is on the agenda in every country. A possible attack on Iraq makes it
necessary for all the related forces to re-consider their positions."
The statement underscored that the intervention would affect the countries that dominated Kurdistan and also other countries in the region deeply and continued with words to the effect: "It will be unavoidable to destroy the existing status quo and develop a new one. Even now the existing regimes have become trouble. They will not be able to continue their existence in case of such an attack." The Council listed the factors that accelerated the transformation as follows: "Adjustment laws passed in August 2, 2002, early elections, Media Defence Regions declared by KADEK, convention of the parliament on October 4 in South Kurdistan, escalation of threats by Turkey against South Kurdistan and military measures step up in Iran and Iraq."
Not war but peace
KADEK announced that they preferred peace than solving the problems by war in a climate created by an armed intervention on Iraq. The Council made the following call: "The only way to slip out is democratic unity and solving the problems in peace and on political platforms. And for it both dominant powers and the Kurdish liberation movement have to re-consider their policies. KADEK will make every necessary effort to prevent the war and preserve a lasting peace."
Convention of the parliament
KADEK listed its stance as to the regional developments under four items:
"1- The convention of the parliament in South Kurdistan after a delay of six years is a positive but nevertheless an insufficient step. Its ability to represent the whole people is weak. In the parliament there is no other political power represented other than PDK and PUK. Assyrians and Turcoman do not have opportunity to represent themselves. And the parliament itself has not worked well due to the conflicts between PDK and PUK. Therefore the new convention of the parliament should bring with it a proper representation of the other national communities and political powers. It will strengthen its democracy and contribute to the lessening of the worries of the dominant powers.
It is of great importance for parliament to pass a new constitution that dealt with a democratic Iraq ruled by governments come to power as a result of free elections, because it will eliminate the fears of Turkey, Iran and Syria as well of Iraq. The inner democratisation of the Kurdish liberation movement will make the intervention of the dominant powers meaningless. Therefore the Kurdish people will reach its freedom through a democratic unity and not through national separatism.
Laws passed on August 2
2- The Adjustment Laws passed on August 2, 2002 might be a beginning of an important solution to the Kurdish problem. Abolishment of the capital punishment, right to education and broadcasting in mother tongue have the necessary properties to open the way to the solution. The representation of the Kurdish will in the Turkish Grand National Assembly will contribute to the opportunity for a peaceful solution. And such a solution will be an example for the rest of the Kurdish people living in South Kurdistan and the other parts of Kurdistan.
3- But an armed attack of Turkey on South Kurdistan and their preference of war against KADEK would cause not the solution but deepening the problems. While the war would weaken Turkey which is already within a deep crisis, it would strengthen the tendency of Kurds to separation and create consequences that might threaten Turkey and the unity of the other countries. In order to avoid it Turkey should refrain from using military force and choose the method of dialogue with the Kurdish movement. A similar stance is also valid fro Iran and Syria.
Medya Defence Regions
4- 'Medya Defence Regions' declared by HPG is a measure fro preventing possible clashes. The project does not include armed clashes with any forces but powerful defence against attacks coming from whatever the forces. It deals with the active participation of the liberation movement led by KADEK in the democratic solution. KADEK is insistent in Democratic Unity unconditionally. Therefore it sees the implementation of adjustment laws, representation of the Kurdish people in the parliament, representation of all communities and forces in the parliament in South Kurdistan, for Turkey giving up the threat against South Kurdistan, for Iran and Syria being more predisposed to a solution as of vital importance. Nevertheless it consider it an important part of a peaceful solution that the Kurdish liberation movement should develop a democratic dialogue both among themselves and with the countries dominating in Kurdistan. In this sense KADEK calls on all parties constituting the Kurdish liberation movement, and dominant powers including Turkey to solve the problems that might cause conflicts and separations through dialogue."
