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TURKEY warned
yesterday it would act to protect ethnic Turks in
northern Iraq if the Kurds attempted to use their
success in the Iraqi elections to take control of
the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
In an early sign of the ethnic tensions that will
shape -- or plague -- post-election Iraq, reaction
to the poll in neighbouring Turkey was far from
enthusiastic.
And in Iraq, early indications that the Sunni
minority largely boycotted the election raised new
questions about the legitimacy of the incoming
national assembly, which is expected to be dominated
by Shi'ites and Kurds.
While Sunnis in some areas voted in higher numbers
than expected, the overall turnout was low, a senior
US diplomat in Baghdad conceded. "Sunni
participation was considerably lower than
participation by the other groups, especially in
areas which have seen a good deal of violence, and
where intimidation is most easily carried out," the
diplomat said.
If the final results confirm the low Sunni turnout,
it would mean that despite the euphoria and dancing
in the streets on Sunday, as much as 20 per cent of
the population, most of it in the heart of the
country, might not accept the results as legitimate.
That could provide new fuel for the mostly Sunni
insurgency.
In Turkey, leading newspapers ran front-page stories
quoting Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani as saying
Iraqi Kurds would have their own independent state.
"The elections end, their mask comes off," said the
daily Aksam, while rival Vatan carried the headline
"Barzani challenges Turkey".
Kurdish independence is a nightmare for Turkey,
which fears it would fan separatism among its own
restive Kurds in the southeast, and create turmoil
in the region.
Turkey believes many more Kurds have settled in
Kirkuk since the US-led invasion of Iraq than the
number who were expelled from the city under Saddam
Hussein. Ankara sees the influx as part of a Kurdish
plot to take control of the city and make it the
capital of a future independent Kurdish state.
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul expressed
concern yesterday that this threatened to alter the
demographic structure of the city, which is home to
large numbers of Turkmen, a community of Turkish
descent backed by Ankara.
"If our brothers (Turkmen) are not treated well, if
they are subjected to oppression, such developments
will hurt us deeply -- and in a democratic society
administrations cannot remain indifferent, or merely
spectators, to such developments."
Mr Gul did not say what action Turkey would take,
but stressed that Ankara had no territorial
ambitions over Iraq and respected its borders. In a
bid to allay Turkey's concerns, a top US official
said after talks with Mr Gul that Washington
supported the unity of Iraq.
"The issue of Kirkuk is an important one ... it's
going to be worked on by the Iraqis from the point
of view that this is not a matter for one group or
another but for the Iraqi people in general. We
support that view," US Undersecretary of Defence
Douglas Feith said.
The move came as Australia's Foreign Minister
Alexander Downer and his British counterpart Jack
Straw reaffirmed their commitment to keep troops in
Iraq as long as needed.
"I think people who think the best way ahead for
Iraq is to cut and run, and for the international
community now to turn its back on Iraq and hand the
country over to (terrorists) ... are people who
would want us to betray the Iraqi people," Mr Downer
said.
In Singapore, John Howard said pulling troops out in
the wake of elections would give comfort to
terrorists. "I don't think there's any sense in
timetabling the withdrawal of Australian troops,"
the Prime Minister said. "Any indication at the
present time that countries are wanting to leave
before the job is completed will give comfort to the
murderers and the terrorists."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au
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