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Turkey to Reopen Border Oil Trade with Iraq
Turkey will reopen its Habur border gate across Iraq to allow border trade of commodities, oil in particular, in the upcoming weeks.
Two months ago, the government issued a decree to curb border oil trade with Iraq, allegedly for fear of the fuel money flowing into the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been engaged in an armed struggle since 1984 for self-rule in the Kurdish-populated southeastern Turkey bordering north Iraq, Turkish Daily News quoted officials as saying Wednesday.
With the issuance of the decree, the amount of cheap oil being brought into Turkey at various border crossings including Habur has been halved.
The move dismayed local civilian and military officials, who complained it will instead further hurt the ailing economy of the region and encourage smuggling that will only benefit Kurdish separatist militants.
The unnamed officials said the government will be able to solve the problem within a few weeks.
"The issue was discussed during last National Security Council (MGK) meeting. the MGK advised the government to change the decree," they said.
The Habur gate, which was closed down due to the U.N. sanctions imposed on Iraq in 1990, is important for southeastern Turkey since it links the country to the Middle East and Iraq.
With its unofficial opening by Turkey in recent years, economy in the southeast flourished.
Fuel trade is the major border trade between Turkey and Iraq in the region, where the sanctions-stricken country sells crude oil and fuel to Turkey in return for food and other vital commodities. Prior to the decree, more than 1,000 lorries crossed the border every day as part of the border trade which has boosted economy of the southeast.
The local officials were not only urging the government to reconsider the decree, but also calling for enhancing the border trade with Iraq by opening up at least two new border gates into the Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq.
They said that limiting the border trade and fuel imports is "needless" and serves only to paralyze the region's ailing economy.
With the border trade restrictions, the fuel coming into Turkey via Habur will become the target of smugglers who will still manage to bring the fuel into Turkey, they argued.
They warned that money earned from smuggling will go to the PKK, adding that only boosting the border trade can enhance Turkey's influence in northern Iraq.
It was reported that the Iraqi Kurds have been cooperating with the Turkish military to fight against PKK separatists who are trying to find a foothold in the region after being uprooted in Turkey.
But the Iraqi Kurds rely on the income from Iraq's fuel trade with Turkey. Thus, any restrictions in border trade will hurt their revenue and negatively affect Turkey's ability to influence them.
Local officials complained that Ankara authorities did not consult them before making such decisions, saying that businessmen and thousands of truck drivers were outraged because the latest restrictions virtually brought the border trade they had benefited from to a standstill.
Under the present decree, trucks are able to bring 75,000 tons of oil via Habur and 15,000 tons via another border gate Igdir each month. Before the ruling, the figures were 150,000 tons at Habur and 30,000 tons at Igdir.
It was speculated that major foreign oil companies operating in Turkey are instrumental in the limit decree because they feel the cheap fuel entering Turkey through the border trade is creating unfair competition.
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