Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Sept 28 2007
Babacan urges Rice to stop PKK terrorism at once
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan once again urged the United States to
take measures to stop the terrorist threat posed by the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Iraq, when he met with his US
counterpart, Condoleezza Rice, in New York on Wednesday.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Foreign Minister Ali
Babacan (R) on Wednesday at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. The PKK
problem was one of the key issues during the meeting.
Babacan also said Turkey’s expectations for the arrest and
extradition of senior leaders of the terrorist group in Iraq remained
in place, diplomatic sources close to the talks, held on the
sidelines of the UN General Assembly, said yesterday.
Turkey has been pressing the US and Iraq to take swift measures
to stem PKK terrorism and has said that it would take matters into
its own hands if its demands are not met. Earlier this week, Land
Forces Commander Gen. Ýlker Baþbuð said the US should understand that
it is time for action, not words, and warned that Turkey has the
ability to "increase costs" for the US in Iraq, without elaborating.
At Wednesday’s meeting, however, Rice reiterated verbal assurances
and said that the United States was working to end the PKK threat,
not only in Iraq but also wherever it is active in the world. She
also said that the United States was dealing with the matter at the
highest level.
The meeting also touched on two resolutions pending in the US
Congress on an alleged genocide of Armenians at the hands of the
Ottoman Turks, the stalemate in the Cyprus problem and the Middle
East conflict.
The congressional resolutions call on the US administration to
recognize Armenian claims of genocide, charges that Turkey
categorically rejects. Babacan repeated that relations with the
United States would receive a serious blow if the resolutions are
passed and urged the administration to intensify efforts to prevent
its passage.
The administration is against passage of the resolutions, but US
officials have said repeatedly that the administration cannot
intervene in the congressional process. Rice said the administration
would express its opposition to passage of the resolutions more
strongly in the future.
The two ministers also discussed another contentious issue, namely
Turkish plans to cooperate closely with neighboring Iran in the field
of energy. The United States opposes a preliminary deal between Iran
and Turkey to transfer Iranian gas to Europe via Turkey due to
concerns over Iran’s nuclear program and advises Ankara to look to
alternative suppliers.
Rice said the United States viewed Iran as a problem-causing country
and emphasized that its nuclear ambitions were a serious matter for
Washington. She said the United States expected all countries to
comply with UN Security Council resolutions issued on Iran’s nuclear
program.
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Erdal retrial tops agenda at talks with Belgian minister
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and his Belgian counterpart, Karel de
Gucht, have discussed a retrial in Belgium of a Turkish fugitive
accused in Turkey of involvement in the murder of a prominent
businessman, diplomats said yesterday.
The gathering between the two ministers was held on the sidelines of
UN General Assembly meetings on Wednesday. Gucht said his government
was closely following the legal process of Fehriye Erdal’s retrial.
Belgium’s Supreme Court ruled last week that Erdal, a member of the
outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), can
be tried in Belgium for crimes she committed in Turkey. Turkey has
been seeking extradition of Erdal since she was captured in Belgium
in September 1996 with a fake passport, months after the murder of
prominent businessman Özdemir Sabancý and two other people in January
1996, in which she is believed to have played a key role.
Turkish authorities demanded her extradition to stand trial in
connection with the Sabancý murder, but Belgium refused, saying she
could face the death penalty if returned to Turkey. Ankara banned the
death penalty in 2001 as part of its European Union bid, but Erdal
continued to remain in Belgium. She was held for the possession of
weapons, convicted along with six others for belonging to the DHKP/C
and sentenced to four years in jail. However she escaped police
surveillance before her conviction and remains on the run, her
whereabouts unknown.
As part of his UN diplomacy, Babacan also met with Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov, Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen and
Dominica’s Foreign Minister Charles Savarin. Lavrov and Babacan
discussed the situation in Iraq and emphasized that they were in
consensus that the war-torn country’s territorial integrity and
political unity must be protected. Lavrov also said he agreed with
Turkey that the Cyprus problem must be solved as part of the UN
secretary-general’s goodwill efforts.
28.09.2007
Today’s Zaman New York