Gul urges fair elections in Iraq

His remarks at the EU-Mediterranean (EUROMED) forum in Paris appear to have been directed to U.S.-led coalition forces engaged in the reconstruction of the war-torn country and the fight against insurgents after the invasion of Iraq last March.

Gul also criticized reports by American TV stations about the developments Iraq calling them "prejudiced," the news agency said.

"The attitude is that the Iraqi people are a primitive society and do not have any intellectuals, patriots or a civilization. Iraqi people are a proud people," Gul was quoted as saying by the agency.

"The situation in Iraq is getting worse due to actions ignoring the Iraqi people’s traditions and psychology," he said.

Gul urged for fair elections with the participation of all groups in the country and said they should be able to put up a struggle on a political platform. He said registration lists for voters were crucial to prevent attempts to corrupt the polls.

The elections in Iraq are due in January next year if security is improved in the country.

Gul did not make any direct comment on the insurgent attacks targeting Turkish drivers and workers in relation to the worsening security in Iraq: Another Turkish truck driver was shot dead in northern Iraq at the weekend. The incident took place only a day after two Turkish truckers were killed near the city of Mosul.

The body of a man has been found on a highway near Iraq’s largest refinery at Baiji, 210 kilometers north of Baghdad. It was not immediately clear if the dead man was the Turkish driver who was kidnapped in the area on Oct. 9.

Turkish drivers have often been targeted by insurgents in Iraq. More than 100 Turks have been killed in armed attacks so far. While some of them were executed by their captors after being kidnapped, others were released after their company announced its withdrawal from Iraq.

Turkish Foreign Ministry recently warned Turkish citizens in a statement to avoid travelling to Iraq unless absolutely necessary and abide with the security precautions advised earlier.

The militant group of Jordanian Abu Musab al Zarqawi — a self-declared ally of al Qaeda — this month circulated a pamphlet threatening foreign trucks and drivers carrying imports of refined oil products into Iraq. Several Turkish companies have been currently doing business in separate sectors in Iraq as a part of the reconstruction work in the country.