Sunday, December 12, 2010
Barzani's KDP important for Iraq’s ties with Turkey’s Kurds, experts say
The KDP in northern Iraq has gathered for its first congress since 1999 and is considering an internal transformation to go along with the changes throughout the country over the last decade. Experts say, however, KDP leader Barzani want to quiet the criticisms against his leadership style and to display his power in Iraq and the region
Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party, or KDP, leader Massoud Barzani. AFP photo
A congress called by Massoud Barzani’s Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party, or KDP, could prove to be crucial for transforming the party and influencing relations with Turkey’s Kurdish parties, according to experts.
The gathering, which is part of a step toward internal transformation within the KDP, will affect the region and Turkey’s Kurdish political parties in the long term, Bilgay Duman, a Middle East expert from the Center for Middle East Strategic Research, or ORSAM, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Sunday.
The KDP has advised Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP, over the last couple of years to continue struggling on the Kurdish issue democratically, Duman said. “The BDP admires this advice and they occasionally visit the region while also continuing a dialogue with the KDP.”
The six-day congress in Arbil is hosting a number of foreign representatives, including ones from Turkey’s Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and Republican People’s Party, or CHP. The congress has drawn more than 1,000 delegates, who are set to elect 50 new members to the KDP's top leadership committee. The gathering is the first for the party in 13 years.
“The KDP is enhancing its area of influence. They have become a critical factor in Iraqi politics. Since Barzani is the main actor in the [Kurdish regional administration], his party has settled and taken root. Turkish political parties are also enhancing their ties with the KDP,” Doğu Ergil, a professor of political sociology at Ankara University, told the Daily News.
The KDP has had a historical influence on the Kurds of Turkey, Ergil said, noting that many Kurds in Turkey had gone to fight in Iraq in the past to help the region attain its independence from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.
“There was always sympathy and cultural ties between the two Kurdish communities. And now they want to improve cultural and economic ties,” he said, adding that Kurdish people in Turkey and northern Iraq want to enhance those ties without harming the political unity of either of the states. “This cooperation would contribute to the normalization of the Kurdish problem.”
Kurdish politicians from Turkey and officials from the Turkish government have kept in close contact with Barzani, especially regarding the AKP’s democratic initiative to solve the Kurdish problem. Ahmet Türk and Aysel Tuğluk, co-chairs of Democratic Society Congress, an umbrella for Turkey’s Kurdish movement, often exchange views with Iraqi Kurds.
As the KDP becomes stronger, this influence over the entire region is set to increase, Ergil said.
Transformation of the KDP
Barzani has been perceived as somewhat dictatorial both from within and outside the party, Duman said, but added that the congress was called by Barzani to address these concerns.
“In order to preclude criticism and to achieve transformation in the party, Barzani gathered this congress. I identify this move as a display of power,” Duman said.
“There has been no change in the party until now, but there has been political transformation in Iraq,” Duman said, adding that Barzani had to initiate the move in order to deal with the emerging Kurdish opposition in northern Iraq, as well as within his own party.
“There has been a transformation in northern Iraq since 1990 and the KDP began institutionalizing after 2003,” Duman said.
While the present congress will not result in a complete transformation of the KDP, Duman said it was still an important first step and that more “liberalism and liberty” would emerge within the party as a result.
Discussions with Baghdad
The gathering comes amid disputes between Arbil and Baghdad over the distribution of land and oil resources, as well as Prime Minister-designate Nouri al-Maliki’s delicate effort to form a new Cabinet.
Against this backdrop, Barzani also called for the right to greater self-determination for the northern Iraqi region, a view that will reportedly be studied and discussed over the duration of the congress.
Meanwhile, the AKP’s Abdülkadir Aksu attended the congress Saturday, delivering a speech saying Turkey considered Iraq's north as a gateway to Iraq and the Middle East. "And Turkey for you is a gateway that opens to Europe," Aksu said.
