Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Turkey warms up to the autonomy of Iraqi Kurds as support by U.S. for autonomy has faded

This excerpt from the previous post is a misconception regarding Turkey’s stance on autonomy for the Kurds.

Alani says it is not only Iraqi Shi'ite and Sunni Arabs who are opposed to Kurdish autonomy goals. Neighboring Turkey, Iran and Syria are against the move as well, as they have sizeable Kurdish minorities with limited civil rights. Turkey already maintains two military bases in northern Iraq, one of which is in the heart of Arbil, Iraqi Kurdistan's largest city. Kurdish politicians have repeatedly demanded that the Turkish army leave, but the Turkish government has refused to pull the forces out. Last year the Turkish parliament voted to invade Iraq if Kurds there declared independence.
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Turkish Kurd rebels announced last week that they would end a unilateral five-year ceasefire with Ankara as of June 1, warning foreigners against coming to Turkey. However, Turkey is reaching out to Kurds in both Iraq and Turkey. The Iraqi Kurds are responding in that they will not allow Turkish Kurd rebels hiding in northern Iraq to use the enclave as a launch pad for attacks on neighboring Turkey.

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-Am

Turkey warms up to the autonomy of Iraqi Kurds as support by U.S. for autonomy has faded




Is Turkey's policy towards Iraq changing?
06.10.2004 Thursday


The Iraqi interim government that is expected to take over sovereignty from the occupation authority, and lead the country to democratic elections next year was announced in Baghdad last week. When Adnan Pachachi turned down the offer to become the president of Iraq on the grounds that he had been presented to the public as Americans' favorite, Ghazi al-Yawar who is a Georgetown University graduate and belongs to a Sunni Arab tribe, was appointed to the largely ceremonial post.


Iyad Allawi, who was appointed prime minister has the following qualifications: He is a Shiite Arab who was originally a passionate supporter of the Saddam regime, later worked for the American and British intelligence services for a long time, holds a British passport, and is known as an enemy of Ahmad Chalabi. In the meantime, Chalabi, who at the start of things was Pentagon's favorite for Iraq's leadership, now stands accused not only of supplying misinformation to the Bush administration in order to get the US to attack Iraq, but also for working on behalf of Iran.

The new interim government was formed by United Nations envoy [Lakhdar] Brahimi apparently in line with the preferences of Washington. Even though there are deep suspicions as to the extent of its would be sovereignty, and acceptance by the people of Iraq, the new Iraqi administration's success will, nevertheless, be in the interest of all concerned. We can therefore expect that Ankara will provide all support to the new government short of troop deployment (rejected by all Iraqis) to help neighboring Iraq to achieve stability and protect its integrity under a representative government. Securing Iraq's territorial integrity, and avoiding a civil war among ethnic and religious groups which would inevitably drag neighboring countries into it is certainly Turkey's top priority regarding Iraq. If, however, this is the top priority, Ankara needs to see that Iraq's territorial integrity can only be secured in the context of a loose federal structure that protects the rights of all ethnic and religious groups. I believe that the AKP government is aware of the fact that imposition of the Turkish model on Iraq as once suggested by the Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal would be tantamount to subverting the very foundations of that country.

I asked the other day Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul if the AKP government's policy towards Iraq is any different than those followed by previous governments. After emphasizing that the protection of Iraq's territorial integrity is a must for the interest of all parties in Iraq, Mr. Gul said that "The restructuring of Iraq cannot be considered independently of the realities on the ground." Mr Gul, reiterated that Ankara will maintain equal distance with all the ethnic and religious groups in Iraq who are all relatives, also said that the AKP government had given up the policy of "remote control" of the Turkmen community in Iraq, having realized that this policy hampered the emergence of real leaders for the community.

The signs that Turkey is basing its Iraq policy on more realistic and rational foundations are on the rise. A report by Hugh Pope and Bill Spindle published in the WSJ on May 19, carries the headline, "Turkey warms up to the autonomy of Iraqi Kurds." According to the report, Turkish officials say Ankara could suggest a kind of protection for Iraqi Kurds in order to avert an influx of refugees, and to keep other problems away from Turkey's borders should the U.S. relinquish its control over Iraq. It is apparent that the danger of establishment of an Islamist regime in Iraq scares both Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds. One of the Kurdistan Democracy Party (KDP) leaders, Necirvan Barzani, says: "Turkey has changed its policy. The Turkish government speaks to us in a more useful and logical language. We would like to talk the language of business, not fear… We prefer Turkey over the others." It is possible that both parties are increasingly aware of the fact that they need each other.

