The Kirkuk issue

Those elements should be rejected. If Kirkuk province becomes a part of the Kurdish region, the number of Turkman MPs in the Parliament of Kurdistan would increase and they would get more ministerial posts - possibly even the post of Assistant Prime Minister.

What then of the potentially destabilising presence of the PKK in southern Kurdistan and the threat by the Turkish army to invade Kurdistan's territory? Are the suggestions that the Turkish army will intervene in northern Iraq serious? In my estimation that threat was linked to internal problems within the army, the government and some political parties during the recent election. The two sides of Turkish politics are trying to take their problem outside Turkey and to make it appear that they are bargaining with each other - the army supported by some political parties on the one side and the government on the other.

The real question should be: why doesn’t the Turkish government instigate a dialogue with representatives of the Kurdish community in Turkey? The official Turkish response is that the PKK is regarded as a terrorist organisation, not only by Turkey, but by the United States and several European countries besides.

My response to this is to cite the case of Israel who, for more than half a century, considered the PLO to be a terrorist organisation but who later met with them in Oslo and Washington and are increasingly negotiating to resolve their problems.

The same thing happened in Northern Ireland, in Spain, in South Africa and in Southern Sudan. For so many years, thousands of civilians were killed in those bloody conflicts but their leaders were finally forced to sit down together and negotiate.

A resolution of the Kurdish issue in Turkey would improve and strengthen economic and commercial ties between the Turks and the Kurdistan region. It is fortunate that there are those who now speak of resolving the Kurdish issue in Turkey whereas they had previously refused even to acknowledge Kurds existence and the Kurdish language. One such is General Kenan Everin, an ex-president of the Republic who took power by coup d'etat in 1980, and who now speaks even of the de-centralisation of Turkey.

Regrettably, the attitude of all previous Turkish governments was against the recognition of the Kurdish language anywhere in the world. As far back as 1958 an hour-long, non-political program of news and songs in Kurdish broadcast by Cairo radio provoked a protest from the Turkish government of that time: the Turkish requested that the program to be withdrawn on the grounds that it threatened the security of the Turkish state. "Are there any Kurds in Turkey who make this broadcast dangerous?" Nasser asked the Turkish ambassador.

It is time to resolve the Kurdish issue in Turkey by dialogue. Such a dialogue would be in the interest of both sides and the Kurds have for long been calling for it.

The view expressed by Massignon 50 years ago that co-operation between these two nations still holds true today. Co-operative relations would increase security in the region and improve the living standards of the populations of Kurdistan and Turkey. My hope is that Turkish intellectuals will follow the example of the Director of Turkish Security who, in an interview with a Turkish journalist at the beginning of 2007, questioned why the armed Kurds in the mountains do not come down and sit at the negotiating table.

It is time to end the bloodshed and hostility which has cost the lives of so many innocent people. Resolving the Kurdish issue in Turkey would also ease Turkey's entry into the EU and we, in this part of Kurdistan, would be delighted to share a border with a member of the EU. It would encourage respect for the principles of democracy and human rights by the leaders of this part of Kurdistan and bring these two great nations closer.

Recently there has been an important development in the region. In July 2007, the Turkish General Election gave the Party of the Prime Minister, Mr Erdugan, a large majority of 47 per cent. This will allow the President of the Republic to be elected from his Party and to make important amendments to the Turkish Constitution which will ease Turkey's passage into the EU.

It will also facilitate dialogue with the Kurdish group now in parliament and help towards resolving the Kurdish issue which has now been denied for more than 80 years. It will encourage the PKK to return to Turkey and to participate in the political process.

Resolving the Turkish issue in Turkey will resolve all the other problems with the Kurdistan Regional Government and lead to closer and stronger economic and commercial ties. It will also increase security and stability in this important region of the Middle East.