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Kurdish Supplement, 19/12/00­14/1/01



KURDISH SUPPLEMENT, 19/12/00­14/1/01

News report editor¹s introduction
*  Turkish army enters South Kurdistan [December 19]
*  A PUK Official confirms [reports] of Turkish troops in Suleymania-region
[December 20]
*  HADEP [People¹s Democracy Party]: Mediator in war in northern Iraq
*  Report: Turkish Troops Sent in Iraq [6th January]
*  Iraqi Kurdish leader [Jalal Talabani, of the PUK] in Ankara as PKK
assault gathers steam
*  Iraqi Kurd Chief Denies Seeks Turkish Military Aid
*  Kurdish leader urges Turkish investment in northern Iraq
*  Talabani To Ask For Money And Weapons [a pro-PKK account]
*  Talabani Has Put The South Up For Sale [another pro-PKK account]
*  Interview-Iraqi Kurd Leader [Talabani] Says U.S. Tough Talk Not Helpful
[apparently preparing a Turkish ­ Iraqi Kurd ­ Iraqi rapprochement]
*  An unwelcome cuckoo in the nest -- Part 1 [an informative article
supporting a US/Turkish alliance to achieve the final suppression of the
Turkish Kurds]
*  An unwelcome cuckoo in the nest [presumably part 2, mainly about the PKK
and the support it supposedly receives from Iran. I haven¹t seen a part 3]
*  KDP keeps distance from Ankara

NOTE: Some background material on the confrontations between the PUK and PKK
can be got from the earlier Kurdish Supplements sent in these news reports
for 1­7/10/00 and 22­29/10/00


EDITOR¹S INTRODUCTION:

An objective observer ­ if such a thing exists ­ may feel that there is a
similarity between Saddam Hussein¹s treatment of the Kurds of Iraq and the
treatment that successive Turkish governments have meted out to the Kurds of
Turkey. Same history of wanting to subsume a distinct people with its own
history, language and religious peculiarities into a single nation state;
same history of war with a militant separatist (in the case of Turkey) or
autonomist (in the case of Iraq) guerrilla movement. Massacres. Destruction
of villages. Displacement of populations.

There is also, one might have thought, a close parallel to be drawn between
the ambitious Turkish schemes for controlling the sources of the Tigris and
Euphrates (and thereby the lifeblood of Syria and Iraq) with all that that
implies for good or ill for the local Kurdish population; and the Iraqi
government¹s ambitions to drain the marshes in southern Iraq, with all that
that implies for the Shi¹i Œmarsh Arabs¹:  Œdestroying a way of life that
has lasted thousands of years¹ as the Americans complain indignantly, as if
destroying ways of life that have lasted thousands or at least hundreds of
years was not the whole purpose of America¹s existence in the world (for a
metaphysical understanding of America¹s role in the world see William
Blake¹s prophetic poem on the subject).

Of course, so far as we know, the Turks have not used chemical weapons
against Œtheir¹ Kurds. But Iraq only used them in rather extreme
circumstances. We learn from Dr Osman¹s talk on Iraqi/Kurdish relations
which I posted in a separate mailing a couple of days ago, that not only had
the Kurds taken advantage of the Iran/Iraq war to launch a revolt; they were
actually (both main tendencies it seems) fully integrated into the Iranian
war effort.

To try a British analogy. It is as if in the Second World War, Germany had
succeeded in invading Britain and, at the very moment that German troops
were advancing through Surrey, the Scots and/or the Welsh revolted and
formed an alliance with them. Can anyone who knows anything about
W.Churchill imagine that under those circumstances he would have hesitated
to use chemical weapons?

(The analogy is not as farfetched as it might seem. We only have to
substitute Œthe Irish¹ for the Scots or Welsh. And in thinking about the
Kurds I have often been reminded of the Scottish highlanders. We remember
that the Œproblem¹ of the Scottish highlanders was resolved once and for all
in the eighteenth century by a policy of wholesale massacre and forced
emigration.)

So I think we can safely assert a moral equivalence between the Iraqi
suppression of the Kurds of Iraq and the Turkish suppression of the Kurds of
Turkey (and the British suppression of the highlanders in Scotland). Which
makes the present situation in which the Iraqi Kurds are in alliance with
the Turkish government against the Turkish Kurds at the very least poignant
or tragic; but when we add that the US and Britain (and has Britain¹s role
been discussed in the House of Commons?) are involved in the Œprocess¹ (the
ŒWashington process¹ or the ŒAnkara process¹) then it begins to appear very
nasty indeed.

While one of our chief excuses for the policy of systematically murdering
over a million people in Iraq has been the great sympathy we feel for the
Kurds of Iraq, we are effectively in alliance with the Turkish government as
it pursues a policy almost identical to that of the Iraqi government towards
the Kurds of Turkey.

To descend from tragedy to farce, the whole affair shows up how ridiculous
is the current US policy of arming the INC (one wonders if Clinton hasn¹t
quickly implemented this part of Bush¹s opposition programme in order to
create for him a situation of inextricable embarrassment). Insofar as there
is any substance to the INC it consists largely of the participation of the
two main Kurdish parties. But they seem to be pretty well armed already,
with a long history of using their arms against each other.  Assuming,
however, that they manage to resolve their differences, their present
situation, especially that of the KDP, making a fortune out of smuggling and
under US protection so long as Saddam is in power (compare Montenegro and
the Kosovan Albanians who were favoured clients so long as Milosevic was in
power) is very pleasant. Why would they want to launch a war against Saddam
to replace him with an Arab and therefore anti-Kurd government that would
enjoy the favour of the West?



http://members.home.net/kurdistanobserver/18-12-00-op-tky-in-kurdistan.html

*  TURKISH ARMY ENTERS SOUTH KURDISTAN
Translated from Ozgur Politica, a pro PKK publication in Turkish, for the
Kurdistan Observer, Dec 19, 2000

The PKK Council of Leaders said in a statement made yesterday that Turkey
had entered South Kurdistan with the strength of hundreds of vehicles and
that they could begin an extensive assault against them together with the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) at any moment. The PKK Council of Leaders
made the following call to the Kurdish people: "The patriotic people of
Kurdistan and democratic public must raised their voices against this
treachery and plot and bring this inauspicious assault to naught. Our people
must develop popular uprisings (serhildan, intifada) everywhere against this
treachery."

