Turkey Peace Talks are ‘Another Kurdish Uprising,’ Says Form

[Aslan]

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The two main political parties in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region should run under a single banner in the upcoming national elections, where the opposition Change Movement (Gorran) will not do well in Sulaimani province as it claims, says Felekedin Kakeyi, former leadership member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). He believes that Gorran will not last, and will eventually reintegrate with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), from which it split in 2009. In this interview with Rudaw Kakeyi, a former MP and culture minister, says that Turkey’s peace talks with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) should be seen as “another Kurdish uprising” that is heading for “a radical political settlement.” Here is his full interview:

Rudaw: In the Kurdistan Region, do you anticipate the upcoming provincial elections to be clean?

Felekedin Kakeyi: There are irregularities in the elections of Kurdistan. I can say that the elections of 1992 were the cleanest, despite the violations. Since 2003, I believe that the PUK and KDP should have run in elections on separate lists, and then cooperate in forming a coalition government. Agreement on posts should be done prior to holding the elections. Given the current situation, I honestly believe that the PUK and the KDP should run on the same list.

Rudaw: What are your expectations for the opposition parties, especially Gorran’s claim that it will win in Sulaimani province?

Felekedin Kakeyi: Gorran will not win Sulaimani province even 10 years from now. I believe that Gorran will in the end dissolve.

Rudaw: Do you mean that it will rejoin the PUK?

Felekedin Kakeyi: Yes, I mean that and many other things. Gorran has no future without the PUK, because it is the offshoot of the PUK. I do not believe that Gorran will get the same votes it received previously. Nevertheless, the political balance will change after these elections.

Rudaw: How do you see the developments in Turkey?

Felekedin Kakeyi: First, the decision of (jailed PKK leader) Abdullah Ocalan regarding a ceasefire was very important. When a country embraces dialogue with one of its own prisoners after 30 years of military campaigns, it is a great victory. It would be very bad if some factions within the PKK oppose Ocalan’s message. Turkey has no option but to settle the Kurdish issue. What is taking place in Turkey is another Kurdish uprising, but in a political way.

Rudaw: Will the PKK lay down its weapons?

Felekedin Kakeyi: I expect them to obey Ocalan’s message, because weapons have a certain purpose and that purpose has been greatly achieved. There is the freedom of press and political parties, and peaceful protests exist as well. Some Kurdish municipalities are run by Kurds. All these conditions are preparing the grounds for a radical political settlement.

Rudaw: Did the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have any influence on Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to initiate the peace talks with Ocalan?

Felekedin Kakeyi: The influential person in the rapprochement between Turkey and Ocalan was (KRG prime minister) Nechirvan Barzani. He was the first person to succeed on this issue. The Turkish PM has sought advice from him on this issue several times. Once Erdogan told Nechirvan, ‘Tell me in one sentence how to solve the Kurdish issue?’ Nechirvan told him to go and talk with Ocalan. From that day on, Erdogan has been secretly sending his representatives to Ocalan, culminating in the current development.

Rudaw: The lack of transparency is said to be a major issue in the Kurdistan Region. Which public sector is the least transparent?

Felekedin Kakeyi: Despite claims to the contrary, the Kurdistan Region is more transparent than many countries. You have to look at it comparatively. If we compare it to Europe, yes, the Kurdistan is not transparent. But compared to half of the world -- Asia, Africa, Latin America -- Kurdistan is more transparent. In the Middle East, excluding Turkey and Israel, no country could manage its affairs as the Kurds did. The opposition wants to know everything, even classified information, and this can't be done in any part of the world.

Rudaw: Opposition parties say the handling and spending of oil revenues must be transparent to all.

Felekedin Kakeyi: When I was minister, the oil revenues were placed on the table in the meetings of the Council of Ministers in the presence of foreign experts and the oil minister. But the opposition still does not believe us. They opposition wants to know how the government works, but the government has the right to some secrecy. This is the case even in the US.

Rudaw: Does the PUK participate in the oil policies and oil-related issues?

Felekedin Kakeyi: The oil does not belong to the KDP. The KDP and PUK have a coalition government and are in charge of this process. Everything should be exposed in a case of corruption, even if it involves a single barrel of oil, because oil deals involve international parties. Regarding the PUK Imad Ahmed, the party’s politburo member and deputy prime minister of the KRG, says that the PUK is a partner in the oil extraction.

and transaction, and is aware of the process. They have documented this in their meetings. If a cadre or two of the PUK claim otherwise, then this is their internal issue.

Rudaw: Despite their strategic agreement and alliance, the KDP and PUK still have very different approaches. One is siding with Iran, the other with Turkey. One calls for talks with Baghdad, the other for withdrawal. How do you explain this?

Felekedin Kakeyi: This has been the case for a long time. It goes back to the 1960s.

We have remained in Iran for lengthy periods and have good ties with Iran due to the situations that forced us to be so. But we did not become Iranians. We needed Iran since 1961 but we never sided with Iran's ideologies.

The KDP is ideologically independent and it is its natural right to form diplomatic ties with other countries.

We needed the US in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but we have not become Americans.

The KDP is not siding with Turkey, but has economic and trade relations from which both sides benefit.