"The historical mistake will be revised"
And Osman Ocalan, member of KADEK Council of Leaders, made a special statement to MHA considered the inclusion of PKK into the EU's "terror list" a great injustice. He called out the European Court of Justice to revise the historical mistake by removing PKK from the "list of terrorist organizations".
Ocalan reminded that PKK had initiated a new process (a process of peace and democracy) from September 1998 on and that it took its necessary steps mostly. The Kurdish leader said the following: "War has been stopped, and fearful developments arising from the war have been kept from occurring. Therefore PKK has dissolved itself in its 8. Congress, has completed a period of the history and given its place to KADEK. KADEK means a total of strategic and tactical changes, their determination. Inclusion of PKK to a list of terrorist organizations at a time at which such a consistent struggle for peace and democracy is waged means punishment of democracy and peace."
Stressing that the EU decision did not arise from firm
justifications, Ocalan pointed out that on the contrary it had properties
that gave harm to peace and democratic development. Ocalan had this
to say: From the day of the decision to this day our people has shown
their democratic reactions and made the world public sensitive to the
matter. That EU Court of Justice has dealt with the matter we consider
very important. It will contribute to peace and democracy. Revision
of the mistake will also help to revise other historical injustices.
We know very well, the consequence of Lausanne was denial and destruction
of the Kurdish people. Therefore the decision of the Court of Justice
will have tremendous importance on revision of it. It will be an apology
for the historical mistakes and moreover it will contribute make justice
to the existing unjust treatment. We believe that the Court will decide
positively and we consider it a step of victory march of our people."
2. - Kurdish Observer - "Struggle for justice against EU":
KNK and former PKK Council of Leadersmember Osman Ocalan filed a suitcase against the European Union for including Kurds to their "list of terrorist organizations". The European Court of Justice notified the application to the EU Council of Permanent Representatives.
MHA/BRUSSELS / 4 October 2002
The Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) and Osman Ocalan, member of
former PKK Council of Leaders, filed a suitcase in the European Court
of Justice, asking for abolishing the EU decision to include PKK from
"the list of terrorist organizations". And the Court of Justice
transferred the application together with its justifications to the
European Union (EU) Council of Permanent Representatives (COREPER).
Injustice
The justification of the case emphasized that the decision to include PKK in the list was injust and against democracy. The Court of Justice will ask for information and evidence from the EU member countries. Then they will ask for the claimant to make a defence. The case is expected to be held in the near future.
Ocalan explained the justification
Osman Ocalan explained their political struggle and efforts for peace from 1978 till April 4, 2002, the day of its dissolution and drew attention that the decision came after its dissolution. The objection petition emphasized that its inclusion was "discrimination". EU has not included IRA in Ireland and LTTE in Sri Lanka. PKK's peace efforts were much more old than these organizations. The petition also stressed that a number of peace initiative by PKK had been always turned down by Turkey.
Ocalan explained the real reason behind the list as follows: "It is well known that inclusion of PKK do not arise from an objective reason or is not in relation to keeping it from attaining its goals violently. The real reason comes from the pressure of Turkey over the other AB countries. It serves Turkey's justification of its violation of the European Convention of Human Rights especially against Kurds. At the same time it keeps the friendly organizations from stating the legitimate political demands." The petition stressed that the decision hindred KADEK activities as well.
KNK: The decision is material damage
And two suits brought by KNK Chairman Ismet Serif Vanli
on July 2, 2002 emphasized that PKK should be excluded from the list.
Vanli reminded that they, together with other independent people and
associations, had right to file an objection petition. His justification
was that the decision had been taken at a time at which PKK was dissolved
and there was no violence. "It is material damage, because before
the said decision PKK has dissolved itself and moreover it has asking
for peaceful deman.
3. - The Guardian - "Brussels keeps Turkey waiting on EU entry":
BRUSSELS / 5 October 2002 / by Ian Black
Turkey will not be given a date for the start of negotiations on
its membership of the European Union when the first 10 countries in
the queue are told next week that they will be allowed to join. A date
could be in the offing, however, if EU leaders are impressed by the
outcome of the Turkish general election on November 3.