June, 5, 2004

06.10.2004

http://www.zaman.org/?bl=columnists&alt=&trh=20040610&hn=9383


Nobel nominee among Kurds freed by Turkey


By SELCUK GOKOLUK
Reuters News Service
Thursday, June 10, 2004 - Page A18

ANKARA -- Former Nobel Peace Prize nominee Leyla Zana and three other Kurdish activists were freed from a Turkish jail yesterday in a move that was hailed by the European Union, which had warned their detention could wreck Turkey's EU bid.

The former members of parliament walked free after serving 10 years of a 15-year sentence for links to Kurdish rebel guerrillas.

They were mobbed by hundreds of ecstatic supporters singing, dancing, waving Kurdish flags and hurling flowers. Ms. Zana, small and bespectacled, was briefly knocked over in the melee.

"At this point, this country has entered a new era. It has turned a new page," she told a hastily assembled news conference. "My wish is for everyone to set aside their disputes and to solve our problems hand in hand."

The European Commission, which had warned Turkey that the continued detention of the four could harm its drive to join the EU, hailed the appeals court decision to release Ms. Zana, Hatip Dicle, Selim Sadak and Orhan Dogan.

The ruling, which frees the foursome pending appeal, coincided with historic first Kurdish-language broadcasts on state television, and the start of an appeal at the European Court of Human Rights on the fate of jailed Kurdish rebel chief Abdullah Ocalan.

"Turkey's 80-year ban on the Kurds is over today," Sirri Sakik, another Kurdish former lawmaker, told Reuters outside Ankara's Ulucanlar prison before the release.

Guenter Verheugen, the EU's Enlargement Commissioner, said in a statement: "Today's decision is a sign that the implementation of political reforms, which Turkey has been introducing in the past two years, is gaining ground."

The commission trusted the retrial would be fair and the verdict would reflect sound legal principles, Mr. Verheugen added.

Ms. Zana carries great symbolic importance both for supporters and those who see her as threatening Turkish unity.

For decades, Turkey denied the very existence of its Kurdish minority, estimated to be 12 million strong. Courts came down hard on expressions of Kurdish identity, especially after armed separatism emerged in 1984.

The EU sees Ms. Zana and the other three as prisoners of conscience. They were jailed in 1994 for ties to Kurdish guerrillas, a verdict upheld in April by another court in a retrial ordered by the European Court of Human Rights.

"Their verdict has not been overturned. But taking into account their long imprisonment, a decision was made for their release pending the end of the investigation," a court official said, adding that the retrial would start on July 8.

Ankara is working flat out on political and human-rights improvements, hoping they will help win a firm start date for accession talks when EU leaders meet in December. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said the reform drive had laid the foundations of a sound legal system, opening the way for the releases and capping the drive to fulfill EU political criteria.

"Honestly, with these changes we really achieved a critical mass," Mr. Gul said in an interview.

In May, the government abolished the controversial state security courts under which the newly released Kurds were tried, and is working to set up new civilian structures to replace them.

Ms. Zana and the others were convicted at the height of a separatist conflict waged by Kurdish guerrillas seeking an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey.

Violence has dropped off since the 1999 capture of Mr. Ocalan, although his armed Kurdish Workers Party said in May it was calling off a five-year ceasefire.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040610/TURKEY10/TPInternational/Afr....



Kurds Say Support by U.S. for Autonomy Has Faded
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN

Published: June 11, 2004


ASHINGTON, June 10 — Before the war to oust Saddam Hussein, the Bush administration counted on the Kurdish minority in northern Iraq as its closest ally. But now ties with the Kurds have reached a bitter new phase, with some Kurdish leaders charging that they have been betrayed by Washington.

The problem, in the Kurds' view, was reflected in an administration decision this week to rebuff Kurdish pleas to have the United Nations Security Council give its blessing to the temporary Iraqi constitution, which they see as protecting their rights.

Kurds value the document because it gives the three Kurdish provinces the effective power to veto a permanent constitution, which is to be written next year. They fear that the Shiite majority may try to impose Islamic law through the new constitution, or dilute Kurdish control of oil fields in their region.

"It's not just that we have been misled by the Americans," said a high-ranking Kurdish official. "It's also that they change their position day to day without any focus on real strategy in Iraq. There's a level of mismanagement and incompetence that is shocking."

The temporary constitution, hammered out under American supervision in March, was hailed by the American authorities at the time as one that would prevail until a new constitution is written and ratified and a permanent government takes office under its provisions.

But Iraq's new leaders, in statements this week, described it as only operative until the beginning of next year, when a newly elected national assembly convenes to write the permanent charter.

Iraq's new prime minister, Iyad Allawi, who was picked under a process led by the United Nations, said in Baghdad that the document approved last March remains the law of the land for now. His comment was intended to reassure Kurds, but Kurdish spokesmen said Thursday that it may have had the opposite effect.

The reason is that Dr. Allawi's comments implied that the newly elected national assembly could well change the ratification process for the permanent constitution, endangering the Kurds' veto.

The omission of references in the Security Council resolution to the temporary constitution, known as the transitional administrative law, came at the insistence of the supreme Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

Kurds, stunned at the omission, are threatening to withdraw from any Iraqi government unless the temporary constitution is reaffirmed through next year.

Ayatollah Sistani, the most revered figure among Iraq's Shiites, who constitute about 60 percent of the population, has gained enormous power in the waning months of the American occupation, which formally ends in two and a half weeks.

Administration officials say they have had no choice but to follow his dictates. When he called for an end to the American offensive against Shiite rebels in Najaf, American military commanders complied, even lifting their order for the arrest of a rebel leader, Moktada al-Sadr.

In the end, the officials say, Kurds are going to have to make their own arrangements with the Shiites for ratifying the constitution.

"The Kurds are saying to us, `We are your true allies, the only people in Iraq who truly like you and who respect your values.' " said Noah Feldman, a New York University law professor who advised on the drafting of the temporary constitution.

"The U.S. is saying, though maybe not explicitly, `We want you to have power, but if Sistani is going to put his name on a letter to the U.N. demanding things be done his way, we're not going to go to the mat over it," Mr. Feldman added. "Frankly, the U.S. is a little scared of Sistani."

Another former adviser to the American occupation, Larry Diamond, said the problem stemmed not from Ayatollah Sistani's position, but from the original demand by the Kurds that they be given an effective veto over a future constitution.

"I am profoundly sympathetic to the concerns of the Kurds, but I think they overreached in these negotiations," said Mr. Diamond, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. "They wound up obtaining a settlement that was unsustainable in light of continuing Shiite objections."

Mr. Diamond said the United States should try to negotiate some kind of a deal between the Shiites and Kurds to avoid a worse confrontation later.

He added that it was possible that without such an arrangement, Shiite religious leaders would press the new Iraqi government to take other steps to change the law, including a repeal of a ban on extending Islamic law to such matters as marriage and divorce.

"We have a budding crisis here," said Mr. Diamond. "My fear is that if we don't get a broad societal consensus behind this document, the whole thing could unravel down the road. I would rather fix it now with a compromise."

Responding to Kurdish criticism, Richard A. Boucher, the State Department spokesman, said Wednesday that the failure to include the transitional law in the United Nations resolution was insignificant, because the resolution endorsed the law's principles of pluralism and minority rights in general.

"What the resolution did was stick to the basic principles that are embodied in that law," Mr. Boucher said.

American officials deny that they betrayed the Kurds and reject the idea that American diplomats should try to mediate a solution to Iraqi federalism.

Rather, they said, the United States had created a situation where the Kurds will have to negotiate their future with supporters of Ayatollah Sistani, and seek their own accommodations.

"This is going to become the first big test of the government in Iraq," said a United Nations diplomat. "You've got a government. Now let's see how much internal and external pressure they can take."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/11/politics/11DIPL.html?ex=1087531200&en=dbefd16a5dfb91b7&....