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Kurdistan's Hope for Talks
5.11.2007
By Nechirvan Barzani |
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Iraqi Kurdistan PM
Nechirvan proposes four-party talks on PKK
incursions
November 5, 2007
WASHINGTON, Nov 5: When President Bush and
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan meet
today to discuss ongoing conflict between the
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Turkey, we in the
Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (KRG) will be
listening with hope. We welcome this meeting. The
only solution to this decades-old problem lies in
diplomacy.
Let me be clear: The KRG is, and will remain, fully
prepared to find a long-term solution to this
problem. To this end, we propose talks among Ankara,
Baghdad, Erbil and Washington. This is a
transnational issue, complicated by ethnic ties, and
no party can find a solution on its own. We will sit
down at any time with anyone who seeks a negotiated,
diplomatic resolution.
We must discard the rhetoric of violence and
recognize that a military response to the current
crisis would be a disaster for everyone except the
PKK. We in the Kurdistan region of Iraq would be
slowed on our path to peace, democracy and
prosperity; the Turkish army would become bogged
down in a bloody and unproductive struggle against
the PKK outside its borders; the United States and
Western allies would become estranged from a vital
NATO ally; and the economies and peoples of the
region -- particularly Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq
-- would suffer.
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Nechirvan Barzani, Prime
Minister of
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) |
We have tried to explain to our Turkish friends that
we want only peace and cooperation with them. Our
region depends heavily on investment and trade with
Turkey. The great majority of foreign businesses
operating here are Turkish, nearly all of our
construction is done by Turkish contractors, we
receive much of our electricity from Turkey and well
over 75 percent of our imports arrive via Turkey.
Why would we provoke Turkey into a military action
that would severely damage our economy?
The history of this conflicted part of the world
carries a message: Problems such as the PKK cannot
be solved through military means. For decades the
government of Saddam Hussein tried to liquidate the
Kurdish people by violence, at a tremendous price
for both sides. We ourselves fought against the PKK
in the late 1990s with help from the Turkish
military, and 10 years later we again find ourselves
at a crisis point. The mountains inside our region
and in Turkey have protected the PKK for decades,
and there is little reason to believe that new
military actions would be any more successful than
past attempts. Problems for which military solutions
are sought here seem to have a way of never getting
resolved.
We have condemned and will continue to condemn the
PKK for its unwarranted attacks in Turkey. We insist
that its members lay down their arms immediately. We
do not allow them to operate freely, contrary to
what some have suggested. Turkey, with its
substantial military capability, has not been able
to eradicate the PKK within its own borders, yet
some Turks inexplicably expect us to be successful
with far fewer capabilities and resources. www.ekurd.net
Just as we ask the Turks to seek a peaceful
resolution, so must the PKK abandon its failed
strategy of armed conflict. Diplomacy and dialogue
must be given a chance. With time, patience and
stability, we believe that peaceful change can
occur. Just 10 years ago the PLO and the IRA were
considered terrorist organizations. Today they have
begun a process of transformation and are working
within the political arena. Can such a
transformation take place within the PKK? We cannot
be certain. But we do know that military action will
only radicalize the situation further, and violence
will surely breed more violence.
We want peace along our border with Turkey. We want
to cooperate on economic, social and cultural
issues. We want to be a good neighbor and to
exercise our responsibilities as good neighbors. Our
successful efforts in cooperation with Ankara and
Baghdad to secure the release of Turkish soldiers
demonstrate our sincere desire to find peaceful
solutions to the problem. We will continue taking
concrete steps to improve the security environment
at the border. But the Turkish government needs to
overcome its refusal to talk to us as neighbors.
www.ekurd.net
The Kurdistan region is the only part of Iraq where
peace and development have prospered since the
liberation of 2003, and we are the constitutionally
recognized regional government in the area. We have
come a long way both economically and politically.
But much more work remains. We have chosen to become
part of a federal Iraq and will uphold that
commitment.
We threaten no one as we move toward greater
development. We hope that we can extend the hand of
friendship to Turkey and work together to find
solutions to this crisis that will lead to long-term
stability and peaceful relations.
Nechirvan Barzani is prime minister of the
Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq.
washingtonpost com
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