Sources in Brussels said yesterday that the European commission would approve the admission - expected in 2004 - of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Cyprus, Malta, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Slovakia: a judgment certain to be endorsed at the December summit in Copenhagen.
Romania and Bulgaria, which are lagging behind in their efforts to meet stringent economic and political criteria for membership, will be told that they can expect to join in 2007.
The confirmation that Turkey is likely to be snubbed in the commission's annual report comes at an especially sensitive moment.
The fraught question of relations between Ankara and Brussels may affect the outcome of next month's election.
Moreover, Turkey has just commuted the death sentence on the jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan: a step seen as intending to show that it is adjusting to the EU's human rights requirements.
Its deputy prime minister, Mesut Yilmaz, shrugged off yesterday's news from Brussels, saying that the heads of government meeting in Copenhagen could ignore the commission's assessment and announce a starting date.
But that would clearly be too late to affect the outcome of the election. Mr Yilmaz's Motherland party is lagging in the opinion polls and struggling to get the 10% of the vote needed to win seats in parliament.
The foreign minister, Sukru Sina Gurel, said bluntly that a failure to get a date would have "a very negative effect on Turkish public opinion".
EU diplomats said the election outcome would be the crucial factor in deciding what happened at Copenhagen.
Turkey could still be given a conditional clause under which negotiations could begin if specified reforms had been implemented by an agreed date.
Turkey applied to join the EEC in 1963, but did not become a formal candidate until 1999. Many EU governments - and commissioners - still doubt whether the largely Muslim country of 68 million people can ever join.
The commission denied a reports that Turkey would be given €1bn a year in aid in lieu of a starting date for entry talks. But there may be a sizeable increase in its EU aid.
Next week's report is expected to praise its reforms, including the abolition of the death penalty in peacetime and more cultural rights for the Kurdish minority.
Another factor governments must bear in mind is that upsetting Ankara could reduce the likelihood of a peace set tlement in Cyprus before it is admitted to the EU. And as a member of Nato it can block the slow-moving EU effort to establish its 60,000-strong rapid reaction force using assets and equipment borrowed from Nato.
Ankara's importance as a strategic ally of the US and Britain has also been greatly enhanced by the Iraq crisis.
·Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy and security supremo, urged member states to spend more on defence yesterday, to narrow the gap in military capacity between Europe and the US.
Britain and France have increased their defence budgets but the US is expected to spend $355bn (£226bn) this year and all 17 European members only $160bn.
The summer floods in Germany and pressure on governments
to conform to eurozone spending limits have slowed down attempts to
give the EU more military and diplomatic muscle to match its economic
weight and the rapid reaction force still exists only on paper.
4. - Turkish Daily News - "Gurel warned EU: Turkey will review relations with EU if Copenhagen summit fails":
Gurel mentioning the importance of the Copenhagen Summit indicated that the progress report is only a technical one but disappointment in Copenhagen may influence Turkey-EU relations in a very bad way.
ANKARA / 7 October 2002
Deputy prime minister and foreign minister Sukru Sina Gurel stated
that the progress report prepared by the EU Commission is only a technical
report and that future Turkey-EU relations will be determined by a political
decision.
Gurel during his visit to Izmir indicated that Turkey expects a date to start negotiations. "Very natural" commenting the progress report published two days ago, Gurel indicated that the report declares what Turkey has accomplished recently but nothing more.
Asked by reporters about the EU negotiations date Gurel said: "Turkish disappointment will be so be big that it will be inevitable that this will add other aspects of Turkish- EU relations. Our EU relations is not limited with only candidacy. We have been in partnership relations since 1963. We have been in the Custom Union since 1995. We were the first country that established a Custom Union relation with the EU before the membership. It is wrong to assess our EU relation in only the candidacy aspect. We have to be equal with other candidates. If a negotiation date is not given we will reach a different point in our relations."
Gurel pointing out that the EU commission's report examines issues in a bureaucratic aspect said: "There is no need to expect a political assessment. Starting negotiations with Turkey or indicating Turkey to reach a point for a new step are all political decisions. We expect the EU to make this political decision. If it is the contrary this may create negative judgement among Turkish people. This will disappoint Turkish people. No one has the right for this. The EU will not only make a decision about Turkey but it will make a decision about the future of Turkey. Does it want to be a pluralist Europe, multi religious, multi-cultural Europe or something else?"
Sooner or later everyone will see who is right in Cyprus
Asked by reporters about Cyprus Gurel said: "Sooner or later everyone will see who is right in the Cyprus issue. The Turkish republic of Northern Cyprus (TCCK) president Rauf Denktas' proposals are based on establishing a new partnership state. This is based on equality but Greek Cyprus pursues a previous position. They plan Turks to be the minority." Gurel pointed out that the EU is responsible from Greeks uncompromising attitude. "They said Greek Cypriots can be EU members even without a solution. This will only assure the island to be divided forever."
Independent state in Northern Iraq is unacceptable
Gurel indicated that Turkey follows all the developments in Northern Iraq due to security reasons and that political developments in the region shall not be against the territorial integrity of Iraq.
"We have a strategic alliance with the U.S., Turkey and U.S. pursue similar approaches. All the views expressed from the U.S. are based on the territorial integrity of Iraq." Gurel indicated that it is not possible to make any comment about the date of a probable military strike from the U.S. on Iraq.
Grossman: Turkey's EU membership is beneficial for the US, EU and Turkey
U.S. Deputy secretary of State Marc Grossman indicated that Turkey's EU membership is beneficial for the U.S., EU and Turkey.
Grossman speaking to Greek Newspaper "To Vima" stated that Washington wants Turkey to become an EU member.
Grossman mentioned that the U.S. will continue to support this view and pointed out that last reforms ratified in the Turkish Parliament were very important. "I hope they will be taken into consideration," Grossman said.
Grossman indicated that the U.S. is interested in the
European Army issue. "I believe the EU wants to have a defense
level equal to the U.S. level. The EU has to spent a lot of money to
reach this level. The EU has to reach a solution with Turkey and I'm
hopeful that this will happen."
5. - AP - "Turkey Port Key to U.S. Oil Policy":
CEYHAN / 6 October 2002
This small southern Turkish port would hardly seem to be at the
heart of America's strategic oil policy.
Except for two inactive oil-loading docks extending deep into the Mediterranean Sea, there's little beyond forest and rocky cliffs.
But Washington hopes that within three years, there will be a third protruding dock, the tail end of a 1,091-mile pipeline bringing Caspian crude to the West and reducing U.S. reliance on Middle Eastern oil.
Government officials and international oil companies recently broke ground on the pipeline during ceremonies in Azerbaijan and Turkey and hope it will be pumping oil by 2005. BP Amoco holds the largest stake in the project.
But experts caution the pipeline project could be undermined if Iraqi crude comes back on the world market — a distinct possibility if there's a regime change in the neighboring country.
Washington has strongly supported the route through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey — considered a roundabout and expensive way — in large part because of geopolitical concerns. Shorter and cheaper routes would pass through Russia and Iran, giving those two countries more influence over the $3 billion pipeline than is acceptable to the United States.
``The commercial case for the pipeline is yet to be proven,'' said Bulent Aliriza, director of the Turkey Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. ``It's a miracle this pipeline doesn't collapse under the weight of all the political expectations placed on it.''
Meanwhile, an existing pipeline from neighboring Iraq also reaches Western markets through Ceyhan, but that oil has come to a trickle under U.N. sanctions.
However, if the Bush administration makes good on threats to overthrow Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, one consequence could be a return of cheap Iraqi oil to the market, threatening the commercial viability of the new pipeline.
Aliriza said Azerbaijani crude through the pipeline likely will end up costing three to six times the cost of Iraqi crude by the time it reaches the West.
``If Iraq is free from Saddam Hussein ... that will affect the global energy picture,'' Aliriza said. ``They're talking about increasing the output of Iraqi oil and have an existing pipeline to bring this about.
``If you have got the option of pumping Iraqi oil at $1 per barrel or Azerbaijani for $6.75, which would you choose?''
President Bush has said the project will increase the world's energy security and strengthen the sovereignty and independence of the nations involved.
``Although it will be some time before the first barrel of oil flows through this pipeline, it has already made a significant contribution to the future of this region,'' Bush said in a letter read by Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham at last month's ceremonies in Azerbaijan.
Officials say the new pipeline will be completed by 2004 and pump between 349 million and 421 million barrels of oil annually, from which Turkey hopes to earn between $200 million and $300 million annually in transit revenue.
That represents a small sum compared with the $40 billion Turkey says it has lost in trade with neighboring Iraq as a result of sanctions and the $31 billion it owes the International Monetary Fund.
However, NATO-member Turkey sees other advantages to the pipeline, including the opportunity to deepen its ties with the United States and to increase its influence with resource-rich states in Central Asia.
President Bush has hailed Muslim Turkey as ``a hopeful model of a modern and secular democracy'' in the Islamic world following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — a role Turkey is more than willing to assume.
But in Golovasi, the village nearest the port, Mayor Necip Seyhan does not expect the project to change much for his 1,156 residents.
The cotton-producing village had hoped for some respite from Turkey's worst recession since World War II — an unlikely scenario as most revenues likely will head for the capital Ankara.
``Villagers are looking for hope out of this project. They want jobs,'' Seyhan said.
``But I'm not hopeful. Our lives won't change, everything
will be the same. There's no difference between us and any other village.''
6. - AFP - "Justice party has secret agenda: Turkish PM":
ANKARA / 6 October 2002
Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said on Sunday he suspected
the front-runner in upcoming elections, the Justice and Development
Party (AK) , of having a "secret" Islamic agenda that could
pose problems for the strictly secular Muslim nation, Anatolia news
agency reported.
AK chairman Recep Tayyip Erdogan was barred from standing in the November 3 polls last month on the grounds that his 1998 conviction for "inciting religious hatred" made him ineligible under Turkish law.
Erdogan has disavowed his hardline Islamic views in the past and his party, which is expected to win a clear victory in the elections, says it is a centrist force favouring Turkey's secular system.
But Ecevit said AK had a secret ideology and its members were known to entertain anti-secularist views.
"This brings to mind very intensively the possibility of hidden intentions," Ecevit told TV8 television, according to the text of the interview carried by Anatolia.
He also cast doubt on the agenda of the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HADEP), which risks being outlawed in a pending court case on charges of links to armed separatist Kurdish rebels. "Be it AK or HADEP, these two parties could create trouble for Turkey," Ecevit said.
Turkey's secularist establishment has clamped down on
Islamic political movements since 1997 when the country's first Islamist
prime minister Necmettin Erbakan was forced to resign. Erdogan and many
activists in his AK party were members of Erbakan's Welfare Party, which
was banned in 1998.
7. - AFP - "Turkey threatens to use force against Iraqi Kurds":
ANKARA / 6 October 2002 / by Sibel Utku 
Turkey threatened Sunday to use force to prevent the establishment
of a Kurdish state in neighboring northern Iraq as it grappled with
a tough security dilemma over US demands for support against Baghdad.
The country has long been among the most trusted Muslim allies of the
United States, but the crisis over Iraq has put the two NATO countries
in opposite positions, with Turkey dreading that its worst nightmare
-- an independent Kurdish state -- could be in the making.
