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

not want tourists coming to Turkey.
"They are escalating the war and attacking the people...
our people," he said.
Accepting an appeal for extreme care to protect the
tourists before theIr release, BaYlk said aH would be
done and measures would also be taken to free all six
together, to avoid possible security riskS.
He warned, however, that Turkish operations in
the region could put their lives in risk and called for
a letup in the militaI)' crackdown. BaYlk added this
was not a condition for the release but would ease
things for the tourists.
The PKK is wary that Turkish hardliners may attempt
to destroy the units responsible for the abductions,
alon~ with their hostages, and later blame the
organization for the killings. "They are playing a game
but it is an incredibly dangerous one," BaYlk
commented. .
As of Monday, the English-language Turkish Daily
News based m Ankara is to continue negotiations
for a safe release and arrangé for the tourists to reach
their countries without any hindrance.
The. PKK leadership has accepted the mediation of
this reporter for this case.- It has also called for any
i~ternational ~y, inclu~ing human rights organizations
and medIcal estabhshments, to coordinate and
be at the scene as the release takes place. On Friday
in a long meeting with this reporter, BaYlk was for~
warded appeals on behalf of the tourists' Tamilies,
and personally asked to show humanitarian interest
and end this drama. Upon request, the PKK leadership
agreed to take up the issue immediately and respond
during the weekend.
The PKK currently holds French nationals Michael
Coudray, Robert Audin, Fernand Haron and another
!dentified only as Pierre. Also, British national
DaVId Rowbottom and his Australian cousin Tania
Miller were abducted in Tatvan while on a two-year
bicycle tour of the world.
"All are in good health and we are extremely careful
about t~eir sec.urity," BaYlk said. He called, however,.
for mternatlOnal attention to what happens after
theIr release and appealed for international bodies
and re.lated governments to insure they reach their
countnes safely. .
The rel.e~se process started on July 27 with the
AEGK mJ!~tary command of the ~KK announcing it
was expectm~ an appeal from an mternational bOdy
to set the captives free.
The same day, this reporter arrived in a Middle
East border area where the meeting with the PKK leadership
took place. The AEGK was relayed the letters
of the families appealing for the release and for
guaranteed measures to be taken later for their safety.
During the weekend, talks continued and the
central decision was made.,
UN sanctions push
Iraq to the brink of tragedy
• Security Council has linked any lifting of the blockade to
compliance with Gulf War cease-fire terms, including the
scrapping of Iraq's weapons of mass-destruction
By leon Barkho
Reuter Staff Writer
BAGHDAD- President Saddam Hussein,
his meaning understood by few at the time,
warned Kuwait darkly in 1990 that Iraq
could tolerate many things but not threats to
its "daily bread." Short of cash after eight
bruising years at war with Iran, he accused
the emIrate of stealing Iraq's oil and undermining
its economy.
On Aug. 2, 1990, Iraqi troops invaded.
But three years on, many of Iraq's 18 million
people, who are sitting on the world's
second largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia,
are on the bread line.
. "A grave humanitarian tragedy is unfolding,"
the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization
warned in a recent report. U.N. sanctions,
the report said, were forcing most of
the population to live under "the most deplorable
conditions." Iraq, which has traditionally
regarded Kuwait as part of its territory,
has paid a high price for seizing the
emirate. International isolation followed
with the world community rail ring behind
the U.N. trade blockade. A forrrndable U.S.led
multi-national force battered its anny
and ejected its troops in Feb. 1991.
The alliance also smashed its infrastructure,
depriving it for a time of power and
telecommunications.
Revolts inthe Kurdish north and Shiite
south shook Iraq. The armed forces rallied
to the government, crushing the revolts, but
rebel Kurds, shielded by Western warplanes,
have since taken control of a large
slice of the north. .
Kuwait, for its part, êmerged 'from the crisis
with chunks of Iraqi land and territorial
waters. A U.N. border demarcation commission
moved the emirate's border north and
extended its maritime frontier almost landlocking
Iraq.
But the Iraqi government remains unbowed.
Fiery language against Kuwait's oil
policy and its support of Iraq's exiled opposition
is rampant in official newspapers. The
rhetoric is reminiscent of 1990 wben Iraq
accused the emirate of stabbing it "in the
back with a poisoned dagger." The official
press still refers to KuwaIt as a region and a
newspaper published by Saddam's eldest
son, pday, describes the emirate as an Iraqi
provmce.
The border changes have caused anger in
Iraq.
"History will never forgive anr, government
agreeing to the new oorders, , says Ali
Mohammed Hussein, a university lecturer.
"There is no end to Sabahs' (Kuwait ruling
family) insatiable greed. They want to swallow
Iraq."
A school teacher who took part in the invasion,
adds, "The more sacrifices we offer,
the dearer that part of the country becomes."
But many Iraqis would like the government
to forget the past and focus on ensurin&
that sanctions are lifted.
'It is getting tougher and tougher with
every passing month," said a civil servant.
"Even the government now realizes that
it has to do something to alleviate people's
suffering." Food prices have sky-rocketed.
Flour costs 355 times more than before
the embargo, sugar 149 times more, vegetable
oil 106 times more and rice 70 times
more.
Personal incomes, in terms of purchasing
power, lag farbehind. Average monthly
wages for most workers have increased two
to three-fold since 1990.
Average monthly salaries range from 250
Iraqi dinars (five dollars at the unofficial exchange
rate) to 1,500 dinars for senior officials
an.d anny officers. U.N. relief workers
7