Kirkuk: Kurdish Police shoot two Turkmen protesters

Turkmeni cafe in Kirkuk hit by suicide bomber; at least 25 killed

Hürriyet 18.07.2006

A cafe frequented by ethnic Turkmeni citizens 80 kilometers to the south of Kirkuk was hit yesterday by a suicide bomber. Initial estimates are that 25 Turkmeni were killed in the attack. Ahmet Muratli, a representative from the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITC), said there was worry that the death count from the bombing, which took place Sunday evening around 18:00, could go higher. Muratli reported that the suicide bomber entered the Aksu Cafe, a popular site for Shiite Turkmeni along the Tusurmati River, and asked for a glass of water before pulling the pin on his bomb. Work aimed at pulling the bodies of the dead out of the cafe was still going on last night at 22:00. The Turkish Foreign Ministry is following the situation closely, with special head advisor Altay Cengizer reporting on developments in the region to Foreign Ministry Abdullah Gul. Just two days ago, the president of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, Sadettin Ergec, narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on him in Kirkuk.

Terrorists aimed Dr. Sadeddin Ergec, the Iraqi Turkmen Front leader

kerkuk.net 16.07.2006

Once again terrorism aimed at the Iraqi Turkmen Front parade presented by Dr. Sadeddin Ergec, yesterday afternoon of the 15th of July 2006 in the Turkmen city of Kirkuk. This action was part of the new terrorist series targeting Turkmen leaders and intellectuals in Kirkuk and the rest of Turkmen regions (Turkmeneli). While the convoy of the ITF leader was heading to the Baghdad Street region in Kirkuk, a booby-trapped car exploded when the procession passed, wounding four members of the protection personnel of the Turkmen Front. A number of Turkmen citizens at the same location were also injured during the explosion and they were all transferred to Kirkuk General Hospital to receive treatment. It should be noted that this is similar to the first attempt to assassinate the President of the Iraqi Turkmen Front since he assumed the leadership of the ITF. In a television interview conducted by the Turkmeneli TV with Dr. Sadeddin Ergec after the assassination attempt, President of the Front declared that: “Such operations will not fear, and it will not prevent us from the service of Iraq and all Iraqis. The Iraqi Turkmen Front will remain conservative and insisting on the unity of Iraq's territory and people. Moreover, such operations will not stop us from striving, but on contrary, it would strengthen the determination in achieving our demands and rights. We know very well that such operation is only part of intimidation to force the indigenous people of Kirkuk to migrate. The terrorists in Kirkuk will be defeated and the Turkmen would remain stronger than ever before and they remain in their city”. The same day a bomb was exploded in one of the Internet libraries in Khalil Agha shopping centre in Kirkuk, killing the shop owner and wounding a number of Turkmen civilians.Iraqi Turkmen FrontUK RepresentationInformation Office15 July 2006

40 killed in Iraq market massacre

(AP)17 July 2006
The death toll from the Tuz Khurmatu suicide bombing on Sunday rose to 28, according to the latest toll from the police.
A suicide bomber walked into a cafe in the town about 75 kilometres (50 miles) from the oil city of Kirkuk and reportedly asked for a glass of water before blowing himself up, police said.
“Of the dead, 25 were Turkmen Shiites and three others were Kurds,” said Colonel Abbas Mohammed Amin, police chief of Tuz Khurmatu. ....>

Iraq market attack kills 55

Monday 17 July 2006, 13:37 Makka Time, 10:37 GMT
Worst attack
It was one of the worst attacks in the country in recent months and came on the anniversary of the coup that brought Saddam Hussein's Baath party to power in 1968.
On Sundday, a suicide bomber killed at least 20 people in a cafe outside the capital, and the head of the country's North Oil Company was kidnapped in Baghdad....>

26 die after a suicide bomb attack on Iraq café

ROBERT REID IN BAGHDAD
AT LEAST 26 people were killed and 25 others injured when a suicide bomber targeted an Iraq café yesterday.
Witnesses said the bomber asked for a glass of water before detonating himself. The blast was so powerful that it collapsed the ceiling of the one-storey building, burying many of the victims.....>

Twenty dead in north Iraq suicide bomb

Sunday, 16 Jul 2006 20:12

More than 20 people are thought to have been killed after a suicide bomber detonated himself in a bustling cafe in northern Iraq this evening.

