Turkey's ruling party said on Thursday it wanted a parliamentary debate on a deal to allow U.S. troops to use Turkey as a launching pad for an attack on Iraq's northern border delayed until Saturday.
"We want the motion to be debated on Saturday," Salih Kapusuz, a senior MP in the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) told reporters in parliament. AKP leader Tayyip Erdogan had previously said he expected the debate to be held on Thursday. The United States is pressing for a quick decision with war possibly only a few weeks away.
Earlier, Turkey's Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said that U.S. and Turkish officials had reached an agreement on the military conditions of the deployment. Another Turkish official said the two sides were also close to finalizing an agreement on the political and economic conditions for the move.
Private NTV television said the two sides had agreed that American officers would arm Kurdish opposition groups in northern Iraq, then disarm them after the war under the supervision of Turkish officers.
Turkey's Cabinet has already backed the deployment of 62,000 U.S. troops, 255 warplanes and 65 helicopters and sent a bill to parliament for approval.
Meanwhile, a key Kurdish leader issued an impassioned appeal for unity and democracy Thursday, urging the people of Iraq to rise up and establish a democratic country.
Jalal Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, told delegates and U.S. officials attending a conference on governing Iraq in the event of Saddam Hussein's ouster that the moment had arrived for the people to "revive themselves and show their power."
"We are people who have struggled. We are struggling for a cause," he said. "We need an independent Iraq."
Talabani gave his speech to those attending the session, which included Zalmay Khalilzad, the White House liaison to the Iraqi opposition. He also attempted to assure Turkey that the Kurds will not declare an independent state, a move the Turks fear could inspire their own sizable Kurdish minority to revolt.
"We have a de facto government now, but we are willing to make sacrifices in the future," he said, according to AP. "If we were planning to announce independence we wouldn't be ashamed to say it. We want a democratic, independent Iraqi state." (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
