28 June 1999
KURDISH GROUPS ENHANCE RECONCILIATION EFFORT
(KDP and PUK agree to deal with PKK terrorism) (570) By William B. Reinckens USIA Staff Writer Washington -- A senior Clinton Administration official briefed reporters on June 28 on the recently concluded talks between senior representatives of the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Washington. "Excellent progress was made on a number of concrete confidence building measures" to advance further reconciliation between the sometimes warring Iraqi factions, the official said. Among the points that the parties agreed to, according to the senior official, was that both Kurdish groups would counter the terrorist activities of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its presence in northern Iraq. The meetings also produced an agreement to establish commissions to address internal security concerns. The two major Kurdish factions also agreed over nine days of talks not to release negative press statements about each other and to emphasize positive aspects of the Reconciliation Agreement, which was signed in Washington last September between the leaders of the two parties and which pledges each side to work with each other. Both sides also agreed to open party offices and political branches in the major cities throughout northern Iraq and to create a voter registration process for upcoming local elections. "These were part of the confidence building measures that the parties agreed to," said the senior official, noting that the Kurdish groups have still left unresolved issues relating to revenue sharing and plans for the formation of an interim joint regional assembly, and an interim joint regional administration. "They got awfully close," said the official regarding the revenue sharing issue. Although the discussions were not intended to deal with issues relating to the Iraqi opposition, the negotiations did allow both Kurdish groups, who are part of the Iraqi National Congress, to discuss such matters. The official said that the parties discussed such issues as what would Iraq look like after Saddam Hussein leaves the scene, how would a central government in Baghdad function, and how would populations be governed in autonomous areas of Iraq. The official also said that the proposed meeting of the INC to put in place a functioning General Assembly would be postponed past the originally announced July 7 date. "I do not know when or where it will be held," said the official, adding that letters have been sent out to different countries in the Middle East, Europe and the United States asking for sponsorship. Asked if the Kurdish representatives at the talks requested an extension of the No-Fly Zone in Northern Iraq, the official said, "we base our actions in the north and south on United Nations Security Council decisions." The senior official had praise for the British and Turkish representatives who attended the recent Kurdish talks because of their support in advancing the meeting's goals. Their attendance was part of the process that began with the Ankara Process which affirmed the cease-fire agreement between the KDP and the PUK two years ago and affirmed the re-establishment of peace and stability in northern Iraq through a process of political reconciliation. In response to a question about when a final agreement on all issues might be resolved, the official said the Kurdish groups have "to demonstrate how they are cohesive on their own" and expressed confidence that all major issues would be resolved by the parties.
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