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Turkey wants more of the Iraqi
action
By K Gajendra Singh
Turkey,
after a top-level meeting in Ankara presided over by
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, has expressed its
readiness to send troops to help stabilize Iraq, with
Prime Minister Recep Tayep Erdogan and Chief of General
Staff Hilmi Ozkok in complete agreement. There remains
some lingering opposition from Sezer, a former head of
the Constitutional Court, but during a
two-and-a-half-hour meeting both Erdogan and Ozkok
reportedly briefed the president comprehensively on why
troops should be sent.
They emphasized that
Turkey could not ignore developments in its backyard
across the border, and that it must take part in the
stabilization process to ensure Iraq's reconstruction.
The president reiterated his desire for international
legitimacy (United Nations), but Erdogan and Ozkok added
that the Turkish troops would go to Iraq not to wage war
but to ensure peace.
Citing UN Resolution 1483
calling on member states to take part in Iraq's
reconstruction process and to contribute humanitarian
aid, Erdogan and Ozkok said that the Turkish troops
could be deployed within this framework.
After
the meeting, presidential spokesman Sermet Atacanli
stated that the leaders had agreed that all relevant
groups should work in coordination to determine the
content, nature and framework of Turkey's contribution
in line with the nation's interests and that a final
decision would be made through the democratic
decision-making process, meaning parliament. After a
vote in parliament, possibly in September, it could take
another six weeks for the troops to actually go to Iraq.
Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul are
now briefing members of the ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP) on how to organize the vote in
parliament to avoid a March 1-like embarrassment. On
that date, parliament, despite the AKP having a
two-thirds majority, refused to sanction the use of
Turkish soil by US troops for its war on Iraq. This
decision stunned Washington and strained ties between
the two traditional allies.
Thus Turkey was
pleased when on August 14 the United Nations Security
Council 's resolution 1500 "welcomed" the establishment
of the 25-member Governing Council of Iraq on July 13 as
an important step towards the formation by the people of
Iraq of an internationally-recognized representative
government that will exercise the sovereignty of Iraq.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a
statement on August 15 that the resolution coincided
with Turkey's approach on the issue. The statement
recalled the ministry's earlier statement of July 17,
which had said that the establishment of the council was
the first step in the process of the formation of new
sovereign political structure in Iraq, and it reiterated
that Turkey supported the transition period to be
completed in such a way that Iraq's sovereignty,
territorial integrity and national unity would be
guaranteed.
The ministry also noted that the
resolution also established a UN Assistance Mission for
Iraq (UNAMI) which will have an initial one-year mandate
to support the UN secretary general to fulfill his
mission, which was determined by resolution 1483 of the
Security Council. "Turkey has always defended that the
UN should play a key role in the transition period and
in the rebuilding process of Iraq. Turkey welcomed this
role being put on a more definite and concrete
foundation by the formation of the UN Assistance Mission
for Iraq. Turkey will help this mission in fulfilling
its duty successfully."
Problems and
opposition
At a meeting on August 14, marking the
second anniversary of the foundation of the AKP, Erdogan
urged deputies to take a unified stance on the issue of
sending troops to Iraq. "We have to be careful about
this. Let our statements be in harmony, let's speak with
one voice," the premier said.
According to the
Turkish media, during the high-level meeting at the
presidency, Erdogan, Ozkok and Gul also discussed a top
secret report received from Baghdad giving information
about the likely reaction of Iraqi people to the
induction of Turkish troops in south Iraq, and not north
Iraq as Ankara had wanted. According to the report, the
following groups opposed Turkish troops assisting the
US: Sunni Arabs affiliated with the now defunct Ba'ath
Party once ruled over with an iron fist by Saddam
Hussein; pro-Iranian Shi'ites and monarchists.