The statement said, "The PUK, which has not been able to defeat our forces
despite the weapons, ammunition, and logistic support of Turkey and regional
powers, has now drawn Turkey's military force completely inside the war."
The statement said that hundreds of vehicles of soldiers and heavy weapons
had entered South Kurdistan through Habur Gate yesterday and the day before
and had positioned at Ranya and Carkurna. The statement said that a great
number of heavy weapons and tanks and military units were also waiting at
the border at Silopi. The PKK Council of Leaders recalled that they had
taken the peace calls of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) seriously and
given them a positive response, continuing, "The PUK gave no response
whatsoever to this call. It is clear that, rather than giving an answer to
the National Congress, they struggled to pull foreign powers further into
the war."

The PKK Council of Leaders also gave information about the results of the
clashes that had begun with the PUK assault on December 3, as follows:
"Taking the support of Turkey and regional powers, [the PUK] began on
December 3 a broad assault aiming to crush the People's Defense Forces. Our
guerrillas, resisting with a spirit of sacrifice, repelled this assault
aimed at annihilation in a short while. While 43 of our guerrillas have
fallen in the war to date, the PUK's losses have reached the hundreds."

The statement recalled that almost all of these had been unarmed victims
that were mercilessly murdered by the PUK on September 14, 2000 after
surrounding the new education force. It also recalled that the PUK had
abused the unilateral cease fire that had been called by the PKK so that the
war would not lead to more serious results, and had used the time to prepare
for new assaults.

The PKK Council of Leaders called for sensitivity from the Kurdish people
and democratic public, saying: "Our patriotic people of Soran and the
democratic forces must stand against this treachery and must show with
uprisings to both friends and enemies that this treachery will not find life
on this soil." The statement also made the following call to the PUK: "Give
up this policy that will harm the Kurdish people and strengthen the enemy,
and join the line of national democracy and peace. We call on you to pay
heed to our people's longing for peace and democracy."

The PKK Council of Leaders made the call for "abandonment of dangerous
policies which will push Turkey and the region into an environment of war
once again" and made the following warning to Turkey and regional countries:
"A war begun in the South will unavoidably spread to all sides. Turkey's
problems, foremost the Kurdish question, cannot be solve with war and
conspiracies. We are calling on the regional countries which gave the PUK
support in order to liquidate or weaken the PKK to remain far from these
policies which will pull the entire region into war. Because once begun,
this war could slip out of control and bring harm to everyone."

The statement, noting that this movement to liquidate the PKK had already
been been continued for a few years, concluded by saying: "Our party will
continue to resist this conspiracy, just as it has through today. The flag
of democracy and freedom will not fall to the ground as long as there is one
PKK member still standing. Freedom and democracy will win, treachery and
conspiracies will lose."

HADEP members in Ankara protested the assaults by PUK forces against the
PKK. Ankara Provincial Chairman Veli Aydogan said that the PUK assaults were
provoking policies of violence in Turkey. A great crowd of HADEP
administrators and members gathered the other day at Yuksel Avenue to
denounce the PUK assaults. Addressing the crowd, Aydogan said that they were
greatly concerned over developments in recent days and said that the PUK had
hoped to profit from the environment of conflict in the region. Students in
the Kurtalan district of Siirt also protested the PUK's assaults. The
students of private courses arranged a demonstration and blocked highway
traffic the other evening when classes were finished. A large crowd also
gathered in the Eyyubiye neighborhood of Urfa and shouted slogans against
the PUK.

Meanwhile, Memcan Oguzsoy and Serhan Ozkurt, who had been detained on the
grounds that they had protested the PUK assaults in a demonstration in
Istanbul's Kagithane, were brought before the Istanbul State Security Court
(DGM) the other day. Oguzsoy and Ozyurt were formally arrested and sent to
Umraniye Prison.

Protest demonstrations against the PUK's assaults against PKK guerrillas
continue. Kurdistanis met the other day in the German town of Altefeuerbach
tied to the city of Mannheim and rained curses down on the treachery. A
large crowd participated in the march carrying banners reading, "Loyalty to
President Apo is loyalty to Kurdistan," "Damn treachery," and "No to death
cells." Throughout the march, they handed out pamphlets in German explaining
the aim of the PUK assault against the PKK. Slogans of "Damn treachery! Long
live resistance" and "We are with you in war and peace, Ocalan" were
frequently shouted in the march through city center. The march, which began
at 1:00 in the afternoon, continued with a meeting at Neuermass Plaza. The
Planning

Committee spokesperson called on the Kurdish people to be sensitive against
the assault that the PUK had begun against the PKK's strategy for political
struggle. After speeches, Kurdistanis danced the halay to musical
performances before ending the meeting.


http://members.home.net/kurdistanobserver/20-12-00-ko-puk-pkk.html

*  A PUK OFFICIAL CONFIRMS OF TURKISH TROOPS IN SULEYMANIA-REGION
Dec 20, 2000

Sharq Al Awsat, a London based Arabic newspaper, reported today Dec 12, 2000
that Adel Murad, a PUK official, said that a Turkish military force,
currently stationed around Qendil Mountains, entered southern (Iraqi)
Kurdistan to pursue the members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The PUK official said that the Turkish force, consists of 700 solders and 80
military machines.

Also today, the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) said in a statement that
the massing of Turkish army troops in South Kurdistan will lead to a new war
in the region. The statement added that the Turkish army entered southern
(Iraqi) Kurdistan with the cooperation of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan,
aiming to destroy the PKK forces.


http://members.home.net/kurdistanobserver/23-12-00-tdn-hadep-puk-pkk.html

*  HADEP: MEDIATOR IN WAR IN NORTHERN IRAQ
by Mert Gozde, Dec 23, 2000

Ankara - Turkish Daily News: The People's Democracy Party (HADEP) has
undertaken the role of mediator in order to stop the ongoing conflict
between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan (PUK).

While HADEP's Women's Branch Chairwoman called on both sides to end the
clashes, a delegation of party members under the direction of the party's
deputy chairman, Feridun Yazar, who is responsible for foreign policies,
paid a visit to the PUK's representative in Ankara, Sehzar Sait, and called
for an end to the dispute. Yazar and HADEP administrators, voiced their
anxieties on the PUK-PKK clash which has been continuing in northern Iraq
for months to Sait, stating that war would solve nothing and that problems
could be addressed by establishing communication.

Yazar and his friends, who stated that the HADEP was opposed to the fighting
between the two brother Kurdish groups, wanted their message directed
towards ending clashes to be conveyed to PUK leader Dr. Celal Talabani. The
delegation under the direction of Yazar visited Kurdistan Democratic Party's
(KDP) Turkey office and met representative Safein Dizai. Yazar and his
friends wanted assistance also from the KDP on the issue of ending the armed
conflict.

Meanwhile, according to a news broadcast on Medya TV, the Turkish Armed
Forces (TSK) have entered northern Iraq. During the news broadcast, it was
claimed that the TSK had been deployed around the city of Erbil. The daily
Yeni Gundem claimed that the Turkish government had provided $15 million in
aid to the PUK which has been clashing with the PKK. The news claimed that
the TSK had entered northern Iraq in an operation against the PKK and that
this operation would have air and heavy-gun support.


http://www.wn.com/?action=display&article=5157516&template=worldnews/search.
txt&index=recent

*  REPORT: TURKISH TROOPS SENT IN IRAQ

ISTANBUL, Turkey (Associated Press, Sat 6 Jan 2001) ‹ Some 10,000 Turkish
troops have crossed into northern Iraq and are preparing to battle Kurdish
rebels there, local officials and reports said Saturday.

The troops were stationed near the city of Sulaymaniyah, more than 100 miles
into Iraqi territory, Turkey's daily Hurriyet said.

Hurriyet and Belgium-based Kurdish Medya TV said the Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan (PUK), which controls the area around Sulaymaniyah, had asked
Turkey to send in troops to help in its battle against Kurdish rebels in the
region.

Northern Iraq has been governed by two rival Iraqi Kurdish factions since
the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War.

Medya TV and Al-Iraq daily, a state-run paper in Iraq, reported that some
200 PUK fighters have been killed in clashes with the rebels of the
Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK. The casualty figure could not be confirmed.

Both the PUK and its rival Iraqi Kurdish faction have agreed to join Turkey
to fight the PKK rebels. Turkish troops have battled the PKK since 1984,
frequently crossing into northern Iraq, in a war that has killed some 37,000
people, mostly Kurds.

Hurriyet said the troops, backed by tanks, had crossed into Iraq on Dec. 20
and were preparing for a large-scale ``cleanup'' operation. Kurdish sources
reported no clashes between Turkish troops and the rebels.

Officials in southeastern Turkey confirmed that Turkish troops, including
special forces, had crossed into Iraqi territory, but gave no details.
Turkey's military refused to comment on the reports. PUK officials were not
available for comment.

The PKK withdrew most of its fighters from Turkey and announced an end to
their armed struggle for autonomy in southeast Turkey last year. Turkey has
rejected the cease-fire and vowed to fight on until all rebels have
surrendered.


http://www.timesofindia.com/090101/09euro12.htm

*  IRAQI KURDISH LEADER IN ANKARA AS PKK ASSAULT GATHERS STEAM
Times of India, 9th January

ANKARA (AFP): An Iraqi Kurdish leader was due here Monday for talks with
senior Turkish officials as his militia and Turkish troops were jointly
fighting rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, a
Turkish diplomat told AFP.

Jalal Talabani, the head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), was
scheduled to meet with Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and
undersecretary for foreign affairs Faruk Logoglu on Tuesday, said the
diplomat, who declined to be named.

The visit comes a day after Ecevit confirmed that Turkish soldiers had
crossed into northern Iraq to help the PUK and another Iraqi Kurdish
faction, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), fight PKK rebels who have
found refuge in the area. Ecevit told the state-run TRT channel Sunday that
Turkish troops were providing "technical help" to the two groups in their
struggle against the PKK.

"The real struggle in the region is between the PUK and the PKK," Ecevit
said. "The PUK and the KDP are spearheading the combat against the PKK and
we are trying to help them," he added. For the past few months, the PUK,
which controls Kurdish areas close to the border with Iran, has been
fighting PKK rebels which it accuses of attacking its positions in a bid to
destabilize the Kurdish-held enclave.

The fighting comes after a long period of good relations between the PUK and
the PKK, which has waged a 15-year armed campaign against Turkey for Kurdish
self-rule in the country's southeast. Turkey says some 4,500 PKK militants
have crossed into northern Iraq since September 1999 when the group said it
would stop fighting Ankara and retreat from Turkey to seek a peaceful
resolution to the conflict.

But the powerful Turkish military has played down the peace bid as a "ploy"
urging the rebels to either surrender or face the army. Turkish troops had
frequently carried out operations against the PKK in northern Iraq, an area
outside Baghdad's control since the 1991 Gulf War which Ankara says the PKK
uses as a jumping board for attacks on Turkey.

The KDP, led by Massoud Barzani, controls the strip of land near the Turkish
border and often helps Turkey in its cross-border operations. Ecevit did not
say how many Turkish soldiers were taking part in the incursion, but Turkish
press reports said that some 10,000 troops have penetrated deep into the
mountains of northern Iraq. The clashes in northern Iraq were evidence that
the "terrorist PKK was still in existence," Ecevit said.

"The terrorists are armed and are just beyond our border. In other words,
they are lying in ambush," he added. Turkey's incursions have attracted
storms of criticism from Baghdad, which accuses Ankara of violating its
territorial integrity.


http://members.home.net/kurdistanobserver/9-1-01-reu-talabani-denies-seek-he
lp.html

*  IRAQI KURD CHIEF DENIES SEEKS TURKISH MILITARY AID
Kurdistan Observer, 9th January

ANKARA (Reuters) - Iraqi Kurdish faction leader Jalal Talabani said Tuesday
he had asked Turkey for economic aid but denied having sought military
support to drive out Turkish Kurd guerrillas from northern Iraq.

However, Talabani warned that his Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) would
use whatever means necessary to expel Turkish Kurd militants of the
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) from the area it controls.

Northern Iraq has been controlled by two feuding Iraqi Kurdish groups --
Talabani's PUK and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by Massoud
Barzani -- since the 1991 Gulf War. The United States brokered a 1998
cease-fire between the two, seeking to unite the rivals into a bulwark
against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The deal obliges both to prevent PKK
activity in northern Iraq.

Turkish media said on the weekend that Turkey had sent 10,000 troops into
the breakaway enclave in a major operation against Turkish Kurd rebel bases,
a report denied by the army. "We are asking for political and economic
support from Turkey," Talabani told reporters after meeting foreign ministry
officials in Ankara. "We didn't ask for any military support."

A report in a newspaper that backs the PKK said Turkish troops were
mobilized after Talabani asked for Turkey's help to clear out the PKK
presence from the area it controls. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said over
the weekend Turkey was providing technical support to Iraqi Kurds for its
own security. Talabani told a Turkish television news channel that Turkish
aid was limited to food and medical help to villagers there.

