Archive for the ‘Turkish Press’ Category
Turkey to treat 40 people injured in Mosul attack
Turkey will treat 40 people who were wounded in an attack in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the Directorate General for Emergency Management said on Saturday.
The directorate released a statement in which it said that 40 people who were injured in an attack in Mosul on Friday and their hospital attendants would be brought to Turkey for treatment. Read the rest of this entry »
Mahmur camp’s future unclear
The 12,000 Turkish citizens who live in the U.N.-supervised Mahmur camps in northern Iraq will only return back to Turkey if the Kurdish problem is resolved, one local official said.
The refugees crossed over to Iraq in 1994 from the southeastern provinces of Şırnak and Hakkari during the heaviest clashes between the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and the military.
Turkey’s efforts to resolve the Kurdish issue had local repercussions, said one local official who wanted to remain anonymous, adding that the only viable way for the refugees to return to their homes was the resolution of the Kurdish problem. Read the rest of this entry »
Iraqi Kurd leader vows no ’compromise’ on oil city
The leader of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, Massud Barzani, said he would not “compromise” on long-standing Kurdish claims to the oil-rich province of Kirkuk in a speech late Sunday.
“We are committed to the application of Article 140 [of the Iraqi constitution] and we promise that we will absolutely not compromise on this issue or on the rights of the people of Kurdistan,” Barzani said at a campaign rally ahead of Kurdish regional elections on Saturday.
Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution calls for a referendum to decide the fate of Kirkuk, which the Kurds have long wanted to make the capital of their autonomous region in the north, an aim strongly opposed by the province’s Arab and Turkmen communities. Read the rest of this entry »
Hashimi: PKK will leave Iraq or lay down arms
The Iraqi vice president said on Thursday that the terrorist organization PKK would leave his country if it does not lay down arms.
Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi said that the terrorist organization PKK would leave Iraq if it does not lay down arms.
“The terrorist organization PKK will either lay down arms and plead for mercy or it will leave Iraq,” he said in a TV program. Read the rest of this entry »
Six years on, future of Iraq still uncertain
Iraq today marks the sixth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein’s Baath regime, but the country’s future remains uncertain, with serious questions over whether Iraqi forces will manage to successfully take over security from withdrawing U.S. troops.
With U.S. President Barack Obama’s plans to pullout, an end to a costly war is now in sight. The war-torn country has experienced a dramatic decline in the death toll since early 2008, raising hopes for a more secure Iraq. At the same time, continuing insurgent attacks, a brewing sectarian conflict and unstable governance reveal the risks awaiting the country. Read the rest of this entry »
Turkish envoy says Kirkuk should not cause new conflicts in Iraq
Kirkuk should not cause new conflicts in Iraq, Turkey’s permanent representative to the United Nations (U.N.), said on Thursday.
“The status of Kirkuk, which is a small example of the rich ethnic diversity in Iraq, should not cause new clashes in Iraq,” Baki Ilkin said during a meeting on Iraq at the U.N. Security Council in New York.
Ilkin said that Turkey, as Iraq’s neighbor, underlined the great importance to boosting stability and security in Iraq. Read the rest of this entry »
Anti-PKK unit starts functionning in Arbil
A subcommittee established by Turkey, Iraq and the United States to crack down on the terrorist PKK organization, in northern Iraq has started to function in the Kurdish city of Arbil, the Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed yesterday.
“Several arrangements were made to allow a branch of the subcommittee to operate in Arbil in order to effectively work toward the elimination of the PKK,” Burak Özügergin, spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry told reporters in his weekly press conference. Read the rest of this entry »
Turkish Initiatives Raise Hopes for Iraqi Elections
The Turkish government, which has been working with the international community to contribute to the reconstruction of Iraq, will dispatch observers for Iraq’s provincial elections on January 31. Turkey’s team is the second largest, only after the United States. BesidesTurkey and the U.S., some other countries and international organizations are also sending election observers to Iraq.
Provincial elections will be held in 14 out of 18 Iraqi provinces. These elections will provide a critical new opportunity to strengthen national reconciliation in Iraq, establish a culture of democracy there and ensure a fair representation at the local levels. Therefore, all Iraqi political groups as well as the international community attach great importance to the fair, democratic, transparent and secure conduct of the provincial elections. Read the rest of this entry »
Arbil to be center of joint committee between Turkey, Iraq and U.S.
Hurriyet
The northern Iraqi city of Arbil will be the center of a trilateral committee formed to struggle against terrorism in a step that could be seen as an important policy shift for Turkey.
“There is a trilateral mechanism established by us, Turkey and the United States. We want to form a joint command center in Arbil,” Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan in Ankara.
Turkey, Iraq and the U.S. in November formed a joint committee to combat the PKK after holding three-way talks in Baghdad as part of efforts to boost cooperation against the terrorists. Read the rest of this entry »
Turkey sends observers to Iraq elections, early voting begins
Hurriyet
A group of Turkish observers will monitor Saturday’s Iraqi provincial elections as polling stations opened across the country on Wednesday in the first stage of the provincial election, the nation’s first ballot since 2005.
Turkish observers, consisting of 26 academicians, researchers and representatives of think-tanks, will monitor elections together with nearly 1,000 foreign observers in Iraq, the Anatolian Agency reported.
About 614,000 police, soldiers, hospital patients and prisoners are entitled to vote at 1,672 established polling centers that opened at 7:00 a.m. (0400 GMT) and will close at 5:00 p.m. Read the rest of this entry »