Information and liaison bulletin - Institut kurde de Paris
Information and liaison bulletin - Institut kurde de Paris
Information and liaison bulletin - Institut kurde de Paris
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Revue <strong>de</strong> Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro <strong>de</strong> la Prensa-Basin Ôzeti<br />
talk directly to the Iraqi Kurds of the KRG<br />
on the issue.<br />
It insisted on the Iraqi government in<br />
Baghdad as its interlocutor although the<br />
area is beyond the writ of the central<br />
administration <strong>and</strong> firmly in the h<strong>and</strong>s of<br />
the Kurds.<br />
So the Turkish soldiers were h<strong>and</strong>ed over<br />
by an official Iraqi government <strong>de</strong>legation,<br />
flown in on an MNF plane by Gen Pe¬<br />
traeus.<br />
Although the KRG had clearly done the<br />
legwork in persuading the PKK to give the<br />
soldiers up <strong>and</strong> acted as the first link in<br />
fcljetltasljiiigtoHjJtost<br />
Nov 5 ,2007<br />
By: Nechirvan Barzani<br />
The Washington Post WASHINGTON,<br />
When Presi<strong>de</strong>nt Bush <strong>and</strong> Turkish<br />
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo¬<br />
gan meet today to discuss ongoing conflict<br />
between the Kurdistan Workers' Party<br />
(PKK) <strong>and</strong> Turkey, we in the Kurdistan<br />
Regional Government of Iraq (KRG) will be<br />
listening with hope. We welcome this<br />
meeting. The only solution to this <strong>de</strong>ca¬<br />
<strong>de</strong>s-old problem lies in diplomacy. Let me<br />
be clear: The KRG is, <strong>and</strong> will remain, fully<br />
prepared to find a long-term solution to<br />
this problem. To this end, we propose<br />
talks among Ankara, Baghdad, Arbil <strong>and</strong><br />
Washington. This is a transnational issue,<br />
complicated by ethnic ties, <strong>and</strong> no party<br />
can find a solution on its own. We will sit<br />
down at any time with anyone who seeks<br />
a negotiated, diplomatic resolution.<br />
We must discard the rhetoric of violence<br />
<strong>and</strong> recognize that a military response to<br />
the current crisis would be a disaster for<br />
everyone except the PKK. We in the Kur¬<br />
distan region of Iraq would be slowed on<br />
our path to peace, <strong>de</strong>mocracy <strong>and</strong> prospe¬<br />
rity; the Turkish army would become<br />
bogged down in a bloody <strong>and</strong> unproduc¬<br />
tive struggle against the PKK outsi<strong>de</strong> its<br />
bor<strong>de</strong>rs; the United States <strong>and</strong> Western<br />
allies would become estranged from a<br />
vital NATO ally; <strong>and</strong> the economies <strong>and</strong><br />
peoples of the region -- particularly Tur¬<br />
key, Syria, Iran <strong>and</strong> Iraq would suffer.<br />
We have tried to explain to our Turkish<br />
friends that we want only peace <strong>and</strong> coo¬<br />
peration with them. Our region <strong>de</strong>pends<br />
heavily on investment <strong>and</strong> tra<strong>de</strong> with<br />
Turkey. The great majority of foreign<br />
businesses operating here are Turkish,<br />
nearly all of our construction is done by<br />
Turkish contractors, we receive much of<br />
our electricity from Turkey <strong>and</strong> well over<br />
75 percent of our imports arrive via Tur<br />
42<br />
the chain, both Baghdad <strong>and</strong> the Ameri¬<br />
cans were <strong>de</strong>monstrating to the Turks that<br />
they could <strong>de</strong>liver, as they were un<strong>de</strong>r<br />
strong pressure to do.<br />
Since its overriding concern was to try to<br />
avert the threatened Turkish incursion -<br />
which it fears would be directed as much<br />
against itself as against the PKK - the KRG<br />
was happy to let the central Iraqi govern¬<br />
ment presi<strong>de</strong> over the h<strong>and</strong>over, <strong>de</strong>spite<br />
its negligible involvement in the release.<br />
That casts the crisis as one between Tur¬<br />
key <strong>and</strong> Iraq, not Turkey <strong>and</strong> the Iraqi<br />
Kurds. An invasion could thus be por¬<br />
trayed as a threat to Iraq's stability, not<br />
just the KRG.<br />
There are times when it suits the in<strong>de</strong>pen¬<br />
<strong>de</strong>nt-min<strong>de</strong>d Iraqi Kurds to cling to the<br />
Baghdad government. This was one of<br />
them. Whether it will prove a lasting trend<br />
remains to be seen.<br />