Scores of people were injured in the blast, which occurred in a popular coffee shop in the majority-Turkmen town of Tuz Khormato, which is 120 miles north of Baghdad. ....>

ITF at Canadian national day reception

Among the guests were National Security Council (MGK) Secretary-General Yiğit Alpogan and his wife, Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO) Chairman Sinan Aygün, True Path Party (DYP) Deputy Chairman and former Ambassador Nüzhet Kandemir, former president of the Higher Education Board (YÖK) Kemal Gürüz and Iraqi Turkmen Front's (ITC) Turkey representative Ahmet Muratlı as well as the ambassadors of Australia, Oman, Belgium, Bangladesh, Egypt, Slovenia, South Africa, Croatia, China, Israel, Argentina, Poland, Tunisia, Slovakia, Albania, Venezuela, Iraq, Lithuania, Estonia, Jordan, Japan, the Czech Republic, the United States, Germany, Finland, Macedonia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Italy and a number of guests, including military attachés.

Zabari: We Need Turkey in Iraq

By Fatih Atik,

Ankara

Published: Tuesday, July 04, 2006 zaman.com

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiar Zabari, meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday, asked him to lead initiatives to end the Sunni-Shiite tensions in his country.
Claiming that the tension is dragging Iraq into a civil war, Zabari said, “Iraq needs Turkey in all areas, including security. Help us.”
In response, Erdogan highlighted the importance of territorial unity and promised Iraq can always count on Turkey for support.
Erdogan had invited Iraq’s new Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to Turkey and had communicated Ankara’s expectations to fight the terror network PKK (Kurdish Workers’ Party), the situation in Kerkuk (Kirkuk) and the opening of the second border gate.
In a closed-door meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Office, Zabari asked Erdogan to “personally make efforts and to lead” initiatives to establish security in Iraq.
Zabari asked Erdogan to step in and help prevent a possible civil war.
“You have made important contributions in the establishment of domestic security and in easing the Sunni-Shiite tensions in Iraq. However, we need your leadership to help end this conflict. We are keeping a close eye on your activities to prevent the ‘clash of civilizations’ and for global peace. We expect you to conduct similar activities for the establishment of domestic security in Iraq, too.”
‘Turkey will pull its weight’
Zabari brought greetings from Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister al-Maliki to Erdogan and informed him that the majority of Iraqis think fondly of Turkey.
“Iraq needs Turkey. We need cooperation in all fields including security, economy, energy, and commerce. Please give them a helping hand.”
In reply, Erdogan said, “The most important problem in Iraq is security at the moment and Turkey is prepared to pull its weight in this issue. It is difficult to cooperate in other areas without first establishing security. We appreciate the Maliki government’s efforts to establish security.”
The PM stressed that Iraqis should have a common understanding and emphasized the importance of national consensus.
Erdogan sent the message that “All Iraqis should strive for unity. Their basic needs, especially the security, should be met. It is important for all Iraqis to act in unity and not succumb to external pressures in order to secure tranquility.”
For the Kerkuk (Kirkuk) issue, Erdogan said that consideration should be given to the region’s Turkmen population and recommended measures to prevent the migration of other ethnic groups to the region.

IRAQ: UN MISSION CONCERNED AT UPSURGE IN PEOPLE DISPLACED BY RECENT VIOLENCE

New York, Jun 28 2006 11:00 AM

The recent upsurge of violence in Iraq over the past four months has uprooted a further 150,000 people across the war-torn country, bringing the total of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to 1.3 million, according to the United Nations mission there.“Displacement is not a phenomena exclusive to any specific region, ethnicity or creed. Indeed, displacement since the 22 February bombing of the (Shiite) Samara shrine has equally affected all of Iraq’s diverse communities on a nationwide basis,” the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (<"http://www.uniraq.org/">UNAMI) said in a <"http://www.uniraq.org/get_article.asp?Language=EN&ArticleID=179">statement.“While addressing the immediate needs of Iraq's internally displaced is critical, UNAMI stresses the need to focus on developing mechanisms to allow for the safe and dignified return of displaced Iraqis to their homes. Achieving this will be central to Iraq's long-term stability,” it added.In an effort to support the Iraqi government in meeting the emergency needs of these people, the UN and its partners have distributed assistance to over 12,500 of the most vulnerable recently displaced families.It is estimated that there are 1.3 million IDPs in Iraq, nearly 5 per cent of the total population. While many were displaced as long ago as the early 1980s, the last four months of increasing violence and relentless sectarian tensions have resulted in the sudden mass increase. In the last fortnight alone, 3,200 families have fled Ramadi to neighbouring towns as a result of the military operations there. 2006-06-28 00:00:00.000

