GUL RECEIVES ASSURANCES FROM POWELL ON KIRKUK; KURDS PLEDGES TO WITHDRAW FORCES FROM CITY
Turkish officials have been carefully watching developments in northern Iraq over the past 24 hours. Upon being informed of Kurdish Peshmergas entering the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk and plundering in particular documents at the population registry and land deed offices, in alleged attempts to establish sway over the city, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul telephoned US Secretary of State Colin Powell to convey Turkey’s concerns on these events and to ask for reassurances that the US would not allow any Kurdish groups to enter Kirkuk. “Powell gave me his word that new US forces would be sent to Kirkuk within a few hours to remove the Peshmergas who had gone in there,” Gul told reporters. “He assured us that they would not allow a fait accompli in northern Iraq. The past US assurances are still valid.” He added that with these guarantees in hand, there was no need for any alarm. In addition, Gul stressed that Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (IPUK) leader Jalal Talabani had sent a message to Ankara saying that his troops currently in the city would be withdrawn forthwith. Gul added that a group of Turkish military personnel were being sent to the region as observers and that necessary precautions were also being taken for the nearby city of Mosul. Also speaking yesterday, Talabani told CNN-Turk that IPUK forces would “leave Kirkuk tomorrow. I promise you … When the US troops come, the Kurdish peshmerga will leave. There is no crisis,” adding, “There will never be a crisis between out Turkish brothers and us.” /All Papers/

IRAQI TURKMEN CONCERNED BY KURDISH EFFORTS TO ESTABLISH A MAJORITY IN KIRKUK
As US-backed Kurdish forces yesterday took the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk into their control, Iraq’s ethnic Turkmen grew concerned over reports the Kurdish peshmerga forces were taking measures to establish a majority stake in the city, which could in turn lead to Kurds using the oil-rich region to leverage their bid to found an independent state. Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITC) Executive Council member Aydin Beyatli said yesterday that he had heard reports that the Peshmergas were trying to return to Kirkuk through the use of fake identification. Recalling that in the wake of the post-Gulf War Iraqi Kurdish revolt certain Kurds fleeing from Saddam Hussein had migrated north of the 36th Parallel, Beyatli said, “We have no wish to object to the return of Kurds who were forced to leave Kirkuk in the past, but rumors that many Kurds and Peshmergas would seek to be in Kirkuk are raising tensions. The Kurds are trying to establish a majority in the city.” Beyatli said that the ITC had not forgotten how in the 1960s Arabs and Kurds had driven the Turkmen away from Arbil, also in northern Iraq, emphasizing that a similar plan was at work now in Kirkuk. “There are stories that armed peshmergas have started to arrange for fake IDs in order to prove that they are residents of Kirkuk,” said Beyatli. “We are very worried, since the Peshmergas are trying to settle in Kirkuk as migrants.” Emphasizing that there were in fact no official records which might settle who the real residents of Kirkuk are, Beyatli said that due to the ongoing war the situation might turn against the Turkmen in the city. He added that the ITC had informed both Turkish and US officials about these developments. /Turkish Daily News/

WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN FLEISCHER: “KIRKUK WILL BE UNDER AMERICAN CONTROL”
Though Kurdish forces have moved into the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, US troops will soon establish sole control there, pledged White House spokesman Ari Fleischer yesterday. Asked about the Kurdish offensive into Kirkuk and the US stance on an independent Kurdish state, Fleischer reiterated Washington’s commitment to Iraq’s territorial integrity and concomitant opposition to any such independent state. The US shares Turkey’s concerns over northern Iraq, he said, and is coordinating its activities accordingly. “The city [of Kirkuk] will be under American control,” he added, echoing similar assurances yesterday from US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. As part of its assurances to Ankara, the US has authorized Turkey to send a “small number” of observers into Kirkuk to monitor the situation, Fleischer confirmed. /Aksam/

PARLIAMENT: “US CONGRESS ATTACHING CONDITIONS TO TURKISH AID PROPOSAL IS UNACCEPTABLE”
Responding to media reports that the US Congress is trying to attach conditions to proposed aid to Turkey, Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Commission yesterday released a statement condemning any such move. Tying the $1 billion grant proposal to requirements that Turkish forces not enter northern Iraq would be groundless and an insult to the Turkish nation, said the statement. Moreover, friendship and cooperation between Ankara and Washington needs more attention and care than ever during this critical period, added the statement. /Turkiye/

BAYKAL: “FROM THE BEGINNING, THE US DIDN’T WANT TURKEY TO ENTER NORTHERN IRAQ”
Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal alleged yesterday that from the beginning, the United States hadn’t wanted Turkish troops to enter northern Iraq, and he criticized US troops and Kurdish peshmergas for yesterday moving into Kirkuk. Those who claim that if Parliament had approved US troop deployments on our soil then Turkey could have entered northern Iraq with US troops are dearly mistaken, he continued. Also criticizing the foreign policy of the Justice and Develoment Party (AKP) government, Baykal said that in the future it should conduct itself more cautiously and seriously. “The AKP should never allow developments which would disturb the nation,” Baykal added. /Aksam/

DENKTAS: “ANNAN’S PLAN IS FULL OF TRICKS”
The Cyprus plan of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is “full of tricks” and impossible to implement, charged Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas yesterday. Denktas stressed that the UN plan failed to take into account the non-negotiable requirements of the TRNC and Turkey itself. He added that even if Greek Cyprus joins the European Union after signing its accession partnership papers on April 16, that would not stand in the way of Turkey’s EU membership bid. /Turkiye/

SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION