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Turkey assails Austria for allowing Kurdish rebel to be flown to Iraq |
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Written by AP
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Friday, 20 July 2007 07:06 |
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Accusing European allies of undermining the fight against terrorism, the Turkish foreign minister criticized Austria on Thursday for allowing Kurdish rebel sought by Turkey to fly to northern Iraq instead of returning him to Turkey.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said Wednesday that his office had summoned the Austrian ambassador and handed her a note that formally protested Austria's decision to send the Kurd, Ali Riza Altun, to northern Iraq. Turkey contends that Altun is in charge of finances in Europe for the Kurdistan Workers Party. The party is listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States.
Gul said Altun was on an Interpol wanted list and had been held by the Austrian authorities for traveling on a false identity card.
"But still, he was placed on a plane and sent to Iraq," Gul said at a news conference. "This is a grave error and unacceptable. We strongly protested this and asked for an explanation. This corrodes the foundations of international cooperation against terrorism."
The Austrian Justice Ministry confirmed that Altun was taken into custody at Vienna's international airport on July 4 on suspicion of attempting to leave the country with a fake travel document.
The Justice Ministry said in a statement that Altun was released on July 13, after an investigation showed that the French authorities had granted him a type of asylum based on a belief that he would be persecuted if extradited to Turkey.
Altun, who had lived in France since 2000, left Austria for Iraq shortly after he was released, the statement said.
Turkey has long complained of a lack of international cooperation in combating the Kurdistan Workers Party.
It is pressing Iraq and the United States to prevent rebel attacks on Turkey from bases in northern Iraq. The guerrillas have recently stepped up attacks in Turkey.
The military has massed troops on its border with Iraq, and Turkish leaders are considering a military operation in northern Iraq to root out the rebel bases.
On Thursday, Turkish officials asked Iraq's ambassador to have Iraq arrest Altun extradite him to Turkey, a Foreign Ministry official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists.
Gul said that the United States had opened an investigation following Turkish complaints that U.S. weapons were ending up in the hands of the rebels.
The weapons appeared to be part of an arsenal that the United States had given to the Iraqi Army, Gul said. |