Süleyman Kalkan, director-general of Vakıfbank, told reporters during a press conference Friday, “We applied to the central government of Iraq to open a Vakıfbank branch in Arbil. As we have already received prior approval, we are planning to open the Arbil branch by the end of the year.”

The bank is also planning to open a branch in Syria, Kalkan said.

The number of Vakıfbank branches is currently 602, Kalkan said, adding that with new branches scheduled to be opened this figure will total 620.

Responding to a question regarding the bank’s new recruitment process, Kalkan said nearly 900 new staff will begin working at Vakıfbank in the next few weeks. Of this amount, 300 will operate in specialist and assistant specialist roles, with the remaining 600 operating as clerks.

The forthcoming increase in the number of branches means more staff are required, Kalkan said. Accordingly, the bank will start a new examination process in September. “We will employ between 600 and 1,000 more people,” Kalkan said, adding that the bank currently employs around 10,500 people.

As of June 30 this year, the bank maintains a network of 602 domestic branches, and two international offices located in New York and Bahrain. Vakifbank posted a non-consolidated net profit of 539.7 million Turkish Liras in the first half of this year.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=turkey8217s-vakifbank-to-open-a-branch-in-iraq8217s-arbil-2010-08-20

Davutoglu urged Turkmen lawmakers in the Iraqi National Parliament to let aside partisan differences and act in unison in issues concerning the Turkmen population of Iraq, calling on them to form a Turkmen group in the parliament. Davutoglu emphasized that Turkey attached importance to unity among ethnic groups in Iraq.

Iraq’s Minister of Youth and Sports Jasim Muhammad Jafar of the Iraqi Turkmen Islam Union who spoke at the dinner, said Iraqi Turkmens wanted unity in Iraq and were against a divide. Jafar who said that Turkmen lawmakers in Iraq would agree over a road map and forge an alliance in the future, said their utmost priorities were unity of Iraq, advocating rights of Turkmens and ensuring representation of Turkmens in several state bodies. Jafar who pointed at the upcoming sensus, pledged international support asking justice for Turkmens.

Jale Yunus Neftci, an Iraqi Turkmen Front lawmaker said the Turkmens were against the sensus, because the demographic structure of the Turkmeneli (homeland of the Turkmens) was altered, which created an unjust situation for the Turkmen population.

Source: Cumhuriyet
URL: http://en.cumhuriyet.com/?hn=165838

A car bomb in a restive region of northern Iraq killed seven people and wounded 61 on Friday, police said.

The bomb in a parked car detonated near the home of a provincial official from the Turkoman minority in the town of Tuz Khurmato, southeast of the city of Kirkuk in a region wrestled over by Iraq’s majority Arabs and minority Kurds.

Iraqi police at the scene found a second car packed with rockets and explosives, and were working to defuse it, a police source said.

In Baquba, part of Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, a car bomb wounded at least 30 people, hospital sources said. The device exploded near a police captain’s house, wounding six members of his family and shattering windows of nearby homes.

North of Baghdad, in the mainly Sunni city of Samarra, an Iraqi interpreter for U.S. soldiers was shot dead on Thursday by his son and nephew on the orders of a Sunni fighter group that considered him a traitor, police said on Friday.

The nephew was arrested along with another of the victim’s sons who let the pair into the house, a police investigator said. The other son escaped.

“He had been warned several times by armed groups to stop working with the Americans but he stayed in his job,” said the investigator, who asked not to be named.

Three people were killed and seven wounded on Friday when a rocket fired at a U.S. base landed on houses in Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad, hospital and police sources said.

Source: Kerkuk.net
URL: www.kerkuk.net/haberler/haber.aspx?dil=2057&metin=2010062017

According to a protocol signed by Turkey and Iraq on August 5, 2009, six sports clubs from Kirkuk, Mosul, Telafer and Selahaddin will compete against Turkish teams in Hatay, Adiyaman, Gaziantep, Mardin, Kilis, Kahramanmaras and Sanliurfa.

Selahaddin Aksu Sports Club, Kirkuk Kale Sports Club, Telafer Sports Club, Kirkuk Musalla Sports Club, Kirkuk Turkmen Sports Club and Kirkuk Turkmenistan Sports Club will participate in games in Turkey.

Below is a list of Turkish provinces and the kind of games to be played between Turkish and Turkmen teams in these provinces:

PROVINCE GAMES
Hatay Chess
Adiyaman Basketball & Handball
Gaziantep Taekwondo
Mardin Volleyball
Kilis Table Tennis
Kahramanmaras Wrestling & Boxing
Sanliurfa Athletics

Turkmen sports clubs will receive necessary materials prior to their games. They will participate in social, cultural, artistic and other activities in their respective provinces.

Source: Worldbulletin
URL: www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=59474

“A recount only in Baghdad is unacceptable,” Allawi told Hürriyet Daily News & Review in an interview during a brief visit to Ankara for talks with top Turkish officials. “We need to know where (vote) boxes are… We won’t accept fraud.”

He said election results were also disputed in many other Iraqi provinces, including Basra, Najaf, Mosul and Kirkuk and a recount, if one can be done, should cover all such areas.

As a secular-minded Shiite politician, Allawi leads the Iraqiya coalition that brings together Sunni Arab groups, some Shiites and Turkmen. Iraqiya won the most seats in last month’s parliamentary elections. That would allow him to have the first chance at trying to form a coalition government.

But last week, an Iraqi court announced it would grant the request of incumbent Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to manually recount the votes in Baghdad.

Political stalemate

In last month’s elections, Allawi’s Iraqiya won 91 seats and al-Maliki’s group got 89, out of a total of 325 seats. The two other large groups include a more radical Shiite coalition and Kurds.

Allawi warned against the continuation of the political stalemate in Iraq. “Unless this is resolved, the country will be thrown into deep problems, with extreme forces getting into the action,” he said.

Last Friday, 72 people were killed in Iraq’s bloodiest day of the year so far, as mosques, shops and the office of an influential Shiite cleric were bombed. No group has claimed responsibility for the bombings, but authorities have blamed al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Because of his moderate views and his ability to bring together Sunnis and Shiites in his coalition, Allawi has the tacit support of Turkey and the United States. Sunni Arab countries of the region also highly favor him. Iran, however, strongly opposes Allawi for his close Western ties.

Allawi met with President Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Ankara on Monday. He is scheduled to visit Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates during the rest of the week.

Turkey’s role

Allawi praised Turkey’s role in the Middle East and its contributions to Iraq. “Turkey is playing a very important role for the stability of the region. The region should be in harmony to assist with stability in Iraq,” he said. “We have very close and good ties with Turkey.”

Allawi said if he becomes prime minister, he would not allow the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, to use Iraqi territory to harm Turkey. “The PKK is an internal problem of Turkey… But Iraq will prevent its territory from being used against Turkey,” he said.

After the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq to depose former leader Saddam Hussein, Allawi became Iraq’s interim prime minister in May 2004. After parliamentary elections in 2005, he was replaced as prime minister by the Shiite Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

Although Allawi originally was a member of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party, he cut his links in the early 1970s and flew to Britain to complete his education as a medical doctor. He survived assassination attempts in 1978, 2004 and 2005.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News by ÜMİT ENGİNSOY
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=iraqs-allawi-rejects-partial-vote-recount-only-in-baghdad-2010-04-26

War-torn Iraq is voting Sunday to elect new parliament under the shadow of bloody attacks at polling stations and checkpoints. All key players such as the U.S., Iran, Turkey and other neighboring states keep their eyes on the events as Iraqis try to heal their wounds and form a new democratic government.

Although the U.S. and Iran have long been rival powers in the region, unity and stability of Iraq do serve for their common interests in the post-war era, according to Joost Hilterman of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, or ICG.

“Iran and the U.S. have interest in Iraqi political process going forward. Both are mediating Iraqi factions,” Hilterman said. “Violence easily escalates in anywhere a political situation is uncertain.”

Election results may not reflect preferences of Ankara, Washington or Tehran, Hilterman said. “The U.S. has invested a lot in the Maliki-led government and so the continuation is preferred. But we may get an entirely new situation.”

Consequently, the U.S. invasion served for Iranian interests. Its archenemy Saddam Hussein was ousted and Shiite leaders who don’t support any sanctions on Iran came to power. “Iran’s influence is extensive. No doubt, Iran is all over in Iraq,” Hilterman indicated after releasing a report days before the elections.

Analysts are seeking an answer to what will happen in the aftermath of the elections.

“It will take months to form new government,” ICG report says. “I hope the U.S. doesn’t follow their irresponsible invasion with irresponsible departure,” Hilterman said, recalling that Washington has not much energy to keep control and stability across the country despite the US will continue to control Iraqi airspace until 2012 at request.

“Federalism has long been on the agenda. But there is no agreement for what kind of federalism,” he said.

