Subject: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE DAILY PRESS BRIEFING (April 11, 1995)
Topic: std
From: hristu@arcadia.harvard.edu (Dimitrios Hristu)
 
Subject: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE DAILY PRESS BRIEFING (April 11, 1995)


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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
APRIL 11, 1995



                     U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
                       DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

                             I N D E X

                    Tuesday, April 11, 1995

                                       Briefer:  Nicholas Burns


TURKEY
D/S Talbott and A/S Holbrooke Mtgs. in Ankara ..........6
Kurds in Turkey ........................................7



                      U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
                        DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

                                                  DPC #49

                 TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 1995, 1:08 P.M.
                (ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)


[...]
     Q     How does the Administration evaluate the recent visit of  
Strobe Talbott and Holbrooke to Ankara, Turkey?

     MR. BURNS:  You're right that Deputy Secretary Talbott and  
Assistant Secretary Dick Holbrooke are in Ankara today.  They've had  
meetings with the Turkish Foreign Minister and with other officials.   
Those meetings are on-going.  They're taking place as we are meeting  
here, and so I don't have anything to give you on that.

     They will be coming back, I believe, late tomorrow night, so I  
hope, also later in the week you'll have an opportunity to speak to some  
of those people on the trip directly.

     Q     I would like to clarify yesterday's words from the  
Spokeswoman, that Shelly (Christine) said.

     Yesterday there was some journalist asking here about Iraqi-Kurdish  
autonomy.  She answered that autonomy is something that has to be worked  
out in the context of the regions where there are the Kurdish  
population, in the context of the states involved, borders they fall,  
and within their territorial integrity.

     My question is:  This solution includes Turkey also?  They made  
some confusion in the country, which Holbrooke's still in Ankara right  
now.

     MR. BURNS:  I think Christine went through this with you yesterday.   
There's been no change in our policy.  You asked a specific question on  
Turkish Kurds?

     Q     Turkish Kurds.

     MR. BURNS:  We do not support autonomy for Turkish Kurds within  
Turkey.  That's a very specific question, so I've given you that  
specific response.

     However, the Kurds represent a sizeable percentage -- I believe  
upwards of ten percent of the Turkish population -- and so we do have a  
very great interest, as does the Turkish Government, in making sure that  
the human and civil rights of the Kurds are protected and, indeed,  
advanced.

     Yes, Judd.

     Q     Does the U.S. support autonomy for Iraqi Kurds?

     MR. BURNS:  I think Christine covered that yesterday.  The Iraqi  
Kurds are in a precarious situation and a very unusual situation.  We  
recognize, of course, the protective zone in northern Iraq to be part of  
Iraq's territorial integrity, but we obviously for the last four years  
have not recognized Iraq's right to enforce its rule in northern Iraq.   
That's why we established "Operation Provide Comfort", and that's why  
it's so important that "Provide Comfort" continue, so that the Kurdish  
population might be protected.

     Q     When you said you did not support autonomy for the Turkish  
Kurds in Turkey, is it a new position of the Administration, or is it --

     MR. BURNS:  I don't believe so.  I think it's a longly-held  
position of this Administration and previous Administrations.

[...]

     Q     Can I go back to my question about the "Provide Comfort"  
area?  Is this the setup that you are talking about?  Is this a  
permanent setup or will it end sometime -- the "Provide Comfort" -- when  
the security situation will be different from what it is now -- possibly  
a change in the regime, or something like that?

     MR. BURNS:  As you remember from the Spring of 1991, "Provide  
Comfort" was established because of the brutal Iraqi attacks on the  
Kurdish population of northern Iraq.  Because we believe that Iraq has  
still now found itself to be in compliance with the Security Council  
resolutions that emanate from that war, "Operation Provide Comfort" must  
and will continue; the humanitarian provision of supplies to the Kurds  
and the "no-fly" zone.

     Q     I'm going back also to what you said about the possibility  
that this is going to be sort of a permanent setup in northern Iraq?

     MR. BURNS:  I don't believe I said it was a permanent setup.  I  
think I described the reasons why it was set up.  At this point, we  
don't have a sunset provision on "Operation Provide Comfort."  It will  
be there, and the international community has an obligation to be there  
until the Kurdish population can be protected from the current Iraqi  
regime.

     Q     You said that "Operation Provide Comfort" will continue.   
Have you received so far any guarantees from the Turkish Government that  
the Parliament will pass -- will vote for the extension of the mandate?

     MR. BURNS:  The Turkish Foreign Minister was here last week.  He  
had a good meeting with Secretary Christopher and gave us every  
indication that the Turkish Government supports "Operation Provide  
Comfort" and will continue to participate in it.  We have no doubts  
about that.
[...]

     (The briefing concluded at 1:46 p.m.)

(###)