Status of Kirkuk is for Iraqis to decide

US insisting on hands-off policy on Kirkuk
Friday, June 23, 2006

ÜMİT ENGİNSOY

WASHINGTON -Turkish Daily News

Despite warnings by Turkey that an ongoing Kurdification of northern Iraq's oil-rich and multiethnic city of Kirkuk would likely lead to a major conflict, the United States has said it would not intervene.
Asked to comment on remarks made by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that Kirkuk should be given a special status within Iraq, U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli made it clear at his daily press briefing on Wednesday that Washington at this point would continue with its hands-off policy on the matter. "The status of Kirkuk is...contınue

Croatian ambassador hosts national day reception

ANKARA - Turkish Daily News

Saturday, June 24, 2006
Croatian Ambassador to Turkey Gordan Bakota hosted a reception on Tuesday celebrating Croatian national day at the Ankara Hilton Hotel.
The ambassador personally greeted each guest at the door.
Among the guests were Air Forces intelligence chief Gen. Erol Özgil, Iraqi Turkmen Front's (ITC) Turkey representative Ahmet Muratlı and Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Ahmet Acet as well as the ambassadors of Iraq, Japan, Estonia, Bangladesh, China, Libya, Greece, Uzbekistan, Belgium, Belarus, France, the Czech Republic, Turkmenistan, Israel, Serbia, Hungary, Slovenia, Albania, Sudan, Romania, Slovakia, Yemen, Germany, Spain, Canada, Palestine, Lebanon, Tunisia, South Africa, Macedonia, Algeria, Moldova, Argentina, Egypt and Brazil and a number of guests including military attachés.

ITF's suggestion of Turkmen Federation

Yeniçağ 21.06.2006


Mr. Ahmet Muratlı who says that they are spending great efforts to prevent Kirkuk from falling into the hands of the peshmerge, revealed they had a “Turkmen Federation” proposal ready in their bags After articles were appended to the Iraqi Constitutional Law restricting the rights of the Turkmen, it is a matter of further concern for the Turkmen that efforts to increase the peshmerge population in Kirkuk in readiness for the referendum to be held next year is carried out with international support. The peshmerge who claim to consist of up to 17 percent of the population of Iraq demand a federation to pave the way for a Kurdish state.

We will not divide Iraq

Mr. Ahmet Muratlı, who says that the Turkmen might also request a federation, explained that they did not defend the unitary structure of Iraq and the ITF Chairman had a proposal for a “Turkmen Federation” in his bag. Although Mr.Muratlı claimed that the first steps to divide Iraq would not be taken by the Turkmen, he said, “the ITF would never cease to defend the freedoms and legal rights of Iraqi Turks”.

Mr.Muratlı explained that the activities carried out recently to target and kill the Turkmen in the Turkmeneli region had been victimized according to a specific plan and continued by saying “The target is to intimidate the Turkmen of Kirkuk and turn the Turkmen population into a minority group”.

The Peshmerge’s deceitful plan.

Mr. Muratlı explained the plans to decrease the Turkmen population until the referendum to be held in 2007 by saying: "Firstly the peshmerge who had been persuaded to migrate in accordance with article 58 will be resettled in their previous domains. According to official records this total does not exceed 11.000 persons. However, 350.000 persons have settled in Kirkuk. The region is being populated from other countries." Mr.Muratlı reminded that the subject of the boundaries of the region depicted in the Iraqi Constitutional Law as “Kurdistan Regional Administration” was debatable and within this scope not only Kirkuk, but Mosul as well would become a matter of dispute. Efforts are carried out to turn Kirkuk into TelafarITF Turkey Representative Ahmet Muratlı explained, “Attention must be paid to Kirkuk. In order to form a state in the north, there are plans to further decrease the Turkmen population in the region” and to this end policies to incept massacres and exile according to the example of Telafar will start in Kirkuk.