"Our eyes will be fixed on northern Iraq and we will take the necessary measures even if the slightest negative development emerges," Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit told TV8 television. Asked whether Turkey, who acknowledges it already has soldiers in northern Iraq, could undertake military action, Ecevit said: "I hope not, but if it becomes necessary this could be considered, of course." Neither Washington nor the Iraqi Kurds have been able to convince Ankara that they do not have secret designs for a Kurdish state in the region if President Saddam Hussein is ousted. Turkey has even accused the United States of encouraging separatist moves among the Iraqi Kurds.
Ankara fears its own Kurds could follow in the footsteps of their Iraqi kin, who have enjoyed virtual autonomy since the 1991 Gulf War when their region was placed under the protection of a US-enforced no-fly zone. But it is also under pressure to back US plans to topple Saddam Hussein despite concerns this could herald Iraq's break-up. "We are advising (the United States) to abandon (plans for) an operation," Ecevit said. Ecevit denied Saturday that Washington had formally requested to use Turkish bases for possible military action against Iraq, adding that Ankara would "think about it" if such a demand were made.
Many observers believe Turkey would reluctantly extend support to the United States if it intervened. Washington has encouraged the allocation of billions of International Monetary Funds loans for crisis-hit Turkey, backs its bid to join the European Union and promotes major pipelines to carry oil and gas to western markets from Central Asia via Turkey. One commentator described Turkey's situation as a "dead end." "The support Turkey will give the US for an operation against Iraq will mean a visa for the Kurdish state in the post-Saddam period," Derya Sazak wrote in the Milliyet daily.
Ankara said Friday military moves against Iraq should have international legitimacy, a statement widely interpreted to mean Ankara would allow Washington to launch strikes from Turkish soil if they have UN approval. Local analysts see support for the United States as a means of guaranteeing a say in the shaping of a post-war Iraq. Nationalists and retired generals have already urged Ankara to take measures to prevent the Iraqi Kurds from seizing the oil-rich Mosul and Kirkuk regions, which are currently under Baghdad's authority.
Kurdish control of the resources there could make an independent Kurdish state in the mountainous and landlocked area a viable option. Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel said recently that "the natural resources of Iraq could not be allocated to the use of this or that group." And nationalist parliament Speaker Omer Izgi issued a grim warning: "Just as we took Cyprus when the time came, we will take what is our right in Mosul and Kirkuk when the time comes." To strengthen its hand, Ankara is pushing for a greater say for its kin in the region, the Turkmen minority.
Fears of losing territory to Kurds have haunted the Turks
ever since World War I when the Ottoman Empire collapsed and the victorious
Allied powers made an unsuccessful attempt to establish an independent
Kurdistan in what is now southeastern Turkey. A 15-year Kurdish rebellion,
which has claimed about 36,500 lives, has just recently abated in the
region.
8. - BBC Monitoring Service - "Turkey to protect interests in northern Iraq like in Cyprus":
5 October 2002
Turkish parliament Speaker Omer Izgi has said that Turkey will "at
the right time" protect its "rights" in the oil-rich
areas of northern Iraq in the same way it protected its interests in
northern Cyprus. Izgi said that Mosul, Kirkuk and Al-Sulaymaniyah in
northern Iraq were Turkoman regions and it was "very important
and beneficial for Turkey" that the oil fields there were operated
by the Turkomans. The following is excerpt from report in English by
Turkish news agency Anatolia; subheadings inserted editorially:
Ankara/Balikesir/Kirsehir/Huyuk, 5 October: Tourism Minister Mustafa Tasar said on Saturday [5 October] that a possible military operation against Iraq would damage Turkish tourism.
Holding a press conference at Tourism Ministry, Tasar gave information about number of foreign tourists visiting Turkey, tourism income and tourism statistics in September...
Responding a question about a possible military operation against Iraq, Tasar said, "Such an operation will damage Turkish tourism seriously. Our ministry will take all necessary measures. Any tourist was not injured in Turkey during the Gulf War. Turkey is a safe country."
