Iraq says Turkey threatens flow of shared waters

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 Iraq says Turkey threatens flow of shared waters 
 07:39 a.m. Oct 01, 1997 Eastern 

 By Hassan Hafidh 

 BAGHDAD, Oct 1 (Reuter) - Iraq accused
 upstream neighbour Turkey on Wednesday of
 threatening the flow of the Euphrates and Tigris
 rivers by building dams and urged Ankara to
 reach a water-sharing accord. 

 ``Turkey monopolises the flow of waters of the
 Tigris and Euphrates as dictated by its own
 interest at the expense of Iraq and Syria's
 interest,'' the ruling Baath party newspaper
 al-Thawra said. 

 The Tigris and Euphrates rivers originate in
 Turkey. The Euphrates winds through Syria
 before entering Iraq. The Tigris passes through
 Iraq. 

 ``The country where these rivers rise should not
 monopolise waters of such international rivers
 the way it likes,'' the paper said in an article
 written by Mohammed al-Douri, an Iraqi
 university professor. 

 Al-Thawra said Iraq's concerns on the waters of
 the two rivers were raised by an Iraqi delegation
 currently in Ankara attending an international
 conference on waters opened by Turkish
 President Suleyman Demirel on Tuesday. 

 ``The Iraqi delegation has conducted talks with
 participating delegates explaining Iraq's point of
 view on Turkish projects on the Euphrates and
 Tigris,'' the paper said. 

 Iraq protests have grown since last year when
 Turkey announced a plan worth $1.62 billion for
 its fourth dam on the Euphrates to produce power
 and irrigation for a large chunk of southeastern
 Turkey. 

 Syria and Iraq say the current flow of water from
 Turkey is not enough. Both countries depend
 largely on the waters of the Euphrates and Tigris
 for drinking, irrigation and electricity generation. 

 The paper stressed that dialogue between the
 three countries should continue and a
 comprehensive agreement should be reached. 

 ``If they cannot reach a logical and just solution
 they should resort to other means which are
 known internationally,'' the paper said, adding the
 Arab League should play a role on this. 

 Baghdad is also at loggerheads with Turkey over
 several cross-border operations by Turkish
 troops in northern Iraq. 

 About 15,000 Turkish troops, supported by
 Kurdish militia forces, entered Iraq last week in a
 campaign against Kurdistan Workers Party
 (PKK) guerrillas who operate from the region in
 their fight for self-rule in southeast Turkey. 

 Iraq, Turkey and Syria have held several
 meetings in the past but failed to reach an
 agreement on water-sharing. 

 Ankara and Damascus signed a provisional
 agreement in 1987 under which Turkey allows
 the flow of 500 cubic metres per second to Syria.
 The Syrian government has called for a
 permanent accord. 
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