ANKARA - General Staff Deputy Chief General Ilker Basbug recalled on Friday that following the ending of military operation in Iraq, a stability operation had started and stressed that ''Transition Calendar'' was put into practice which would determine the future political structure of Iraq.
Holding a press briefing at the General Staff Headquarters in Ankara, Gen. Basbug said that ''Transition Administration Law'' which would shape political structure of Iraq would be prepared by Iraqi Governing Council until the end of February and would be approved by the Permanent Civilian Administration led by Bremer.
Gen. Basbug said that this law would draw the general frame of political structure of Iraq and added that one of the discussed political models was a federative structure.
Gen. Basbug said that two points should be taken into consideration in shaping the political structure of Iraq to prevent possible problems. He added that one of them was that people from different religious sects and ethnical structures were living together and the other point was that the sources of Iraq belonged to all Iraqi people, not to certain groups.
Gen. Basbug said that bilateral military meetings started between Turkish and U.S. military officials to establish a joint platform and to exchange views about possible developments especially in the north of Iraq.
Gen. Basbug said that one of the most important security uneasiness about the north of Iraq was the existence of PKK terrorist organization in the region. He said that PKK was enlarging its activities under a political identity in Iraq by benefiting from the unstable milieu in Iraq.
He added that Foreign Ministry and General Staff were carrying out activities to jointly fight against PKK with the United States. He said that Turkey's expectation was the eradication of terrorists and prevention of their political activities which were directed by an armed organization, not sending them to Turkey or other countries by removing them from the north of Iraq.
(GC-UK) 16.01.2004