Having hosted leaders of all Iraqi groups prior to elections, Turkey seems to be a balancing actor after the U.S. withdrawal.

“Turkey is very important neighbor following sincere and well-intended policies although others are regretfully looking for only their own interests,” Ömer Merani, the envoy of Kurdistan Regional Government, or KGR, to Ankara, told the Daily News.

Sending 46 monitors and calling for “fair and transparent elections,” Ankara released a statement saying, “It is vital to reach a political consensus and to make successful the efforts of stabilization and democratization.”

Turkey is sensitive to keep balances among different ethnicities, a diplomat close to President Abdullah Gül said. “Turkey has no hidden agenda. That’s why all groups trust us,” the source said.

“The outcome of March 7 elections will be a compass to designate Iraq’s political direction. Turkey, however, will be more active by opening two more consulates regardless whoever wins,” he said.

Ankara is planning to open two consulates in Kirkuk and Arbil, thereby increasing its diplomatic missions to five including Baghdad, Basra and Mosul.

Turkomans and Kirkuk

Turkmen voters split, according to ICG report. All Turkomans don’t vote for ITC while Shia Turkomans are embedded in Shia Islamist parties.

Though Ankara said, “Turkomans are our relatives and we are interested in their faith and situation of Kirkuk,” Hilterman said, ”Shiite Turkomans don’t want Turkish protection. Only secular and Sunni Turkomans are relevant to Turkey.”

The ICG analyst said the recently established ties between Ankara and the Regional Kurdish Administration, or KRG, has eased tension in Kirkuk. Kurdish tribes from time to time expressed their will to be annexed to Turkey and U.S. withdrawal and the worries about increasing Iranian influence have made this idea more repeated.

But Sadun Köprülü, from Iraqi Turkmen Front, or ITC, claims the opposite. “Massive attacks such as car bombs have decreased but kidnappings and murders have still been terrorizing people. Thousands of Turkomans have moved abroad because of security concerns.”

As a result of both Arabification policy of Saddam and Kurdish immigrants in the post-war era, Turkomans lost their majority in Kirkuk and currently make up one-third the population, Köprülü says.

Turkomans set a goal of 16 seats out of 225 in the parliament though only nine deputies were elected. Some 17 ITC candidates are running for office while some 100 Turkomen are included in other lists, according to Köprülü. “We have been running for offices on various tickets because we aim to win more seats this time.”

Source :Hurriyet Daily News
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=common-point-of-us-iran-turkey-is-united-iraq-after-elections-2010-03-05

1) How many Turkmen parties will be represented at the upcoming legislative elections, in which coalitions?

There are two categories of parties:

- Those created by the Turkmens themselves which really defend the Turkmen cause.

- Those formed and financed by the Kurds (Barzani and Talabani). These are Turkmen in name only and they are serving Kurdish interests.

The first category is composed of:

-The Iraqi Turkmen Front, a political organization composed of several parties and Turkmen civil associations, presided by Dr. Sadettin Ergeç . The Iraqi Turkmen Front presents its own list in the province of Erbil, everywhere else in Iraq, the Iraqi Turkmen Front has entered in coalition with the Iraqiya list, led by Mr. Iyad Allaoui.

-The Islamic Union of Iraqi Turkmens, party presided by Mr. Abbas al-Bayati. It presents its candidates and has entered in coalition with the list of Dawlat al-Kanoun, led by Nouri al-Maliki.

-The AlKarar al Turkmani party, presided by Mr. Farook Abdullah, is also part of the Dawlat al-Kanoun coalition of Nouri al-Maliki.

-The Türkmeneli party, presided by Mr. Riyad Sarikahya presents itself in the elections in the coalition led by Ammar al-Hakim, Head of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council.

-The Turkmen Sadrist Movement of Mr. Fawzi Akrem Terzi, is also part of the Ammar al-Hakim coalition. He is head of the list in the province of Erbil.

-The Adalat Turkmen party, presided by Mr. Anwar Bayrakdar has entered in the Al-Tawafuk Al-Iraqi coalition of Usama Tawfiq Mukhlif.

As for the other so-called ‘Turkmen’ parties which present themselves at the upcoming elections, they are three. They are all in the Kurdish coalition Barzani + Talabani. I neither wish to remember their names nor say anything whatsoever about them. For us, these are “cartoon parties”, i.e. fabricated by the Kurds in order to divide the Turkmens and assimilate those who are under their control or who are employed by them.

