Zaman, Turkey
June 29 2004

Erdogan: Kurds Are Not Minority but Part of All

At the Pan Atlantic Youth Summit yesterday organized as part of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit, Prime Minister
Erdogan emphasized that Kurds are not a minority, but one part of a
whole.

Erdogan answered questions posed by the audience at the Summit
attended by approximately 200 students. “Kurds are components
inextricable from the whole. Religious groups can be counted as a
minority. For us, the Kurds do not have minority status,” Erdogan
said in response to a question about the future of the Kurds. He also
pointed out that although he is from Rize, his spouse is from Siirt,
a southeastern city that is densely populated by Kurds. He said, “the
population in Turkey is almost hybrid, there is no minority.”

Erdogan said that NATO and the European Union (EU) have extended east
and Turkey is no longer a geographical wing, but rather the center.
He stressed that Turkey is gaining importance and it will
successfully overcome the difficulties with its historical experience
and the power it took to unify with the west. Erdogan said, “Turkey
is a candidate to be a symbol of 21st century culture and
civilization.” When asked when the Armenian border will be opened, he
reminded the audience that Armenia is an occupier in Azerbaijan. He
added: “Turkey cannot develop its relationship with Armenia and this
stems from Armenia. It is an incompatible country.” Erdogan
criticized Armenia for not attending the NATO summit. “The Armenian
Diaspora wants to keep so-called genocide on the agenda. It is
impossible for Turkey to approve this attitude.” He also replied to a
question about the new Turkish policy in the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (TRNC) by saying: “We put effort forth for the
unification of the island and started peace talks for the fourth
time. We showed we would be always a step ahead of the Greeks. The
side that rejected the Annan plan is in the EU and the situation of
the side who said yes is apparent.”

Next Step: Iraqi Election

All eyes have turned to elections to be held in January of 2005 for
the Iraq National Assembly now that sovereignty has been transferred.
The transfer of power took place yesterday, two days ahead of
schedule.

The new Constitution to be prepared by the Parliament in the fall of
2005 is to be presented for a referendum. The new government that
will be determined through the free general elections in December of
2005 will come to power in January of 2006.

The US forces entering the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on March 9, 2003
formed the Iraqi Temporary Governing Council consisting of 25 Iraqi
members on July 13, 2003. The Council enacted the interim
Constitution on March 8, 2004 and, after electing Ghazi Al-Yawar as
President on June 1, 2004, annulled itself as of June 28, 2004.

06.29.2004
Bahtiyar Kucuk, Servet Yanatma
Istanbul