31 July 2009 / RADİKAL İSMET BERKAN,
When I read yesterday some columnists who do not like the sound of the new Kurdish initiative, suggesting, "Why should we act in this manner as it is us who won the war," the matter of winning a peace has stuck in my mind.
We will soon see how hard it really is to win a peace. I would like to reiterate a few points: Turks and Kurds will continue to live side-by-side in this geography. Actually, our lives are intricately woven together, and there is no geographical, linguistic or religious border. We cannot fight each other while we are living so close to each other. We will have to learn how to live peacefully. We must be able to wipe the slate clean. One party should stop saying, "But we defeated you," while the other party should avoid saying, "You have always treated us badly," as this will not serve a peaceful purpose. The primary condition for winning a peace is to aim at an outcome which will keep away any sense of victory or defeat. To win a peace is to create the law of living together peacefully.
