BY CUNEYT ULSEVER
HURRIYET- When we look at the whole picture, it's difficult to answer this question. On the one hand, Ankara stresses its support for Iraq's territorial integrity and respect for the Iraqi constitution, but on the other it declares that under international law Turkish forces could enter northern Iraq.
While the government and the state are caught a conundrum, is the opposition acting coherently?
The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) opposed the March 2003 motion on the eve of the Iraq war, which would have allowed Turkish soldiers to enter Iraq, and back then was proud of it. Now the same CHP is talking about sending soldiers into northern Iraq!
Explaining why they opposed the motion, they say that it could have enabled US soldiers to stay in Turkey (for the imminent Iraq invasion) and that they prevented this. But as I pointed out in an earlier column, Baykal made no such claim in his speech of Feb. 4, 2003.
The True Path Party (DYP) said the PKK terrorists should come down from the mountains and take part in politics, also implying they would get an amnesty.
The same DYP now says that it's not trying to give away Diyarbakir, but trying to get Mosul.
Under the opposition's point of view within `rising nationalism,' the Iraqi/Kurdish problem is ignored. But in recent polls, when people were asked which party and leader best meet nationalist needs, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan came out on top.
The sides on Iraq know of the disagreement between the government and military, and when asked what they thought of Ankara's remarks, they say that they believe in Iraq's territorial integrity, implying Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug's statements that Turkey could enter northern Iraq under international law.
Under US logic, wanting to enter northern Iraq and support Iraq's territorial integrity at the same time are contradictory stances, but not according to us!
The Baghdad meeting over the weekend brought together Iraq's neighboring countries, permanent UN Security Council members, and members of both the Arab League and the Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC). This meeting stressed the international importance attached to Iraq's territorial integrity.
The next step is to bring together the same countries' foreign ministers. Our Foreign Ministry is trying to arrange such a meeting in Istanbul. If it could be held, Turkey would play a leading role in finding a solution to the Iraq problem and also the Mideast issue. I welcome the government's efforts with enthusiasm.
However, if Iraq's president (Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani) asks how the Iraq problem can be discussed in a country which has yet to recognize him, adding that Turkey can play a leading role in the Mideast only after it solves its own problems with Kurds, how will we respond?