Author: Vladimir » Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:21 pm
Kurds have right to self-determination
The New Anatolian / Paris
01 November 2006
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Self-determination is the right of the Kurdish people and they exercised their rights by electing their Parliament in federal Iraq, Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani told French daily Le Figaro in an interview published on Tuesday.
Iraqi President Talabani, who embarks on an official visit to France today, expressed his hope that there will be agreement among Iraqi government and regional governments on recent controversy on the share of oil incomes, adding that the oil resources are operated by regional governments and the central government.
On the discussions about a U.S. troop withdrawal, Talabani said that in Iraq there is a consensus among political forces that an immediate withdrawal would have catastrophic results for their country, as well as the Middle East and the entire world.
He said that the international coalition will only withdraw when Iraqi security forces are ready to take over on their own the challenge of maintaining law and order, adding that international splits should not rebound on Iraq.
Discussions should focus "not on the drawing up of a timetable for withdrawing American troops but on the goals that should be set for Iraqi forces so that they may continue to take over security in the regions," he said.
Talabani also said that Iraqi political leaders understood violence was not an option and so civil war can be avoided. Foreign terrorists allied to groups linked to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein are in part to blame for the daily violence in Iraq, he added.
The Iraqi leader also said that al-Qaeda was on the decline and that Sunni tribes in the Anbar province had started fighting the group, which had received support from pro-Saddam groups and unnamed foreign forces.
In related news, Le Figaro reported yesterday that France will open a diplomatic representative office in northern Iraq.
According to the daily, Talabani expressed his appreciation for the opening the office.
Talabani is expected to meet President Jacques Chirac today during his official visit to France.
The suppression of ethnic cultures and minority religious groups in attempting to forge a modern nation were not unique to Turkey but occurred in very similar ways in its European neighbours - Bruinessen.