3 April 2003

1. "Talking Turkey", Colin Powell’s visit to Turkey was a clear attempt to mend relations between America and one of its strategic allies. But the Turks’ reluctance to provide the help America wanted in the war on Iraq could still prove expensive.

2. "Powell fails to win pledge over Kurds", Colin Powell, the Secretary of State, began mending fences yesterday between the US and Turkey. But he failed to secure a cast-iron assurance that Turkey will not move military forces into northern Iraq to throttle any separatist movement by local Kurds.

3. "Turkey agrees to compromise on access for US", Turkey agreed to allow the United States to send food, fuel and medicine through its territory to US soldiers fighting in Iraq, following meetings between the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, and Turkish leaders.

4. "Kurds fight for status, monitor war", hundreds of Turkish Kurd asylum-seekers are concerned about their "Kurdistan" homeland in Turkey, which borders Iraq and is once again being threatened by military conflict, as they fight to be recognized as refugees in Japan.

5. "Supplies reach northern front through Turkey", U.S. forces in northern Iraq received 40 nearly combat-ready vehicles Wednesday in a shipment via Turkey, despite Turkish insistence that the U.S. military cannot use its territory as a supply corridor for weapons.

6. "Denktash puts concessions on table for Cypriot unity", Greek, Turkish leaders to meet in Belgrade.

1. - The Economist - "Talking Turkey":

2 April 2002

Colin Powell’s visit to Turkey was a clear attempt to mend relations between America and one of its strategic allies. But the Turks’ reluctance to provide the help America wanted in the war on Iraq could still prove expensive.

BOTH sides put a brave face on things in Ankara. When America's secretary of state, Colin Powell, and his Turkish opposite number, Abdullah Gul, gave a press conference on Wednesday, during Mr Powell's one-day visit to Turkey, the emphasis was on the warmth of the two countries' relations. Mr Powell said a joint co-ordinating committee would be set up to monitor developments in northern Iraq and that agreement had been reached on sending humanitarian aid to the region. He also said that all outstanding issues concerning supplies to American troops in Iraq had been resolved. “The US-Turkey relationship is a strong one and it has endured for 50 years," said Mr Powell.

But a day of meetings cannot remove all the tensions between America and Turkey, after what America saw as its ally's failure to provide the support needed for the war in Iraq. And it is clear that some issues continue to cause strain. The Turkish media reported that the government in Ankara had continued to resist pressure to let Iraqi Kurds sell fuel oil, in case the revenues were used for buying arms for the Kurds to use against Turkey.

Relations between Turkey and one of its most important, and generous, allies have deteriorated rapidly. There was much rejoicing in western capitals at the result of Turkey’s elections last November. The Turkish establishment was caught off-guard by an unexpectedly far-reaching shakeout of political has-beens. Incompetence and disarray had characterised the previous government, which had presided over a series of economic and political crises. The relatively new Justice and Development Party won a sweeping victory and the new Turkish government raised hopes that it would put the economy on a sound footing, press ahead with Turkey’s application to join the European Union (EU) and be a co-operative American ally in a region overshadowed by Iraq.

So far, though, the new government, led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has not lived up to expectations. The biggest upset was Turkey’s refusal to allow America to open up a large northern front for its invasion of Iraq—the Turkish parliament would not endorse an agreement reached between the two governments, even though a sizeable American aid package was on offer. During his visit on April 2nd, Mr Powell described that as disappointing.

Mr Erdogan and his government have been at pains to stress the warmth of feeling towards America. In a newspaper article on March 31st, the prime minister talked about close relations between the two countries, of acting shoulder-to-shoulder with America—and he reminded American readers that Turkey had been alongside the United States in almost every military conflict from Korea to Afghanistan. He also denied that Turkish support was bargained for in dollars.

Yet Mr Erdogan also had to acknowledge the difficult position his government finds itself in over Iraq. Opinion polls show that around 90% of Turks oppose the war there. Public opposition was a key factor in the parliament’s failure, on March 1st, to approve the government’s request to provide increased military facilities to America. Turkey is particularly concerned about the Kurds—it says it fears attempts by Kurdish terrorists to exploit any turmoil in the north of Iraq, a Kurdish stronghold. Turkey is also determined to avoid any confrontation which might result in claims on Kurdish territory in Turkey itself. One of the main aims of Mr Powell’s visit was to prevent any large-scale deployment of Turkish troops in northern Iraq—something the Turkish government has consistently denied is its intention.

During the negotiations on American access, Mr Erdogan was leader of his party but not yet prime minister—earlier constitutional barriers to his seeking a parliamentary seat had not been removed. Now they have and he has his seat in parliament, which allowed him to take over as prime minister last month. The main thrust of government policy is unlikely to change, though: Mr Erdogan has been the driving force behind the government ever since the general election last year. America has apparently abandoned hope that Turkey can be used as major part of the military strategy for the war originally envisaged.

But Mr Powell’s visit is also a reminder of the economic benefits Turkey missed out on. When President George Bush sent his request for additional war-related funds to Congress last week, he included aid for America’s allies; and Turkey is still due to get some financial help—it has, after all, agreed to let American military aircraft use its airspace. But however Mr Erdogan chooses to characterise the negotiations, there seems little doubt that had Turkey been more co-operative, far more would have been on offer.

This is money Turkey needs. The new government has worked hard to tackle the country’s economic problems—inflation, lack of market confidence, a bloated, expensive public sector and, above all, large and potentially unsustainable government debts, a large chunk of which will be due for repayment during this year. The budget for which the government secured parliamentary approval on March 29th has been widely seen as an important step in the right direction. It is certainly tough: it envisages a primary surplus of revenues over expenditure—that is, before interest payments are taken into account—of 6.5% in the new fiscal year. And there are continuing signs of Turkey’s economic recovery after the setbacks of a couple of years ago: the latest GDP figures, published on March 31st, show the economy grew by 11.4% in the fourth quarter of 2002 compared with the same period in 2001.

But all this is only a start. The government is still counting on a favourable review of its $16 billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), expected to go before the Fund’s executive board around the middle of this month. That would unlock the next tranche of cash from the IMF. The American treasury official responsible for these matters, John Taylor, said on March 31st that America would make its assessment of the IMF recommendation solely on the basis of economic reforms and not on political grounds. But that might not altogether allay fears that America will be less generous towards Turkey than it might otherwise have been.

The sense of disappointment with the new government goes beyond the current Iraq crisis. Mr Erdogan and his colleagues were ultimately unable to persuade the government of the Turkish-Cypriot republic to agree a deal, proposed under the auspices of the United Nations, which would have reunited the two halves of Cyprus in a loose federal structure and enabled the island to join the EU as a single entity in 2004. Now only the Greek-Cypriot half of the island will become an EU member.

Turkey, too, is anxious to join the EU. But the government in Ankara has not yet made much headway in what it said on taking office was one of its priorities. On March 31st, the Turkish president used his power to veto labour legislation modelled on EU laws, arguing that the changes making it more difficult to dismiss employees were unconstitutional. Many EU members—France in particular—doubt the wisdom of ever admitting Turkey anyway. Until recently, America had been one of Turkey’s strongest backers in its bid for membership. With new strains in the transatlantic alliance, as well as between Washington and Ankara, this support could quickly fade.

Many in the Bush administration were angry with Turkey for failing to deliver on Iraq and, worse, for trying to extract billions of dollars from Washington at the same time. In Ankara, there was resentment in some quarters that America took Turkish backing as given. There was misunderstanding on both sides, which the Turkish government and Mr Powell have sought to resolve. Some sticking plaster has now been applied, but the damage has been done. In the long term, if the Turkish economy suffers further as a consequence of the general economic uncertainty caused by the war in Iraq, it is Mr Erdogan and his ministers who will regret the rift most.

2. - The Independent - "Powell fails to win pledge over Kurds":

WASHINGTON / 3 April 2003 / by Rupert Cornwell

Colin Powell, the Secretary of State, began mending fences yesterday between the US and Turkey. But he failed to secure a cast-iron assurance that Turkey will not move military forces into northern Iraq to throttle any separatist movement by local Kurds.

Instead, Washington and Ankara have agreed on an "early warning" system designed to head off friction involving the Iraqi Kurds, who Turkey fears could use the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime to make a bid for independence and stir fresh unrest in heavily Kurdish south-eastern Turkey.

After talks in Ankara with the Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, General Powell said US special forces, and the 1,000-plus troops parachuted into northern Iraq last week, now had the situation under control. "There is no need for the movement of troops across the border," he said.

Under the early warning system, senior Turkish and US officials would make contact as soon as tensions arose. Ankara wants to avoid a repeat of what happened after the 1991 Gulf War when Saddam Hussein suppressed a Kurdish uprising, sending huge numbers of refugees into Turkey.

This time there has been little sign of anything similar, as Iraqi forces have retreated from their most forward positions in northern Iraq. The Iraqi Kurds meanwhile have promised not to try to seize the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, which the Turkish government has said would be unacceptable.

General Powell's visit is a start towards repairing relations with a vital ally. Ankara's refusal to allow America to use its bases to launch a northern front against Baghdad cast the worst chill over relations since the US imposed an arms embargo after Turkey's 1974 invasion of northern Cyprus.

The Secretary of State did win agreement from Turkey to speed humanitarian aid into Iraq and the delivery of fuel to coalition forces.

3. - The Scotsman - "Turkey agrees to compromise on access for US":

3 April 2003

TURKEY agreed to allow the United States to send food, fuel and medicine through its territory to US soldiers fighting in Iraq, following meetings between the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, and Turkish leaders.

However, Turkey will continue to refuse permission to allow the Pentagon to move weapons through the country. The two sides also agreed to set up an "early warning" system to avert friction between Turkey and Iraqi Kurds.

That agreement is designed to block Turkey from sending its forces into northern Iraq, where Washington fears that Turkey and Iraqi Kurds could end up clashing, potentially undermining the US war effort.

Mr Powell’s visit came amid tensions between Washington and Turkey, where polls show that more than 90 per cent of the people are against the Iraq war.

About 500 protesters gathered outside the office of the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while Mr Powell was inside, chanting "Yankee, go home".

Turkey’s parliament last month rejected a motion that would have allowed in 62,000 ground troops to open a northern front against Iraq, a move that analysts said would likely have led to a shorter war.

The rebuff added to the strain on Turkish-US ties, with US officials angry that the northern front was lost and Turkish officials saying Washington wanted democracy in Iraq but could not accept a "no" vote from one of the only democratic parliaments in the region.

In an attempt to begin bridging the rift, Mr Powell and his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul, emphasised US-Turkish co-operation and not the strain between the two sides.

"The visit of Secretary Powell has strengthened our relations and helped to dispel all issues with regard to relations between the two countries," Mr Gul said.

Mr Powell said the two sides discussed the US need to supply troops fighting in northern Iraq.

"We have solved all of the outstanding issues with respect to providing supplies through Turkey to those units that are doing such a wonderful job in northern Iraq," Mr Powell said.

A Turkish official said that Turkey would allow food, fuel, medicine and other supplies into Iraq for US forces. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, would not say when shipments would begin.

Mr Erdogan, when asked if the Turkish support would include the transit of guns and ammunition, said: "No. No," the Anatolia news agency reported.

Mr Gul said that Turkey would allow planes carrying wounded to land in Turkey. There are reports that US aircraft that are low on fuel have been allowed to land at the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey.

"We have mutually agreed that food, fuel and other humanitarian assistance will continue through Turkey," Mr Gul said at a press conference with Mr Powell.

4. - Daily Yomiuri (Japan) - "Kurds fight for status, monitor war":

3 April 2003 / by Harumi Ozawa

Hundreds of Turkish Kurd asylum-seekers are concerned about their "Kurdistan" homeland in Turkey, which borders Iraq and is once again being threatened by military conflict, as they fight to be recognized as refugees in Japan.

