Ozkok: Turkey Would Like To Take An Active Part In The Reconstruction Of Iraq

ANKARA - General Staff Chief General Hilmi Ozkok said on Monday, ''terrorist organization KADEK, the same with PKK, is not included in list of terrorist organizations of the European Union (EU). This is a revealing indicator of the level of common understanding of terrorism attained at the international field.''
Making opening remark of the ''Silk Road-2203 Flag Officers Seminar'', General Ozkok said, ''I believe that this seminar, being conducted with a broader participation this year, will provide the opportunity for the discussions on fostering peace and stability in the world.''
Describing terrorism as one of the most serious problems in international platform, General Ozkok said, ''terrorism, which is the primary issue in terms of security perceptions, has emerged as one of our most important problems in the international field. Rather than having a security understanding primarily based on military power balances, it is of higher priority today to take necessary measures in other fields to ensure deterrence against terrorism, which has become a global threat with its ever-increasing violence. To this end, we believe that a common understanding of terrorism should primarily be established, and the countries must display their political determination through international cooperation.''
''Today fighting against terrorism has reached a stage where coordinated efforts are intensified with a global approach. However, the urgent necessity of taking immediate measures against terrorism after the September 11 attacks has suspended the significant mission of making a common definition of terrorism. Consequently, fighting AI-Qaide and other related terrorist organizations have become the focal point of combating terrorism,'' he said.
General Ozkok stressed, ''The NATO documents points out that state-sponsored terrorism around the world is on a decline, while terrorist activities stemming from religious extremists who claim that they are fighting in the name of Islam is on a rise. These developments have misled some nations to view terrorism as if it was stemming only from religious extremism, and they have been continuing their conventional approach to other types of terrorism. Therefore, we believe that it is necessary to have a common definition of terrorism, and a list of terrorist organizations to be prepared by the United Nations.''
''After the September 11 attacks, we expected that there would appear a common approach at the international field against KADEK terrorism, a new name of PKK, which killed and crippled some thirty thousand people of ours. Despite all the decisions taken for the struggle against terrorism, however, we have not received a realistic support on the issue of KADEK. After continuous efforts by Turkey, the EU included PKK in its list of terrorist organizations. However KADEK, whose emblem, cadre including its administrators, armed militants with their camps, its extensions on the legal platform and the media being used remained the same with those of PKK, is not included in this list of terrorist organization. This is a revealing indicator of the level of common understanding of terrorism attained at the international field,'' he said.
''Since it is perceived as a kind of support for their continuing terrorist activities, this understanding has encouraged KADEK terrorist organization, which maintains some five thousand armed militants as an element of threat. I would like to reiterate, once again, that abandonment of such approaches, which offer no solution for the international struggle against terrorism, is of vital importance for Turkey. Since the decisions taken so far on fighting against terrorism have not been incorporated into the legal systems of countries, effective measures could not be improved at an organizational level,'' he said.
General Ozkok added, ''therefore, first and foremost, the sanctions to be imposed against those countries or international organizations not complying with the decisions regarding the fight against terrorism must be clearly specified. To do this, it is primarily necessary to remove the loopholes in the international law, which hamper combating terrorism. Turkey will be supportive of all kinds of initiatives taken up by UN and other organizations to this effect.''
OZKOK: ''MORE NATO HEADQUARTERS IN TURKEY WILL SERVE INTERESTS OF BOTH TURKEY AND NATO''
Ozkok said, ''With its Headquarters in Turkey, in other words, at the center of the triangle of the Balkans, the Caucasus and the Middle East, NATO would gain a far more effective and flexible capability of managing the crises.''
As was known, the end of the Cold War led to an atmosphere of optimism for the world peace on the one hand, while creating a totally different environment, full of security challenges and risks on the other, Ozkok noted.
Ozkok pointed out that currently everybody agreed that the risks and security challenges emerged after the Cold War included regional instability, mass migration, terrorism, arms and drug trafficking, religious fundamentalism, proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), organized crime and environmental pollution.
In order to overcome those risks and security concerns, new tasks had already emerged such as humanitarian aid, peace keeping, fighting against terrorism, aid and assistance before or after natural disasters, combating arms and drug trafficking, Ozkok stated.
Ozkok said that they believed that the ''NATO-Russia Council'' established on 28 May 2002 with the Rome Declaration had significantly contributed to the world peace in general and to the removal of those risks and threats in particular, adding that Turkey continued to support that initiative.
Touching on security and stability issues, Ozkok said that NATO had opened its doors to new member states, while promoting new concepts like Partnership for Peace (PfP), Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF), Mediterranean Dialog, Founding Act with Russia.
Ozkok stated that they believed that the most important and successful of those NATO initiatives was the ''Partnership for Peace Program'' which offered an opportunity of cooperation with the partner countries on the issues of security.
The Partnership Action Plan against Terrorism, PAP-T and Comprehensive Review of the Euro Atlantic Partnership Council and PfP documents, signed by heads of states and governments during Prague Summit, had great importance for the improvement of cooperation between NATO and its partners, Ozkok emphasized.
Ozkok went on saying, ''in this context, political and military studies have been going on in NATO. It is important that these studies be carried out in collaboration with the partners. Turkey supports even more active participation of the partners in these studies. It is necessary to take necessary measures in order to keep the same momentum of the PfP activities, considering the fact that the last NATO decision regarding the enlargement at the Prague Summit may negatively affect it. It is acknowledged by everyone that PfP program contributes significantly to the preservation of security and stability in Euro-Atlantic region, to the integration process of the partners with the West and to the continuing efforts for defense reforms. In this context, we believe that enhancing the participation of especially the Caucasian and Central Asian partners to the PfP activities and the continuation of NATO assistance to these countries are important.''
