18 July 2009 / ZAMAN BEJAN MATUR,
No matter whom you speak with these days in Turkey, you are bound to hear some meaningful words about the European Union. On the other hand, though, when the topic turns to northern Iraq, it is quite unlikely that you will hear anything reasonable or non-ideological and judgmental.
What this situation illustrates for us is this: When it comes to what the Kurds want, what they have done or what they will do, all the Turkish public can turn to are the old unchanging refrains. Take a look, for example, at the various concepts people have etched in their minds about Iraqi Kurds: friend-enemy, brothers in religion, a people who have been like siblings for a thousand years, separatists, etc. … Reciprocal to all this in the minds of the Iraqi Kurds regarding the Turks are these concepts: strategic partners, allies, democratic neighbor, friendly country, economic partner, etc. ... Just the choice of these words alone highlights the difference in the way the people of these two countries approach each other. This problematic perception of Iraqi Kurds that exists in the Turkish public's mind must change. It needs to be expressed everywhere that these days in the Middle East, what we need is not the politics of division, but unifying politics.