Acts of terror in Iraq are directed at the Turkmen and Kirkuk.

kerkuk.net 19.06.2006

Necdet Ata Kerküklü
After the massacre of 20 Turkmen students in Karatepe district located between Kifri and Hanekin 100 km north of Baghdad on June 4th, more attacks were made in 5 different Turkmen regions in Kirkuk killing 13 and seriously wounding 41 people. Looking at the method and timing of the terrorism activities, it can be observed that these acts are spreading into the Turkmen region, starting from the south and climbing towards the north, especially targeting Kirkuk and Mosul. I fear that at this rate every city in Turkmeneli will be remembered for the atrocities committed there while the world merely stands by and observes.

read more of the article

Iraq gets 'coalition of the reluctant' as allies retreat

FT

By Guy Dinmore in Washington and David Pilling in Tokyo
Published: June 20 2006 03:00

Last updated: June 20 2006 03:00

The shrinking US "coalition of the willing" in Iraq has come to resemble more a coalition of the reluctant, as allies weigh up the costs of continued involvement in an unpopular war against the benefits of backing President George W. Bush for the rest of his second term.
Japan is expected to become the latest coalition member to announce a schedule for its withdrawal in a public statement today. Italy's new foreign minister, Massimo D'Alema, met Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, last week to discuss the Italian pullout by the end of the year, meaning in effect an end to operations by September.
Spain withdrew its 1,300 soldiers from Iraq in 2004 after a change of government. The Netherlands, Ukraine, Nicaragua, the Philippines and Honduras have also pulled out. Only several thousand foreign troops remain alongside some 130,000 US soldiers.
The UK yesterday confirmed that Iraqi security forces would take over responsibility for security in the southern Muthana province, where Japanese forces were based. British and Australian troops - who provided security for the Japanese as they carried out reconstruction projects - will be redeployed....continue

No change expected

Iraqis are not fooled by the hype as the brutality of the occupation grinds on regardless of Zarqawi, writes Nermeen Al-Mufti from Baghdad

The death of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi has not alleviated tensions in Iraq. US and Iraqi troops still patrol main city roads as well as various highways. The roads linking Baghdad to Diali, the province in which Zarqawi was killed, and Al-Ramadi, a city still under attack, are being heavily patrolled. Al-Fallujah, Al-Ratba and Al-Qaem, all to the west of Baghdad, have been under siege for weeks. The only good news in the war-torn country is that the Shia militia in Basra have declared a cease-fire until the World Cup is over.
Iraqis have been in two minds about the death of Zarwaqi. Iraqi resistance brigades described him as a "brother" in Islam and jihad, but when a phone-in radio programme in Baghdad invited response from the public several callers voiced joy at the death of "the terrorist" while others voiced sympathy.
Reprisals were not long in coming. Fifty college students have been shot dead within a week. "Al-Qaeda in the Land of the Two Rivers," the group once led by Zarqawi, is thought to be behind the killing. Among the dead were 20 Turkoman Shias and students whose clothes violated the dress code Al-Qaeda is trying to enforce. Iraqis may have grown used to their countrymen getting killed by booby-trapped cars and "friendly" US fire, but the killing of students was received with a mixture of shock and alarm.
Political analyst Raad Al-Hodeithi was not optimistic. "Zarqawi's death might give President Bush a chance to boost his fortunes ahead of the half-term elections in November, but it will not increase his popularity. The Americans started a wide-scale attack against Ramadi on 10 June, following a siege in which the city's roads to Baghdad and other towns were cut off. This suggests that the White House intends to destroy Iraq and undermine the political process."
President Jalal Al-Talabani has told the nation that an agreement between the government and the resistance was expected soon and that acts of violence would subside by the end of the year. But Abu Ali, who is close to the Islamic Army, is doubtful: "The factions that have opened dialogue with the Iraqi government are not the same ones resisting the occupation. These are factions that search for political posts and perhaps financial interests. The factions of the true resistance have not started and will not start a dialogue unless US forces declare a timetable for withdrawal. We said were weren't going to talk to the government, because we don't recognise it."
Abdel-Aziz Al-Hakim, leader of the Iraqi Alliance, has once again called for a federal system in the south and centre of the country. Speaking in Al-Najaf to a gathering of Shia parties, Al-Hakim pledged to "work through all means to achieve this objective and complete the journey we've started". The gathering was attended by members of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and Iraq's Hizbullah. Al-Sadr supporters didn't attend the meeting.
This was not the first time Al-Hakim has called for federalism. In a speech delivered in Al-Suleimaniya late last year, Al-Hakim proffered that, "Federalism is the right choice for the Kurdistan of Iraq. It is also the right choice in the centre and south of Iraq, as well as in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities."
It is noteworthy that a substantial proportion of Iraqis object to Kurdish-style federalism because they don't want to see a regional government having defence and foreign ministers and talking to foreign powers independently from the central government. Many Iraqis see such federalism as a first step towards the partition of Iraq.
As political uncertainty continued, the Association of Muslim Scholars said that various militia and unidentified death squads were still murdering Sunni individuals, including clerics. Meanwhile, the Islamic Party, which takes part in the current political process, expressed satisfaction that Prime Minister Nour Al-Maliki's government freed dozens of Iraqi detainees.
Concerning the political process, the Arab League has postponed a national dialogue conference slated earlier for 22 June without setting a new date for its convocation. Several Iraqi politicians had said that they wouldn't attend the conference if it were held in the Green Zone, calling for the gathering to be held outside the country for security reasons. Masoud Al-Barzani has called for the conference to be held in Arbil, a venue unacceptable to many.
As chaos and mayhem continued unabated, Friday preachers advised relatives of the dead not to claim their remains from the morgue. The reason: four individuals have been abducted and killed when they went to claim the body of a relative.

