28.01.2005, 12:40
7 Turkish Military Officers Monitor Kerkuk Region
Seven Turkish military officers will stay at a US air base to monitor the developments in Kerkuk (Kirkuk) and its vicinity. The Commander of the US unit in Kirkuk, Colonel Lloyd Miles, is getting prepared to transfer his office after the elections and said yesterday: "Turkey is our ally. We are not disturbed by the presence of Turkish military officers here."
The US colonel also said the Iraqi government would decide whether the Turkish troops would remain in the region following the elections and said they should respect that decision.
A British Broadcast Company (BBC) journalist asked Colonel Miles: "Turkey did not allow the US army to enter northern Iraq through Turkey, but the Kurds met you with flowers. To what extent do you trust Turkey which you call your "ally"? What will be your position if Kurds and Turks have a problem among themselves? Will you abandon the Kurds again as you did in 1991?" Miles responded by saying: "The Kurds met us as if we were their brothers. The Kurds collected six million signatures for a federal Kurdistan and submitted them to the United Nations (UN), but we cannot be a party to political events." Miles expressed their desire to reform Kirkuk as a city of brotherhood after the resettlement of 70,000-100,000 Kurds in Kirkuk after the occupation. Colonel Miles continued: "You asked us to solve a conflict faced for 30 years. We will try to solve the conflict in time and make Kirkuk the city of brotherhood. Kirkuk should be a city where Kurds, Turkmens, Arabs and Asuris can live together."
The violence in Kirkuk, however, continues with just three days to go until the elections. Four election offices were bombarded in the Domiz region where Turkmens are the majority and in the Amelshabi and Kadisiye regions where Arabs live. One police officer lost his life in the attacks. A US soldier also lost his life when a US military convoy in Kirkuk was bombarded.
quelle:http://www.zaman.com/?bl=international&alt=&hn=16016
Seven Turkish military officers will stay at a US air base to monitor the developments in Kerkuk (Kirkuk) and its vicinity. The Commander of the US unit in Kirkuk, Colonel Lloyd Miles, is getting prepared to transfer his office after the elections and said yesterday: "Turkey is our ally. We are not disturbed by the presence of Turkish military officers here."
The US colonel also said the Iraqi government would decide whether the Turkish troops would remain in the region following the elections and said they should respect that decision.
A British Broadcast Company (BBC) journalist asked Colonel Miles: "Turkey did not allow the US army to enter northern Iraq through Turkey, but the Kurds met you with flowers. To what extent do you trust Turkey which you call your "ally"? What will be your position if Kurds and Turks have a problem among themselves? Will you abandon the Kurds again as you did in 1991?" Miles responded by saying: "The Kurds met us as if we were their brothers. The Kurds collected six million signatures for a federal Kurdistan and submitted them to the United Nations (UN), but we cannot be a party to political events." Miles expressed their desire to reform Kirkuk as a city of brotherhood after the resettlement of 70,000-100,000 Kurds in Kirkuk after the occupation. Colonel Miles continued: "You asked us to solve a conflict faced for 30 years. We will try to solve the conflict in time and make Kirkuk the city of brotherhood. Kirkuk should be a city where Kurds, Turkmens, Arabs and Asuris can live together."
The violence in Kirkuk, however, continues with just three days to go until the elections. Four election offices were bombarded in the Domiz region where Turkmens are the majority and in the Amelshabi and Kadisiye regions where Arabs live. One police officer lost his life in the attacks. A US soldier also lost his life when a US military convoy in Kirkuk was bombarded.
quelle:http://www.zaman.com/?bl=international&alt=&hn=16016