The exact number of Turkish Kurds in Japan is not known as the Immigration Bureau categorizes them by their nationality as Turkish.

The Justice Ministry has received a total of 1,776 applications for refugee status over the 10 years ending in 2002. As many as 400 of them are believed to have been submitted by Turkish Kurds, but none of those applications was approved.

Meryem Kosal, 26, followed her husband and separately entered Japan in 2000 to seek asylum. Her mother-in-law and toddler daughter also separately sought refuge in Japan.

All were rejected. Kosal and her family members, including a newborn baby, are now on "temporary release," a limbo status devised by the Immigration Bureau.

They do not know how long the temporary status will last. That of Kosal's husband abruptly ended in December.

"Immigration officials suddenly detained my husband and his brother when they reported to an immigration office as required under the temporary release status every month," she said. "I don't know why they had to be detained. I want my husband to be with our children."

A wave of Kurdish refugees, a minority ethnic group from a region that is currently divided among a number of countries, including Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey, hit Western Europe following an Iraqi campaign of forced evacuation and destruction of Kurdish villages coupled with Turkish military and political oppression in the early 1990s, according to Paris-based Kurdish Institute's Web site. As many as 850,000 Kurds live in western Europe, with the largest community of 500,000 in Germany.

When xenophobic sentiment began to rise in European nations, the respective governments began to tighten their refugee policies, and many Turkish Kurds headed to Japan--which allows Turkish nationals to stay for up to three months without visas--from the late 1990s, according to Kiyoshi Nakagawa, a freelance journalist and researcher on Kurds.

However, even refugees recognized by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees have not been recognized as such by the Japanese authorities.

One of them, Sena Celik, came to Japan in 1995 as he was married to a Japanese, but later divorced. Celik, 37, had a nine-year career as a journalist in Turkey. He was informed that 12 of his journalistic colleagues were killed in one year, and that a Kurdish satellite television had aired a report on him in Europe.

He decided to file for refugee-status in 1998, which began his struggle with Japan's complex and rigid refugee policy, which has long been criticized as a gate that never opens.

"I filed another application under the instruction of the United Nations, but it was also rejected," he said bitterly, while displaying his UNHCR refugee certification.

Celik is currently living in Japan on an annual special residential permit and has not yet heard of the result of his asylum appeal court case.

"I made the refugee application, and they (Immigration Bureau officials) interviewed me 38 times," he said angrily. "The officials said to me, 'Japan is an island country, so we don't accept refugees.' But Japan is a signatory of the (U.N.) refugee convention, isn't it?"

Celik said he was determined to fight the refugee policy for himself and other Kurdish asylum-seekers in Japan, because "the officials arrest them and put them in jail like sheep without a shepherd."

Celik is also very concerned about the U.S.-led war in Iraq because if Turkish troops enter the Kurdish autonomous district in Iraq, the system of autonomy that has been established since the Gulf War would be destroyed.

"Kurdish people don't want war in their land," he said.

However, he also sees the outbreak of the war as a possible opportunity to unify Kurdish people. "For the first time in the history, this is a big chance for Iraqi Kurds, Turkish Kurds and other Kurds to unite," he said.

Nakagawa said that Kurds living overseas to escape persecution--including those in Japan--are carefully monitoring the war for opportunities that may produce a positive outcome for their people.

"The Turkish Army wants to send troops into Iraq as it fears the rising Kurdish independence movement in Iraq to instigate the Turkish Kurds," he said. "Kurds in other areas are closely watching to see if the Iraqi Kurds are able to make any progress toward independence after the war. It is an issue that will have considerable impact on the Turkish Kurds."

Nakagawa rejected the oft-voiced criticism from within the antiwar movement that Kurds in northern Iraq are complicating the conflict by siding with the United States, while the prowar camp simultaneously treats the Kurds as mere mercenaries.

