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Ankara does its bit for
peace
By Jean-Christophe Peuch
PRAGUE - Turkey was due to host a Middle East
regional conference on Thursday that is officially aimed
at examining ways to avert war in neighboring Iraq.
Foreign ministers from Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Jordan,
Saudi Arabia and Syria are due in Istanbul in a
last-ditch effort to find a peaceful outcome to the
US-Iraq standoff, even as Washington continues to send
troops to the region.
Media reports say that
participants will present a joint declaration urging
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to provide additional
evidence that his regime is complying with United
Nations disarmament resolutions and to increase its
cooperation with UN arms inspectors.
NATO member
Turkey originally wanted to host the leaders of all five
countries that Prime Minister Abdullah Gul visited
earlier this month. But the summit was scaled down to
the level of foreign ministers at the suggestion of some
participants.
Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar
Yakis said on Tuesday that a high-level meeting could be
organized shortly after the Istanbul conference at a
place that remains to be determined.
In an
interview published in the English-language Turkish
Daily News, Yakis said that the lists of equipment Iraq
has so far produced have failed to convince the
international community that it is not hiding weapons of
mass destruction. Therefore, Yakis said, Saddam must
find other ways to assure the world that his regime does
not represent a threat.
The Turkish foreign
minister also dismissed reports that Ankara is working
with some Arab countries on a plan to persuade the Iraqi
leader to go into exile to avert a US attack.
Turkey fears that war could shake its fragile
economy, which has already been hit by a serious
recession, and stir troubles in its mainly Kurdish
southeastern provinces. In addition, as Yakis told the
Turkish Daily News, Ankara does not see war in Iraq as a
priority and would rather focus on its membership bid
for the European Union and on peace negotiations over
the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus.
Addressing fellow party members in the Turkish
parliament, the leader of the ruling Justice and
Development Party, or AKP, cautioned against the risks
posed by a new regional conflict 12 years after the Gulf
War.
Urging the international community not to
let the fight against terrorism "blow out of
proportion", AKP chairman and power behind the throne
Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on US and British leaders to
heed antiwar protests that recently took place in
Western capitals. "We believe that, for the sake of
humanity and civilization, decision makers must hear
those demands for peace that are rising from all around
the world. It will be possible to achieve this, first
and foremost, if our ally the United States attempts to
peacefully solve [the Iraq crisis] and also if all other
countries wish to contribute to peace. As a country that
occupies a central position in the region, Turkey will
continue doing its utmost [to prevent a possible war],"
Erdogan said.
Yet, while stating that it remains
committed to finding a peaceful outcome to the Iraq
crisis, Ankara has nevertheless left the door ajar to
military cooperation with Washington, should the US
administration decide to take action against Saddam's
regime.
Last week, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer
said through his spokesman that Turkey would make only a
limited contribution to any possible US war effort. He
also reiterated that, in any case, Ankara would not make
any decision until the UN Security Council approves
military action against Iraq.
Meanwhile, US
military inspectors have been examining a number of
Turkish airports, airfields, and seaports over the past
few days. Although it is unclear whether the Pentagon
would launch any attack against Iraq from the north,
military analysts believe the deployment of US troops
would play a key role in any war scenario.
US
Air Force General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, was in Ankara on January 20 for talks
with Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul and military
officials. Myers also visited the southern Incirlik
military air base, which has been used for more than a
decade by US and British warplanes to patrol one of the
two "no-fly" zones imposed on Baghdad after the Gulf
War.
Speaking to reporters before leaving
Ankara, Myers denied that the US is frustrated by
Turkey's reluctance to commit its territory to a
possible war. "I am leaving here with a sense that
Turkey will continue to be a very important strategic
partner for the United States, and any idea that I am
impatient or that we have made demands here is
absolutely not the case," Myers said.
The US was
originally believed to be considering sending up to
80,000 soldiers to Turkey, but reports say it could
downsize its military presence to 15,000 troops to
appease Turkish concerns. Opinion polls show that up to
80 percent of Turks are against a war, mainly for
economic reasons.
Yakis denied a report in The
New York Times that quoted him as saying Ankara had
already given its approval to the deployment of US
troops. Talking to reporters in Ankara, he said both
sides had only agreed to continue discussing the
practical aspects of possible cooperation.
In
comments made to Turkey's Cumhuriyet daily, Yakis's
predecessor, Sukru Sina Gurel, has urged the country's
new leadership to firmly reject any US military
deployment on Turkish soil. Otherwise, he warned, the
Istanbul conference might be just a "diplomatic show".
Copyright (c) 2002, RFE/RL Inc. Reprinted
with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC
20036
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