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

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro
de la Prensa-Baszn Özeti
of law and the rights of all Iraqi citizens. May your example spread
finally have the liberty and prosperitythey so richly deserve.
so that one day all Iraqi people, united and free can
Colin Powell United States Secretary of State 4 October 02.
.Turkish Daily News October 10, 2002 by Mete Belovacikli
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Northern Iraq From Ankara's Viewpoint
Ankara has set up a special agenda for itself in the aftermath of Kurdish groups' parliamentary activities in northern Iraq.
For days, top officials of the state have been reviewing the developments and discussing game plans. Ankara's general
stance is already clear. This stance can be summarized as follows: "Territorial integrity of Iraq should be preserved; Kurdish
groups should not be allowed to set up an independent state in northern Iraq; every ethnic group, including most notably
the Turkomans, should be granted representation right in a democratic Iraq."
Hidden in details of this' general stance are intense and ~areful efforts. That the Turkish military presence in the region is
now openly mentioned by Turkish officials; that there are efforts to deal with a possible refugee flow within Iraqi borders
and finally that preparations to that effect have already started suggest that the Turkish presence in the region will be a
lasting one for a while.
And inside the Prime Minister's Office, where all these developments have been taking place, authorities are recently
working on a special topic. This topic.consists of a new constitution draft that foresees a federal administration for Iraq ...
Well, indeed this draft has not yet taken a final shape. Kurdish groups decided that the time was not opportune for
issuing a parliamentary approval to finalize this draft. But they did produce a draft in the fir\al analysis. Prime
Minister's Office has asked for information and documents on this matter from the Foreign Ministry. Offi~ials of the
Prime Ministry and Foreign Ministry have now finished their analysis and interpretation of the draft constitution.
It is possible to summarize Ankara's initial analyses: "First of all, this is a draft and not a final text. Yet, even in this preliminary
form, this document is unacceptable." Why?
Because in Ankara's view, this draft virtually destroys Iraq. It grants almost no authority to the central authority. It simply
ignores Baghdad. It grants those authorities to northern Iraq, which it denotes as a federate state, that go far beyond
the status of a federate state. The status it describes for northern Iraq is close to that of an independent $tate. Under this
draft, there is to be a federal president to whom the authority to deal with security matters is transferred. And the security
matters that this president will be authorized to'deal with will cover not only domestic but also foreign ones. That
implies, in a sense, a standing army. Assyrians and Turkomans are granted certainminority rights.
In addition, Turkish officials stipulate that federation is a matter of domestic léiw and that it could be established
through necessary changes to a country's constitution. In this sense, they argue, that such changes couldbe carried out
in Baghdad, not in Arbil. The draft constitution of Kurdish leaders Mesud Barzani and lalal Talabani, on the other hand,
aims at a confederation between two states, rather than a federation in true sense. Such an interpretation assumes that
the Kurdish groups' draft ignores Baghdad and destroys the entity called Iraq. .
What if the draft is given parliamentary approval without any change? The answer is quite clear: "Turkey cannot accept
it. This draft is not a text acceptable to Turkey. Because it makes reference to Sevres Treaty, which is nothing but a mere
part of history. In this sense, it reveals certain intentions that Turkey cannot accept. Turkey will not allow a fait accompli
in the region. Turkish authorities have made these points clear several times, telling the Kurdish groups not to overstep
the mark. Ankara has been carefully following developments." What if they actually overstep the mark? Or what if
Turkey sees developments as tantamount to overstepping of the màrk? That means a state of war!
What is more, one needs to take this state of war as a development independent from a possible U.S. operation on Iraq.
Irrespective of whether the United States gets what it wants in Iraq ... Irrespective of whether Saddam Hussein remains
in office...
Developments in northern Iraq will be considered on a totally separate
basis and a stance will be taken accordingly.
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