Also, Kurdish leaders Massoud Barzani, the
president of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Jalal Talabani
do not want Turkish troops in Iraq. Some Shi'ite groups
would flash the green light only if the troops came
under a UN mandate. Turkmens on the other hand would
welcome Turkish troops unconditionally. The report says
that the Shurchi tribe wanted Turkish troops in the
region provided that they remained on the side of the US
and provided humanitarian assistance. The pro-Iranian
Sciri, meanwhile, did not want any other armed force in
the region "since they had their own militia force".
According to the daily newspaper Cumhuriyet,
Haluk Koc, the deputy chairman of the opposition
Republican People's Party, made a statement against
sending troops to Iraq. "The one that initiated the fire
in Iraq [US], is now bogged down in a swamp. There is no
need for us to drown in that swamp together with him. No
mehmet [Turkish soldier] has any place in the
deserts."
There have been some other protests in
Turkey. Members of nearly 30 political parties and
non-governmental organizations forming the Ankara
Anti-Military Platform held a demonstration in Ankara's
Kizilay Square on August 16. They chanted slogans
against the US and a group of representative said, "A
total of 22 countries sent 14,000 soldiers to Iraq.
However, Turkey was asked to send 12,000 soldiers. It is
thought-provoking. Our young people do not intend to be
involved in the occupation of Iraq."
Apart from
sending troops to Iraq, Turkey is also planning to
establish a new hospital in Baghdad to help the war-torn
country, according to the Anatolia news agency. The
Turkish Public Works Ministry will be responsible for
the construction of the 50-bed hospital, which will cost
around US$4 million. Turkey is also planning to
establish a new hospital in Kirkuk, according to
Anatolia. About $1 million of the $5 million that Turkey
has allocated for humanitarian aid to Iraq has been sent
to the United Nations.
Turkey has clearly
changed tack from wanting a UN mandate to not bothering.
It had earlier indicated that an invitation from Iraq's
Governing Council would be sufficient to legitimize
troop deployment. Now diplomatic sources have told the
Turkish Daily News that an invitation was not a
precondition, and Turkey would decide according to its
own national interests.
An Iraqi delegation is
due in Ankara to discuss matters. It will comprise
representatives of a Sunni tribe from the northern Iraqi
city of Kirkuk, and the so-called Sunni triangle around
the capital Baghdad. Turkey would discuss with the Ubayd
tribe the kind of reception Turkish soldiers could
expect. Gul has said that Turkey expected certain
conditions to be met. The activities of the Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq should cease, a
joint plan should be drafted with the US on the
political and administrative restructuring of Iraq, and
Iraqi people should be convinced to welcome Turkish
soldiers.
The first negative reaction to more
Turkish troops in Iraq (several thousand are already in
Kurdish northern Iraq to guard against any spread of
independence fever to Turkey's own Kurds) came from the
PUK's Talabani, who is also a member of the US-appointed
Governing Council. Unlike many Sunnis and Shi'ites, who
have demanded that US troops leave, Talabani wants the
US troops to stay. But he stated on August 15 that he
was opposed to the presence of more Turkish troops,
saying that the present number was sufficient.
According to the Turkish media, during a recent
visit to Japan, Talabani discussed the issue of an
independent Kurdish state, saying, "Our dream of an
independent Kurdish state hasn't died yet. However, it
isn't on our agenda right now." Talabani added that
Kurdish leaders intended to work for a democratic Iraq,
rather than an independent state for themselves. "We
need to be realistic. Our supporters need to look at
real goals in order for the nation to succeed." He
stated that right now, the best option for Kurds is a
democratic, federal, pluralist Iraq with a parliament.
Talabani explained that for now, the only
attainable goal is a federation under one Iraq.
"Independence is impossible. I don't want things that
are impossible," he said. "We don't want them [US] to
leave until they get rid of all signs of dictatorship
and until they have created a democratic government.
Only then will Iraq show the American forces gratitude,"
he continued.
