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Barzani urges Turkey’s Kurds to choose peaceful path to rights
Sunday, 26 July, 2015
In an important message Sunday amid deadly tensions between the Turkish government and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani urged dialogue over conflict.
“What you can achieve through peace won’t be achieved through fighting,” Barzani said in a personal message, explaining he wanted to clarify his role and Kurdistan’s role in helping the PKK negotiate peace with Ankara.
His message came as Turkey carried out a weekend crackdown on the PKK at home, and airstrikes on the group’s Qandil Mountain military base in the Kurdistan Region early Sunday.
“I found it necessary to express my own attitude regarding the PKK-Turkey tensions, because there were wrong interpretations and information being given in my name,” Barzani said in his late night message.
”I am not interested in conflict, and I have never supported it even for a second,” said Barzani, who has supported a peace process between the PKK and Ankara, which began more than a year ago but later stalled.
Advocating a path of peace, Barzani said that the agreement between the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)
“The HDP-AKP agreement was a giant achievement for the Kurds and all of Turkey,” Barzani said.
He noted that the Kurds had finally made headway in their pursuit of greater rights in Turkey only after the creation of the HDP, which brought the Kurdish fight into the political arena.
“If we look at Turkey’s situation in a realistic way, we see that before the emergence of the HDP the name of the Kurds and Kurdistan was prohibited in Turkey,” Barzani said.
“We did our best to make a peace process in Turkey to bring rival parties together,” he said, praising Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for pursuing a “different, developed politics and point of view towards the Kurds, unlike the previous Turkish parties.”
Barzani declared that, “for me, the Kurdish case is above everything.”
He said that Kurdistan was not responsible the policies of Turkey or the PKK.
“Concerning the attitude of Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers Party, we do not represent Turkey’s politics and we are not responsible for the PKK’s politics. What we can offer is to help get them together to settle their issues through dialogue and mutual understanding.”
“I want to say something for history,” Barzani said. “We saw a positive attitude and steps being taken Turkey’s government, but unfortunately, some parties became too arrogant.
“Many times we sent messages to the PKK to remain patient and wait, because the peace process takes time and is not an easy process. We told them that the killing of two policemen will note wipe out Turkey.
“The best opportunity of recent times is solving issues through negotiation, election, education and the pen,” Barzani urged.
“I reiterate my claims that the HDP should go under discussions to form a new Turkish government,” he said, referring to the party’s recent victory in polls that allows the Kurds to have their own party in parliament for the first time.
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Sunday, 26 July, 2015
In an important message Sunday amid deadly tensions between the Turkish government and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani urged dialogue over conflict.
“What you can achieve through peace won’t be achieved through fighting,” Barzani said in a personal message, explaining he wanted to clarify his role and Kurdistan’s role in helping the PKK negotiate peace with Ankara.
His message came as Turkey carried out a weekend crackdown on the PKK at home, and airstrikes on the group’s Qandil Mountain military base in the Kurdistan Region early Sunday.
“I found it necessary to express my own attitude regarding the PKK-Turkey tensions, because there were wrong interpretations and information being given in my name,” Barzani said in his late night message.
”I am not interested in conflict, and I have never supported it even for a second,” said Barzani, who has supported a peace process between the PKK and Ankara, which began more than a year ago but later stalled.
Advocating a path of peace, Barzani said that the agreement between the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)
“The HDP-AKP agreement was a giant achievement for the Kurds and all of Turkey,” Barzani said.
He noted that the Kurds had finally made headway in their pursuit of greater rights in Turkey only after the creation of the HDP, which brought the Kurdish fight into the political arena.
“If we look at Turkey’s situation in a realistic way, we see that before the emergence of the HDP the name of the Kurds and Kurdistan was prohibited in Turkey,” Barzani said.
“We did our best to make a peace process in Turkey to bring rival parties together,” he said, praising Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for pursuing a “different, developed politics and point of view towards the Kurds, unlike the previous Turkish parties.”
Barzani declared that, “for me, the Kurdish case is above everything.”
He said that Kurdistan was not responsible the policies of Turkey or the PKK.
“Concerning the attitude of Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers Party, we do not represent Turkey’s politics and we are not responsible for the PKK’s politics. What we can offer is to help get them together to settle their issues through dialogue and mutual understanding.”
“I want to say something for history,” Barzani said. “We saw a positive attitude and steps being taken Turkey’s government, but unfortunately, some parties became too arrogant.
“Many times we sent messages to the PKK to remain patient and wait, because the peace process takes time and is not an easy process. We told them that the killing of two policemen will note wipe out Turkey.
“The best opportunity of recent times is solving issues through negotiation, election, education and the pen,” Barzani urged.
“I reiterate my claims that the HDP should go under discussions to form a new Turkish government,” he said, referring to the party’s recent victory in polls that allows the Kurds to have their own party in parliament for the first time.
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