Iraq Serves Turkey A Rare Treat

[Spezzatura]

This week, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) suffered a similar trade-off, when Turkish President Abdullah Gul visited Baghdad and met with Kurdistan Prime Minister Nechervan Barzani (the grandson of Mustapha). The latter promised that the Kurdistan-based PKK would lay down its arms completely - thereby ending a state of war with Turkey that has lasted for 30 years - in exchange for a full pardon for all Kurds who had fought the Turkish government.

Clearly, Barzani had not consulted with the PKK before making Gul his offer. The PKK immediately snapped back, saying that Barzani's offer was "wrong, because it benefits nobody but enemies of the Kurdish people”. Barzani - whose meeting with Gul was a remarkable event in its own right - added that he would not allow non-state players, like the PKK, to use the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan as a base to launch war against Turkey.

Gul said, "I told him [barzani] explicitly that the PKK terrorist organization and their camps are ... in your region [and] you need to take a clear position against them. Once the PKK is eliminated, there are no bounds to what is possible: you are our neighbors and kinsmen."

For his part, Barzani said, "We are determined, and we confirm again our territory will not be used to attack Turkey." Falling in line with the "new mood" in relations between Turkey, Iraq and the Kurds, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, recently said that creating an independent Kurdish state - his dream for over five decades - was "impossible", describing it as a "dream in poems".

His comments were carried in the Turkish daily Sabah. "I tell this to my Turkish brothers: don't be afraid of Kurdish independence. To stay within Iraq is in the interest of the Kurdish people in an economic, cultural and political sense."

Coming from Talabani, the Kurdish version of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, this was a bold statement, reflecting wisdom that comes with age, and a strong understanding of what can be achieved in real life and what has to remain nothing but an inspiring dream.

Twenty years ago, it would have been impossible for Talabani to make such a thundering statement. Barzani grabbed the cue from the veteran Kurdish leader, who is on the verge of political retirement, and offered the PKK on a gold platter to Gul. Had it not been for Talabani's blessing, the PKK would not currently be based in Iraqi Kurdistan.

This is the first time that a Turkish president has visited Iraq in 33 years, and the first time ever that one has met with an official from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which has had de facto autonomy in northern Iraq since 1991.

остальное тут

[Spezzatura]

So much for "independent Kurdistan" which vagha che myus ora shall emerge out of the ashes of Iraq.

Я понимаю что подобная перспектива вызывала у многих армян schandenfreude, но нельзя же быть настолько наивными - клянусь Буддой...