---------- From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2001 19:04:25 +0200 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Ozgurluk] Terrorists support Terrorists: Turkey asked to lead Islamic peace troops Turkey asked to lead Islamic peace troops European diplomats want Ankara to consider heading UN force to provide post-Taliban security in Afghanistan Jonathan Steele in Ankara Thursday October 18, 2001 The Guardian Turkey is being asked to consider sending troops and possibly taking overall command of a mainly Islamic peacekeeping force to provide security in Afghanistan once the Taliban regime has been replaced, European diplomats say. The force would be under the mandate of the United Nations. Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, is expected to raise the issue when he meets the Turkish prime minister, Bulent Ecevit, in Ankara this morning. The idea of a UN force with predominantly Is lamic contingents, first disclosed in the Guardian last week, would be a precedent-setting departure for the world body. It has been gathering pace in the last few days as the United States and other western governments focus on the danger of a security vacuum in Kabul if the Taliban regime collapses. They fear chaos and revenge killings if forces from the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance were to capture the capital. Northern Alliance troops come from the Tajik and Uzbek minorities, while the largest group in the capital were Pashtun before the latest crisis. Many Pashtuns have fled in the last three weeks but thousands are believed to remain. "As a member of Nato, Turkey is the obvious candidate to lead an Islamic force," a British official said last night. Turkey has a large professional army with long combat experience in the battle against Kurdish separatists, though its human rights record is patchy. It also has extensive international peacekeeping experience from Bosnia and Kosovo. Other countries being mentioned as key participants in the suggested force include Morocco, Bangladesh and Jordan. Jordan's King Abdullah saw the prime minister in Downing Street on Tuesday. The king is understood to have been keen to offer troops for the US-led military campaign in Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington. But he had second thoughts when he saw the strength of feeling in the Islamic world about the air strikes and President Bush's call for a "crusade". A peacekeeping force under a United Nations mandate would be a separate issue, which Islamic countries could accept. Jordan, with a highly professional army, took a ma jor role in the UN peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone, and also has experience from Bosnia. Although Islamic countries would dominate the force, other nations, including Nato members, would be expected to provide logistics and intelligence support. The idea for Kabul to be demilitarised and given United Nations protection revives a plan first mooted towards the end of the communist regime of Mohammed Najibullah in 1992. But it never got off the ground because key commanders in Najibullah's army defected and mojahedin forces took over the city with virtu ally no shots fired. After these forces turned against each other in a frenzy of ethnic killing, and later, when the Taliban emerged and captured Kandahar, the idea of demilitarisation for Kabul with its ethnically mixed population and symbolic importance as the seat of government was again raised by UN envoys trying to broker an end to the civil war. A UN force is strongly backed by Lakhdar Brahimi, the former Algerian foreign minister who is Kofi Annan's special representative for Afghanistan. Mr Brahimi is in Washington for discussions with the Bush administration. He would recruit members for the force if the idea is accepted. Mr Brahimi is also trying to help to negotiate a broad-based government for Afghanistan to replace the Taliban regime. The Northern Alliance has offered to provide security for Kabul or even not to send its troops into the city if the Taliban falls, but this is not considered a good enough guarantee for Kabul's citizens. The plan for a UN Islamic force is that it would move in after a Taliban collapse. But if it is put together quickly and effectively its existence might encourage the Taliban to withdraw d over control peacefully if they have not yet been defeated or collapsed. Earlier yesterday, before flying to Turkey, Mr Straw met other European foreign ministers in Luxembourg to review the bombing campaign and the problem of delivering aid. The ministers dropped a section in the draft declaration prepared for the meeting which said it was important that the delivery of aid be seen as "neutral and impartial" - implicit criticism of the American air-dropping of aid which has been widely seen as a propaganda effort. 8<---------------- AP (Ankara, October 18) Turkey will play major role in postwar Afghanistan: UK AP Turkey will play an important political role in rebuilding Afghanistan if the US-British military campaign topples its ruling Taliban regime, Britain's foreign minister said on Thursday. Turkey's broad knowledge of the region and its close ties with Central Asian countries will ensure it plays a "very strong role" in the process of building a post-Taliban government that represents all Afghanistan's ethnic groups, Jack Straw said in an interview with Turkish private NTV television. Straw is in Ankara for a one-day visit. He was due to meet Turkish leaders later Thursday. Turkey, NATO's only majority Muslim member, has given strong support to the anti-terror campaign, offering to train Afghan forces opposed to the ruling Taliban and apparently allowing transport aircraft to land at Incirlik air base. Its support is seen as crucial to ensure that the campaign does not appear to be directed against Muslims. Talks are likely to address Turkey's role in postwar Afghanistan. Turkey has offered to assemble a peacekeeping mission from Muslim countries for Afghanistan. Turkish forces have served as peacekeepers in other countries with Muslim populations, like Bosnia and Kosovo. Turkey also has close links with many anti-Taliban factions in Afghanistan who could form part of a new government. Straw sought to ease Turkish fears that the fighting could spread to its southeastern neighbor Iraq. "The only military action on the agenda at the moment is against Afghanistan," he said. Turkey fears a war in Iraq could lead to the creation of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq. That could encourage Turkey's 12 million Kurds, who are not officially recognized as a minority, to step up demands for autonomy. -- Press Agency Ozgurluk Uncencored news about the liberation struggle in Turkey http://www.ozgurluk.org
