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Iraq calls its neighboring countries to
stop interfering in its affairs
22.1.2007 |
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January 22, 2007
BAGHDAD, Iraq, -- The Iraqi government on
Monday said it had banned activities by opposition
Iranian and anti-Turkish Kurdish groups and said it
rejected conferences that had been hosted by Turkey
that were viewed as interfering in Iraq's domestic
affairs.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh was referring to
a meeting last week in Turkey on the future of the
Iraqi city of Kirkuk, where there is ethnic tension
between Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen, or ethnic Turks.
In October, Iraqi Sunni Arab leaders strongly
criticized the Shiite-led government during an
Islamic conference held in Turkey.
"The Iraqi government expresses its rejection of the
interference of some countries in Iraq's internal
affairs by holding conferences of sectarian or
political nature or statements by officials of these
countries in which they talk about Iraqi internal
affairs," al-Dabbagh said during a news conference
after a Cabinet meeting.
He said Iraq had banned the anti-Turkish Kurdistan
Workers Party, or PKK, from operating in Iraq. A
similar ban was imposed on the Mujahedeen Khalq, an
Iranian opposition group.
His comments came as 3,000 Turkish soldiers carried
an operation in southeast Turkey in a crackdown on
Kurdish guerrillas who crossed into Turkey from
bases in northern Iraq, Turkish officials said.
"Iraq is committed that its territories not be used
as a launching pad for any aggression against
neighboring countries," al-Dabbagh said.
Asked if Iraq would use economic pressure on
neighboring countries, he said "the government could
take a step in this direction." He did not
elaborate.
Al-Dabbagh added that the six Cabinet ministers who
follow radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr
attended the government's meeting a day after they
ended a seven-week political boycott.
The government spokesman also said that President
Jalal Talabani, who visited Syria last week, had won
a pledge to try to stop infiltration by militants
across the border.
"The Syrian government has to be committed to help
Iraqis to stop any infiltration for terrorists that
could hurt Iraq. This is what the Syrian brothers
have promised," he said.
AP
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