Iraqi interim leaders don't want Turkish peacekeepers

Iraq’s interim leaders told the US today they do not want peacekeepers from Turkey or other neighbouring countries but were willing to soften their opposition to avoid a confrontation with Washington.

The Turkish parliament’s decision to authorise the sending of Turkish peacekeepers to join the coalition was applauded in Washington, which is anxious to bring in more troops to ease the burden on the 130,000 American soldiers.

However, the decision upset many Iraqis because of the legacy of 400 years of Turkish colonial domination of what is now Iraq.

Opposition to the Turks runs deepest in the north, where Iraq’s minority Kurds have watched ethnic cousins across the border in south-eastern Turkey wage an on-off separatist guerrilla war in recent decades, in part from bases in northern Iraq.

Some Iraqis also worry that Turkey may support the interests of ethnic Turks in northern Iraq, a small minority often at odds with their Kurdish neighbours.

Iyad Allawi, president of the US appointed Iraqi Governing Council, said ”important sensitivities” were involved in deploying Turkish troops in Iraq.

The spokesman for the council, Haider Ahmed, said members told chief US administrator Paul Bremer that council members did not want to see any peacekeeping troops from countries – including Turkey – that border Iraq.

After meeting with the council, Bremer said he was willing to discuss the issue but that the final decision rested with the coalition.

Despite their opposition, key council members said they wanted to avoid a showdown with the Americans over the Turkish presence.

Mouwafak al-Rabii, a Shiite member of the council and long-time human rights activist, said ”there are still differences” with the coalition over the Turks “but they are reconcilable differences.”

“We don’t want any confrontation with the Coalition Provisional Authority, and we have decided to work together,” al-Rabii said. “This is not a stumbling block in our relations” with the coalition.”