BY NAGEHAN ALCI
AKSAM- Some people have tried to solve Kurdish issue through bombs, violence and blood, but they failed. The issue has never been helped by terrorism. That's why steps taken this week in Erbil are very important for breaking this unfortunate vicious cycle.
Nearly 200 Turks and Kurds from Turkey and Iraq congregated in Iraq's Kurdish region on Sunday and Monday to discuss many issues, including language, politics, emotions, reason, etc. during the 18th meeting of the Abant Platform. Here's some background to the meeting:
1) Kurds from Iraq and Turkey came together in the Kurdish region of Iraq. The meeting of the both sides particularly in Erbil was a significant first step.
2) It was also significant that Turkey's Consul General to Mosul Huseyin Avni Botsali came to the meeting and made one of the opening speeches, which shows that the Turkish state supports this initiative.
3) The government was unable to send representatives for various reasons, but it's known that the meeting is an important initiative between northern Iraq and Turkey, so the consul general's presence was important.
4) The northern Iraqi administration must be disturbed by its deputies' not attending it, because their prime minister, Nechirvan Barzani, was expected to make the opening speech, but he didn't come. Scheduling conflicts were blamed, but it's an interesting coincidence that this coincided with the deputies' absence.
5) The Abant Platform tried to organize a meeting on the Kurdish issue in Diyarbakir last summer, but then canceled it due to the threat of the terrorist PKK. Now organizing an event in Erbil is a challenge to the group. The Barzani government is tackling this challenge. It's important to understand the PKK's position. It's very disturbed by being excluded from efforts for dialogue, so it's trying to hinder the process, and that's why it warned Kurdish intellectuals not to go to Erbil. But it's clear that these obstructionist efforts came to nothing.
Consequently, people who think hard about the Kurdish issue in Turkey put forth new ideas on the issue under Barzani's auspices. What's more, they did it on February 15, the anniversary of terrorist PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan being taken into custody in Turkey. When the PKK was issuing provocations in Turkey, a significant answer came from Erbil from Kurds who decry this. Even this much is a very important sign that some things are changing in the region.