IRAQI KURDISH FACTIONS PURSUE COOPERATION

Talabani told television channel CNN-Turk he met with rival Barzani before
coming to Turkey and the two agreed to improve dialogue and conditions under
the Washington deal. "It is as if there is a cease-fire between us,"
Talabani told CNN Turk in a description of ties with Baghdad.

Turkey allows U.S. and British military aircraft to use an air base to
patrol northern Iraq's no-fly zone. In return, Turkish forces regularly
cross the border to pursue PKK guerrillas with little Western opposition.
The PKK has largely withdrawn from Turkey to northern Iraq and Iran since
late 1999 following orders from its imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan that
the group should abandon the armed struggle and remold itself as a political
party.

Earlier Tuesday, Talabani told NTV television station that as many as 8,000
PKK guerrillas were now in northern Iraq. Ankara dismisses the PKK
cease-fire as a ploy to save Ocalan from a death sentence for treason. The
military has pledged to "neutralize" all PKK members who do not surrender.

"We discussed the PKK aggression against Iraqi Kurdistan when they sent all
their military men (over the border)," Talabani said after Tuesday's talks.
"They claimed they stopped the armed struggle there but they started
fighting in Iraqi Kurdistan," he said. "We will oblige them by all means to
leave our area." He said there was currently no fighting on the ground.

Talabani was due to meet Ecevit Wednesday and was expected to hold talks
with Western diplomats in Ankara.


http://members.home.net/kurdistanobserver/10-1-01-afp-talabani-urges-inves.h
tml

*  KURDISH LEADER URGES TURKISH INVESTMENT IN NORTHERN IRAQ
Kurdistan Observer, 10th January

ANKARA, Jan 10 (AFP) The head of a leading Kurdish faction in northern Iraq
has  invited Turkish businessmen to invest in the Kurdish-held enclave,
Turkish Prime Minister Bulent  Ecevit said Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters outside his office, Ecevit said that following the
request, he had enabled  Jalal Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union
of Kurdistan (PUK), to meet with the Turkish  Union of Commercial Chambers
during a visit to Ankara.  "If such a cooperation is formed and investments
are made in the region, all the people in the  region, be they Kurds,
Turkmens or Arabs, will benefit from it," Ecevit said.  Talabani, for his
part, said that he had asked Turkish officials for political, economic and
cultural  support.

Asked whether he had requested military help from Turkey to fight Kurdistan
Workers Party  (PKK) rebels sheltering in the region, the PUK leader said:
"Not yet." He did not elaborate.  "There is full cooperation against anyone
who will try to disturb peace and stability in the  region," Talabani told
reporters after meeting Ecevit.  The PKK, which has waged a 15-year armed
campaign for Kurdish self-rule in Turkey's  southeast, said that it would
stop fighting and withdraw from Turkey from September 1999 to  seek a
peaceful resolution to the conflict.

Talabani, who controls a section of northern Iraq close to the Iranian
border, said Tuesday that  some 8,000 PKK militants had moved to northern
Iraq since the group announced its decision.  About 6,000 PKK rebels were in
the PUK sector, while 2,000 others were in the area bordering  Turkey, which
is controlled by PUK's arch-rival, the Democratic Party of Kurdistan (KDP),
he  told the NTV news channel.

After meeting a senior foreign ministry official, the PUK leader vowed to
purge all PKK rebels  from his regions of authority.  "We will oblige them
by all means to leave our area," he told reporters.  Ecevit announced at the
weekend that Turkish troops in northern Iraq were providing "technical
 help" to PUK and KDP in their struggle against the PKK.

The Turkish army regularly launches operations against the PKK in the north
of Iraq, which has  been outside Baghdad's control since 1991, saying that
the PKK uses it as a springboard for  attacks against Turkey.  The
incursions draw strong criticism from Baghdad, which accuses Ankara of
violating its  territorial integrity.


http://members.home.net/kurdistanobserver/9-1-01-op-talabani-tky.html

*  TALABANI TO ASK FOR MONEY AND WEAPONS
Ozgur Politica (a pro PKK publication in Turkish), translated for Kurdistan
Observer, 10th January

The visit of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Jalal Talabani to
Ankara while the possibility of hot conflict in South Kurdistan [Iraqi
Kurdistan] still lingers has increased activity in the region. Talabani, who
was brought as far as Amed [Diyarbakir] by helicopter, completed his journey
to Ankara by airplane on Monday evening.

During his official contacts in Ankara, Talabani is expected to maintain the
position he took during previous visits. The PUK leader, who was called to
Ankara by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, is expected to ask for assistance in
the form of weapons and money for the assaults the PUK has been carrying out
against the PKK with Turkish military support. Additionally, it is expected
that Talabani will ask for Turkey's support in gaining the PUK's share of
income from the Habur customs gate, which is under Kurdistan Democrat Party
(KDP) control. This will be Talabani's second visit to Ankara in recent
months, the most recent visit being in July of last year. During that last
visit, the PUK leader gave Ankara his word that he would fight against the
PKK.

Talabani is expected to meet with Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit during his
two-day visit to Ankara and will also meet with Turkish Foreign Ministry
Undersecretary Faruk Logoglu and officials from the General Staff
intelligence department. Sources from the Turkish Foreign Ministry had the
following to say:

"We left Talabani out of the picture for a long time. But now, we think that
the PUK is doing a perfect job together with Massoud Barzani's Kurdistan
Democrat Party against the terrorist PKK in northern Iraq. For that reason,
it deserves Turkey's support." Ministry sources said that Talabani had been
under intensive "pressure from Iraq and Iran" because of his cooperation
with Turkey, continuing to say, "Therefore, we must give the necessary
assistance." The same sources noted that KDP leader Massoud Barzani would
also be invited to Ankara in the coming days. KDP sources, for their part,
have made no statements on this matter.

Operation visit

Talabani's visit to Ankara has gained importance because of the tense days
being experienced in the region. Talabani, who has been organizing assaults
against the PKK since September of last year, is receiving financial and
military assistance from Ankara. The Ankara administration developed tight
relations with Barzani's KDP in the past, and has raised relations with the
PUK to top-level visits over the past two years. The focus of PUK-Ankara
relations, meanwhile, is the PKK. Following the visit to Ankara of politburo
member Omer Ali Huseyin in July 1999, the PUK closed down some newspapers,
culture centers, and associations on the grounds that they were close to the
PKK. It was reported at the time that Talabani had received USD 80 million
from Turkey in return. Turkey-PUK relations were raised to the level of
"strategic partnership" last August as a result of Talabani's visit to
Ankara. The PUK began broad assaults against guerrilla forces in the region
approximately one month after that visit. The assaults, which met with
intense reaction from the Kurdish people and organizations, ceased for a
time after the signing of a cease fire, but were resumed once again by the
PUK in December. It has been reported that PUK administration received USD
15 million from Turkey in return for the latest assaults.