Iraq's Kirkuk rocked by bombings

The wounded were rushed away for treatment following the attacksAt least 16 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a series of bomb attacks on police in Iraq's northern oil city of Kirkuk.
A police patrol was targeted in the first blast in the city centre at about 0730 (0330 GMT), leaving at least 10 dead, a police official said.
About half an hour later, a suspected suicide car bomber tried to ram the main police headquarters, killing five.
The offices of President Talabani's Kurdish party were also targeted.
In another attack, a district police chief was wounded and his bodyguard killed when two bombs went off outside his house.
Confusion surrounds the exact number of attacks. There are fears the death toll could rise.
The attacks may be part of the revenge promised by al-Qaeda in Iraq for the death of their leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, in a US air strike last week, the BBC's Hugh Sykes in Baghdad says.
Ordinary guerrilla insurgents would not have the resources to organise such a co-ordinated attack, one experienced observer told the BBC.
Attack foiled
In the first attack, eight civilians and two policemen were killed when a bomb exploded in a parked car, Brig Gen Sarhat Qadir was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying. Another eight civilians and a police colonel were wounded.
In the second attack, a suicide car bomber attempted to ram into a checkpoint at the police headquarters. Police opened fire and the car exploded. Two policemen and three civilians were killed, Brig Gen Qadir said.
An attempted car bomb attack on the office of President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party was also foiled. Police opened fire on the car, causing it to explode.
Kirkuk, some 250km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, is home to a mix of Arab, Kurdish and Turkmen inhabitants, all of whom claim ownership of the city and the oil-rich territory around it.
The city has been spared some of the large bombings suffered by other Iraqi cities.
But it has been the scene of frequent attacks on police by insurgents waging war on US-led multinational forces and their Iraqi allies.

Turkey-Iraq discuss Kirkuk status

15:28 - 09 June 2006

"Kirkuk should be given special status," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a meeting with Iraqi Deputy Premier Barham Salih. Erdogan put down Turkey's expectations over establishment of stability and security atmosphere in Iraq after formation of new government in that country and particularly reiterated Turkey's known views pertaining to status of Kirkuk. Erdogan also pointed to the risks in Iraq caused by ethnical structurings [as received], and noted that territorial integrity and unity of Iraq were very important for Turkey. Erdogan and Salih also discussed improvement of commercial relations between Turkey and Iraq as well as the problems in border passes. Salih in his part said Iraq's territorial integrity would definitely be protected, stating that, "Kirkuk is also the problem of Iraq. It will absolutely reach a fair solution." Erdogan also explained Turkey's uneasiness over the PKK issue. Salih in his part said, "PKK is a threat also for us. Turkey's security is our security. Necessary measures will be taken."

Turkish PM says Kirkuk should be given special status

NTVMSNBC
ISTANBUL - Turkey’s Prime Minister has said the oil rich city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq should be given a special status, rather than come under the control just of local Iraqi Kurdish authorities. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan floated the suggestion during a meeting with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Behram Salih late on Thursday, at which he warned of the risks of establishing a sectarian state in Iraq. Erdogan stressed the importance Ankara gave to the territorial integrity of Iraq and its unity.

Gunmen Attack Bus Near Baghdad, At Least 19 Killed

Raising the specter of further ethnic killings, the Associated Press reported that the gunmen dragged the students out of the bus. The A.P. put a higher death toll on the attack, saying that 19 of the dead were ethnic Turkmen and two were Kurds. Four Sunni Arabs were spared by the gunmen, it reported. full story