''With the approval of the New Command Structure of NATO during the meeting of NATO Defense Ministers to be convened this month, NATO will have entered a new era. In this new era, in which transformation has been specified as the most essential element, NATO will be able to dynamically adapt itself to the changes taking place in the security environment and will also have enhanced capability to respond to the new risks and challenges,'' Ozkok said.
Noting that in that framework, they expected an ACC Headquarters to be located in Turkey, considering her strategic position, Ozkok said, ''given the geographical facts, the presence of even more NATO Headquarters in Turkey will actually serve both Turkey's and NATO's interests. With its Headquarters in Turkey, in other words, at the center of the triangle of the Balkans, the Caucasus and the Middle East, NATO would gain a far more effective and flexible capability of managing the crises.''
Ozkok continued, ''the recent NATO operation to support Turkey's defense during the Iraq war has shown that, irrespective of the technological level, the Headquarters established in the vicinity of crisis regions will provide additional advantages. In the framework of this operation, a NATO Headquarters, though not a large-scale one, was established in Diyarbakir and even COMAIRSOUTH felt the need of coming to Turkey as the ACC forward element.''
Pointing out that with the help of the NATO Response Force, NATO would have the capability to respond to the crises in a shorter time and more effectively, Ozkok added, ''we assess that the NRF would mostly be needed in those areas around Turkey. Therefore, Turkey is planning to make a meaningful contribution to the NATO Response Force.''
OZKOK: ''TURKEY WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE AT THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE LEVEL TO, AND TAKE AN ACTIVE PART IN THE RECONSTRUCTION OF IRAQ''
Ozkok said, ''I would like to touch upon the issues concerning Turkey's position on and contributions to the world peace.''
''Turkey is located in one of the unstable regions of the world. However, her geo-strategically unique position among the Caucasus, the Middle East and the Balkans furnishes Turkey a central importance with regard to transportation and energy corridors between Europe and Asia. This unique position, while making Turkey to assume certain responsibilities for the security of these corridors, grants her the opportunity to act as a bridge of friendship and cooperation between the East and the West, the North and the South,'' he said.
Stressing that Turkey's importance had been proven once again during the operation in Afghanistan, General Ozkok said, ''Turkey assumed the lead nation role of ISAF on June 20, 2002 for the second term between June 20 - December 20, 2002. The lead nation responsibility was handed over to Germany-Netherlands on February 10, 2003. During this operation conducted with the aim of promoting the peace and welfare of the Afghan Nation, the priority was given to the equal distribution of services to all groups and to the projects, which would be implemented in short time frames to serve the society at large, like the infrastructure projects. During the leadership of Turkey, 176 Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) projects of ISAF were completed.''
He stressed that Turkish Armed Forces was continuing to contribute to the world peace and to take part in peace support operations in various crisis regions through its units and elements with a total of 1,422 personnel, 229 of whom are in Afghanistan, 498 in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 684 in Kosovo and 11 in Macedonia.
Referring to the Iraq war, General Ozkok said, ''as you know, another development, which has taken place in our region, was the war in Iraq. Reconstruction activities in Iraq are going on in the aftermath of Iraq operation. The missions that must primarily be accomplished in Iraq could be summarized as the establishment of stability, the provision of humanitarian aid and the completion of the reconstruction process. In this context, I would like to reiterate our wish to see Iraq as an independent and sovereign country, her territorial integrity and national unity is preserved and her natural resources are used for the welfare of her entire population. We also want Iraq to be as democratic as possible, free from ethnic and religious conflicts, in peace with her neighbors. Additionally, Turkey would like to contribute at the highest possible level to, and take an active part in the reconstruction of Iraq.''
''Turkey is an axis country in its region, which produces strategies in the political, social, economic and military spheres. In other words, instead of being a country consuming security, Turkey is a security producing country. As a requirement of our major foreign policies to this end, we fully support all peaceful initiatives,'' he said.
General Ozkok said, ''apart from her contributions to the peace support operations, Turkey is also providing training support to the partner countries in an effort to enhance their interoperability with NATO. In this framework, more than three thousands personnel from a total of 47 NATO, PfP and Mediterranean countries have so far been trained at our 'Partnership for Peace Training Center', established in Ankara in 1998.''
''In addition to our relations with the Partner Nations and considering the geo-strategic position of Turkey, we have undertaken some major projects with other countries in the region. These are Southeast Europe Brigade (SEEBRIG) and Black Sea Naval Cooperation Group (BLACKSEAFOR). We attach great importance to the South Eastern Defense Ministers (SEDM) initiative, thinking that it is an important factor, which will make significant contributions to the peace and security in our region. Besides, we also feel the satisfaction of providing in-place training by means of our mobile PfP teams in the Balkans, the Caucasus and Central Asia,'' he said.
General Ozkok noted, ''we believe that the only way to strengthen trust among people is through peace. We also know that trust is at the very core of the PfP spirit. And we would be pleased with the participation of each country which wishes to have constructive contributions to these initiatives of ours, shaped by the PfP principles.''
''I believe that the 'Silk Road-2003 Flag Officers Seminar' will provide a convenient platform for the high-level participants from NATO HQs and PfP partner states to share their knowledge and experiences. This seminar will also promote our mutual understanding and our joint efforts to contribute to the world peace and stability,'' he added.
Land Forces Commander General Aytac Yalman, Gendarme Forces Commander General Sener Eruygur, National Security Council (NSC) Secretary General General Tuncer Kilinc, General Staff Deputy Chief General Yasar Buyukanit, NATO South European Allied Forces Commander General Oktar Ataman, 33 generals from 15 NATO countries and 19 generals, admirals and ambassadors from 17 PfP countries were in attendance at the seminar which will last for three days.
(UK-BRC) 02.06.2003