Weapons being sent to the South

Meanwhile, according to news received from local sources, great amounts of
heavy weapons, including Katyusha missiles, were sent by the Turkish
military to South Kurdistan through the Habur border gate at Silopi the
other night after midnight. 'War plan put into action' South Kurdistani
political figure Davut Bagistani evaluated PUK leader Jalal Talabani's visit
to Ankara as "putting the war plan into action." Commenting on recent
developments and evaluating Talabani's Ankara visit for our newspaper,
Bagistani said: "Talabani has stated verbally in the meetings he has had
with delegations that he is in favor of peace.

But on the other hand, he is going to Ankara to make preparations for war.
This is contradictory. The PUK also wants to pull the KDP into war. This
shows how broad the scope of the plan is." Bagistani stressed that, in spite
of everything, it was necessary for efforts for inter-Kurdish peace to
continue under all circumstances, and continued as follows: "For the Turkish
army to be 350 kilometers inside the South makes a solution more difficult.
A great war may not be experienced right now because of winter conditions.
But a war this spring could make Turkey and its friends suffer heavy losses.
But we want problems to be solved without the shedding of blood, despite
everything." Bagistani drew attention to the great reaction of the people of
the South and of Kurdish organizations against the PUK's insistence on war,
and said also that there were differences of opinion inside the PUK.


http://members.home.net/kurdistanobserver/10-1-01-OP-talabani-south-sale.htm
l

*  TALABANI HAS PUT THE SOUTH UP FOR SALE
Ozgur Politica, a pro PKK publication in Turkish. Translated for Kurdistan
Observer, Jan 11, 2001

It has surfaced that PUK leader Jalal Talabani, in Turkey for a visit
different from those of the past, wants to revive the Ankara process which
inflamed enmity between the Kurds and granted the opportunity for Turkey to
intervene in South Kurdistan [Iraqi Kurdistan]. Making this announcement
himself while in Ankara on Tuesday, Talabani said "Turkey can be of great
assistance to us on this matter," and requested military and monetary
assistance. Asserting that his demands had been met, Talabani continued: "At
this moment, I am the most wanted man in Turkey. I was pleased with the
meetings I held with my Turkish brothers." Talabani denied reports that the
Turkish army had taken up positions in South Kurdistan, despite the fact
that Turkish Prime Minister Ecevit and top-level PUK officials had
personally confirmed the news after it was reported in Turkish and world
media, and said: "I think this is a lie. It is being asserted by the PKK or
circles close to the PKK." Concerning Ecevit's comment that "We are giving
technical assistance to the PUK," Talabani asserted, "He probably means the
assistance of food, clothing, and medication being given to civilians who
flee from the PKK and settle in the region."

Talabani met with ambassadors

The PUK leader had meetings at some embassies on Tuesday in the framework of
his two-day visit to Ankara. Talabani met for about an hour in the morning
at the US Ankara embassy and also met with officials from the Japanese
Ankara embassy at the Sheraton Hotel. In the afternoon, Talabani met with
Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Faruk Logoglu and other officials.
His schedule for Wednesday included a meeting with Prime Minister Ecevit.
Talabani is also to meet with officials from Turkish General Staff military
intelligence and from the National Intelligence Agency (MIT). Speaking about
his contacts, the PUK leader said that he wanted to discuss cooperation with
Turkey. "We and Ankara want stability in northern Iraq," Talabani said,
continuing, "It is normal for us to meet as long as we have common aims."

Call for the Ankara process

Talabani said that the future of Iraq lie in democracy and asserted that
they had no intentions to establish an independent Kurdish state in the
region. He also asserted that the key to assuring peace was in Turkey's
hands. "We could prefer the application of the Ankara process, especially in
these days," Talabani said, continuing, "Ankara must revive the Ankara
process through persuasion. It later slipped into the Washington process."
Talabani also called on Turkey to mediate between the PUK and Kurdistan
Democrat Party (KDP) on the subject of income from border trade.

Talabani said that he had met with KDP leader Massoud Barzani before coming
to Ankara, continuing: "We had a productive visit with Barzani. My friend
Barzani approached it very positively. We discussed the Washington process
and our joint efforts with Ankara." Talabani said that they wanted to act in
concert with the KDP in matters of foreign policy, particularly in regards
to the Ankara and Washington processes, and said that he had asked the KDP
to share revenues from the Habur border gate with them and to allow free
travel for the PUK in KDP territory.

Meanwhile, an official from the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that the
meeting signified Ankara's constant consultation with the two sides in a
statement he made to Reuters news agency. The official said that the
situation in northern Iraq would be discussed, as always, during the visit.

Turkey wishes by bringing Talabani up to the former position of Barzani to
begin a comprehensive military campaign in the region against the PKK.
Despite the fact that the guerrillas have withdrawn outside of Turkey's
borders, Ankara is continually keeping renewed assaults on the agenda. This
is expected to be made a requirement for KDP leader Barzani, who has been
invited to Ankara in the coming days for the same purpose.

PUK confirms occupation

In contradiction to Jalal Talabani's comments, "I did not see Turkish
soldiers in Suleymaniya," other top-level PUK officials have not been able
to deny the presence of the Turkish military in the region. PUK London
representative Latif Rashid, commenting to the El Vatan newspaper, which is
published in Saudi Arabia, asserted that the presence of Turkish military
forces in the region had not come about by their own wishes. Rashid said: "I
learned information concerning the presence of the Turkish military in the
region from the press. But this situation absolutely did not come about
because of the PUK's request."

PKK is the target

The intentions of Turkey - which appointed an ambassador to Baghdad despite
objections from the US - have begun to become clear. The Mustaqbel newspaper
published in Lebanon wrote that Ankara's basic aim with these action was to
mediate between Iraq and the Kurdish organizations in South Kurdistan.

The newspaper said that Ankara had revealed the true intentions it had been
nursing by playing the Kurdish card for the first time in a long time. In
this regard, Turkey does not want a federated Kurdish state in the region.
But its basic concern is the presence of the PKK in the region. In its
recommendations to the KDP and PUK, Ankara has suggested cooperation on
military, political, economic, and security matters against the PKK. It was
noted that if they accept the offer, Ankara will mediate between these
groups and Iraqi administration.

