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Kurds: Armenians Win, We Pay the Price
16.10.2007
By Falah Mustafa Bakir
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October
16, 2007
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan is asking his
country’s parliament this week to unanimously
approve a "mobilization" against the Kurdistan
Worker's Party (PKK), an action that he and other
Turkish leaders have signaled could include a
Turkish military attack on the Kurdistan Region of
Iraq. Such an attack would represent the gravest
challenge to Iraq since our liberation from Saddam
Hussein in 2003 and would jeopardize, perhaps
fatally, the success of the American mission in
Iraq.
The Kurdistan Region is Iraq’s safest and most
secure. But we may soon pay a heavy price for the
actions of the PKK in Turkey, and for a House
Foreign Affairs Committee vote about Armenia in the
U.S. – neither of which have anything to do with the
Kurds of Iraq or the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG.)
The KRG seeks no conflict with Turkey. Quite the
opposite: the KRG considers friendly relations with
Turkey its top priority.
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Falah Mustafa Bakir is head of the Department of
Foreign Relations in the Kurdistan Regional
Government of Iraq |
We consider the Turkish
people as close friends and neighbors with whom we
have much in common. Turkish trade and investment
has been instrumental to our region's economic
growth. We are interested in pursuing stronger ties
through direct dialogue with Ankara on any and all
issues of common interest. Any problems or
disagreements should be solved through diplomacy and
dialogue, not threats of military force.
We condemn the killing of innocent people and we do
not believe that violence ever solves problems. The
KRG has supported U.S. mediation efforts with Iraq
and Turkey about the PKK, and has encouraged efforts
toward a comprehensive political solution to the
problem of the PKK, which cannot be solved solely
through military means.
The KRG does not and will not support the
de-stabilization of Turkey or any of our neighbors.
We respect and practice the principle of
noninterference in the affairs of others, and expect
the same in return. In that context, the Iranian
intimidation and shelling of villages and towns
along our eastern border must also stop. As with
Turkey, we seek no confrontation with Iran. Since
1991, we have proven to Turkey, Iran and all of
Iraq's neighbors that the Kurds are a stabilizing
factor in Iraq and the Middle East.
The stakes could not be higher for Iraq, and for the
peace and prosperity of the Kurdistan Region, which
has proven itself the model and gateway for a new
Iraq. The Kurds are America's most loyal and trusted
allies in pursuit of an independent, democratic and
federal Iraq. The current crisis on our borders
comes at an especially inopportune and sensitive
time with regard to on-going efforts in Iraq toward
national reconciliation. This is very much a work in
progress, but there is progress.
There is an emerging consensus among Iraqi
politicians about federalism, which is Iraq's
constitutionally mandated form of government. KRG
President Masoud Barzani has called for a conference
in Erbil among Iraq's political leaders to discuss
how to implement a federal system of governance in
our country. The diversity of Iraqi society is a
source of strength, not division. Federalism has
worked around the world – in the United States, the
United Arab Emirates, and in many other countries.
It should be seen as the solution, rather than the
problem, for the deep governance challenges in Iraq.
Federalism is not "partition," as some have
misrepresented it. We appreciate those in the U.S.
Senate who understand and have recognized the
reality of a federal Iraq through an amendment to
the U.S. Defense Authorization bill.
Some neighboring countries see the shadow of
independence falling across all that we do in the
Kurdistan Region. When the Iraqi constitution was
drafted four years ago, the Kurdistan Region’s
leadership made a firm decision to remain part of
Iraq. Despite the national tragedy that has befallen
much of the rest of Iraq, we remain committed to
that course of action today. We believe today that
our future is best secured by becoming an active
participant in a federal, democratic and secular
Iraq.
Falah Mustafa Bakir is the Head of the Department
of Foreign Relations, with Ministerial rank, in the
Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq.
newsweek washingtonpost com
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