Turkish Daily News, 96-05-22

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From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>

TURKISH DAILY NEWS
22 May 1996

CONTENTS

[01] Turkey welcomes UN oil-for-food deal, eyes revitalization of trade with Iraq

[02] Iraqi-UN crude oil deal may lead to new openings for Turkey

[03] Aktan tells Shattuck TIHV treatment centers don't exist

[04] Oil accord is welcomed in Ankara despite 'Kurdish state' concern

[01] Turkey welcomes UN oil-for-food deal, eyes revitalization of trade with Iraq

By Nazlan Ertan
Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Turkey welcomed Tuesday the oil-for-food agreement between Iraq and the U.N. with the hope that Iraq will purchase part of the foreseen humanitarian aid from Turkey, the nearest market to the country which has been under the embargo for years.

"We hope that the Turkish market will be considered for the supply of humanitarian aid to Iraq, thus bringing a revitalization of local trade," a spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry told the Turkish Daily News.

The Turkish expression of pleasure came after Iraq and the U.N. agreed on an oil-for-food deal that would allow Iraq to sell limited quantities of oil in order to buy food and medicine for its people.

The accord allows Iraq, which has the world's second-largest oil reserves, to sell $2 billion worth of oil over six months to buy humanitarian goods, subject to renewal. This is designed to give the Iraqi people a breathing space since the imposition of the embargo in 1990.

"It's a deal!" chief U.N. spokeswoman Sylvana Foa exclaimed late Monday, after the agreement was signed.

Iraq for years had refused to accept a food-for-oil deal, saying it infringed on its sovereignty. But it accepted negotiations in February with some officials believing the deal would be the first step toward getting sanctions lifted. This is the hope of Turkey, which has advocated the reintegration of Iraq into the international arena.

For the last three years, many Turkish strategists, from former Foreign Minister Mumtaz Soysal to local businessmen in the Turco-Iraqi border region, have said that it was the Turks, as much as the Iraqis, who were punished by the embargo against Saddam Hussein.

Local businessmen claim that the impoverished Southeast lost important income when the cross-border trade with Iraq ended in 1990, although no exact figures were given. Some Turkish strategists also claimed that, in addition to the security risk caused by the power vacuum in northern Iraq, the economic decline in Turkey's border area has made this region an easy target for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Under the memorandum of understanding between the U.N. and Baghdad, Iraq will obtain humanitarian aid worth $650-$680 million for each $1 billion-worth of oil it sells. A sum of $130 million to $150 million every 90 days is to go for U.N. humanitarian programs for Kurds in the north. According to estimates in diplomatic circles, Turkey may obtain an $80 million slice of Iraq's food demands.

"We hope that the resolution will ease, at least partially, the suffering of the Iraqi people who have been under the embargo since 1990," a Foreign Ministry statement said.

Turkish diplomats say that this may be the beginning of "revitalized" economic relations between Turkey and Iraq.

Turkey's welcome of the resolution also stems from the fact that the Yumurtalik-Kirkuk pipeline will be used for transporting the "larger part" of Iraqi oil. The pipeline, which has been inactive since 1991, ran the risk of corrosion because it stayed idle for so long, but Turks claim now that it is ready to be operated. Turkey has said in the past that its losses over the closure of the pipeline amounted to more than $2 billion.

Turkey is expected to receive $20 million per month in transit fees. The two countries' energy ministers had already come together earlier this year and agreed that an existing transit agreement between Turkey and Iraq would remain intact. In other words, Ankara has pledged to Iraq that it would keep its transit fees at pre-Gulf War prices.

The U.N. accord says that the amount of oil Iraq may sell could be raised by another $28 million, depending on tariffs that Turkey may charge for use of the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik pipeline between the two countries.

Moreover, once the pipeline is opened, Turkey will claim the 3.8 million barrels of oil in the closed pipeline, which it had paid for before the war.

"There is no controversy on this. The oil is ours and we will take it after the opening of the pipeline," a Turkish diplomat told the Turkish Daily News.

Although Turkey had pledged earlier in the bargaining that it could repair the Iraqi side of the pipeline should there be a need for it, the present accord says that Iraq will be permitted to import the equipment needed to repair it. Iraq may finance these goods through letters of credit on future oil sales, thus opening still another income source for Turkey.

