TRKNWS-L NEWS from Vic McDonald

[newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl]

From: newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl (newsdesk at aps.nl)
Subject: TRKNWS-L NEWS from Vic McDonald


Turkey says fighting rages in northern Iraq

    ANKARA, Jan 25 (Reuter) - Several relief agencies providing aid to Iraqi
Kurds in northern Iraq are considering pulling out because of continued
fighting between factions there, Turkey's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ferhat
Ataman said on Wednesday.

    ``The clashes are seriously hampering the transportation and distribution
of relief aid to the Iraqi Kurdish people,'' he said, but gave no details.

    Forces of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Jalal Talabani,
and Masoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) guerrillas have been
fighting since December 13.

    The worst of the fighting has been over Arbil, controlled by PUK forces.
There was no indication of casualty figures from the latest fighting.

    ``Because of the fighting some foreign NGOs (non-govenmental
organisations) handling humanitarian aid are considering pulling out of the
area,'' Ataman said.

    A Turkish Red Crescent relief group, distributing aid in Suleimaniyah,
Arbil and Dohuk cities, was operating, but only just, Ataman said.

    ``Turkey would like to see the sides end fighting which can benefit none
except those who wish for instability in northern Iraq,'' he added.

    The PUK and KDP supposedly share power to administer northern Iraq,
protected against possible attacks from Baghdad by an allied force in
southern Turkey, patrolling an exclusion zone.

    PUK and KDP spokesmen in Ankara were not avilable for immediate comment.

    A foreign ministry source said a team of Turkish and U.S. officials were
in northern Iraq to urge Talabani and Barzani to end hostilities immediately.


    The delegation crossed into the region from the Turkish border on
Tuesday, the source said but gave no further details.

    Ankara earlier this month offered to mediate between Talabani and Barzani
and host a meeting of the two leaders. Ataman said there was no progress on
the issue.

    PUK spokesman in Ankara had said earlier that Talabani had in principle
agreed to the offer.
REUTER      Transmitted: 95-01-25 12:20:23 EST


New German military aid to Turkey sparks dispute

    BONN, Jan 25 (Reuter) - Germay said on Wednesday it would make good on a
Gulf War-era promise and send more military equipment to Turkey despite
opposition parties' objections.

    ``The German side has decided to honour its pledge from autumn 1990,''
the defence ministry said, adding it would send Turkey armoured vehicles,
rubber rafts, boats, ambulances and spare parts worth around 52 million marks
($34 million).

    The equipment, which does not include any weapons, is part of a 1.5
billion mark ($990 million) military aid package Bonn promised Ankara in 1990
after Iraqi troops marched into Kuwait.

    Most of that equipment has already been delivered. But the opposition
Social Democrats (SPD) attacked Chancellor Helmut Kohl's government for
continuing the shipments amid worries over Turkey's treatment of its Kurdish
minority.

    Bonn expressed concern over the conviction last month of Kurdish deputies
for comments they made in the Turkish parliament on Kurdish autonomy.

    And it has suspended repatriation of rejected asylum seekers while it
examines the situation of Kurds in Turkey and the efforts promised by Ankara
to liberalise its constitution.

    ``With the sensitivity of a T-72 tank (Kohl) gives this happy message
just when world opinion is unsettled by news from Turkey about sentencing of
parliamentary deputies, the start of a trial against writer Yasar Kemal and
the further escalation of the war in Kurdish regions,'' an SPD statement
said.

    It called on the government to halt military aid to Turkey and Greece,
with which Bonn will discuss such aid on Friday.

    The defence ministry rejected what it called ``completely unfounded'' SPD
criticism.

    ``An international binding pledge is simply being upheld, underscoring
Germany's reliability,'' it said.

    Bonn temporarily froze shipments in 1992 and again in 1994 while
reviewing allegations Turkey was violating terms of the agreement and using
German equipment against separatist Kurds. It said last May it had found no
proof to back the allegations.

    Turkey denies using military equipment from Germany in its southeast
where security forces are fighting a 10-year-old insurgency by the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
REUTER   Transmitted: 95-01-25 14:22:04 EST