Delegation Visits Kurdistan To Discuss Kurdish National Convention
06/02/2012 04:01:00 By HEMIN KHOSHNAW – ERBIL, Iraqi Kurdistan — A delegation of Kurdish MPs from Turkey arrived in the Kurdistan Region last week to discuss holding a Kurdish national convention. For the past two years, various Kurdish political parties from all parts of the Middle East have contemplated a convention drawing together Kurds from Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey.
Kurdish political parties from these four countries have expressed the need for a convention that can bring Kurds together in the wake of the wave of changes sweeping the Middle East.The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leadership has insisted that they will not hold a convention unless all Kurdish parties participate.During a conference for Syrian Kurds last month, Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani said, “We hope to hold a Kurdish national convention for all the Kurds in the Middle East this year and in this place.”Over the past several months, several Kurdish leaders and MPs from Turkey have visited the Kurdistan Region and met with Kurdish officials to discuss a possible convention.
Mulika Birtana, a Kurdish MP who arrived in Erbil last week told Rudaw, “The purpose of our visit is to make preparations for the convention. We have been making preparations in northern (Turkish) Kurdistan for a while. We hope to hold the convention as soon as possible.” Birtana said the delegation carries messages from the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), the largest Kurdish party in Turkey with 36 seats in the Turkish Parliament.
“We want the national convention to discuss the situation of Kurdistan and joint strategic decisions for the Kurds.” “We will not participate in a gathering if it is just a meeting,” Birtana said. “We want the national convention to discuss the situation of Kurdistan and joint strategic decisions for the Kurds.” The delegation met with Fazil Mirani, the head of KDP’s politburo, members of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Parliament, the opposition Change Movement (Gorran) and the speaker of Kurdistan’s Parliament.KDP spokesman Ahmad Kani told Rudaw, “The purpose of their visit is to strengthen the relationship between their party and the Kurdistan Region. We discussed the national convention in general. They wanted to know specific information regarding the mechanism and the date of the convention. But we have no information in this regard and the date of the conference has not yet been set.”
For his part, Murat Karayilan, the head of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) told Rudaw in a recent interview that the time for a national convention has come. “The timing is suitable,” Karayilan said. “They must discuss the topics of the convention ahead. It is obvious that some sides see the convention as just two- or three-day meeting. We believe the conference is more than just a meeting or issuing a statement in the end.”
Karayilan argued that “A kind of national conference must be held that can fulfill the Kurdish dream.” “We hope to have a conference whereby everyone abides by its decisions later,” Kani said. “So that we can tell the world that we Kurds always hope to solve our issues through peaceful dialogue.”
Kani believes Kurdish parties particularly in Turkey should solve their difference before a successful conference can be held. “We have internal and external issues,” he said. “Besides the Kurdistan Region, the other parts of Kurdistan have internal issues. The Kurdish political parties in the North have not yet solved their domestic issues. The conference must be held in a peaceful environment.” Kani said Kurdistan Region leaders have urged the BDP delegation to solve their issues with other Kurdish groups to facilitate an all-Kurdish conference. Kizdal Ocar, a Kurdish MP and member of the delegation said, “Many people believe 2012 will be the year of the Kurdish National Convention.”Ocar hoped Kurdish parties could unite before Nawroz, the Kurdish New Year, in preparation for a conference in spring.
Ocar maintained that average Kurds “are eager for the national convention.”
Jala Jawhar, a senior figure in the Gorran Movement who met with the delegation from Turkey, said an all-Kurdish convention is a good thing, but the situation now may not be ripe for it.“In northern Kurdistan they have both political and armed struggle; on the other hand in western Kurdistan (Syria) a unique situation has emerged. In general the situation in all parts of Kurdistan is not suitable for the national convention,” he said.