The newspaper, which based the news on diplomatic sources, also said that
Massoud Barzani would travel to Ankara in the days following Talabani's
arrival. The newspaper said that Barzani would remain in Ankara for four
days and that he and Talabani would be brought together and that Ankara
would make its influence in regional policies felt heavily.

What is the Ankara process?

The first meeting of the Ankara process - which aimed at bringing the KDP,
PUK, and Turkmen Front together under the joint chairmanship of Turkey, the
US, and Britain - was held in Ankara on October 30-31, 1996. The declared
main aim of the meeting was to secure the cease fire between the KDP and
PUK, which had been agreed upon previously but continued to be sensitive,
and to begin the process of political accord between the parties in the
region. The final declaration of the meeting touched on the importance given
to the territorial integrity of Iraq and Iraq sovereignty and called
attention to Turkey's concerns over security in the region. One of the
results of the meeting was the agreement to establish a "Peace Monitoring
Force," in which the Turkmen figured prominently, to supervise the cease
fire between the PUK and KDP. Three more meetings were subsequently held.
Taking advantage of the agreement, Turkey carried out the "Hammer" operation
in 1997.

Turkey's most important objective is to assure itself a lasting presence in
the region, using the Turkmen as an excuse. But, the US initiative left
Turkey out of the picture and the Washington Agreement was signed on
September 17, 1998. The significance of the revival of the Ankara process is
that it will leave the door to new interventions open to Turkey.


http://members.home.net/kurdistanobserver/10-1-01-reu-interview-talabani.htm
l

*  INTERVIEW-IRAQI KURD LEADER SAYS U.S. TOUGH TALK NOT HELPFUL
The Kurdistan Observer, 10th January

ANKARA, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The leader of one of the two Kurdish factions
that control northern Iraq said on Wednesday tough talk was not the best way
for the United States to push Iraq towards democracy. Jalal Talabani, leader
of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), told Reuters in an interview that
it was too early to judge the incoming U.S. administration of George W.
Bush, but the signs were that it would take a tough stance towards Iraq.

"I cannot say I welcome this tough language," Talabani said during a visit
to Ankara. "We need to have in Iraq democratic change, some steps forward to
democratisation, not tough speeches," he said. Talabani heads one half of a
Kurdish enclave in the mountainous region that the United States wants to
forge into a united bulwark against the Iraqi government, which has not
controlled the north since the end of the 1991 Gulf War. U.S. Secretary of
State-designate Colin Powell, who oversaw the U.S. military during the 1991
Gulf War against Iraq, has said he will work with allies to breath new life
into sanctions against Baghdad. Other Bush advisers openly advocate using
air power and arming the Iraqi opposition.

TALABANI SEEKS NEW CHAPTER IN RELATIONS WITH KDP

Turning to the situation in northern Iraq, Talabani said he was trying to
improve relations with rival Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani of the Kurdistan
Democratic Party (KDP). The PUK and the KDP have controlled the breakaway
enclave in the north of the country since the Gulf War, but thousands of
their members were killed in intermittent clashes since 1994.

The United States brokered a ceasefire in 1998.

So far, differences over power sharing and revenues in the region have
blocked progress towards the elections and the local government envisaged
under the Washington accord. Talabani said he would meet Barzani on his
return from Ankara, where he sought economic support from Turkey, and the
two would hold detailed discussions about future relations. "I hope we can
both open a new chapter for our relations," he said. "I'm going to ask for
better relations and we will discuss the possibility of reinforcing the
administration and also for new elections."

The deal signed in Washington also stipulates that Turkish Kurd guerrillas
of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) be denied the opportunity to base
themselves in northern Iraq -- a key issue for Ankara. Talabani said the PKK
were clearly getting support from outside Iraq, though he declined to say
from whom. Western diplomats who met him in Ankara said he had discussed
Turkey's concerns that Iran may be supporting the PKK.

The PKK has largely withdrawn from Turkey to northern Iraq and Iran since
late 1999 following orders from its imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan that
the group should abandon violence. Turkey allows U.S. and British military
aircraft to use an airbase to patrol a no-fly zone in northern Iraq. Ankara
regularly bolsters its troop presence inside northern Iraq to pursue the PKK
with little western opposition.

Talabani estimated there are as many as 7,000 PKK fighters in northern Iraq,
but he brushed off reports that Turkey was reinforcing its troops there in
preparation for an offensive. "There are no plans at this time, this winter.
I don't think there are plans or they're even thinking about sending troops
to Iraqi Kurdistan, unless there will be a need," he said. Turkey has said
it was providing technical support to Iraqi Kurds for its own security.
Talabani said that was limited to food and medical help.


http://www.vny.com/cf/News/upidetail.cfm?QID=150373

*  AN UNWELCOME CUCKOO IN THE NEST -- PART 1
by Derk Kinnane Roelofsma

First of three parts

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- The incoming Bush administration has announced
that it intends to do something about Iraq.

The box in which the Clinton administration claimed to have confined Saddam
Hussein has collapsed with only the air patrols over the no-fly zones still
more or less holding up against Iraqi military flights if no longer
intimidating civilian passenger flights. The air patrols were instituted to
protect the safe haven for Kurds in northern Iraq, set up by the United
States in 1991, from the brutal depredation of Saddam Hussein's army.

Now the safe haven has become a battlefield for Iraqi Kurds trying to oust
intruding Turkish Kurdish Marxist guerrillas. This situation is of immediate
concern to Turkey, the most important U.S. ally in the neighborhood. It is
also something Washington will need to bear in mind as it decides just what
to do about Hussein.

The Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the PKK, appeared at the start of 2000
to have been marginalized after waging an unsuccessful 16-year insurrection
in southeastern Turkey. Some 35,000 people were killed. Now the PKK has
reappeared as a significant fighting force, backed by Russia and Iran.

During the past fall, the PKK engaged in fighting with one of the two
parties that rule large parts of Iraqi Kurdistan. Led by Jalal Talabani, the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan controls an area bordering on Iran. Its rival,
the Kurdistan Democratic Party, headed by Mas'ud Barzani, rules over land
that borders on Turkey.

Piecing together information from various Kurdish and other sources, a
picture of what happened emerges. The cause of the fighting, according to
the PKK and others, arose from Talabani's need to strengthen his position by
assuaging the Turkish government that views any Kurdish show of independence
with deep suspicion. Through the good offices of the United States, Talabani
was received in July in Ankara by Prime Minister Ecevit Bulent and Foreign
Minister Ismail Cem. The Turks and the United States urged Talabani to get
the PKK out of the territory under PUK authority.