The AKP’s Ömer Çelik told reporters he held a brief meeting with Barzani, adding that he would meet the Iraqi Kurdish leader again to launch projects to develop relations between the AKP and the KDP.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=after-13-years-prominent-kurdish-party-of-iraq-gathered-congeress-2010-12-12
Barzani's KDP important for Iraq’s ties with Turkey’s Kurds, experts say
The KDP in northern Iraq has gathered for its first congress since 1999 and is considering an internal transformation to go along with the changes throughout the country over the last decade. Experts say, however, KDP leader Barzani want to quiet the criticisms against his leadership style and to display his power in Iraq and the region
Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party, or KDP, leader Massoud Barzani. AFP photo
A congress called by Massoud Barzani’s Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party, or KDP, could prove to be crucial for transforming the party and influencing relations with Turkey’s Kurdish parties, according to experts.
The gathering, which is part of a step toward internal transformation within the KDP, will affect the region and Turkey’s Kurdish political parties in the long term, Bilgay Duman, a Middle East expert from the Center for Middle East Strategic Research, or ORSAM, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Sunday.
The KDP has advised Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP, over the last couple of years to continue struggling on the Kurdish issue democratically, Duman said. “The BDP admires this advice and they occasionally visit the region while also continuing a dialogue with the KDP.”
The six-day congress in Arbil is hosting a number of foreign representatives, including ones from Turkey’s Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and Republican People’s Party, or CHP. The congress has drawn more than 1,000 delegates, who are set to elect 50 new members to the KDP's top leadership committee. The gathering is the first for the party in 13 years.
“The KDP is enhancing its area of influence. They have become a critical factor in Iraqi politics. Since Barzani is the main actor in the [Kurdish regional administration], his party has settled and taken root. Turkish political parties are also enhancing their ties with the KDP,” Doğu Ergil, a professor of political sociology at Ankara University, told the Daily News.
The KDP has had a historical influence on the Kurds of Turkey, Ergil said, noting that many Kurds in Turkey had gone to fight in Iraq in the past to help the region attain its independence from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.
“There was always sympathy and cultural ties between the two Kurdish communities. And now they want to improve cultural and economic ties,” he said, adding that Kurdish people in Turkey and northern Iraq want to enhance those ties without harming the political unity of either of the states. “This cooperation would contribute to the normalization of the Kurdish problem.”
Kurdish politicians from Turkey and officials from the Turkish government have kept in close contact with Barzani, especially regarding the AKP’s democratic initiative to solve the Kurdish problem. Ahmet Türk and Aysel Tuğluk, co-chairs of Democratic Society Congress, an umbrella for Turkey’s Kurdish movement, often exchange views with Iraqi Kurds.
As the KDP becomes stronger, this influence over the entire region is set to increase, Ergil said.
Transformation of the KDP
Barzani has been perceived as somewhat dictatorial both from within and outside the party, Duman said, but added that the congress was called by Barzani to address these concerns.
“In order to preclude criticism and to achieve transformation in the party, Barzani gathered this congress. I identify this move as a display of power,” Duman said.
“There has been no change in the party until now, but there has been political transformation in Iraq,” Duman said, adding that Barzani had to initiate the move in order to deal with the emerging Kurdish opposition in northern Iraq, as well as within his own party.
“There has been a transformation in northern Iraq since 1990 and the KDP began institutionalizing after 2003,” Duman said.
While the present congress will not result in a complete transformation of the KDP, Duman said it was still an important first step and that more “liberalism and liberty” would emerge within the party as a result.
Discussions with Baghdad
The gathering comes amid disputes between Arbil and Baghdad over the distribution of land and oil resources, as well as Prime Minister-designate Nouri al-Maliki’s delicate effort to form a new Cabinet.
Against this backdrop, Barzani also called for the right to greater self-determination for the northern Iraqi region, a view that will reportedly be studied and discussed over the duration of the congress.
Meanwhile, the AKP’s Abdülkadir Aksu attended the congress Saturday, delivering a speech saying Turkey considered Iraq's north as a gateway to Iraq and the Middle East. "And Turkey for you is a gateway that opens to Europe," Aksu said.
The AKP’s Ömer Çelik told reporters he held a brief meeting with Barzani, adding that he would meet the Iraqi Kurdish leader again to launch projects to develop relations between the AKP and the KDP.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=after-13-years-prominent-kurdish-party-of-iraq-gathered-congeress-2010-12-12
