Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=04/03/03

TYPE=INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

TITLE=BOS Q & A / TURKEY AID

NUMBER=3-634

BYLINE=KEVIN LYNCH

DATELINE=LONDON

INTERNET=

LYNCH: Stefan Bos is in the Turkish town of Silopi, which is right near the border of northern Iraq. Stefan, there are reports of humanitarian aid going from Turkey into Iraq. Can you tell us anything about that?

BOS: Yes. What we do know at this moment is that two trucks, carrying water purification equipment and medicine for the children's relief agency, UNICEF, basically entered northern Iraq in the last forty-eight hours after waiting three days at the border because, apparently, of incomplete paperwork. However, aid workers are complaining, that Turkey's forces, the Turkish troops at the border, are refusing to let them through. And they are very frustrated because, from the border area, they can see the mountains of northern Iraq, where they believe thousands and thousands of Kurdish people are living at the moment in very dire circumstances, and they are extremely angry that the Turkish forces that they are still not allowing them through with medicines. By the way, UNICEF still hopes to send forty more vehicles this week, carrying about four million dollars worth of aid, but the UNICEF officials say the timing of that shipment is now in doubt because of the many delays here at the border.

LYNCH: Stefan, are the humanitarian supplies building up on the Turkish side of the border?

BOS: Well, yes, as a matter of fact. The United Nations is near the border, and they are waiting. There are several locations where aid workers are waiting, and clearly they are collecting medicine, they are collecting aid to go into northern Iraq. That process is basically ongoing, still, despite the fact that it is very, very difficult because there is a continuous filter of military forces near the border. You can see literally many trucks going towards northern Iraq. And, of course, that leads also to some tensions among the local population and among aid workers. They are just very concerned about the situation right now.

LYNCH: Under an agreement reached yesterday with Secretary of State Powell, Turkey was going to supply goods like food and fuel to U-S forces in Iraq.

BOS: As a matter of fact, in the last two days, at least twenty-four trucks, "carrying jeeps," as the Turkish forces described them, carrying jeeps for the American forces were actually seen crossing the border into northern Iraq. That appears to be part of the agreement between the United States, also mentioned by Colin Powell during his visit here Wednesday.

LYNCH: That was Stefan Bos, who was speaking to V-O-A from the Turkish town of Silopi, which is right on the border with northern Iraq. This is Kevin Lynch, V-O-A News, London.

NEB/KL/FC