US reasserts support for upcoming Kirkuk referendum
1/17/2007 KurdishMedia.com - By Vladimir van Wilgenburg
Although Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has commented sharply over the past week on the so-called "changing demographics" of the city Kirkuk, even calling for the referendum scheduled to take place there to be postponed, US authorities have indicated that there is no support in Washington, DC for such postponement. This reported the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.
Speaking before his ruling AKP group last Wednesday, Prime Minister Erdogan had said "...In light of demographic changes in Kirkuk, it is not right for a referendum to take place right now...." At a press conference yesterday in the US capital however, Tom Casey, a spokesman for the State Department, made comments indictating US unwillingness to listen to Ankara's push for a postponed referendum:
"These are subjects which have debated in the past. In the Iraqi Constitution, there are certain mechanisms in place with regards to the determination of Kirkuk's status. And we of course are expecting the Iraqi government to move according to these plans."
Recently Ross Wilson, the US Ambassador to Turkey, showed support for the referendum. Wilson said "The future of Kirkuk is one which the Iraqi people have to decide upon. It is natural that the US, Turkey, and other countries would have opinions on Kirkuk, but in the end, it is Iraq which will be making the choices."
Still Washington takes Turkish concerns over the developments in “Iraq’s Kirkuk region seriously”, Ross Wilson said. Soon the Turkish parliament will debate the situation of Iraq and especially the status of Kirkuk.
Senator Joe Biden, chairman of the U.S. Senate's powerful Foreign Relations Committee and a presidential candidate, advised the Kurds to refrain from independence and full control over Kirkuk in order to avoid a conflict with Turkey
Recently the UN warned for a looming crisis in Kirkuk. The UN voiced it’s concerns at reports of mistreatment of ethnic Turkmen and Arabs by the Kurdish majority.
The US support for the referendum might ease fears among Kurds, that the American won't be loyal towards Kurdish interests, due to the words of Bush and Rice.
http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=13904
OOH... stand in awe of the sheer intellectual prowess.
Easy for you to say, Mr. Biden.