TRABZON - Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Trabzon deputy Cevdet Erdol said on Monday that Iraqi people needed Turkey.
Erdol informed reporters about Turkish delegation's visit to Iraq last week.
Recalling that they went to Iraq for preliminary studies of two hospitals which were planned to be constructed in Baghdad and Kirkuk, Erdol said that a protocol concerning the two hospitals was signed.
Erdol said that they visited Baghdad, Karbala, Tuz Kharmato, Najaf, Kirkuk and Mosul and stated that they had talks with officials and people.
Erdol said that they made some inquires about attacks against Turkmens in Tuz Kharmato and Kirkuk and stated that they held a meeting with Kirkuk governor. He added that incidents were being investigated.
Noting that they talked to everyone whom they met during their visit to Iraq about deployment of Turkish soldiers in Iraq, Erdol said, that the real problem was that there was neither government nor tranquility in Iraq. Erdol said that most important of all, there was no security in Iraq and the United States could not ensure them.
He said that Iraqi people had fallen into a position of preferring Saddam Hussein today. Erdol added, ''Iraqi people were asking us to come to Iraq where we had stayed for six centuries and they were telling the United States that stayed there for six months to leave.''
Erdol said that Iraqi people needed Turkey recently and stated, ''all groups excluding some radical peshmerga groups in north of Iraq whom we had talks said that 'we love Turkish people and Turkish soldiers. If you come to Iraq, you won't act like the United States. You do not enter our houses by kicking our doors when we are sleeping and you don't frisk our women and girls like the U.S. male soldiers do. That's why we welcome your coming to Iraq'.''
''But they also told us that Turkey can come to Iraq, on the condition that Turkey should say that it does not want even a drop of Iraqi oil and it should not be with the U.S. soldiers. We know that Turkish soldiers are not occupiers.''
Erdol said that Turkish soldiers should not act together with the U.S. soldiers in case Turkey went to Iraq and stated, ''Iraqi people said that 'if you act together with foreign soldiers, you will have the same treatment with those foreign soldiers. If you have mission in a region where foreign soldiers are not found, no one will say anything to you'.''
Stating that Iraqi Health Minister would visit Turkey to have meetings on construction of hospitals in Iraq between September 14 and 16, he added that they planned to lay the foundation of hospitals on September 25.
(EÖ-AÖ) 01.09.2003