Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro
de la Prensa-Baszn Özeti
In northern Iraq, economic base gets lift
from D.S.Army
The Associated Press fields. .The people are. mainly Arabs,
ALONG THE IRAQ-SYRIA BORDER
Kurdsand Turkoman.
Government financing for economic
The first train from Syria through development here was rare in the afternorthern
Iraq to Mosul was a few math of the 1991Gulf War because the
minutes late, but after more than a year. area was in the northern no flight-zone.
without service, the residents of set up to protect the Kurds. from Sad- ~
Rabiyah weren't complaining. dam Hussein's retribution, said Colonel
The train, consisting of dozens. of Michael Linnington, commander of ttie
freight and tanker cars, one sleeper and 187thInfantry Regiment. .
. several passenger cars, resumed service . Soldiers here have made it a priority
only half-full Wednesday. But it was to secure the region's economic base by
sold out with goodwill . spending liberally to improve water
~It brings us to the future, this train," wells, rebuild schools and train policesaid
Mohsin al-Naît a leader of the men.
Schamar tribe that hàs strong ties with "These guys have experienced 3Syears
. Ra~iyah, an Ir8;qibo~er town of 25,000 ofhardship," said Lieutenant Colo~f:!lJoe
resldents, and m Syria as well "We are . ..' , .
bound by blood on both sides of the bor-' Buch~ co~n~er of the 187!hs.Third
der." . ~ttahoD, ~ RabÎfÙ;, "They'd like lttO be
"This is like bringing the family to- improved m ~ days. .. .
gether. There is peace here," he said. . That won t ~ppen given the s~eer
The train is running again thanks in' number of proJects that need t~ndmg,
part to the V.S. Army and its 10lst Air- b~t there 15 plenty of money, sald Cap-
.. .. • .... tam Pat Costello, of the 187th.
. borne DlVlSlO~ whlch oversees a. The money is given to area com-
17,OOO-sq~are-kl~om~ter, , or 6,564-. manders throughout Iraq, Linnington
square-mlle, regIOn m Iraq s north. The . said. and they spend it at their discre-.
area is a blend of cit~es like Mosul. 386 .. tion. .
kilometers, or 240 ~llles, no~th ofBagh- "It's Iraqi money for Iraqis," said Cos-
, dad, scattered towns and Vlllages and tello. It comes from Iraqi assets frozen
vast stretches of wheat andJ>arley after the GulfWar. Any work done is by
local contractors, vetted by area 'leaders .
and army officials. .
The American~led coalition said the
train included, mainly.oil tanker cars.
that were held in Syria at the start of the
War. A coaUtiOD official. speaking on .
th~ condition of anonymity, said ,the return,
of the cars would allow'.Iraq's petroleUm
industry to increase refmery
output by one-third.... . , " .
In the' neariythree months tGetegiment
has been at work,' nearly $1,4mil~
lion has been spent in small hamlets
and major cities. Potholes are being
filled in Mosul. and schools are being
repaired in the countryside.
Some projects are obvious -like the
train and refurbishment of the railway
in Rabiyah, Buche said. Others are less
visible, like updating antiquated water
pumps or trucking in drinking water
for families without wells.
"It's a big mission," Buche said. as
hundreds oflocal sheiks, the mayor and
others scrambled around the crossing
between Iraq and Syria.
Le président turc promulgue la loi d'amnistie pour les rebelles kurdes repentis
ArP -
.
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ANKARA, 5 août (AFP) - 21 h27 - Le président turc Ahmet Necdet Sezer a promulgué la loi d'amnistie adoptée
fin juillet par le Parlement pour les rebelles kurdes repentis acceptant de donner des informations sur les
activités illégales du Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK), a annoncé mardi la présidence.
La loi, huitième du genre, va être publiée au Journal officiel pour entrer en vigueur, précise-t-elle dans un
communiqué.
Elle restera valable pendant six mois.
Le texte, adopté le 29 juillet par le Parlement, prévoit que les condamnations de ceux qui ont commis des
actes de violence seront réduites de moitié voire des deux tiers s'ils fournissent aux autorités des informations
sur leurs activités clandestines.
Les hauts responsables de l'ancienne rébellion du PKK, rebaptisé KADEK depuis qu'il a déposé les armes en
septembre 1999, sont cependant exclus de cette disposition.
Les autorités turques estiment à environ 5.000 le nombre de rebelles kurdes retranchés dans le nord de l'Irak,
après que le PKK eut annoncé une trêve unilatérale en septembre 1999.
Ankara estime que 2.000 rebelles pourraient bénéficier de l'amnistie.
Le PKK-KADEK avait par avance rejeté cette amnistie.
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