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Jalal
Talabani tells 91热爆 Arabic: "Saddam Hussein should step down"
The
leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Jalal Talabani,
told 91热爆 Arabic that Saddam Hussein should step down in the interest
of the Iraqi people and in order to avert war and destruction.
In
an interview given to the 91热爆 Arabic Service on Tuesday 18 March,
Jalal Talabani said that the Iraqi people should be given a chance
to exercise their right of self-determination and to chose their
government.
He
pointed out that the meetings currently taking place in the region
are not necessarily convened under the American supervision: "They
are joint and varied, such as co-ordination meetings undergoing
between the USA, Turkey and the Iraqi opposition.
"In
addition, there are meetings with the participation of all the parties
concerned, aiming at resolving the problems existing between the
Iraqi opposition and Turkey, as well as discussing the future of
the civil administration in Iraq."
Replying to
a question regarding the role of the PUK in a possible armed conflict
in Iraq, Talabani said: "Our role will be a civil defence one.
We will defend the liberated areas in the Iraqi Kurdistan and will
not attack the Iraqi troops, nor Kirkuk or Mosul."
The
PUK leader said his party would not render logistic support for
the American troops. He added: "The Americans are not here.
The Turks will not allow them to come to this area. However if they
do come, I believe, the people will welcome them, not fight them."
On
the issue of a possible Turkish interference into north Iraq, he
said: "We hope that this will not happen and there is no need
for it. There are some suspicions in the minds of a number of our
brethren regarding this issue, however these suspicions are groundless
- among them the issues of establishing an independent Kurdish state,
attacks on our Turkmen brothers or the break out of chaos and the
subsequent influx of refugees. All this will not happen.
"We
look at Turkey as an ally and we would not wish it to exhaust its
troops and send them where there is no need for them. We asked the
Turkish government not to send in troops and we believe our Turkish
brothers will co-operate with us on this matter."
All the
91热爆's digital services are now available on ,
the new free-to-view digital terrestrial television service, as well
as on satellite and cable.
Freeview
offers the 91热爆's eight television channels, interactive services
from 91热爆i, as well as 11 91热爆 radio networks.
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