At first Talabani is said to have asked the PKK to leave quietly. When it
refused to do so, fighting began in September. In the first four days, more
than 100 people were killed, a Turkish military source said.

The PKK claimed it faced 4,000 PUK peshmerga, as Talabani's and Barzani's
guerrillas are known. The fighting ended on Oct. 4, only to resume on Dec.3.
Ten days later it halted again because of foreign intervention -- military
by Turkey and political by Iran.

An appeal to Ankara by Talabani brought some 700 Turkish troops accompanied
by artillery 200 miles deep into Iraq, something that for understandable
reasons the PUK denies happened.

But Iran told Talabani it could not tolerate warfare on its border and that
he must cease attacking PKK positions. These were established near the
strategically situated towns of Rania and Qalat Diza on the road to
Sulaimani, a major Kurdish city.

Tehran told the PUK it would persuade the PKK to return to previous
positions on both sides of the Iraq-Iran frontier. According to PUK sources,
the PKK has not done so and remains in a strip of land on the Iraqi side of
the border.

Some estimates of the number of PKK guerrillas in the Iran-Iraq region are
as high as 10,000. Turkish authorities said that some 5,000 moved into the
area starting in September 1999 when the PKK said it was laying down its
arms and moving its forces out of Turkey.

The PKK moved into an area of Iraq where a Kurdish Regional Government had
been set up, thanks to the security provided by U.S. and British air
protection. This has enabled the Iraqi Kurds to enjoy a freedom of action
far surpassing that of fellow Kurds in Iran, Syria or Turkey. Indeed this
Kurdish freedom troubles Ankara that constantly fears the creation of an
independent Kurdish state and the effect this would have on its own 12
million Kurds.

However, rivalry between the KDP and PUK turned violent and the region
became divided, with each party ruling in its area. U.S. diplomats have
repeatedly sought to persuade the two parties to end the violence and at
least outright civil war has been avoided since the two parties signed an
agreement in Washington in 1998.


http://www.vny.com/cf/News/upidetail.cfm?QID=150414

*  AN UNWELCOME CUCKOO IN THE NEST
by Derk Kinnane Roelofsma

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- The money on which the Kurdistan Workers Party,
a Turkish Kurdish Marxist revolutionary party, the PKK, runs comes from
Moscow, Iraq, Greece and elsewhere, Ibrahim Mammadov reported in the Baku
newspaper Azadlyg. Germany is also well known source of funds for the PKK.
It is highly organized, raises considerable funds by contributions, both
voluntary and extorted, from among the 500,000 Kurds living there as well as
from involvement criminal activities, including drug trafficking.

In Armenia, the PKK has camps at several locations as well as a hospital for
the treatment of party fighters wounded in Turkey and Iraq.

PKK members, coming from Russia's "near abroad" and Eastern Europe are sent
directly to the mountains under the supervision of the Armenian security
services. PKK guides then take over, provided with communications equipment,
night-vision and mine-clearing devices and weapons. On the border with Iran,
the guides hand over to the party's Iranian guides. Iran is assisting some
ten PKK bases in villages along the Iran-Iraq border in the region of the
Iranian city of Urmia.

In April to June 1999 alone, at least 300 people were trained in one camp in
Iraq before a Turkish Air Force raid forced it to move elsewhere, Mammadov
reports.

But the PKK also has its troubles. Finances, military equipment and other
supplies are not at the desired level and conditions are difficult for PKK
forces still in southeastern Turkey. Winter doesn't make things easier,
except that it imposes a virtual prohibition on fighting.

But the winter will give way to spring and Turkish politicians and generals
are asking themselves what the PKK forces will do then? It would seem likely
they would raise present level of their low intensity war in Turkey while
seeking to consolidate their position in Iraq.

Turkey may be expected to resume doing as much as it can to destroy the PKK.
If this involves further deep penetrations of Turkey, all kinds of questions
may arise. In Iraqi Kurdistan, both Massoud Barzani's Kurdish Democratic
Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan called on the Turkish military
for assistance that was promptly delivered. If the Turks were to become a
habitual presence deep inside Iraqi Kurdistan, serious questions would arise
as to the integrity of the Iraqi state, something that so far Washington
appears to wish preserved as much as Baghdad does. Fortunately, for the
United States, long-term Turkish goals of building up diplomatic and
important trade relations with Baghdad, with or without Saddam's presence,
are a countervailing force to any ambition to colonize the Kurdish area.

Similarly, its seems unlikely at this time that Ankara would bring up the
Mosul question -- the Turkish claim that it was unjustly denied the oil-rich
Ottoman province awarded to Iraq in 1926. Still, it is only a decade since
the flamboyant Turkish prime minister, Turgut Ozal, briefly revived the
issue.

As for the United States, if it is serious about changing the regime in
Baghdad, it can hardly be pleased with the prospect of a guerrilla force of
several thousand, hostile to the West and in effect a proxy of Moscow and
Tehran, being placed where they can destabilize the north of Iraq and
possibly once again adjacent areas of Turkey. For one thing, a return of a
revived PKK to Turkey in force would revive doubts about the security of a
strategically important Turkish-U.S. project for a pipeline to carry oil
from the Caspian Basin to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.

Given the president-elect's campaign statements about reducing U.S. military
commitments abroad, it may be that Washington will be glad to leave it to
the Turks alone, with their tough and experienced soldiery, to continue to
deal with PKK.

One thing is certain, such action would be bound to renew and probably
intensify the odium in which Turkey, a candidate for European Union
membership, is held by so much of the European political establishment. But
that is another story.


http://members.home.net/kurdistanobserver/11-1-01-OP-puk-kdp-pkk-tky.html 

*  KDP KEEPS DISTANCE FROM ANKARA
Kurdistan Observer (from Ozgur Politica), 12th January

As Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Jalal Talabani continued his
contacts in Ankara, Kurdistan Democrat Party (KDP) Ankara representative
Safeen Dizayee said that the PUK's rapprochement with Turkey would not lead
to changes in their own policies with Ankara. Dizayee said that the PUK
fighting against the PKK did not mean that the KDP had to fight also, and
denied news that KDP leader Massoud Barzani would be arriving in Ankara in
the coming days.

