Arabs unite over Turkish plans for Iraq<\/p>\n
By Jonathan Wright<\/p>\n
CAIRO (Reuter): Turkey's plan to set up a buffer zone in
\nnorthern Iraq has brought Arab states together in support of
\nIraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity.<\/p>\n
Even those Arab governments which joined the military campaign
\nto drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait in 1991 say they cannot
\naccept a foreign buffer zone in an Arab country.<\/p>\n
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a pillar of Arab opposition
\nto Iraqi President Saddam Hussein during the Kuwaiti crisis, said
\nin remarks published on Monday that partitioning Iraq or annexing
\nIraqi territory would be grave.<\/p>\n
"Iraq is an Arab state the survival and unity of which we are
\nintent on preserving," he told the ruling party newspaper Mayo.
\n"Partitioning Iraq would create a dangerous situation in the
\nwhole region," he added.<\/p>\n
But after Mubarak called Turkish President Suelyman Demirel on
\nMonday, Egypt said it had Turkish assurances that it would not
\nset up a military presence in Iraqi territory.<\/p>\n
Turkish Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller said Turkey would
\nexplain its thinking to the Iraqi ambassador. "In a few days we
\nwill invite all the Arab world's representatives and inform them
\nof the reasons for Turkey's requirements," she added.<\/p>\n
Syria, Algeria and the six Gulf Cooperation Council states
\nhave expressed reservations about the buffer zone, which Ankara
\nsays would stop Turkish Kurds from using the area as a base for
\nattacks on Turkish forces.<\/p>\n
A notable exception is Jordan, which has refrained from overt
\ncriticism of the plan and has been developing ties with Turkey,
\napparently as a bulwark against Syria.<\/p>\n
Arab opposition reflects suspicion about Turkish policy in the
\nregion, especially in the light of the defense cooperation
\nagreement which Turkey and Israel signed this year.<\/p>\n
It also shows that pan-Arab solidarity and resentment of non-
\nArab interference in the region can transcend the antagonism
\nbetween Saddam and his fellow Arab leaders.<\/p>\n
Arab leaders can argue that just as they rallied in support of
\nKuwaiti sovereignty in 1990, they should similarly defend Iraqi
\nsovereignty now against Turkish encroachments.<\/p>\n
Diplomats say Arab governments are increasingly concerned that
\ncountries like Israel, Turkey and the United States are deciding
\nthe future of the region without consulting them and to the long-
\nterm detriment of the Arabs as a single nation.<\/p>\n
The same thinking lies behind Arab opposition to secessionist
\nmovements in southern Sudan, even among governments which have no
\nlove for the Islamist government in Khartoum.<\/p>\n
By similar logic the Arab League has consistently and
\nunequivocally demanded that Iran withdraw from three Gulf islands
\nclaimed by the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n
"There's a sense of siege, of being in retreat, of being
\nsqueezed on every front. This buffer zone plan clearly reinforces
\nthat Arab perception," one Cairo diplomat said.<\/p>\n
Arabs, especially Islamists and traditional Arab nationalists,
\nnote that the United Nations, under U.S. influence, has imposed
\nsanctions on three Arab countries -- Iraq, Libya and Sudan. They
\nwonder which country will be next.<\/p>\n
Syria, which has a longstanding territorial dispute with
\nTurkey, has been especially vehement about Turkish plans for
\nnorthern Iraq, seen in Damascus as an encircling tactic.<\/p>\n
Turkey says the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the target of
\nthe buffer zone plan, has bases in Syria and in Syrian-controlled
\neastern Lebanon.<\/p>\n
The Syrian ruling-party newspaper al-Baath said: "Insisting on
\nthis (setting up the zone) would no doubt have negative results
\non future Arab-Turkish ties because Arabs would be forced to take
\nthe needed decision to protect their rights."<\/p>\n
"Any violation of the unity of Iraqi territory is a threat to
\nthe pan-Arab security and all Arabs," added the Syrian government
\nnewspaper.<\/p>",
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