TDN
April 26, 2001
Saadet Oruc

The expected visit of Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Massoud Barzani is
delayed to May due to the intensive program of Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit.

The visit is expected to be scheduled on May 6-7. Despite the emphasis put on the threat
of terrorism caused by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) elements based in
northern Iraq during the previous meetings, economic issues will be raised by the KDP
side, Ankara representative of the party Safeen Dizayee said on Wednesday in a
statement to the Turkish Daily News.

"During the previous five meetings between Barzani and Turkish officials, security matters
and the terrorist threat dominated the talks. But now the number of PKK members has
decreased to 600-700 from 4,000 in northern Iraq and now they are locked in the Behdinan
area," Dizayee said, putting emphasis on the point that no single PKK camp has remained
in their area.

"We will discuss economic issues and the future of Iraq as well as the new U.S. policy on
Iraq," Dizayee added. Turkish officials, at this point, related that the two sides will certainly
have different agendas.

They explained that the reason for the delay of Barzani's visit was the schedule of Prime
Minister Bulent Ecevit, nothing else. On April 30, the Ecevit-led Democratic Left Party
(DSP) is meeting and on May 3, the prime minister is leaving for an official visit to Spain.

Reconciliation with the PUK

The two rival Iraqi Kurdish factions in Iraq are passing through a rarely-seen period of
"spring" regarding bilateral relations. Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)
and the KDP have gone a long way toward the restarting of parliamentary work together
and the holding of elections, as mentioned in the Washington agreement. "The influence of
the PKK on the PUK was the main barrier to the implementation of the Washington
agreement (signed between the Iraqi Kurds under the auspices of the U.S. administration
in 1998 in Washington)," said Dizayee.

For three months an exchange of visits have taken place between the KDP and the PUK,
and the two parties will open mutual offices in Arbil and Suleymaniya. The two groups had
numerous clashed with each other during the past years but had never ended contacts
with Baghdad.

However, following an attempt by the Iraqi army two months ago against several
settlements near Dohuk city in northern Iraq, the traffic between the Iraqi administration
and the Iraqi Kurds was eased. "Not only the allied forces, but also the Iraqi Kurds
themselves, protect the Kurds in Iraq. Following the attempt, this message had been given
to Iraq," Dizayee said. Dizayee also talked about Iraq's refusal to grant visas for 300 U.N.
staff, most of whom were mine-clearers. The Kurdish-controlled area in Iraq is 40,000
square kilometers.

Three basket U.S. approach on Iraq

All eyes are turned on the upcoming developments in Iraq and northern Iraq following the
assumption of office of the new U.S. President George W. Bush.

In earlier remarks, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell made a reference to a
three-basket policy on Iraq, which is base firstly on sanctions, secondly on the no-fly zone
and thirdly on a regime change. In his testimony at the U.S. House of representatives on
March 8, Powell briefly commented on the basic principles of the U.S. policy on Iraq.

"First, we work within the U.N. system to make sure he has not developed and put into his
inventory weapons of mass destruction," Powell said. "That is a result of the resolutions
he agreed to at the end of the Gulf War. Also there is a policy of a no-fly zone, which is
used to protect the Kurds in the northern part of the country and also to provide warning
and protection in the southern part of Iraq. Now we have been flying in those no-fly zones
for some time. The third part of U.S. policy does deal with regime change. It has been part
of the government's policy for a number of years now to advocate that the country would
be better off without this regime."

Clearly stating that the sanctions are falling apart, Secretary Powell stated the necessity to
review sanctions on Iraq. "I would not call it an easing of sanctions. What's been
happening is not only an easing of sanctions, it's a verge of collapse of sanctions. This
gives us a new floor that all can agree to," Powell said.

Following these remarks, the difference of views among the top U.S. officials on Iraq
became visible. The unavoidable contrast of being in administration and being faced with
the realities and the election campaign slogans caused a more realistic look in
Washington on Iraqi affairs, Turkish officials comment.
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The Kurdistan Observer
www.kurdistanobserver.com