ANKARA - Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) representative Barham Saleh said on Saturday that Iraqi people wanted neighbor countries to respect to Iraq's internal affairs.
Saleh attended luncheon hosted in his honor by Ankara Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (ASIAD).
Prior to the luncheon, Saleh told reporters that Iraqi people respected to their neighbors.
Saleh said that Iraqi people were in the process of forming a new country which was living in peace with their neighbors.
Iraqi people did not want to intervene in internal affairs of their neighbors, Saleh noted.
Saleh said that Iraqi people expected their neighbors to respect to Iraq's internal affairs.
Iraq's future should be determined by Iraqi people, Saleh stated.
Saleh said that Iraqi people wanted neighbor countries to give them time to make self-determination about the future of their country.
Turkey, Turkish public opinion and other neighbor countries ''should understand that Kurdistan in Iraq was almost independent for 12 years,'' Saleh said.
They wanted a single Iraq which would include Iraqi Kurdistan as a part, Saleh said.
When asked whether they opposed to the time schedule which U.S. envisaged for Iraq, Saleh said the United States had always said that it would respect to demands of Iraqi people.
The United States gave a present to Iraqi people by giving their freedom, Saleh said.
In the luncheon, Saleh drew attention that ASIAD was the first group of businessmen who came to their region and thanked for its contributions.
Saleh said that although Iraq was one of the richest countries in the world, Iraqi people lived in poverty due to wars which continued for years.
He was proud to see that Turkey had recorded many progress although it did not have oil, Saleh stated.
Saleh noted that as Kurds, they were aware of Turkey's importance more than everybody.
As Kurds, they wanted to be a part of federal Iraq and an ally of Turkey, Saleh said.
Saleh claimed that ''there were some circles in Turkey who had concerns about every move of the Kurds and considered those moves as threat.''
Reiterating that they would never accept any foreign intervention, Saleh expressed pleasure to see Turkish businessmen in Iraq and said that their region was open to Turkish investors.
ASIAD Chairman Cengiz Bozbeyoglu said that people of two countries had lived together for centuries and hoped that they would solve the problems.
(BRC-AY) 17.01.2004