STAR- Columnist Zeynep Gurcanli writes on Sukru Sina Gurel’s new Cabinet post as foreign minister and its repercussions on Turkey’s policy towards Iraq. A summary of her column is as follows:
After the recent shakeup and resignations from the Democratic Left Party (DSP), Prime Minister and DSP leader Bulent Ecevit appointed Sukru Sina Gurel as foreign minister. As soon as Gurel took the helm of Turkish foreign policy, he put his stamp on it and the very first signs of this were evident in Turkey’s Iraq policy. A Kurdish state in northern Iraq has been on the agenda of the Kurds for quite a long time, but especially with the intensification of US plans to overthrow Saddam Hussein’s regime, the Kurds have stepped up their efforts and last June they even put forward the idea of a federation in Iraq. The idea was simple: Once Saddam Hussein was brought down, the Arabs in the south of Iraq and the Kurds in the north would form two federations which would be represented as a single body in the international arena. Both of them would be free in their internal affairs but would act in concert in matters of defense and foreign policy. The Kurdish demands went even beyond that. To be able to sustain its economy, the so-called ‘Kurdish federation’ would also include within its borders the Kerkuk region, which is rich in oil resources. Turkey, under then Foreign Minister Ismail Cem rapidly defined its response to this. Accordingly, Turkey would not oppose such a federation if the Iraqi people accepted it, but it would be against Kerkuk, a Turkmen region, being given to the Kurds. But this line of policy was recently altered with the change in the Cabinet. In his visit to Turkey last week, US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was told that Turkey would absolutely reject such a federation system in Iraq. Both plans, a federation or a Kurdish state in northern Iraq were unacceptable, Turkey made clear. The main concern behind this policy shift is the high probability that a Kurdish federation formed after a US military attack on Iraq could, in the future, easily be turned into an independent state, in future and that Turkey could be forced to accept a political fait accompli in the region.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION