Kurdish PM in appeal to US over incursion
(24 Feb 2008) SHOTLIST 1. Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechervan Barzani at podium 2. Cutaway of Iraqi and Kurdistan flags 3. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Nechervan Barzani, Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister: ''The leader of the Kurdish autonomous region, Massoud Barzani, has sent an urgent message to President George W. Bush to tackle the current situation.'' 3. Cutaway of media 4. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Nechervan Barzani, Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister: ''If the Kurdish citizens are subjected to any aggression by Turkish army, we will defend ourselves by all available means.'' 5. Wide shot of news conference 6. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Nechervan Barzani, Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister: ''The Iraqi central government's stance is weak and feeble. And we were expecting a stronger position.'' 7. Various cutaways of news conference STORYLINE The prime minister of Iraq's Kurdish regional government on Sunday criticised the administration in Baghdad for being "weak and feeble" in the wake of Turkey's ground offensive in the north of the country. "We were expecting a stronger position,'' Nechervan Barzani told a news conference in the city of Irbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government. The incursion is the first confirmed Turkish military ground operation in Iraq since the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. Iraq's government said on Saturday that military force would not solve the Kurdish problem. Massoud Barzani, the president of the regional Kurdish administration in northern Iraq, has warned Turkey it will face large-scale resistance if it targets civilians in its ground incursion. Nechervan Barzani echoed those sentiments at Sunday's news conference. ''If the Kurdish citizens are subjected to any aggression by Turkish army, we will defend ourselves by all available means,'' he said. Nechervan Barzani also told reporters that Massoud Barzani sent an "urgent message to (US) President George W. Bush to tackle the current situation.'' A White House spokesman said the Bush administration was urging Turkey to show restraint. Turkey has assured the US-backed Iraqi government that the operation would be limited to attacks on PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) rebels. The United States and European Union consider the PKK a terrorist group. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
