ANKARA, Jan 9 (A.A) - A total of 261 Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) personnel will be sent to Afghanistan including administrative support personnel. The first military delegation formed by 12 people will leave for Afghanistan on Jan. 15, 2002.
Issuing a written statement, General Staff Secretariat General said on Wednesday that the government approved the contribution to be made by Turkey to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) that was formed by the decision of U.N. within the scope of Operation Enduring Freedom.
''Turkey will take part in the force that will be formed within the coordination of Britain, with one company at first. The total number of the personnel will be 261 including the administrative support personnel. In addition to that, six Turkish officers will work in the headquarters of the international peace keeping force. The highest rank of the Turkish military personnel who will be charged in Afghanistan at this stage will be colonel. The company can turn into a battalion in line with the developments. The first military delegation formed by 12 people will go to Afghanistan between 15-22 January for reconnaissance and coordination aim regarding the unit's deployment there,'' it was noted.
General Staff added that the date by when the Turkish unit will be transferred to Afghanistan will be made public after the completion of the preparations, adding that Turkish press members can be taken to the region after the Turkish unit deploys there.
DIRIOZ SAYS FINAL DECISION ABOUT PARTICIPATION IN MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE TO BE DEPLOYED IN AFGHANISTAN IS EXPECTED TO BE TAKEN IN COMING DAYS
Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokesman Huseyin Dirioz said on Wednesday, ''committees formed by countries which are envisaged to participate in the multi-national force to be deployed in Afghanistan convene frequently. Final plan will become clear in coming days.''
Speaking at a weekly press conference at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Dirioz said, ''these committees hold meetings about details of participation of countries. Within this framework, final plan will become clear in coming days. Some news stories claimed that such a decision would be delayed till Prime Minister Ecevit's visit to the United States. They are baseless. Such a decision will be taken within a mechanism. There are also news stories claiming that other countries did not want Turkey's participation in the multi-national force. We do not have any information about it.''
FORMER BUKHORO KING'S SON AZMI SAYS TURKEY HAS TO PLAY A LEADING ROLE IN SECURITY OF AFGHANISTAN
Seyyit Abdulkebir Azmi, the son of the former Bukhoro King Seyyit Emir Alim Khan said on Wednesday that Turkey has to play a leading role in the security and reconstruction of Afghanistan.
Azmi told A.A correspondent that Afghanistan was being bombed for 23 years and it was suffering from attacks, adding that ''part of the people died and another part wounded. It is time to heal the wounds. In this respect, Turkey must have a leading role and it has to help the government that is being founded there.''
Noting that he wants Turkey to take part in the peace keeping force to be formed by the United Nations (U.N.) in Afghanistan, Azmi said that ''Turkey must be responsible for the security of Afghanistan by command and authority structure. Afghanistan is a muslim country and it can react to many actions of foreigners saying that they are not from the same religion. Armed attacks can take place. Our people can be tolerant for Turkish soldiers as they are also Muslim. The security atmosphere can be installed better that way. Afghan people like Turkey very much. The commanding structure of the U.N. peace keeping force must be given to Turkey. Turkey must have the highest number of soldiers in the peace keeping force. Turkey should also be effective in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Turkish soldiers won the hearts of the people in Bosnia with one battalion that took part in the multinational force there.''