KDP Ankara representative Safeen Dizayee explained his views concerning
topics which had been discussed in meetings between Talabani and Turkish
government officials to the newspaper "2000'de Yeni Gundem" (New Agenda in
2000), which is published in Turkey. Dizayee said that rapprochement between
the KDP and PUK had started together with the Ankara Process and said they
had secured harmony on all subjects other than meeting of the regional
Parliament and elections. Dizayee asserted that the Ankara Process was a
continuation of the Washington Agreement and said that the United States,
Great Britain, and Turkey had all given their support to this process.
Dizayee said that the PUK's relations with Turkey would not lead to changes
in the KDP's policies, continuing: "Our policies are clear. We do not index
our relations with Turkey to the PKK. We find the PKK dangerous from our own
vantage, we are struggling against the PKK. But, just because the PUK is
fighting against the PKK does not mean that we have to also."

Dizayee said that Talabani's demand that the PUK receive an equal share with
the KDP of revenue from the Habur border gate was senseless, continuing as
follows: "The revenues secured from the Habur border gate do not go to the
KDP. They are collected in the Central Bank account in Arbil, which is under
the control of the Financial and Customs Ministry. The government presents
projects to Parliament. The Parliament then uses this money to finance
projects which they find appropriate." The KDP representative said that
Talabani's request that a new border gate with the South [Iraqi Kurdistan]
be opened was impossible in practice, and drew attention to the fact that
the region under PUK control does not have a common border with Turkey.
Concerning news appearing in the press that they would carry out a "Sandwich
Operation" against the PKK, Dizayee said that no such request had been made
of them by Turkey. The KDP representative said that he did not have the
authority to say what type of stance the KDP would take should Turkey make
such a request, and also noted that the news that Barzani would come to
Ankara following Talabani's visit was not correct.

Talabani gave 'confidence' to Ankara

PUK leader Jalal Talabani, who was in Ankara this week, said that the PUK
would continue its cooperation with Turkey in the struggle against the PKK,
and asserted, "We are going to pressure the PKK in every sense to leave our
region." The PUK leader, who arrived in Ankara in order to ask for military
and financial help and to cooperate with Turkey against the PKK, continued
his contacts on Wednesday. Talabani, who had met with officials from the
National Intelligence Agency (MIT), General Staff, and Turkish Foreign
Ministry Undersecretary Faruk Logoglu the day before, had a 45-minute
meeting with Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit on Wednesday.

Making a statement after the meeting, Talabani said that they had discussed
economic and security matters that concern both sides, and noted that they
expect understanding and support from Turkey on economic and political
fields. Ecevit, for his part, said that they had had, in general, a "very
beneficial" meeting with Talabani on matters that concern them and that
Talabani had only asked for "technical and economic assistance" from Turkey.
Ecevit said that the PKK had been discussed within the framework of "general
evaluations." The Turkish Prime Minister said that they would give the
necessary support on economic and technical issues and noted thatTalabani
had also met with the union of chambers of commerce.

Talabani, failing to give detailed information about the meeting, said they
had "discussed every type of subject," adding that Ecevit had approached him
in a positive manner. Talabani also said that he had promised that he would
carefully examine the reports which had been presented to him. In answer to
a question from reporters as to whether or not he had asked for military
assistance from Turkey, Talabani responded, "Not yet," and added, "We are
cooperating with Turkey along all paths against every element which
threatens stability in the region." War against PKK to continue Talabani,
meanwhile, had a meeting that lasted for 2.5 hours with Foreign Ministry
Undersecretary Faruk Logoglu on Tuesday evening. Answering reporters'
questions after the meeting, Talabani evaluated the meeting as "very
comprehensive and good." Talabani said that it was "necessary for Turkey to
play a role" in order to bring implementation of the Ankara Process "to a
more effective condition," adding the following: "We want Turkey to play a
role. Turkey is both our friend and the KDP's friend. We asked for the sides
to be encouraged in the functioning of the Ankara Process."

Talabani noted that Turkey understood the PUK's requests and its
difficulties and said that he had given information to Ankara concerning
their projects in South Kurdistan. Talabani alleged that there was currently
no situation of conflict between them and the PKK in South Kurdistan and
stressed that they would continue their cooperation with Turkey to fight
against the PKK. "We hope that they will abandon our region without any
conflict at all being experienced," Talabani said, continuing to assert, "We
will pressure them in every sense to desert our region."

Search for support at the embassies

Meanwhile, Talabani, who had met with officials from the US and Japanese
embassies during his first day of contacts in Ankara, had contacts on
Wednesday morning with officials from the Dutch and Egyptian embassies.
Although Talabani did not give any detailed information about these
meetings, they have been interpreted as aimed at gaining the approval and
support of the US, Europe, and some regional Arab countries in initiation of
a broad assault against the PKK should the PUK cooperate with Turkey in such
a campaign in the South [Iraqi Kurdistan] this spring. Talabani additionally
had a dinner meeting with representatives of the Turkmen in Ankara on
Wednesday. The contents of the meeting were not disclosed.

Ankara 'pleased' with Talabani

According to information received, Ankara had wanted Talabani to prepare and
present a list of his demands and sent the message that it would examine
that list with good intentions and endeavor to be of assistance. Turkish
officials say that the central point in Turkey's relations with both Kurdish
parties in South Kurdistan, both the PUK and the Kurdistan Democrat Party
(KDP), is their stance on the PKK, and say that Talabani's PUK is following
"a more convincing line" currently as compared with in the past.

In statements made from the Turkish Foreign Ministry concerning Talabani's
contacts in Ankara, officials said that they had discussed the struggle
against the PKK with him and had "a comprehensive exchange of ideas within
the framework of the unity and future of Iraq," adding that they would
continue to give their support to the PUK in its fight against the PKK.

One Foreign Ministry official said they greeted the PUK's requests for
assistance in economic, financial and military fields positively, and
stressed that what was important for them was whether or not Talabani was
currently struggling against the PKK in the South. The official, answering a
reporter's question as to whether or not Talabani was giving Turkey
confidence in this matter, responded as follows: "What is important for us
is not whether or not he gives confidence; we look at what he does on his
field. When we look on the field, we see that he is putting up a very
serious struggle against the PKK. The PUK has become more settled and
mature."

Protest against the PUK

A protest demonstration against the PUK was held in the Camlibel
neighborhood of the Yuregir district of Adana the other evening. A large
crowd of mainly young people conducted a torch-lit march and shouted slogans
such as, "Damn the PUK, Long live the PKK" and "Long live the children of
the fire and sun," and calling on the PUK not to test their patience. After
the group of demonstrators dispersed, police arriving in Camlibel took heavy
security measures.

Meanwhile, detentions continue to be made following the protest
demonstrations arranged at Ege University. Sanem Ozdil, chairman of the Ege
University Students' Association, has been taken into custody on the grounds
that he participated in demonstrations.


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