Abant Spirit Reinvigorated in Arbil
Turkish, Kurdish, Armenian, Assyrian, Turkmen, Arab and Western intellectuals came together in the capital city of the Kurdistan Regional Government to discuss the future of Turkish-Kurdish relations in a two-day panel discussion organized under the Abant Platform.
The platform managed to reincarnate the already familiar Abant spirit of civilized discussion and constructive action, taking a first step for further advancement of dialogue between the sides of the discussion. This time the discussion was warm, and the polyphony of different ideological backgrounds was in the air. At the center of the problem the Abant Platform managed to create a bridge of hope for the future. Not all problems between the Turks and the Kurds were solved at the meeting, but the participants realized for the first time in their lives that by leaving political attachments at home and speaking together they can open windows of opportunity for the solution of further problems.
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) spokesman Sera Kadir told Today's Zaman that while the event is a supra-political meeting, it will open the way for the politicians and act as a guide for politics. Kadir believes there could be no better place to address the issues raised in Arbil. "This is the center of the problem, and it is being addressed at its center. This is very important. This is a step forward that will bring the two societies closer to each other," he said. Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds recently experienced a thaw in relations after years of tension over Turkish accusations that the Kurdish administration was supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which launches attacks on Turkey from its bases in northern Iraq. The PKK took up arms in 1984 to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. Some 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which is now more than two decades old.
In January, however, Turkey's special envoy to Iraq, Murat Özçelik, had talks with Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani in Arbil. The meeting between Özçelik and Barzani was not the first time the two had come together. Özçelik had met with Barzani in Baghdad in October of last year, which was Turkey's first public contact with Barzani since the US-led war on Iraq in 2003. Barzani, who has a long history of angering Ankara with remarks interpreted as implicit support for the PKK, has softened his usually harsh tone while describing the state of relations with Turkey in recent speeches -- particularly after a landmark visit to Turkey by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in March of last year.
Officials in Ankara note that the Turkish government has established ongoing dialogue with both Iraq's central government and the regional administration in its north.
Kerwan Akravi, the head of northern Iraq's Kurdistan TV, which aired the proceedings of the Abant Platform's Arbil meeting live, told Today's Zaman "The media should have understood the importance of this event," adding, "We are trying to make this event known all around Kurdistan so that people will see that we can sit and speak with our Turkish brethren."
Officials in Ankara have said there will be more contacts with the Iraqi Kurds depending on the level of cooperation they are willing to offer in Turkey's efforts to fight the separatist PKK's presence in northern Iraq. PKK attacks have been a strain on Turkish-Iraqi ties. But on many occasions lately Iraqi Kurds have said they are not happy about the PKK launching attacks from their territory, but they are also unwilling to back military action against the terrorist group, calling instead for a peaceful solution. Meanwhile, Turkey, Iraq and the United States have agreed to set up a joint command center in northern Iraq to gather intelligence to fight the PKK. Following an upsurge in PKK attacks in 2007, Washington approved limited Turkish air raids on PKK bases in northern Iraq, and it continues to share intelligence with Ankara.
Yilmaz Ensarioğlu, former president of the Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples (MAZLUM-DER), a religiously motivated human rights organization based in Turkey, told Today's Zaman he believes the Abant Platform is particularly important because it introduces the conservative sectors of Turkey to the Kurdish problem. According to him the Abant Platform is also helpful in the transformation of the traditional bureaucracy. He did have some criticism to voice, though. "I cannot say I liked the format. We should either have a smaller group or parallel sessions," he told Today's Zaman.
Journalist and intellectual Etyen Mahçupyan has not participated in all of the Abant meetings. He is not familiar with the Abant spirit as such, but he regards the Arbil meeting a very important one. "This is a first-time encounter where we spoke about something that is not spoken about by the public. This is a source of hope for the future. I was thinking that we would be a bit hesitant on certain issues, but it seems everyone is quite open to speaking about touchy topics," he told Today's Zaman.
Sertaç Bucak, former leader of the Rights and Freedoms Party (HAK-PAR), a pro-Kurdish political party in Turkey, told Today's Zaman that he has been coming to the region for years but that the Abant Platform added something unique to the intellectual atmosphere of the city. "It is very beautiful to see intellectuals from both societies coming together. At least we can speak. We all know that Arbil is a start," he said.
Taraf daily columnist Leyla İpekçi sees the Abant spirit as an "expression of action-oriented, frank intention." Speaking with Today's Zaman, she said: "I regard Abant as a political act of a civil society organization. Even if nothing comes out of these meetings, they will save us from an empty 'brotherhood' discourse." According to her, Abant is not just about changing how we see the other, but also about changing how we see ourselves.
Journalist and Star Daily columnist Nasuhi Güngör says it is precisely the spirit of Abant that impressed the founders of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the beginning. He recalls that a former chairman of the Abant Platform, Professor Mehmet Aydin, is now a state minister. "But recently the Abant Platform has bypassed and became even livelier than politics," he told Today's Zaman.
Columnist and Selçuk University lecturer Professor Yasin Aktay said Abant has turned discussion into a tradition in Turkey, bring different segments of society together around the same table. "People who wouldn't encounter each other otherwise met and became friends thanks to the Abant meetings," he said. Aktay stresses the importance of the educational network of Turkish schools that have supported the meetings of the Abant Platform abroad. "The Turkish schools here have formed the backbone of the Arbil meeting, I assume," he said. (Kerim Balci / Ayşe Karabat, Arbil)
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