IRAQI TURKMEN FRONT CONCERNED ABOUT POSSIBLE

UNCLAS ANKARA 001630

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PTER TU IZ
SUBJECT: IRAQI TURKMEN FRONT CONCERNED ABOUT POSSIBLE
NEWRUZ VIOLENCE IN KIRKUK


1. (U) Turkish MFA Director General for Middle East Affairs
Tahsin Burcuoglu called DCM March 17 on instruction from FM
Gul to pass on the contents of a phone conversation between
Gul and Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) leader Faruk Abdulrahman,
who called in from Kirkuk. Abdulrahman told Gul that his
convoy had been attacked earlier in the week by an IED which
damaged one of the cars. Abdulrahman reported an enhanced
presence of radical Shi'a, and worried that the March 21
Kurdish Newruz celebrations in Kirkuk could become violent.
He told Gul that if there were provocations, it could lead to
"bloody events." Abdulrahman said he had already warned US
authorities in Kirkuk and the CPA in Baghdad that March 21
would be a dangerous day.



2. (U) Burcuoglu told the DCM that Abdulrahman may have had
specific information, although his concerns may have been
based only on an "analysis" of the situation.
EDELMAN