STAR- Columnist Zeynep Gurcanli writes on Syrian Information Minister Adnan Umran’s recent statements on a possible United States intervention in Iraq. A summary of her column is as follows:
‘If the Turkish government backs a US intervention in Iraq and permits the US to deploy troops at bases within Turkey’s territories, that would mean suicide for the whole Turkish nation.’ These words belong to Syrian Information Minister Adnan Umran, one of the country’s most prominent politicians. In fact, these weren’t the only significant words that issued from his mouth when I interviewed him in Damascus this week. ‘The Turkish economy, which is already suffering from a serious crisis, would collapse utterly due to the heavy cost of the intervention,’ warned the Syrian minister. ‘Turkey shouldn’t take such a risk which would cause irreparable harm to the country.’ Umran is aware that no country in the region will be able to resist the Bush administration on its own. That’s why he underlined that the Middle Eastern countries must come together and form an alliance to head off a US intervention. He recalled the post-Gulf War alliance previously formed by Turkey, Iran and Syria in order to prevent the establishment of an independent Kurdish state in the region. ‘We’re all aware that the US is currently putting great pressure on Turkey,’ said Umran. ‘However, we also know that the Bush administration at the same time gave promises to the Iraqi Kurds for the establishment of an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq. If such a Kurdish state is established, there is no doubt that the Iraqi Kurds would demand territories from both Turkey and Syria.’ I believe that these are not merely Umran’s personal views but that they also represent the ideas of the whole Arab world. So, then, what should Turkey do under such circumstances? It’s very clear that relations between Turkey and Arab countries world be greatly hurt if Turkey supports a US intervention opposed by all of these countries. ‘Since US President Bush recently made hostile statements against Saudi Arabia, Saudi investors closed their accounts in the US banks and withdrew their money,’ said Suheyl Zakkar, a professor at the University of Syria’s History Department. ‘Billions of US dollars flew towards other regions of the world. Why wouldn’t such great sums of money be invested in Turkish banks?’ This is a small example of the possible advantages that Turkey might win if the Turkish government improved its relations with Arab countries. In short, looking from Damascus, the Middle East’s political landscape looks very different.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION