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

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Bërhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro
de la Prensa-Baszn Özeti
..'
"For us, the Thrks and Saddam
and never left. "We don't want
are the same. They are both en-
the Thrkomans becoming a
, emies of the Kurds." ê
Tiojan horse for 1ùrkish control,"
says a Kurdish offiCiai
For now, Iraqi Kurd leaders e'
are being a little more diplo- ~'
present at last week's meeting
matic-but only a little. "We ~
inAnkara.
will refuse (Thrkish interven~ ~\,
Such are the challenges facing
the United States as it pre-
tion]," says Sami Abdul Rah- !
man, 70, the deputy prime ~
pares for invasion. One White
minister of the Kurdistan ~
House 'official told NEWSWEEK
Democratic Party, which con- ~
last week that all these issues
trois northern Kurdistan. The ~
have been thought through and
party's representative in Wash- ~
were not a problem. The bigger
ington, Farhad Barzani, is no ~
issue may be time. Pentagon officials
acknowledge frustration
less categorical. "We have told. Go.
them: the Americans comes as TROJAN HORSE: Iraqi Turkomans could become a casus bellifor Ankara with Thrkey's bargaining. But
liberators," he says. "But Thrkish
troops will be seen as invaders." Front. Ahmet Aga wants the Thrkomans to Thrkey's cooperation, the United States
if occupation is the price for
Attempting to head off any clashes, U.S. be given an autonomous area of their own, may have little choice but to go along.
envoy Zalmay Khalilzad told Kurdish leaders
in Ankara laSt week that they should Kurdish region, and claims that there are 2 forces in Iraq will apparently not be under
covering much of the area of the current Moreover, at Ankara's insistence, Thrkish
stand down their 50,000 peshmerga troops million Thrkomans in Iraq-rivalingthenation's
3.5 million Kurds. Western observers ordinate" through a joint headquarters in
the U.S. command. Instead, they will "co-
and not resist Thrkish forces. There's also
an understanding between the Pentagon put the number of ethnic Thrkomans at Diyarbakir, one of the Thrkish air bases the
arid Thrkey's military that U.S. forées will fewer than 500,000.
United States will use.
occupy Kirkuk and Mosul and handle all The fault lines are already widening. . Ironically, this is not at all what Thrkey
the frontline fighting, while the Thrks secure
the rear. Thrkish troops will surroun.d militia of roughly 3,000 men; at the party's cent ofThrks are against war, up from 88
Aga's Thrkoman party has its own armed wants. Opinion polls show that 94 per-
but not enter the major Kurdish cities of cultural center in Èrbil, purportedly used percent last month. Former foreign minister
Ilter Thrkmen reflects the fears of
Erbil and Suleymaniye and keep a generally mainly for wedding and birthday parties,
low profile to prevent clashes. Abdullah armed guards walk the surrounding walls. many when he warns that Thrkish troops
Gul has also promised that "our troops will The Thrkomans have reason to be nervous.
Last week Amir Azad, the party's de-
the conflict could cause problems with
could get "bogged down in a swamp" and
withdraw when peace is restored." ,
That's the theory. In practice, Kurdish fense minister, was arrested at the Chwar Thrkey's application to join the European
leaders fear that Ankara wants to lay its own Chra hotel in central Erbil by security offi- Union. Not to mention problems closer to
claim to oil reserves in Kirkuk and Mosul, . cials from the Kurdistan Democratic Party. home. As Sabah Mohammed in the
,and that it intends to strangle the Kurdish Thrkomans quickly took that as evidence mountain village of Zewa puts it, "We
ambition of creating an autonomous region' of pérsecution to come-as did the Thrkish
press, which has begun comparing the with Saddam. Let them bring any other
need only the U.S. Army if there is war
within a federal Iraq. They are particularly
suspicious of Thrkey's efforts to promote plight of the Thrkomans to that ofThrkish army along with them-except the Thrks."
such radical Thrkoman leaders as Sanan Cypriots, in whose defense Ankara invaded
the northern thirdof Cyprus in 1974
JOHN BARRY in
With SAMI KOHEN in Istanbul and
Ahmet Aga, leader of the Iraqi Thrkoman
Washington
'For us, the Turks and Saddam are the same,' says one Kurd
'.' . ~
" Turkey)i Arilly is alrèady ,
" in place in northe,r~ Ir~q,. , .
',.;, ' , • ',," ::, .:"','; ': ',:,; ••,'j'
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107