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Hi Felicity, Anai and all interested, The story's dragging on... Best Andreas ---------------------- 1) Americans Suleymaniyeh operation was broader than just Turkish Special Forces 2) [Turkish Original of 1:] Süleymaniye operasyonu daha genis ------------- 1) http://www.kurdmedia.com/reports.asp?id=1557 Americans Suleymaniyeh operation was broader than just Turkish Special Forces 07 July 2003 KurdishMedia.com [Translated from Turkish; originally published in Ozgur Politika newspaper, 7 July 2003. ] [Summary]: The background to the [American] operation carried out on Friday in the city of Suleymaniyeh in South [Iraqi] Kurdistan in which 11 Turkish military personnel were taken into custody indicates that it was a reaction to the prevocational activities of the Turkish military personnel in the area. MHA/Suleymaniyeh It is reported that the US operation was not directed only at the Turkish Special Forces team, but also at the Iraqi Turkoman Front [ITC], which is organized by Turkish intelligence. US officials have confirmed that a group of Turkish military personnel are still being detained. An American military official who made a statement yesterday in Kirkuk said that there was a raid. The US military is still seeking to determine these peoples identities, but I believe they are all Turkish. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- In the Turkoman Front headquarters that was raided, approximately 100 kilograms of TNT, intended to be used in assassinations, was seized, as well as a large number of Kalashnikov infantry rifles and various other assorted firearms. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- The office utilized by the Special Forces personnel was the main coordination center for Turkish activities in Suleymaniyeh and the vicinity. The operation, launched on Friday against the liaison office of the Turkish Special Operations Team in Dar al-Amin Street, was extensive in this context. Accordingly, the ITC headquarters in Suleymaniyeh, the ITCs TERT-2 radio station, a kindergarten, and the Turkoman Culture Center were raided as well. A total of 47 people were detained in the operation. In the first raid, a total of 17 people were taken into custody, consisting of 8 Special Forces personnel (3 officers and 8 non-commissioned officers), a Turkoman woman employed as a cook, her son, 1 Kurdish employee, and 3 peshmergehs [Kurdish guerrilla fighters] serving as guards. The woman and her son were later released. In two raids that followed this one, 13 ITC militants were taken into custody. The number of people taken into custody in the operation carried out against the ITC headquarters in Kirkuk is not clear. All the personnel in the buildings belonging to the Turkomans were detained for four hours. Weapons seized A great many weapons and documents belonging to the Turkish military, Turkish intelligence, and the Turkoman front were seized in the Operation carried out by the American military in Suleymaniyeh. The US soldiers, who took a truckload full of material out of the Turkish Special Operations Teams liaison office and sent it to Kirkuk, then locked up the office. In the Turkoman Front headquarters that was raided, approximately 100 kilograms of TNT, intended to be used in assassinations, was seized, as well as a large number of Kalashnikov infantry rifles and various other assorted firearms. The Turkoman Front had not turned in the weapons, although the United States had earlier made calls for it to do so. The United States had announced that it would not permit anyone, apart from its own forces and those charged with providing security, to carry arms in the region. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Turkoman Front has also hidden a great many weapons outside of its headquarters. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- The Turkoman Front, however, had not obeyed this and, trusting in the protection of the Turkish military, had been keeping the heavy weapons in its possession as an element of threat. It is being reported that the Americans had begun an investigation as well as intelligence work in order to turn up the Turkoman Fronts hidden weapons. It is noted that the Turkoman Front has also hidden a great many weapons outside of its headquarters. The Turkomans whose arms were seized were given permission to re-enter their buildings yesterday afternoon, and the radio then resumed broadcasting. The detention of four Turkoman militants still continues. It is noteworthy that, after the Turkish Special Forces personnel were detained and taken to Kirkuk, they were placed into a military prison that the Americans have previously used to hold pro-Saddam Bathists. People both pleased and angry Turkeys efforts to create chaos in South Kurdistan by playing the Turkoman card, and its stationing of military and intelligence personnel there for this purpose, have for years occasioned harsh reactions among the people. While the American militarys detention of the Turkish soldiers and its closure of the office were met with joy by the people, the PUK [Patriotic Union of Kurdistan], which has protected these troops for years, is being criticized. It is stated that the lack of coverage given to this large-scale operation in the television and newspaper media of the PUK and the KDP [Kurdistan Democratic Party] derives from the deep ties that these parties have had with Turkey for more than ten years. The office in question had earlier been assigned by the PUK to the Turkish military. PUK peshmergehs had provided its security. People are pointing out that the PUK had allowed the Turkish military to engage in this much damaging activity, and that this force in the end was planning assassinations of PUK leader Jalal Talabani and the governor of Kirkuk. It is not known how this incident that took place in Suleymaniyeh, which is controlled by the PUK, will impact the visit of PUK leader Talabani, who was expected to visit Ankara on Monday. ------------- 2) http://www.ozgurpolitika.org/2003/07/07/hab28.html 07-Temmuz 2003 Pazartesi Süleymaniye operasyonu daha genis Güney Kürdistan'in Süleymaniye kentinde Cuma aksami gerçeklestirilen baskinda 11 Türk subayinin gözaltina alinmasi olayinin perde arkasi, bölgedeki Türk askeri varliginin kiskirtici faaliyetlere dayandigini gösteriyor. MHA/SÜLEYMANIYE ABD operasyonunun, sadece Türk özel timi degil, Türk istihbaratinin örgütledigi Irak Türkmen Cephesi'ne yönelik oldugu da kaydedildi. ABD'li askeri yetkililer, bir grup Türk askerinin halen gözaltinda oldugunu dogruladi. Kerkük'te dün açiklama yapan bir Amerikan askeri yetkili, "Bir baskin oldu. ABD ordusu halen bunlarin kimligini tespit etmeye çalisiyor, ama sanirim hepsi Türk" diye konustu. Özel harekatçilarin kullandigi büro, Süleymaniye ve çevresindeki Türk faaliyetlerinin ana koordine merkeziydi. Cuma günü Türk Özel Harekat Timi'nin bulundugu Der El Emin caddesindeki irtibat bürosuna yönelik operasyon bu çerçevede genis tutuldu. Buna göre, Süleymaniye'deki ITC karargahi, ITC'nin TERT-2 Radyosu, bir anaokul ve Türkmen Kültür Merkezi de basildi. Operasyon kapsaminda toplam 47 kisi gözaltina alindi. Ilk baskinda 3'ü subay 8'i astsubay olmak üzere 11 özel harekatçi, asçi olarak çalisan bir Türkmen kadin ile oglu, 1 Kürt hizmetli ve koruma görevi yapan 3 pesmerge olmak üzere 17 kisi tutuklanmisti. Kadin ve oglu daha sonra serbest birakildi. Daha sonraki iki baskinda da 13 ITC militani tutuklandi. Kerkük'teki ITC karargahina düzenlenen operasyonda gözaltina alinanlarin sayisi net degil. Türkmenlere ait binalarda bulunan tüm personel 4 saat gözaltinda tutuldu. Silahlara el konuldu Amerikan ordusunun Süleymaniye'de düzenledigi operasyonda, Türk askerleri, istihbarati ve Türkmen Cephesi'ne ait birçok belge ve silaha da el konuldu. Türk Özel Harekat Timi irtibat bürosundan bir kamyon dolusu malzeme çikararak Kerkük'e gönderen Amerikan askerleri, büroya kilit vurdu. Basilan Türkmen Cephesi karargahinda ise suikast amaçli yaklasik 100 kilogram TNT ile büyük miktarda Kalasnikov marka piyade tüfekleri ve farkli markalarda silahlar ele geçirildi. ABD, daha önce çagrilar yapmasina ragmen Türkmen Cephesi silahlari teslim etmemisti. ABD, bölgede kendi güçleri ve güvenligi saglamakla görevlendirilenler disinda kimsenin silah tasimasina izin vermeyecegini bildirmisti. Türkmen Cephesi ise buna uymadi ve Türk ordusunun himayesine güvenerek elindeki agir silahlarini tehdit unsuru olarak tuttu. Türkmen Cephesi'ndeki gizli silahlarin ortaya çikarilmasi için de Amerikalilarin sorusturma baslattiklari ve istihbarat çalismasi yürüttükleri kaydediliyor. Türkmen Cephesi'nin karargah disinda birçok silah sakladigina dikkat çekiliyor. Silahlari toplanan Türkmenlere önceki gün ögleden sonra binalarina girme izni verildi, radyo da tekrar yayina basladi. 