Erdoğan’s Parliament speech resonates among Iraqi Kurds

“When I see the premier of Turkey speaking about our sister country’s caring attitude in Parliament, it is similar to the happiness I experienced the day Saddam Hussein fell in Iraq,” said Bahez Kamil, a university student in Sulaimaniya.

The government, which vows to address the Kurdish problem through democratic reforms, sought lawmakers’ support for the initiative in a special session in Parliament on Friday. Following speeches from his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and opposition deputies, Erdoğan delivered a long address to the lawmakers, in which he gave details about the content of the initiative and urged the skeptical opposition to support it.

In his speech, Erdoğan tried to frame the debate in an all-inclusive approach mentioning most ethnic groups represented in the country. The initiative doesn’t only aim at solving the Kurdish problem but also aims at addressing other democratic issues in the country, boosting the hopes of many, including religious minorities and ethnic groups in the country.

Erdoğan’s speech, translated into Kurdish and broadcast live on various local channels in northern Iraq resounded among the Iraqi Kurds. “This brave speech deserved analysis and coverage,” said Arif Qurbani, editor-in-chief of the Aso daily newspaper, which covered the issue on its front page. “The bravery of Erdoğan should be a lesson for the Iraqi Kurdish leaders to embrace the Turkmens,” Qurbani added.

Relations between Iraqi Kurds and Turkey deteriorated sharply following the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Turkey accused the Kurdish administration of harboring the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which launched attacks on Turkish targets from its bases in northern Iraq, and threatened to declare war if the Kurds attempted to seize control of the disputed city of Kirkuk -- home to a sizable Turkmen population.

But tension is now being replaced by a dramatic rapprochement, and the government’s Kurdish initiative is further strengthening the positive trend in ties. In a speech delivered to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament earlier this month, Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani welcomed the progress made in Turkey’s relations with the Kurdish administration and described Turkey’s initiative to solve its decades-long Kurdish issue as “Prime Minister Erdoğan’s brave Kurdish peace initiative.” Barzani further added that the Kurdish authorities will support Turkey in its efforts to end the conflict with the PKK.

 The relations between Iraqi Kurds and Turkey reached its “golden era” after the historic visit of Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu to Arbil late last month. During the visit, Davutoğlu met with Barzani and Barham Salih, the new prime minister of the Kurdish region.

Salih’s return to northern Iraq after many years of service in Baghdad is likely to be a further advantage for better ties with Turkey. “He will be an excellent partner for our government’s ‘democratic initiative’,” Turkish journalist Cengiz Çandar said in a recent interview with the Kurdish media.

“We should support Turkey and Erdoğan’s democratic battle,” Khlaid Suleiman, one of Salih’s advisers, said.