Abant Platform's Arbil Meeting: Future of Peace

One week has passed since a meeting was held by the Abant Platform in Arbil, northern Iraq, yet its effects continue. I was a member of the executive board of the Abant Platform and the spokesman of the Arbil meeting.

I was entrusted with the duty of delivering the opening speech and had an opportunity to make close observations both before and after the meeting.

I concluded that the Abant Platform held the most meaningful meeting in its short history. The purpose was to improve relations between two societies. The meeting was successful beyond expectations and managed to build a very strong bridge between two groups.

The closure statement underlines the need to improve political relations as well. The common understanding as to the need for Turkey to open a consulate in Arbil and for the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (KRG) to open a representation office in Ankara gives us clues about the framework of this agreement.

Arbil

Arbil is a big city and will be transformed into a modern city in several years, once ongoing construction projects are completed. The people in the city are concerned with their future. The ambitious "construction yard" appearance of the city does a poor job of hiding this fear. Kurds are passing through a period of transition, one that makes everything seem temporary; everything is uncertain and ambiguous.

No one knows how long the order put in place by the US will last. Animosity between Kurds and Arabs is on the rise. The Nouri al-Maliki administration in Baghdad is looking for the right opportunity to completely connect the Kurds to the central administration. It is very likely that there will be a conflict over Kirkuk. The victory al-Maliki commanded in the last local elections has added to Baghdad’s power. Kurds are ill at ease. Moreover, their internal problems are increasing. Recent resignations in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) show that the balance of power among Kurdish factions is temporary as well.

While Turks’ famous argument for "being surrounded by enemies from all sides" is very wrong in Turkey, it holds very true here. The only reasonable alternative is to sail toward Turkey. The atmosphere of uncertainty and fear breeds insecurity. The map showing the "Kurdistan Regional Government" that I saw in the office of the governor of Sulaimaniya is a clear sign of this. The borders of the map remind me of a thin-necked swan and are uncertain and contested regions are labeled green.

Sunni Arabs in central Iraq have already abandoned the idea of searching for a common future with Shiite groups and are now turning their hostile eyes toward the north. Kurdish and Arab nationalisms are rising in response to one another. Nationalism is rising in its most primitive and crudest form in this region. However, even reasonable minds are not aware of the fact that this rise is a disease. This is because nationalism here means hating the other. This hatred is ubiquitous not only among diverse ethno-nationalisms, but also among Kurds themselves. Insecurity blocks conciliation and cooperation even among those who are close to one another. The competition between Sulaimaniya and Arbil has a bloodstained past. A Kurdish intellectual told us that Turkey should act as a mediator among Kurdish groups, which hinted at his concern for the future of power competition among Kurds.

Everything can happen in Arbil. The city may go back to the pre-Saddam era. This narrow and closed geography may develop into hell because of never-ending conflicts. Or it may transform into an island of peace and tranquility. Everything depends on decisions to be made today and steps to be taken now.

Turkey’s perspective

Kurds in northern Iraq are related to Turkish citizens in the same manner Circassians in the Caucasus are related to us. Turkey has to embrace northern Iraq instead of excluding it as a threat. Kurds have no solution or exit other than Turkey and Turkey has no opportunity other than to integrate with this region in order to live in peace with its citizens and further its claim in the region. Desperation for one is an opportunity for another. An opportunity for one is a solution for another. The only alternative is to combine both. The solution to Turkey’s Kurdish issue is in Arbil. In order to solve this issue, Turkey has to go to Arbil and then come back to Turkey. Yet, Turkey’s travel to Arbil is reliant on the settlement of the Kurdish issue.

Turkey has to create an atmosphere for its citizens that would seem considerably normal to Arbil. This is not a paradox but a process that will go hand-in-hand and simultaneously.

To do this, as Bejan Matur put it, Turkey must have confidence in Kurds - both its own Kurds and the Kurds in northern Iraq must be trusted. There is very sound historical and actual background for this trust. Pains and fears may easily be replaced by mutual trust. Indeed, it is in the interests of both sides to establish an atmosphere of trust.

One of most interesting assessments came from İbrahim Kalin during his speech at the Arbil meeting. Kalin exhaustively analyzed ethical philosophy and formulated Turkey’s initiative as an ethical condition. Balances in the region should be put in order according to this ethical power, without concerns for interests. Without this ethical regulator, the region is on the verge of being divided into the smallest of components and dragged into never-ending chaos. The Middle East is already fragmented beyond geographical necessities. Despite this fragmentation, the ethnic and cultural diversity urges every piece to establish a fair order on its island. To do this, a power that operates like a compass or upon consent is needed. This power should be an ethical power that can bring justice to the region. Turkey has emerged as the most likely candidate to become this ethical power thanks to its role as a peace and stability maker in the region. Mediation missions it assumes should be seen from this perspective.

Kurdish national congress

The Turkey that sees an autonomous government in northern Iraq as the beginning of the Greater Kurdistan ideal and that tries to get rid of the "separation paranoia" by repressing its own Kurds is being replaced by a Turkey that is integrating northern Iraq with itself in economic and social terms and that respects its own Kurds as equal and dignified citizens. Kurdish intellectuals stress that Turkey’s role as a peace and stability maker is the sole source of hope for the future of the region.

Karwan Akreyi talked about a conference to be attended by all Kurdish political groups. He emphasized that a conference to be held in peace, with dialogue and through democratic methods is expected to reject violent methods. He noted that Turkey should not be worried about such a conference. The closure statement of the Abant meeting chose to support this meeting. Turkey should correctly understand this meeting. This conference may be a real threshold and contribute to the end of bloodshed.

The prerequisite for building a future based on peace and stability is that Turkey should trust the Kurds, both those who are Turkish citizens and those who are not.

The Abant Platform’s Arbil meeting has already been noted as a meeting that will trigger a number of important developments and that will be remembered as an important meeting.