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Kurdish issue sparks old fears
ANKARA, Turkey (CNN) -- Assurances from the United States over the limited deployment of Kurdish forces in northern Iraq have been greeted with suspicion by many in Turkey after decades of mistrust. As Turkey prepares to send military observers to Iraq to ensure Kurdish Peshmerga forces do not gain control of the oil rich city of Kirkuk, there are growing concerns that the Kurds may be using the war to push for a separate state. Such a move would fan fears that any independence movement could inspire a Kurdish rebellion in southeastern Turkey. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell assured Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul on Thursday that U.S. troops were replacing Kurdish forces used to take Kirkuk and there was no need for Turkey to send troops into the oil rich city. (Full story) The official response to Powell assurance has been one of guarded optimism. "This is a good beginning," a senior Turkish official told CNN. "We don't want to send troops into northern Iraq because we know that will complicate the situation, but we are keeping the situation under close watch." But others appear unconvinced these new promises will ease tensions between Turkey and its Kurdish population, who have fought over autonomy during the 1980s and 1990s at the cost of 37,000 lives. "Turkey has been living with the Kurdish issue for 15 to 20 years," said CNN Turk's Esra Tumen. "The ordinary people in Turkey don't agree with a U.S. and UK war of oil," she said. "And they don't know if the U.S. will keep their promise [on Kurdish involvement in Iraq]." Concern over the Kurdish issue could also affect Turkey's economy, which has been operating under a crippling debt and required massive loans from the International Monetary Fund in order to implement reforms. Any move by Turkey to intervene militarily in Iraq would threaten a multi-billion dollar aid package from the United States. As a result, financial markets responded negatively to Thursday's news of the Kurdish troops joining the coalition fight for Kirkuk. "The stock exchange fell 6 percent in the first two minutes," Tumen said, "and interest rates went up between 3 and 4 percent." Although Washington withdrew its offer of $6 billion after Turkey's parliament voted to refuse land access to Iraq for U.S. troops, it has still pledged $1 billion in aid. Under a pact reached in last week's meeting, Powell agreed to the establishment of a coordination committee comprised of representatives from Turkey, the United States and Iraqi Kurds to discuss potential acts that could provoke Turkey to want to move more troops into northern Iraq. This "early warning system" involves ongoing discussions between the two sides to avert possible problems. Terrorist attacks or threats against Turkey near its border with Iraq, a humanitarian crisis resulting in refugees flowing into Turkey and infighting among ethnic groups at Iraq's northern border were also potential flash points. Turkey threw a wrench into coalition plans for a northern front as the war got under way last month when it refused to allow coalition troops to enter northern Iraq from Turkish territory. Without the tens of thousands of troops who would have entered from Turkey, U.S. Special Forces have been coordinating the Kurds and other coalition forces. Last week's agreement between Powell and Turkish officials included Turkey allowing overflights for U.S. heavy military equipment into northern Iraq and passage for humanitarian and reconstruction assistance.
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