The timing of the release was probably no<br />
coinci<strong>de</strong>nce. It gave US Presi<strong>de</strong>nt George<br />
W Bush something new <strong>and</strong> positive to<br />
point to when he met an angry Turkish<br />
Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in<br />
Washington the following day.<br />
Kurdistan's Hope for Talks<br />
key. Why would we provoke Turkey into a<br />
military action that would severely da¬<br />
mage our economy?<br />
The history of this conflicted part of the<br />
world carries a message: Problems such<br />
as the PKK cannot be solved through mili¬<br />
tary means. For <strong>de</strong>ca<strong>de</strong>s the government<br />
of Saddam Hussein tried to liquidate the<br />
Kurdish people by violence, at a tremen¬<br />
dous price for both si<strong>de</strong>s. We ourselves<br />
fought against the PKK in the late 1990s<br />
with help from the Turkish military, <strong>and</strong><br />
10 years later we again find ourselves at a<br />
crisis point. The mountains insi<strong>de</strong> our<br />
region <strong>and</strong> in Turkey have protected the<br />
PKK for <strong>de</strong>ca<strong>de</strong>s, <strong>and</strong> there is little reason<br />
to believe that new military actions would<br />
be any more successful than past attemp¬<br />
ts. Problems for which military solutions<br />
are sought here seem to have a way of<br />
never getting resolved.<br />
We have con<strong>de</strong>mned <strong>and</strong> will continue to<br />
con<strong>de</strong>mn the PKK for its unwarranted<br />
attacks in Turkey. We insist that its mem¬<br />
bers lay down their arms immediately. We<br />
do not allow them to operate freely,<br />
contrary to what some have suggested.<br />
Turkey, with its substantial military capa¬<br />
bility, has not been able to eradicate the<br />
PKK within its own bor<strong>de</strong>rs, yet some<br />
Turks inexplicably expect us to be suc¬<br />
cessful with far fewer capabilities <strong>and</strong><br />
resources.<br />
Just as we ask the Turks to seek a peace¬<br />
ful resolution, so must the PKK ab<strong>and</strong>on<br />
its failed strategy of armed conflict. Di¬<br />
plomacy <strong>and</strong> dialogue must be given a<br />
chance. With time, patience <strong>and</strong> stability,<br />
we believe that peaceful change can oc¬<br />
cur. Just 10 years ago the PLO <strong>and</strong> the<br />
IRA were consi<strong>de</strong>red terrorist organiza<br />
tions. Today they have begun a process of<br />
transformation <strong>and</strong> are working within the<br />
political arena. Can such a transformation<br />
take place within the PKK? We cannot be<br />
certain. But we do know that military<br />
action will only radicalize the situation<br />
further, <strong>and</strong> violence will surely breed<br />
more violence.<br />
We want peace along our bor<strong>de</strong>r with<br />
Turkey. We want to cooperate on econo¬<br />
mic, social <strong>and</strong> cultural issues. We want to<br />
be a good neighbor <strong>and</strong> to exercise our<br />
responsibilities as good neighbors. Our<br />
successful efforts in cooperation with<br />
Ankara <strong>and</strong> Baghdad to secure the release<br />
of Turkish soldiers <strong>de</strong>monstrate our sin¬<br />
cere <strong>de</strong>sire to find peaceful solutions to<br />
the problem. We will continue taking<br />
concrete steps to improve the security<br />
environment at the bor<strong>de</strong>r. But the Tur¬<br />
kish government needs to overcome its<br />
refusal to talk to us as neighbors.<br />
The Kurdistan region is the only part of<br />
Iraq where peace <strong>and</strong> <strong>de</strong>velopment have<br />
prospered since the liberation of 2003,<br />
<strong>and</strong> we are the constitutionally recognized<br />
regional government in the area. We have<br />
come a long way both economically <strong>and</strong><br />
politically. But much more work remains.<br />
We have chosen to become part of a fe<strong>de</strong>¬<br />
ral Iraq <strong>and</strong> will uphold that commitment.<br />
We threaten no one as we move toward<br />
greater <strong>de</strong>velopment. We hope that we<br />
can extend the h<strong>and</strong> of friendship to Tur¬<br />
key <strong>and</strong> work together to find solutions to<br />
this crisis that will lead to long-term stabi¬<br />
lity <strong>and</strong> peaceful relations.<br />
Nechirvan Barzani is prime minister<br />
of the Kurdistan<br />
of Iraq.<br />
Regional Government