Low security threatens business in Iraq

Company’s employee, Aytullah Gezmen, a young man from Turkey’s southern province of Hatay is still missing. Gezmen was working as a receptionist at the U.S. base in which 18,000 American soldiers are living in.

Insurgents on Monday released a videotape of a gunman firing shots into the back of the head of Murat Yuce, a Bilintur employee which the company said had gone missing in Iraq last week.

Yuce was seen on an Islamist web-site reading out a statement from his kidnappers just before his death urging Turkish companies to halt their lucrative business in Iraq.

The company said afterwards in a statement, "Our company … has decided to withdraw all personnel working in Iraq, in order not to put the life of our second (missing) employee in danger."

Hands tied to provide security
For both Turkey’s and the Americans’ part, hands seem to be tied to provide security in the region. The Americans which have already been suffering difficulties to provide security for themselves do not provide enough escorts for truck drivers, citing the lack of military in the country.

According to reports, the American military escorts set off once every five to ten days but this is not enough for the truckers who want more frequency. Therefore they set out to deliver the goods without escorts. When an explosion occurs, the U.S. escort has been the first to escape the area.

Ankara seems to be helpless in taking influential initiative, either. The only step until now is that the Foreign Ministry asked the Al-Jazeerah and Al-Arabia TV channels to broadcast Turkey’s transporters’ association’s decision to halt deliveries to Iraq as a news report. The move was aimed to make known to the insurgents the decision.

Transporters divided over delivering goods
Prior to Bilintur’s decision, International Transporters’ Association (UND) announced that it had stopped ferrying goods to U.S. forces in Iraq for the lives of truckers were at risk.

However, the RODER group consisting some 670 transport firms said UND’s decision was not supported by the whole industry.

"It is not possible for us to give up transporting goods to Iraq unless a war breaks out between Turkey and Iraq," said RODER head Saffet Ulusoy.

"Only the government, the Foreign Ministry or Transport Ministry has the authority to make such statements. This is a route on which 50,000 Turkish families depend on for making a living," he said. Turkish trucks and trailers make around 700,000 trips to Iraq every year, earning Turkey billions of dollars in exports, said Ulusoy.

However, after growing security concerns, the number of vehicles crossing the Habur border gate has dropped from 2,000 to 1,400 per day after the execution of Yuce