A dilemma or a breakthrough?

Hiwa Osman

Turkey will receive good news and bad news when the new government is formed in Iraq. The good news is that Jalal Talabani, a long-time friend of Turkey who understands its importance in the Middle East, will be the president. But the bad news is that as a Kurd he cannot do much about Turkish-Iraqi-Kurdish relations

The recent statements from Ankara regarding the city of Kirkuk and their fear of Kurds oppressing Turkomans there have sent a strong message to Iraqi Kurdistan that Turkey's "Kurdophobia" has not subsided, despite repeated Kurdish reassurances that Kurds have no intention to Kurdisize the city of Kirkuk.

For the Iraqi Kurdish leadership, Kirkuk has a Kurdistani character. This means that it is part of a geographical region called Kurdistan, but does not mean that it is exclusively Kurdish. The demographic makeup of the region of Kurdistan includes Kurds, Turkomans, Arabs and Assyrians--and so does Kirkuk.

The city of Kirkuk symbolizes for many Iraqis the old Iraq that was rife with destruction, expulsion, discrimination and racism. Looking to its future, Kirkuk has the potential of being the symbol of the new Iraq.

The people of Kirkuk took the first step in this direction. They went out of their homes, despite the security threats, and voted. But the process of turning Kirkuk into a success story does not stop here. It is only the start, and Turkey can play an important role.

Turkey should appease the Kurdish and Iraqi leadership by assuring them that it will not interfere in Iraq's internal affairs. It should further declare its support for any efforts to democratize and create an infrastructure that would be conducive to lasting peace and stability in Iraq, especially in the areas near its border.

Rather than making a fuss over the situation of only the Turkomans of Iraq, Ankara should encourage the newly elected Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Assembly to write a regional constitution that enshrines the principles of human rights, equality and civil liberties for all those who live in the Kurdistan region.

A constitution in the Kurdish region will be a lot easier to adopt and will guarantee everyone's rights there. By doing this, Turkey will send a message to the leaders and the people of the new Iraq that Turkey is a partner that wants to see a strong, stable, free and democratic Iraq--not one that is threatened by civil war.

The naming of a Kurdish president for Iraq or the presence of a large number of Kurdish deputies in the Iraqi parliament should not create a dilemma for Turkey. It should signal the start of a new policy on Iraq and the Kurds. This can only be done by setting "Kurdophobia" aside and seeing the Kurds as a key ally in the new Iraq.

The Kurds and other Iraqis realize that, unlike most of the neighboring countries, Turkey has played no role in encouraging the terrorist violence in Iraq. Turkey should capitalize on this and build upon it.

Turkey is the model for an Islamic state that is democratic. It has managed to prove that Islam and democracy are not mutually exclusive. The challenge for Turkey is to prove that Turkey and the word Kurdish are not mutually exclusive either.

By the same token, tolerating the word Kurdish or setting "Kurdophobia" aside in Turkey will pave the way for solving Turkey's problems with the PKK, an issue that can not be solved across the border. The PKK issue needs to be taken back into Turkey. In this regard, the Kurds of Iraq seem to have enough on their plate. The last thing they want is to create new enemies. They do not see the PKK as an issue they can solve, especially violently. All they can do is prevent the PKK from using Iraqi Kurdish territory for launching attacks against Turkey.

The United States cannot do much to change the sides' minds or hearts regarding one another. It will eventually leave Iraq. Change has to come from within. The Kurds and Turks are stuck with each other, and need to work out a relationship either with or without Iraq.

Despite pressure from Kurdish public opinion, the elected Kurdish leadership has said over and over again that it does not intend to break away and form an independent Kurdish state. It will send its heavyweights to Baghdad and be part of shaping the new Iraq. But this is conditional; if the violence does not stop in the center and south, no one in their right mind would want to be part of it. If the Kurds are not helped to be a real part of the new Iraq, they will be forced to look at other options.

Under these circumstances, Turkey could receive a visit from the Kurds asking the following: Iraq is not working; we don't want to be part of it, nor do we want to have a war with you. And we can't drop our Kurdish identity. What shall we do?

Turkey will have to have an answer.

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- Published 24/2/2005