Kurds reluctant on Arbil gathering
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Göksel Bozkurt
OluÅŸturulma Tarihi: Mart 26, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - Turkey’s pro-Kurdish political parties are reluctant to participate in the upcoming Kurdish conference in Arbil. They underline that the Kurdish issue is not just related to the liquidation and disarmament of the PKK.
Turkey’s pro-Kurdish political parties are reluctant to participate in the upcoming Kurdish conference, a platform that will gather all major regional Kurdish actors. The Democratic Society Party, or DTP, has claimed the Kurdish conference’s agenda is too focused on disarming and liquidating the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.Â
The conference will be held in Arbil, the capital of regional administration in northern Iraq, in April or May.Â
"As the DTP, we are disturbed by the agenda of the conference. Thus, we have doubts about the conference. If it will only focus on the liquidation of the PKK, this will cause chaos, and we do not want to take part in this chaos," Selahattin Demirtaş, the DTP’s group vice president to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
Criticizing Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s approach, which urges the PKK either to lay down their guns or leave Iraq, Demirtaş stated that the organization could not be constrained between these two options. "If you present two options, a third one appears: The PKK rejects and resists. This means clashes," Demirtaş said, adding that the DTP cannot accept such an offer.
"If democratic solutions are developed, the PKK will spontaneously lay down their guns," he argued. He said the solutions included issuing a general pardon in Turkey, putting different cultures and identities under the protection of a constitution, and actualizing democratic autonomy.
US plan
DemirtaÅŸ also drew attention to the purpose of the conference, which was a need to determine and find solutions to the problems of Kurdish people living in different countries of the Middle East region. According to DemirtaÅŸ, the DTP will support a conference that aims to solve problems, but rejects the current one, which is known as a U.S. plan and aims only to liquidate the PKK.
Talabani recently announced that a "Kurdish conference" that will be attended by many Kurdish groups from all around the world would be held in Arbil. He also added that the PKK would be called to lay down their guns during the conference.
The Daily News has learned that none of the Kurdish groups from Turkey have been invited to the conference yet. But three pro-Kurdish parties, namely the DTP, the Participatory Democracy Party, or KADEP, and Rights and Liberties Party, or HAKPAR, are expected to be invited. The PKK was invited to the conference, the regional Kurdish administration in northern Iraq announced yesterday. But whether the PKK will attend the conference is not yet certain.
KADEP leader Şerafettin Elçi drew attention to Turkey’s role in terms of the conference. "If Turkey is ready to do its part, the conference can yield very good results," he said in an interview with the Daily News.
He maintained that if Turkey adopted an approach like "lay down gun and surrender," the possibility to hold the conference would be very low. Arguing that the problem is not just related to the disarmament of the PKK, Elçi said preliminary preparations over the conference should be carried out backstage and that the methods should be determined to have the PKK laid down their guns. Elçi also noted that there might be some talks between Turkey and the Kurdish administration behind the scenes. Ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Diyarbakır deputy İhsan Arslan also said that those who want to solve the Kurdish problem cannot disregard the DTP, the PKK or Abdullah Öcalan.
The conference will be held in Arbil, the capital of regional administration in northern Iraq, in April or May.Â
"As the DTP, we are disturbed by the agenda of the conference. Thus, we have doubts about the conference. If it will only focus on the liquidation of the PKK, this will cause chaos, and we do not want to take part in this chaos," Selahattin Demirtaş, the DTP’s group vice president to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
Criticizing Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s approach, which urges the PKK either to lay down their guns or leave Iraq, Demirtaş stated that the organization could not be constrained between these two options. "If you present two options, a third one appears: The PKK rejects and resists. This means clashes," Demirtaş said, adding that the DTP cannot accept such an offer.
"If democratic solutions are developed, the PKK will spontaneously lay down their guns," he argued. He said the solutions included issuing a general pardon in Turkey, putting different cultures and identities under the protection of a constitution, and actualizing democratic autonomy.
US plan
DemirtaÅŸ also drew attention to the purpose of the conference, which was a need to determine and find solutions to the problems of Kurdish people living in different countries of the Middle East region. According to DemirtaÅŸ, the DTP will support a conference that aims to solve problems, but rejects the current one, which is known as a U.S. plan and aims only to liquidate the PKK.
Talabani recently announced that a "Kurdish conference" that will be attended by many Kurdish groups from all around the world would be held in Arbil. He also added that the PKK would be called to lay down their guns during the conference.
The Daily News has learned that none of the Kurdish groups from Turkey have been invited to the conference yet. But three pro-Kurdish parties, namely the DTP, the Participatory Democracy Party, or KADEP, and Rights and Liberties Party, or HAKPAR, are expected to be invited. The PKK was invited to the conference, the regional Kurdish administration in northern Iraq announced yesterday. But whether the PKK will attend the conference is not yet certain.
KADEP leader Şerafettin Elçi drew attention to Turkey’s role in terms of the conference. "If Turkey is ready to do its part, the conference can yield very good results," he said in an interview with the Daily News.
He maintained that if Turkey adopted an approach like "lay down gun and surrender," the possibility to hold the conference would be very low. Arguing that the problem is not just related to the disarmament of the PKK, Elçi said preliminary preparations over the conference should be carried out backstage and that the methods should be determined to have the PKK laid down their guns. Elçi also noted that there might be some talks between Turkey and the Kurdish administration behind the scenes. Ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Diyarbakır deputy İhsan Arslan also said that those who want to solve the Kurdish problem cannot disregard the DTP, the PKK or Abdullah Öcalan.