Turkish plans concerning Iraq
Turkey, Politics, 1/28/1999

The Turkish daily Joumhuriet said on Wednesday that while the US is exerting efforts to partition Iraq, Turkey on the other hand tries to prevent such a partition.

The paper added that the Turkish foreign ministry has set up a four-stage plan to prevent the partition of Iraq, despite the attempts made by Washington to calm Turkish fears of the establishment of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq.

The paper explained that the Turkish plan to prevent the partition of Iraq is to obtain guarantees of the preservation of the territorial integrity of Iraq, assure Baghdad's abidance by international resolutions, exert pressures to lift the embargo imposed on Iraq and maintain political closeness with Iraq.

The paper indicated two factors that prevent Ankara from adopting a more effective policy toward Iraq: the Iraqi president spares no efforts in defying the world in his actions and Washington adheres to its policy towards Iraq. Therefore and within this framework there are no other options to settle problems in Iraq.

Within the same context, the Turkish daily "Hurriet" said that axis of Washington - Tel Aviv - Ankara has become a reality while Turkish - European relations have weakened. The paper asserted that Washington knows well the deterioration in Turkish relations with Europe, therefore Washington is careful to pursue matters like projects to transport Caspian oil, pursuit of the leader of the Kurdish Workers Party organization and using Turkey's need for the loans of the International Monetary Fund IMF in order to increase "Turkish reliance and dependence on the US."

The paper added that Turkey can not alienate herself totally from the West, by endangering its relations with the US. For that reason, the paper added, the Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit adopted a realistic policy through subjugating to the US strike against Iraq and for allowing the US to use the Turkish Incirlik military base in the southern Turkey city of Adanah.

The Turkish Daily News highlighted the strong concern felt by Ecevit toward the possible establishment of a Kurdish state if conditions continue to deteriorate in Iraq and claims raised by the Hashemites, supporters of King Hussein of Jordan, on rights in the southern territories in Iraq.

The paper added that the US ambassador told Ecevit in a meeting held on Monday that King Hussein repeated his desire in 1995 to lead the Hashemites in the Arab world.

The paper added that Ecevit called for amendment of the regional security plan as follows:

The need to launch a campaign to explain the adverse consequences of monitoring northern Iraq, and dangers inflicted on Turkey as result and the region for all governments concerned including the US, making intensive diplomatic contacts to lift obstacles behind merging Iraq with the world according to UN Security Council resolution 688;

In line with the efforts made to unify Iraq, the Iraqi government has to provide guarantees to preserve human rights and maintain equality among all Iraqi people, regardless of their sect and to accept international monitoring for human rights issues in Iraq;

The representatives of the ethnic groups have to avoid acts of provocation and to show a spirit of reconciliation and initiate a dialogue with Baghdad in order to achieve peace;

The need to remind of the rights of the "Turkmens" in Iraq and Baghdad has to ensure certain rights for them;

Continued UN inspection of the nuclear and chemical weapons in Iraq and intensifying efforts to eliminate weapons of mass destruction;

Building confidence between Israel and Iraq and calling upon the Iraqi government to announce its support for the peace process between the Palestinians and Israel; and to release a statement saying that Iraq has to work and cooperate for lifting the economic embargo which inflicted great damages on citizens of northern Iraq.

Previous Stories:
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