Talabani is pleased at the
prospect of Japanese troops possibly going to Iraq to
help with humanitarian aid and the reconstruction of the
country. "Iraqi people will be happy with the arrival of
Japanese troops. We want to see more international
forces in Iraq. But we are against the presence of
Turkish troops in Iraq. We don't want troops from
neighboring countries. Not just Turkey, but from Iran,
Kuwait or other neighboring countries as well."
More jihadis enter Iraq
According to
the Daily News based in Ankara, more than 1,000 al-Qaeda
members consisting of Arabs, Afghans and other jihadis
from the Middle East have slipped into Iraq through the
rugged mountainous border with Iran in recent months,
adding to the terrorist threat against US forces. The
paper was told by diplomatic sources that dozens of men
had been taken into custody by the forces of the PUK in
recent weeks, but hundreds had managed to slip deeper
into Iraq through mountain passes, which are also used
by Turkey's separatist Kurdish terrorists to slip in and
out of northern Iraq via Iran.
The newspaper has
also reported that members of Ansar al-Islam, a
staunchly anti-American, Islamist group based in
northern Iraq, have also slipped into areas controlled
by the PUK to assassinate high-level party officials
such as Talabani. The Americans and PUK forces launched
massive attacks against the Ansar hideouts in the
mountains during the war, inflicting heavy damage. Now,
new recruits from Iran have reportedly infiltrated PUK
areas. Of course, the Turks might have reasons to
exaggerate such news to reaffirm Turkey's right to keep
a watch on north Kurdish Iraq.
US wary of
Turkish sensibilities
Unlike February and March,
when the US leadership and media criticized the Turks
for not being "obedient" enough and for haggling like a
courtesan over the $26 billion package offered by the US
in return for the use of Turkish territory, the
Americans are now being more sensitive. They were very
receptive during Gul's visit in July. And apart from
visits by central command head General John Abizaid and
other senior military generals to soothe the Pashas
(Turkish military), the US is sending delegations to
Ankara later this week.
The first will be headed
by John Murtha, a senior member of the US House of
Representatives allocations committee sub-committee for
defense. It will be followed by one headed by US Senate
international affairs committee chairman Richard Lugar.
Members of the delegations will meet with officials of
the ministries of foreign affairs, justice and national
defense and of the military's general staff.
Meanwhile, the business community is also
weighing in. Two other US delegations will visit Turkey
in August, from the Washington-based American-Turkish
Council and the New York-based Turkish-American Business
Forum.
Turkey's decision to send troops to Iraq
- although the move still has to be endorsed in
parliament - is a small victory for the United States.
But the latest Security Council resolution
welcomed the Governing Council for Iraq and the creation
of a modest UN assistance mission is far short of the
broad mandate sought by India and Pakistan before they
commit to sending troops, despite Washington's
persuasive efforts.
A report in the New York
Times of August 14 said that Washington had ruled out,
for the time being, the idea of seeking UN authorization
for the presence of foreign troops in Iraq. The report
said that although the Pentagon faced an unstable
security situation in Iraq, it was reluctant to cede
control of military operations. Greater UN involvement,
or the deployment of UN peacekeepers, might compromise
its freedom of movement.
Instead, the Pentagon
is likely to continue its efforts to circumvent the UN
by enlisting countries that do not object to fighting
under sole US military command, said the New York Times.
A US official conceded that discussions with India had
broken down. "The Indians have said that they preferred
a broader mandate," the paper quoted the official as
saying. "Our position is that the [UN resolutions]
provide sufficient cover for countries interested in
contributing, and that has not changed."
Any
takers, apart from the Turks and the coalition of the
willing, starting with Albania?
K
Gajendra Singh, Indian ambassador (retired), served
as ambassador to Turkey from August 1992 to April 1996.
Prior to that, he served terms as ambassador to Jordan,
Romania and Senegal. He is currently chairman of the
Foundation for Indo-Turkic Studies. Email Gajendrak@hotmail.com
(Copyright 2003 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd.
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