Qubad Talabani calls for amnesty for PKK
14.6.2006 | |
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June 14, 2006, -- Qubad
Talabani, U.S. representative of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)
and son of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, has called for a
broad-scale amnesty for elimination of the Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK) from Kurdistan (northern Iraq).
Delivering a speech at influential Washington-based think tank the
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Talabani
expressed Kurdistan's (northern Iraq's) uneasiness with the presence
of the PKK in Kurdistan (northern Iraq), stressing that a solution
to the problem would be in the interest of everyone.
Aware of the importance of the problem for Ankara, Talabani
emphasized that the PKK issue should be addressed through political
dialogue between Ankara and Kurdistan-Iraq, and between Ankara and
the central Iraqi government.
“There is a political, not a military, solution to the PKK problem,”
he was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency. “This problem
can only be resolved through dialogue and a broad-scale amnesty,” he
said, adding that offering an amnesty for the PKK would open the way
for the outlawed organization to lay down arms and return to
civilian life. |
Qubad J. Talabani, representative of the Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan and of the Iraqi Kurdistan
Regional Government to the U.S.
Photo:CSIS
Audio or Video:
Audio (mp3, 57:56)
Video (wmv, 58:01) |
Turkey is concerned with the PKK presence in Kurdistan-Iraq and has
long been pressing its NATO ally the United States to root out the
PKK from its bases in the mountains of the region. However,
Washington says cooperation with the Iraqi administration is the
best way to deal with the PKK, which is blacklisted as a terrorist
organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.
In his speech, Talabani also expressed his desire for the deployment
of U.S. forces in Kurdistan (northern Iraq).
“Some of our neighbors intervene in our domestic affairs. The United
States should, therefore, think about deploying soldiers in
Kurdistan,” he said, noting that the U.S. military presence would
deter some neighboring countries from attempting to intervene in the
region.
Talabani said the issue of a possible presence of the U.S. military
was being discussed between Washington and the regional Kurdish
government. “Iraqi Kurds like the United States and want them in the
region.”
He, however, said the Iraqi government's approval was also needed
for the establishment of a U.S. base in Kurdistan-Iraq in order to
avoid a disagreement between Baghdad and the Kurdish region in
northern Iraq.
Asked by a U.S. senator about a proposal to divide Iraq into three
different sections, Talabani said it was not possible to do that,
stressing that such a division in the country would spark problems.
“For example, in which region will Baghdad remain? It's difficult to
divide the country into three in an appropriate way. It's difficult
for the Shiite region to be a single bloc,” he said.
“Dividing Iraq into three is not a new concept. Tyranny kept Iraq
united. There are many different groups and hostilities coming from
history. It is wiser to distribute administrative power to regions,
but the Iraqis and the Iraqi government will decide on this,” he
added.
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