"Both views are highly insulting to the Kurds," he said. "Historically, they have been caught in the situation with a tiger (Saddam) in front and a wolf (Turkey) behind them.

"Kurdish self-determination is not being discussed at all in this war," he said.

5. - AP - "Supplies reach northern front through Turkey":

IRBIL / 2 April 2003 / by Brian Murphy

U.S. forces in northern Iraq received 40 nearly combat-ready vehicles Wednesday in a shipment via Turkey, despite Turkish insistence that the U.S. military cannot use its territory as a supply corridor for weapons.

A convoy carried food, fuel and medicine for U.S. troops - items approved in a hard-won agreement between Washington and Ankara. It was the first significant transit of military equipment from neighboring Turkey since the war started.

But the convoy also carried 40 pickup truck-style Defender 110 Land Rovers, which had poles in the open rear carriage that apparently could serve as mounts for machine guns. No weapons were seen in the shipment.

The small U.S. force in Kurdish northern Iraq - about 1,200 paratroopers and other special forces units - currently have Humvees fitted with heavy machine guns as its main fighting vehicle.

Turkish officials declined to comment on the convoy. The drivers said they began in Adana, Turkey, which is near the Incirlik air base. The base has been used by warplanes patrolling the "no-fly" zone to protect Kurds since after the 1991 Gulf War.

Establishing a supply corridor from Turkey could be essential if U.S. commanders decide to strike from the Western-protected Kurdish areas as troops press toward Baghdad from the south. The Pentagon was forced to redraw war plans last month after the Turkish parliament refused to allow up to 60,000 troops to cross the border to open a potentially strategic northern front.

Also Wednesday, Iraq staged its first concentrated artillery assault on the Kurds in the autonomous north, shelling the village of Kifrey. Fighter jets of the U.S.-led coalition targeted Iraqi positions 100 miles north of Baghdad.

Iraqi mortar and missile attacks a day earlier killed three civilians and wounded a dozen others in Kifrey, a town of 27,000 people on the front line between Iraqi and Kurdish forces. Several Kurdish fighters were among the wounded.

A statement attributed to Saddam Hussein and read Wednesday on Iraqi state television warned Kurdish leaders against cooperating with U.S. forces: "I advise you not to rush and do something that you'll regret so long as you know that this leadership and the government it leads in the face of invaders will remain."

The United States, which has protected the Kurds' autonomous region with air patrols since 1991, has begun working with the Kurds' 70,000 soldiers in their joint aim of overthrowing Saddam.

Also on Wednesday, a land mine in Kifrey killed a British Broadcasting Corp. journalist in northern Iraq, the company said. Kaveh Golestan, 52, an Iranian freelance cameraman, died instantly when he stepped on the mine as he climbed out of his car, the BBC said. Producer Stuart Hughes, 31, was injured in the foot.

Kifrey, under Iraqi fire since Tuesday, is located at a strategic crossroads leading to the oil center Kirkuk, to Saddam's hometown and power base Tikrit, and to Baghdad, less than 100 miles to the south.

Officials in the a leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the Kurdish party that controls the area, say the Iraqis have moved several tanks into place at the Kifrey front to bolster their positions. A large concentration of Iraqi troops is reported based at Jelola, south of Kifrey - a likely target of coalition planes.

Explosions rocked Kifrey on Tuesday and a mortar landed in the courtyard of Mehdi Hassan Aziz's home, wounding five family members.

"We only came here because we thought it was safer than our house right on the front," said Mohammad Mahdi, a relative. "I put my hand on the door and there was a huge explosion, and I was thrown back."

With the U.S. offensive reaching the doorstep of Iraq's capital, the northern coalition of Kurdish fighters and American military oversight may be nearing a decisive moment. Some Kurdish commanders believe the coming days will tell whether an offensive will be needed.

"What happens in Baghdad will decide what happens in the north," said Ares Abdullah, who controls a front line Kurdish unit in the Taqtaq region southwest of Irbil, the administrative capital of the Kurdish zone. A withdrawal by Iraqi forces last week allowed his militiamen to move within 18 miles of the key oil center of Kirkuk.

Kirkuk and Mosul would likely be the main objectives of a northern push to try to unravel Saddam's forces. Kurds consider both areas part of their historical ethnic territory.

U.S. Marine Maj. Gen. Henry P. Osman met Wednesday with Kurdish leaders Jalal Talabani and Massoud Barzani in the resort town of Dukan. There were no statements after the talks.

Air strikes against Iraqi targets in the north have shifted to forward positions in recent days, adding to speculation that some type of northern attack was planned. So far, the clearest result has been an Iraqi withdrawal toward Kirkuk on several fronts.

The latest pullback handed Kurdish fighters at least nine miles of territory along a road southwest of Irbil.

The scene suggested a frantic retreat from the bombardment - 12-foot-deep craters, grassy hills pockmarked with blast fragments, and the twisted wreckage of a truck that apparently carried mortars and ammunition.

Kurdish fighters say no dead or injured Iraqis were found. But they did collect many gas masks and some syringes of atropine, an antidote for nerve gas agents.

Other signs of a disorganized dash were everywhere: clothes, helmets, blankets, cooking pots, soap and shaving brushes. Crows picked at dropped bags of rice and lentils.

In the town of Kalak, Kurdish fighters moved over a bridge into former Iraqi positions. The Iraqi withdrawal of at least 3 1/2 miles gave Kurds a foothold on the western bank of the Zab River along a main road to Mosul, 18 miles to the northwest.

6. - The Daily Star - "Denktash puts concessions on table for Cypriot unity":

Greek, Turkish leaders to meet in Belgrade

NICOSIA / 3 April 2003

Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash offered Wednesday concessions to his Greek Cypriot counterpart, while Greece formally accepted a Turkish proposal for a meeting by the two countries’ prime ministers next week.

Denktash told a press conference Wednesday that he sent Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos a letter suggesting ideas to “initiate a process of dialogue and consultation leading to a working relationship between us.”

Denktash said he believed his proposals “could act as a catalyst for the realization of a mutually acceptable comprehensive settlement.”

His measures include letting Greek Cypriot refugees return to the Greek Cypriot sector of Famagusta, a city abandoned since Turkey invaded and occupied the island’s northern third in 1974 following an abortive coup by supporters of union with Greece.

Other proposals include lifting trade, travel and cultural restrictions; facilitating freedom of movement between both sides; dropping restrictions on the movement of UN peacekeepers on the Turkish side; and establishing a reconciliation commission to promote “understanding, tolerance and mutual respect between the two parties.”

Denktash, however, warned the chances of a breakthrough “will be diminished” if the European Union confirms Cyprus’ accession as a member on April 16.

The EU considers the accession deal a fait accompli.

But Denktash’s proposals seem designed to prevent the internationally recognized government of Greek Cyprus from being formally accepted into the European body to represent the whole island.

EU laws and benefits flowing from the accession will not apply to the Turkish-occupied North until the reunification process succeeds.

Later Wednesday, Papadopoulos convened a meeting of his national advisory council to consider Denktash’s proposals, which did not mention the reunification plan UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has presented to both sides.

Earlier, Greece formally accepted a Turkish proposal for a meeting by the two countries’ prime ministers next week but played down the importance of Cyprus at the talks, a diplomatic source said.

“This will in no way be a summit on Cyprus,” the source said.

He said the Greek and Turkish prime ministers, Costas Simitis and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will meet on April 8 on the sidelines of a Balkans summit in Belgrade.

Ankara requested the meeting on Tuesday to discuss its own bid to reunify the Greek and Turkish sides of the divided Mediterranean island after a last-ditch UN effort failed.

The two countries’ foreign ministers George Papandreou and Abdullah Gul will also take part in the talks.

Defense Minister Yiannos Papantoniou also played down the meeting.

“I don’t think it is to be one of substance,” he said after being asked by journalists about the meeting’s prospects.

“It will be just like every other international meeting,” he added from Washington, after talks there with US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.