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A time for moderates?
18.4.2008
By Hiwa Osman
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April 18, 2008
The twenty fifth Turkish military incursion into
Iraqi Kurdistan to root out the PKK (Kurdish
Workers' Party) and the way it ended proved that
that there can be no military solution to this
issue. It has been tried 25 times, with and without
the help of the Iraqi Kurds and the United States,
and it has not worked. The few times where a
ceasefire was mediated--secretly or openly--have
yielded some results. But they were not capitalized
on or followed with other steps.
An opportunity is emerging this time. It should not
be spoiled. The Kurds of Iraq are more and more
convinced that the PKK issue is an irritating factor
that is hampering progress in relations with their
much-needed neighbor Turkey.
For Iraq, Turkey is an important neighbor. For the
Kurdistan region, Turkey is the only neighbor with
access to the outside world. The Kurds appreciate
the importance of long-term strategic ties with
Turkey. US troops will one day leave; Turkey is
staying. Similarly, a day will come when the PKK
presence ends, but the Iraqi Kurds are staying. |
Hiwa Osman is a Baghdad-based journalist and a
former media advisor to President Jalal Talabani. |
Since the early 1990s, the Kurds of Iraq understand
that Turkey is a red line that cannot be crossed.
They also now know that the United States is not
"like a man with two wives" as an Iraqi Kurd in
Sulaimaniyah told the New York Times in the run-up
to the Turkish military incursion into the region.
Yet the events that followed and the level of US
cooperation proved that this was wrong. America does
have two allies: a long-standing Turkish one and a
nascent Iraqi one.
The Kurds of Iraq are part of the Iraqi ally. But a
military operation against the PKK is not an option
for them. Their previous experience of fighting the
PKK illustrates this clearly. Since the mid-1990s
many operations,www.ekurd.net
joint and unilateral,
were conducted against the PKK. The result was
bitter memories and a great loss of life. Now, a few
thousand lives later, the Kurds of Iraq are not
willing to repeat the same military and political
mistake.
"I am amazed how short-spanned is their memory," a
local Peshmerga commander said after the failure of
the last military operation and the quick pull out
by Turkey. "They forgot how difficult the area of
the PKK is. They can try for 25 more times. All they
can catch is partridges in these mountains," he
added.
The PKK area is an impossible one. It is now dubbed
the Tora Bora of Kurdistan. A Kurdish military
operation to root the PKK out will only strengthen
them and rally people to their cause at a time when
their popularity is waning and more calls are raised
for them to stop attacking Turkey.
The PKK themselves are looking for a way out of this
dilemma. They feel that Iraqi Kurdish public opinion
is becoming less tolerant of their presence. No
demonstrations were held this time in Iraqi
Kurdistan in their support. Also, the PKK has come
to terms with the reality that it cannot change
Turkey by force. Hence its demands have been
minimized to cultural, democratic and political
rights for the Kurds of Turkey.
The Turkish stance on dealing with the Kurdish issue
has been oscillating between radicals who want the
eradication of the PKK militarily and moderates who
want to deal with the Kurdish issue politically.
Allowing a bigger Kurdish cultural,www.ekurd.net
political and democratic
breathing space in Turkey would certainly close down
the PKK on both sides of the border.
The Kurds of Iraq do not want to pay the price for,
nor do they want to be a party to, Turkey's internal
differences on this issue. But a political step as
such would make their lives much easier. It would
enable them to rally the public (on both sides of
the border) in favor of pushing the PKK into further
isolation. Turkey does not need 25 more incursions
to accept that a political course of action is the
roadmap for a solution and the most effective way to
end the PKK issue.
The situation is ripe for a face-saving solution for
all parties. The key is direct talks between Ankara
and Erbil. The US called for this when
Vice-President Dick Cheney visited Ankara and Erbil
last month. Earlier, President Jalal Talabani's
visit to Ankara was an icebreaker and a catalyst for
a new page in Iraqi-Turkish relations.
A solution is needed today more than any other time.
All sides realize that they have a lot to lose if
the situation escalates and deteriorates. There are
radicals and moderates on all sides. The radicals
had their time, and failed. Perhaps it is time that
the moderates take the lead.- Published 17/4/2008 ©
bitterlemons-international.org
Hiwa Osman is a Baghdad-based journalist and a
former media advisor to President Jalal Talabani.
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
bitterlemons-international org
Author's e-mail: hiwaosman (at) hotmail.com
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