4 Türkmen militanin tutuklulugu devam ediyor. Türk özel harekatçilarin tutuklanip Kerkük'e götürüldükten sonra, Amerikalilarin daha çok Saddam Hüseyin yanlisi Baasçilari hapsettikleri askeri bir hapisaneye yerlestirmeleri dikkat çekiyor. Halk hem sevinçli hem kizgin Türkiye'nin Türkmen kartini kullanarak Güney Kürdistan'da karisiklik yaratmaya çalismasi, bu amaçla asker ve istihbaratini burada tutmasi, halk arasinda yillardir sert tepkiyle karsilaniyordu. Amerikan ordusunun Türk askerlerini gözaltina almasi ve büroyu kapatmasi, halk arasinda ise sevinçle karsilanirken, bu askerlere yillardir barindiran YNK ise elestiriliyor. Genis kapsamli operasyona PDK ve YNK televizyonlari ile gazetelerinde yer verilmemesi ise bu partilerin 10 yildan uzun süredir Türkiye ile sürdürdükleri derin iliskiden kaynaklandigi belirtiliyor. Sözkonusu büro daha önce YNK tarafindan Türk ordusuna tahsis edilmisti. Güvenligini de YNK pesmergeleri sagliyordu. Halk, YNK'nin Türk ordusunun bunca tahribatlarina izin verdigini, bu gücün sonunda YNK lideri Celal Talabani ve Kerkük Valisi'ne yönelik de suikast planladigina dikkat çekiyor. YNK kontrolü altindaki Süleymaniye'de meydana gelen olay, YNK lideri Celal Talabani'nin Pazartesi günü Ankara'ya yapmasi beklenen ziyareti ne sekilde etkileyecegi ise bilinmiyor. ----- Original Message ----- From: "farbuthnot" <asceptic@freenetname.co.uk> To: <soc-casi-discuss@lists.cam.ac.uk> Sent: Samstag, 5. Juli 2003 17:43 Subject: [casi] Re: Turkish Troops Arrested in N Iraq [ Presenting plain-text part of multi-format email ] HERE YOU ARE ANAI - ISLAM ON LINE 5th JULY 2003 (www.IslamOnlne.com) Turkey Protests Arrest Of Its Troops In N. Iraq "This is a repugnant incident that should never have happened," Erdogan said By Sa'ad Abdul Maguid, IOL Turkey Correspondent ANKARA, July 5 (IslamOnline.net) - The Turkish foreign ministry lodged a protest with the U.S. administration late Friday, July 4, over American forces storming of the headquarters of Turkish special troops in the northern Iraqi city of As-Sulaymaniyah and the rounding up of 11 Turkish servicemen. About 100 U.S. soldiers stormed the local offices of the Turkish special forces after cutting the telephone lines and transferred them to the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on suspicions of plotting an attack on the Kurdish governor of Kirkuk. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was reportedly furious at the U.S. raid on his troops. "This is a repugnant incident that should never have happened," Anatolia news agency quoted Erdogan as saying. "We cannot accept this," Erdogan protested, condemning the U.S. for "behavior unworthy of two allied countries in a coalition". The Turkish leader told Anatolia he had demanded the immediate release of the men. He said Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul had discussed the arrests with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who had assured him that the Turkish soldiers were safe and that he would do what he could to have them freed. The Turkish deputy chief of staff released a statement, which slammed the incident as a mistake that would affect the U.S.-Turkish relations which date back to half a century. The statement denied that the Turkish troops were planning to assassinate the governor of Kirkuk, asserting that Turkish troops were officially deployed in northern Iraq in coordination with the U.S. to monitor the situation in northern Iraqi cities dominated by Turkmen. Washington and Ankara agreed April 10 on deploying Turkish military observers in northern Iraq. A 30-strong Turkish unit was then sent there. The U.S. assured Ankara that it would send reinforcements to Kirkuk to replace Kurdish forces who seized the city after the downfall of Baghdad. Three officers and eight non-commissioned officers were arrested on Friday in Sulaymaniyah, the Turkish daily Hurriyet newspaper reported. It added that following the incident Turkey had closed the border gate of al-Khabour and only allowed U.N. vehicles to pass. _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk