Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

REVUE DE PRESSE-PRESS REVlEW-BERHEVOKA ÇAPÊ-RMSTA STAMPA-DENTRO DE LA PRENSA-BASIN ÖZET;
Prince Charles condemns Iraq,
calls for understanding of Islam
Reuters
OXFORD, England- Prince Charles accused
Iraq on Wednesday of repressing southern Marsh
Arabs but called for Western understanding of the
Islamic world as a whole. In a rare and outspoken
foray into foreign policy issues, the British royal
heir expressed outrage at Iraq's reported crack~
down on its own people and called for international
action to avert a "total cataclysm" in their southern
marsh environment. Iraqi opposition groups
accuse the forces of President Saddam Hussein of
launching ~everal offensives against the Marsh
Arabs since they provided refuge to minority
Shiite rebels after ilie GulfWar.
The prince's appeal came in a wide-ranging
speech in which he paid tribute to the historical
importance of Islam and warned Westerners
against equating it with extremist fundamentalism.
"I confess that for a whole year I have wanted to
find a suitable opportunity to express my despair
and outrage at the unmentionable horrors being
perpetrated in southern Iraq," he declared.
Speaking in the university town of Oxford, he
said the draining of the marshes was deliberate
repression of tlie southern people, dismissing
Hussein's claim that the operation was agricultural.
"How many more obscene lies do we have to
be told before action is taken?" he asked.
"Even at the Il th hour it is still not too late to
prevent a total cataclysm. I pray that this might at
least be a cause in which Islam and the West could.
join forces for the sake of common humanity," he
said. He did not elaborate on the form of action he
was seeking.
The Iraqi government has denied reports that its
forces have launched attacks on the area.
The prince, 44, pays an official visit to the Arab
world ID IO days' time, touring states that joined
the U.S.-led GulfWar alliance against Iraq over its
invasion of Kuwait. It is rare for a top-ranking
royal to broach foreign policy in public as the
British monarchy traditionally stays out of politics.
The internatIOnal community lias come under
criticism for not setting up safe havens for southern
Iraqis like the protective zones established for
the northern Kurds, a target of Iraq's army.
Prince Charles also called for greater tolerance
and understanding
world to contain
between the West and the Arab
a threat of increasing civil contlict
like the three-way battle in former -Yugoslavia
between Serbs, Croats and Muslims. Speaking as
patron of the university's Islamic Studies Center,
he said: "We must not slide into a new era of danger
and division because gOvernments and peoples,
communities and reli~ions cannot live
.together in a shrinking world. 'Our understanding
of Islam
extremes
has been grossly distorted by taking
to be the norm," he added, accusing the
media of promoting "unthinking prejudice" in
reporting the Muslim world.
..
President Demirel: Trust the state
Says 11,000 killed in 10 years, calls for calm , warns against any concessions to terror .......
Turki.çh Daily News
ANKARA- Marking the 70th anniversary of th~ Turkish
Republic President Süleyman Demirel said on
Thursday that ~round Il,000 ~ople had been kille~ in .
10 years of separatist violence ID the Southeast region.
His death toll for 10 years of terrorism was even higher
than the total number of Turks killed in the War of Liberation,
which led to the establishment of the Turki~h Republic.
He said, however, that no one sho~ld paDlc and
confidence in republican order should contlDue.
In a speech he made on the national radio and
television, the president called on all citizens to continue
to believe in Turkey and to have trust in their future.
He noted, however, that terrorism was the country's
priority issue and that what everyone should do now is
to be calm, not panic and defend democracy.
Demirel said that in 10 years of violence in the
Southeast, a total of 2,270 security personnel, 3,144
citizens and 4.517 terrorists had been killed. He said the
terrorist death toll did not include those killed in crossborder
operations. Demirel added that 2.811 terrorists
had been captured. wounded or had surrendered.
"The Turkish Republic will overcome this problem by
protecting democracy," the president said. "There is no
deficiency of strength in the democracy,"
He warned, though. that no measure which would lead
to the division of the country would be accepted and
criticized those attemrting to divide Turkey under the
mask of democracy." say this openly ... no one should
even consider bargaining with the terrorists. No one
should even think of concessions in the form of
measures which will lead to division.
Or no one should even. think that thi~
problem cannot be overcome withiJ1,
öemocracy," Demirel said. "No one
should think democracy will divide thi~
country," he added.' .
The president appealed to the whole
pation and all institutions to support the.
state in its battle with terrorism. In hi~
pational address. Demirel also
emphasized the achievements of Turkey
under republican order and said the
target for per capita income was $5,000
in the year 2000. He said to achieve
this, Turkey's growth rate had to be over
5 percent and that the population.
increase rate had to be puIleâ Dack to 1
percent. Demirel also emphasized the
state's detemùnation to renew itself in
all fields, including national defense.
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