Still another point carefully noted by Turkey is that the oil-for- food scheme, despite its limited nature may "be a first step in Iraq's reconciliation with the international community," a Turkish spokesman said.

Asked if Ankara fears that the accord's provisions for special aid to northern Iraq to be distributed by the U.N. opens the way for more Kurdish demands, Turkish diplomats said "no, not for the time being."

"U.N. Resolution 986 explicitly recognizes the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Iraq," a Turkish diplomat said. "It says in its articles that nothing in the resolution should be construed as infringing the sovereignty or territorial integrity of Iraq."

[02] Iraqi-UN crude oil deal may lead to new openings for Turkey

It is no secret that the United Nations' sanctions imposed on Iraq after the Gulf War have had a disastrous affect on Turkey which has emerged as one of the net losers in this ordeal. So the deal between Iraq and the U.N. which allows the Baghdad administration to sell some of its oil and spend this on purchases of food and medicine is quite welcome in Turkey.

U.N. Security Council Resolution 980 says most of the Iraqi crude will be shipped through the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline, which means transit fees for Turkey to the tune of around $120 million for six months. Besides this Turkey will be able to extract 3.8 million barrels of oil which it has paid for and which are currently in the pipeline.

But that is not all. It is clear that the Iraqis will also purchase their food and medicines from Turkey, which will bring further revenues to the tune of about $500 million.

We have heard that the Syrians are also trying to court Saddam Hussein and thus sell some of their own foodstuffs to Iraq, bypassing Turkey...

There are also rumors that the Iraqi-Syrian pipeline which has remained dormant for ages will be operational again and the Iraqis will ship their oil through this route instead of through Turkey. Of course all this is wishful thinking. Syria is playing a double game. It is spreading rumors that Saddam and Hafez al-Assad are making amends. This seems to be a message from Damascus to Washington that "if you push us too far, we will go and befriend Iraq which is your arch enemy..."

The U.N. resolution specifies clearly where and how the Iraqi crude will be shipped. The bulk will be exported through Turkey and the rest through Iraq's ports in the Gulf.

Turkey has played silent diplomacy in a rather successful manner over the past year. It has tried to coax the Iraqis into accepting the U.N. resolution for the partial sale of oil while it has also been telling the Americans to be more understanding toward Baghdad.

However, now Turkey has to show its real diplomatic talents.

It is a fact that Turkey's relations with the Iraqi Kurdish leaders are far from satisfactory. Turkey has to use its diplomatic skills to win back the trust of the Iraqi leaders like Jalal Talabani and Massoud Barzani. If the current government crisis prevents us from doing this then the president should intervene. Because there is always a limit to what the Turkish Foreign Ministry can do in the absence of real political power in Ankara...

If we fail to do this the oil deal may backfire. If Iraq has been suffering from sanctions the Iraqi Kurds have been suffering even more. The deal allows the Kurds benefits totalling about $200-300 million in the form of food and medicine. Thus the Kurds may now feel much more secure in their safe haven. The fact that the U.N. agencies will be delivering this aid weakens Baghdad's grip on northern Iraq. Thus if Turkey deserts the Iraqi Kurds they may well start acting more independently and once again the dream of a Kurdish independent state may push them to make mistakes...

Besides all this, Turkey's separatist PKK group, which has bases in northern Iraq, may ask for a cut of the aid from the Iraqi Kurds...

All this depends on how Turkey can project its policies on northern Iraq...

[03] Aktan tells Shattuck TIHV treatment centers don't exist

By Ugur Akinci
Turkish Daily News

WASHINGTON- While Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay was busy discussing a wide spectrum of bilateral and multilateral issues with his U.S. counterparts, Ambassador Gunduz Aktan, deputy undersecretary at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, had an hour-and-threequarter-long meeting with John Shattuck, U.S. assistant secretary of state for human rights, democracy and labor -- verifying earlier speculation that the United States would bring up the human rights issues during Gonensay's visit. While Shattuck did not ask anything from the Turkish delegation, he listened with interest to Aktan's presentation, a TDN source said.

Concerning the recent negative publicity the treatment centers of the Turkish Human Rights Foundation (TIHV) received in the U.S. Congress, Aktan said there was a lot of "misinformation" going around in Washington on the issue. The centers simply did not exist, he said.

"There is a lot of disinformation in the United States concerning the Turkish Human Rights Foundation. They claim that Turkey has shut down the foundation's rehabilitation centers [for torture victims] or that Turkey applies pressure on such centers. We explained to Shattuck that the TIHV does not have any such rehabilitation centers," Aktan said.

"The cases that went to the court have been turned down by the judges because there are no such centers physically. The thing they call a 'center' is the local branch of the foundation itself. That's what they call a 'center.' The auditors of the Ministry of Health cannot find a clinic when they visit these 'centers.' There are no personnel in such 'rehabilitation centers.'All they have is a list of doctors that they refer people to," Aktan continued.

"They again insist that we are interposing ourselves in between doctors and their patients. There is no such thing.But if there is really torture in Turkey, and the TIHV is working to eliminate that, then when somebody applies to the foundation saying that he has been tortured, then naturally the foundation has to get in touch with the [state] prosecutor, saying: 'Here we have somebody who says he has been tortured.' They are obligated to report torture to the prosecutor, like anywhere else in the world. Again, as elsewhere in the world, an entity that operates as a clinic has to get permission and a license from the Ministry of Health. It has to operate under the supervision of the Ministry of Health. We are not even sure if the person who claims to be a 'doctor' in these 'centers' knows what he is doing or not. You don't know that either," he said.

"There is something else: All such centers around the world treat victims of human rights violations from other countries, not their own citizens. The reason is, it is against the law to do so," Aktan added.

He also said he had discussed with Shattuck the inconsistencies they had observed in the State Department's reports concerning the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). For example, reports saidthere were "armed clashes" with the PKK.If Turkey is in a "war" with the PKK, as the State Department claimed, then Turkey could not be asked to release those arrested within a month, since no human rights law would apply to a war situation. The Turkish government does not accept that there is a "war" with the PKK.

"Again, if he uses the human rights law as a framework, then one has to criticize PKK's actions as much as one criticizes Turkey's behavior," Aktan said. "It has to give details of how the PKK operates. The PKK fights with civilians. That's totally illegal. On the one hand the U.S. State Department says that the PKK employs 'part-time guerrillas' [Patterns of Global Terrorism, 1995, p. 52], then it does not say anything to condemn the practice. It is against the law to conduct a 'war' with 'part-time guerrillas.'"

"Then one must choose which legal framework one should employ in writing these reports. If you employ both legal systems, as is done now by the U.S. State Department, then it is tantamount to supporting the PKK. It looks like choosing those aspects of both jurisprudence systems that support the PKK," he said.

"In these reports it is also alleged that the Super Cobra helicopters are used against civilians. I told Mr. Shattuck that that has never been the case," he concluded.

Congress to Gonensay

Four members of the U.S. Congress, on the other hand, circulated a letter among their colleagues on May 17. The letter, addressed to Gonensay, protests the treatment of TIHV rehabilitation centers -- which the Turkish government says don't even exist.

After noting that according to the Turkish government such centers are not legal, the four congressmen said: "Under both the European and the United Nations conventions against torture, states are obliged to provide treatment services for victims of torture."

Reps. Frank Wolf (Republican, Virginia); Christopher Smith (Republican, New Jersey); John Edward Porter (Republican, Illinois); and Steny Hoyer (Democrat, Maryland) called on their colleagues to co-sponsor the letter to Gonensay and oppose the practice of torture in Turkey. "Because Turkey is an American ally and a large recipient of foreign assistance, these actions should not be allowed to occur without strong condemnation by the United States," the four congressmen said.

19 NGOs to Gonensay

Another letter on the topic of torture in Turkey, dated May 20, 1996, was sent to Gonensay and was signed by 19 human rights NGOs ranging from Amnesty International to Amigos de los Sobrevivientes, Inc. Mentioning the continuing case of two workers related to the Adana branch of the TIHV, who are charged with "operating an unlicensed health center" and "negligence in denouncing a crime," the NGOs told Gonensay: "We are shocked by such charges against members of a well-established, deeply-respected human rights organization, who carry out humanitarian and ethical work in accordance with internationally recognized standards of international law and medical ethics."

The NGOs urged Gonensay to have all charges against the TIHV dropped. "We ask you, in the spirit of the highest principles of medical ethics and fundamental law, to ensure that all requests for the foundation's medical files and confidential patient information be rescinded immediately."

[04] Oil accord is welcomed in Ankara despite 'Kurdish state' concern

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Reactions in Ankara to the news of the oil accord between Iraq and the U.N. ranged from pleasure at the prospect of having the dormant Kirkuk-Yumurtalik pipeline running again to concern that the provisions of the accord relating to northern Iraq represented a prelude to the establishment of a Kurdish state in the region.

Among the first to react to the news were Mustafa Murathan, the general director of the Turkish Oil Pipeline Company (BOTAS), and Ugur Dogan, the undersecretary at the Ministry for Energy and Natural Resources, both of whom were contacted by the Anatolia news agency immediately after the news broke.

Murathan said that this development would definitely affect Turkey positively, adding that the pipeline running between Kirkuk in northern Iraq and Yumurtalik on Turkey's Mediterranean coast would be reopened after five years, and this would mean the earning of valuable revenue.

Pointing out that there was no problem as far as the Turkish end of the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik pipeline was concerned, Murathan said that as far as the Iraqi end was concerned there was some minor damage at a pumping station near the border.

He added however that this would not affect the transportation of oil through this pipeline.

Ugur Dogan, the undersecretary at the Ministry for Energy and Natural Resources, characterized this development as "very positive" and "very pleasing."

He pointed out that despite hopes waning from time to time, this was actually the result that had been expected in the end.

"We had an impression that this agreement would be signed in September or October. But this is a true newsflash. It is a very positive agreement and we are very pleased," Dogan said.

Asked by the Turkish Daily News to comment on the Iraqi-U.N. accord, the former head of BOTAS, Hayrettin Uzun, maintained that the accord would put the subject of a "Kurdish state" in northern Iraq back on the agenda.

Uzun, who is currently a deputy from Kocaeli for the Motherland Party (ANAP), cautioned against the establishment of such "statelets" in northern Iraq.

"Turkey must be aware that the establishment of a Kurdish statelet, regardless of what they call it, is in the making," Uzun argued.

He also conjectured that the accord between Iraq and the U.N. would increase the cooperation of the northern Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Jalal Talabani, and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is waging a separatist war in the Southeast of Turkey and which has bases in northern Iraq.

"Despite all this, though, I find the U.N. decision to be a positive development. But it also means that Turkey has to be ready for new developments."

Touching on the positive side of this development, Uzun added that the Turkish side of the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik pipeline had been made operational in 1994, and confirmed Murathan's comments by saying that Turkey was ready to transport the oil that would come as a result of the Iraqi-U.N. accord.

Pointing out that the biggest advantage of this accord for Turkey would be "psychological," Uzun said:

"Even the partial operation of the pipeline will bring positive advantages with it. For one thing, these positive effects will be felt by people in the region. Turkey spent $2.5 billion on this pipeline. With the pipeline operational again, this investment will not have gone to waste. Because if the oil in pipelines is not transported it becomes heavy and damages the pipeline through corrosion. The flow of oil prevents this."

Uzun said that the pipeline had the capacity to carry 70 million tons of oil per annum, and that since the U.N. embargo was imposed on Iraq five years ago Turkey had suffered losses to the tune of $200 million a year in transit fees.

He emphasized that the cooperation of the northern Iraqi Kurds would be necessary for the transportation of this oil, adding that this assistance would be most felt in providing for the security of the pipeline and the distribution of aid to be secured from the sale of oil.

Uzun pointed out that the bulk of the aid would be purchased in Turkey, which would mean extra revenues being earned through this channel also.

Contacted by the Turkish Daily News, the deputy chairman of the main opposition Welfare Party, Abdullah Gul, said that the embargo imposed against Iraq had to be lifted in full. He added nevertheless that the permission given to Iraq for limited oil sales was a step in this direction.

Gul said that the money earned from the oil should be used by the Iraqi regime as it saw fit, adding that the U.N. insistence that this be used for humanitarian reasons meant that there could be ulterior motives in the overall arrangement.

He said than many nongovernmental organizations came with the ostensible aim of engaging in humanitarian activities but were later found to be operating in line with the interests of the country from which they originated.

Repeating the concern voiced by Hayrettin Uzun, Gul pointed to the existence of a danger concerning the establishment of a Kurdish state under the guise of humanitarian aid.

He said the Turkish government should take the initiative with respect to developments in northern Iraq. Recalling that Turkey had shoulder

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