2) What are their main demands?

The main demands of the six parties I mentioned are:

-To preserve the unity of Iraq.

-For Iraqi Turkmens to be recognized as the third main ethnic community in Iraq, with rights and duties equal to those of the Arabs and Kurds in Iraq, namely: the recognition of the Turkmen language (Turkish) as the third official language of the country; the effective participation of the Turkmen community at all levels of power in Iraq, by the inclusion of their political representatives in the supreme institutions which govern the country, such as the Presidential Council, Government Council, Parliamentary Presidency, Supreme Council of Justice, Chief of Staff of the Army, of the Police and of the Security. Turkmens have been excluded from these institutions since the invasion of Iraq, as the political power, under the anglo-american occupation, from 9th April 2003, has been attributed on an ethnic-sectarian basis and exclusively to the parties who collaborated with the Occupiers (Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis).

-Either modify the Iraqi constitution or write a new modern constitution compatible with our time, eliminating the absurd terminologies which have been included in the present constitution, namely the contested territories and the obsolete articles, such as Article 140 which concerned the future of Kerkuk Province, re-named Al-Tamim by the former regime in 1972. The central question is the future and belonging of its capital, Kerkuk, with its enormous oil reserves, which has been historically and culturally Turkmen for over 8 centuries.

It is necessary to remember that Kerkuk has been subjected to two successive policies of ethnic modifications during the past four decades: a planned and systematic arabization policy and ethnic modification in favour of the Arabs by the previous regime between 1968 and 2003; then a planned kurdification and ethnic modification in favour of the Kurds. The latter has been more extended, more rapid and more violent than the former. It started on 10th April 2003 when the militias of the Kurdish parties “Peshmerga” of Barzani and Talabani occupied Kerkuk with authorization and complicity of the U.S. invasion forces.

-To obtain cultural autonomy for the Turkmens of Iraq in their region, i.e. in the region known as Türkmeneli, where the Turkmens constitute the majority, and which is situated between the region mainly inhabited by Arabs and the region with a Kurdish majority. Türkmeneli stretches from Tel Afer, at the West of Mosul, until Bedre, at the East of Bagdad.

-To recuperate all the properties and agricultural lands belonging to the Turkmens which have been confiscated by the previous regime and which have not yet been liberated or returned.

-To recuperate all the properties and agricultural lands belonging to the Turkmens which have been occupied and confiscated by the Kurdish militias since 10th April 2003.

-To liberate Iraq from foreign occupation forces.

-To make Iraq a unified, democratic and modern country, where all citizens will be equal.

3) What about the situation in Kerkuk?

The present situation in Kerkuk, which continues since 10th April 2003, is neither satisfying nor acceptable for the Turkmens. Since that date, Barzani and Talabani have been authorized, for their collaboration with the Occupier, to install their Peshmerga and over 600.000 individuals coming from the autonomous Kurdish region, in order to modify the demographics of the city. Among them, some non-Iraqi Kurds… This intolerable situation is also denounced by the Arabs of Kerkuk.

If the new electoral law has been so difficult to be voted, it is because it has been contested by the Turkmens and Arabs of Kerkuk. This is why the election results for the Province will only be valid for one year. They will be conditioned to the verification of the authenticity of the voters’ lists established by the Kurdish authorities. If it appears that they have been exaggerated in favour of the Kurds, a new list will be established and new legislative elections will take place in Kerkuk Province.

We, Turkmens, hope that the legislative elections of 7th March 2010, which will take place according to the principle of open lists, will bring to the Parliament a majority of patriotic and more nationalist Iraqis, who will be less sectarian. We hope that they will maintain Kerkuk in a unified Iraq. Finally, we hope that the new majority will categorically reject the unjustified hegemonic demands of the Kurds over the city and over the so-called “other contested territories” in Iraq.

Source: turkmenelinews.blogspot.com/2010/02/iraq-legislative-election-campaign-in.html

Genel Enerji, owned by Çukurova Holding, one of Turkey’s largest conglomerates with investments in the automotive, telecommunications, media, textile, energy and information-technology services sectors, is seeking loans for the refinery’s cost of $510 million.

The firm, which has the authority to establish a refinery and conduct oil exploration in the Taq Taq field as a part of its deal with the Kurdish administration in northern Iraq, has prepared a report titled “Midstream Opportunity in Kurdistan” for the refinery investment.

According to the report, which was acquired by daily Milliyet, the refinery is expected to be built in three phases and will cost $510 million. The Regional Kurdish Administration supports investments in order to cover northern Iraq’s oil demand and export oil.

The Taq Taq Petroleum Refining Company, a subsidiary of Genel Enerji, will build the refinery, which will have a daily capacity of 60,000 barrels, exceeding other refineries in the region in terms of both capacity and technology, according to the ownership and strategy section of the report.

Seeking financing

During the two phases, the refinery will have a daily production capacity of 40,000 barrels by 2011 and 60,000 by 2013. The cash to flow following the construction of the first two phases will benefit the investment cost of the third phase, according to the report.

“The deals were signed in 2009. The construction of Phase 1 and Phase 2 will commence in 2010. Within the fourth quarter of 2011, Phase 1 will start production and the construction of Phase 3 will start. Phase 3 will operate at full capacity in the second quarter of 2013,” the report said. “The Kurdish administration in northern Iraq will supply crude oil and the Iraqi government will market the output of the refinery.”

Genel Enerji is reported to be seeking financing for the investment by submitting the report to several financial institutions. The process for the share of revenues is ongoing. The price of oil will be determined in line with the free-market model.

The cost of the operation is $2.75 per barrel.

The company will be exempt from taxes levied by the Regional Kurdish Administration and the central government for the first 25 years. The regional administration will continue paying the company in case of a cease in oil production at Taq Taq, a disruption in transfer or the expiration of stocks. If the firm bears losses, the regional administration will support it.

The Taq Taq Operating Company, jointly owned by Genel Enerji of Turkey and Addax Petroleum International of Canada, is building a terminal with a daily capacity of 1 million barrels near Taq Taq. The terminal investment aims to make transfers to the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline and oil export through trailer-truck loading. The trailer-truck loading station will have a daily capacity of 30,000 barrels. The company is also building a 24-inch pipeline with a length of 64 kilometers to run from Koya to Kirkuk. This line will be connected to the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline for export purposes.

The organization of the Taq Taq Operating Company encompasses a permanent staff of approximately 50 petroleum-industry experts originating from Iraq, Turkey, Britain, France, Canada and other countries. It maintains offices in the Turkish capital of Ankara, Arbil in northern Iraq and within the Taq Taq license area.

The Taq Taq field is located approximately 60 kilometers northeast of Kirkuk and 85 kilometers southeast of Arbil.

Source:Hurriyet Daily News
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=turkish-energy-giant-to-establish-refinery-in-northern-iraq-2010-01-25

“We strongly condemn this terrorist attack,” which killed Yavuz Efendioğlu at his home on Sunday, a foreign ministry statement said. The ministry called for the perpetrators of the “cowardly” attack to be found as soon as possible and brought to justice.

Efendioğlu, provincial chairman of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, was shot dead by gunmen in a speeding car in front of his house on Sunday in eastern Mosul, 390 km north of Baghdad. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu called relatives of Efendioğlu and the leader of the Iraqi Turkmen Front to offer his condolences.

“It is important for efforts to ensure tranquility and stability in Iraq. Turkey will continue mobilizing all its capabilities to assist the Iraqi people in this critical process,” the ministry said.

Iraq’s Turkish-speaking Turkmen community is made up of about 500,000 people living mostly in Mosul, Kirkuk and Tal Afar. They have been the targets of a number of deadly attacks, blamed by local authorities on al-Qaeda.

The Turkmen population and Arabs of northern Iraq are in open conflict with the Kurdish community, which wants the oil town of Kirkuk and several other areas to join its semi-autonomous region.

Compiled from AA and AFP stories by the Daily News staff.

Source: Hurriyet
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=turkey-condemns-killing-of-iraqi-turkmen-leader-2009-11-23

Davutoğlu signified that the elections were could be a “turning point” in the two countries’ relations.During the meeting, Davutoğlu said Turkey wanted a peaceful and prosperous Iraq, reported Anatolia news agency.

Al- Hakim stressed the importance of preserving the rights of all Iraqis, including those of the Turkmen people in Kirkuk. He welcomed Turkey’s support of Iraq’s democratization process and cooperation on water policy.

In an interview with broadcaster CNNTürk, al-Hakim responded to a question about Turkey’s recent foreign policy moves: “We see Turkey as a bridge between East and West. Of course, we welcome Turkey’s improved relations with the East. But it is important that Turkey maintains its position with the West at the same time.”

Source:  Hurriyet
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=davutoglu-and-iraqi-shiite-leader-discuss-relations-2009-11-18