Not in Turkey's interests
Meanwhile, State Minister Mehmet Kocabatmaz said on Saturday that an operation in northern parallel of Iraq did not suit Turkey's interests.
Responding reporters' questions about "possible US military operation against Iraq" during his visit to the Democratic Left Party (DSP) office in Balikesir, Kocabatmaz said that Iraq issue had been on the agenda for years but the statesmanship of Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit had prevented division of Iraq.
"Convention of so-called Kurdish parliament yesterday was an handicap for us as the Turkomans were excluded. It is clear that the United States has different opinions. Establishing a focus point and a step here with regard to oil is an issue that the United States has been dreaming of for years. And its aim is to take the region under control by getting hold of oil reserves in the east and southeast. With this objective, it is launching some initiatives. It is playing both ends against the middle in its political approach towards us. Our prime minister has clearly stated that Turkey should be informed before an intervention in Iraq," he said.
"For nearly one year, our prime minister has restrained this transformation they are planning to make," he said.
Noting that Turkey could not ignore the two countries' interests, Kocabatmaz said that Turkey had suffered serious economic and moral losses after the Gulf War in 1991.
"If we cannot even operate the oil pipeline and if we endure the embargo on behalf of others, then these steps are in fact being carried out against Turkey. As the Turkish government, we are aware of this. The necessary struggle will be waged. Besides, no concessions will be made from the issue of the [self-declared] Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," Kocabatmaz said.
Stressing that Turkey would open its doors to immigrants for humanitarian reasons in case of an operation, Kocabatmaz said that all necessary measures would be taken in case of an operation.
Against new state
State Minister Ramazan Mirzaoglu said on Saturday that they respected Iraq's territorial integrity, adding, "As the Republic of Turkey, we are definitely against foundation of a new state in northern
Iraq." Noting that they were closely following the developments in Iraq, Mirzaoglu said that Turkey expected Saddam Husayn and the Iraqi administration to unconditionally accept the United Nations' demands for weapons inspection.
"If we receive a request from the United States in a possible war, this will be discussed by the relevant units of the state and we will do what is required in line with Turkey's interests," he said.
Meanwhile, evaluating the decision on commuting death sentence on head terrorist [Kurdistan Workers' Party leader] Abdullah Ocalan to life in prison, Mirzaoglu said, "Although terrorism did not end in and terrorists have not shown any effort to benefit from the repentance law, the death sentence of the blood-stained terrorist Abdullah Ocalan was commuted to life in prison and we consider this an unfortunate decision. As the Nationalist Action Party [MHP], we brought this issue to the Constitutional Court. We hope that the court will annul this decision."
Izgi
Parliament Speaker Omer Izgi said on Saturday that operation of oil beds by the Turkomans is very important and beneficial for Turkey.
Izgi said that the MHP has expressed its sensitivity about northern Iraq issue.
Noting that Mosul, Kirkuk and Al-Sulaymaniyah were Turkoman regions, Izgi said that Turkey defends Iraq's territorial integrity but Turkey will put forward its sensitivities and do what was necessary in case of division of Iraq as those cities were Turkoman regions.
Stating that Mosul and Kirkuk were in a geography that had a 150-year oil reserve, Izgi said, "Control of oil beds [fields] by Turkomans is very important and beneficial for Turkey. More important, Europe is seeking a source for a Kurdish state to be founded in northern Iraq. A Kurdish state to be founded in Mosul and Kirkuk can always be under Turkey's influence. But that is not really their aim; they want to annoy and divide Turkey with the income obtained from oil by leaving these territories to the sovereignty of a Kurdish state. So we have made Mosul and Kirkuk a national cause of Turkey."
Stressing that the same fight for Cyprus would be made also for this region, Izgi said, "We took northern part of Cyprus at the right time and we would take our rights in Mosul and Kirkuk in the same way at the right time."
Source: Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in English 1336
gmt 5 Oct 02