Bad news for PKK from Talabani and Barzani

The Turkish delegation prolonged its stay to get the message across, "We trust you. We are here to support this country’s stability and territorial integrity." The overnight stay and Gül taking his wife on this trip were identified as a sign of bringing relations back to normal.

Important agreements have been signed and important meetings held but everything was based on the PKK. The Iraqi central government and the Kurdish regional administration have responded in a friendly way to Turkey’s gesture. There was a series of developments in which mutual taboos were overcome. In respect to Turkey, Gül broke a taboo.

In a press conference with the Iraqi President Talabani he pronounced the word Kurdistan for the first time. Turkey, be it in announcements by formal authority or correspondence it used to say "Administration in northern Iraq." That was the official expression. Whereas in the Iraqi Constitution the official name for the northern administration is "Kurdish Regional Administration." But we insisted on not accepting that Kurds in the north are leading this region. We buried our heads in the sand and put ourselves in a ridiculous position.

President Gül did the right thing in the press conference. He pronounced what was written in the Iraqi Constitution and said "Kurdistan Regional Administration." He broke a new taboo. Of course, this approach made everybody happy. Faces smiled.

Talabani: PKK either puts down its weapons or leaves

The other surprise in this trip came from Jalal Talabani. He scowled in front of everybody in a way hardly ever heard during the press conference regarding the closing of the formal visit. He pronounced similar words before but they were not so clear. He said, "The PKK either puts down its weapons or leaves the country."

We were stunned. We were expecting it but there was no need for so much drama. Talabani expressed by stressing a sentence Turkey wanted to hear all along.

In the past they used to be more careful and weigh the words before speaking them. Then we understood that the atmosphere here has changed.

Of course, we still need to look at it with suspicion. Talabani says it but does the leader of the Kurdish regional administration, Barzani, agree with him?

This question I asked Neçirvan Barzani, president of Kurdistan. After his meeting with Gül I chatted with him in haste. I said, "Do you agree with what Talabani said? Is your approach regarding the PKK as clear as his or a little different?"


Barzani: We agree

Barzani was reluctant for a while. He exhibited body language as if not completely sharing the same view, as if they were a little distanced to each other. But later on he said, "Yes we share the same view. After all, our constitution would not allow for our territory to be used by a terror organization." And Barzani said Turkey and Iraq have entered a new period in their relationship, especially regarding the PKK issue and the two countries have a better understanding of each other.

So would the amnesty issue help the PKK leave the mountains? This question gives Turkish authorities goose bumps. The Kurds on the contrary believe that it would be very helpful. Even if they do not say it out loud they think, "If there is no amnesty for those who have not killed, this issue will not be on the right track."

Thus, by the end of the trip while talking to Gül the same subject came up. The president did not want to talk about it. He contented himself with saying, "I did not talk to anybody here about the amnesty issue and I won’t. This is Turkey’s internal issue."