Mert Gozde
Jan 24, 2001
Ankara - Turkish Daily News

A TV channel under the control of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which
broadcasts from the Suleymani region of northern Iraq, announced that PUK and
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) delegations had decided in the meeting held last
Sunday in Kalacholan to pool their resources in order to get illegal PKK militants out of the
region.

The TV channel broadcasted the details of the meeting held by KDP and PUK delegations
and the speeches made by the KDP'S Hosyar Zebari and by the PUK's Feridun
Abdulkadir. Stating that the necessity to meet and discuss differences emerged after
Talabani's visit to Ankara, Abdulkadir said that they were willing to turn a new leaf in their
relations with the KDP. Adding that Washington's process proved ineffective, Abdulkadir
said they wanted to see a more functional Ankara process instead.

Expressing their desire to build sound relations with the PUK, the KDP's Zebari said the
meetings addressed administrative and political problems in the region.

In reply to a question, Zebari said, "Although the [terrorist] Kurdistan Workers' Party [PKK]
is an extra-regional organization, it intervenes in the Kurdistan government's affairs."

The joint statement made after the meeting which was chaired by Sami Abdurrahman
from the KDP and Fuat Mahsun from the PUK, described the meeting as "an important
step towards ensuring peace in the region." The joint declaration's chapter on the PKK
read, "The PKK is a terrorist organization and is causing crisis and chaos in the region."

Former attempts by Saddam

Iraqi president Saddam Husein had called on Jalal Talabani and Massoud Barzani,
Kurdish leaders of Iraq, to participate in constructive dialogues. KDP leader Barzani and
PUK leader Talabani have not yet replied to Saddam's invitation but instead have decided
to begin bilateral talks in order to discuss the current differences between them.

According to a news article published in the El-Halic newspaper of United Arab Emirates
(UAE), Iraqi deputy PM Tarik Aziz made a speech on Iraqi TV and accused Talabani and
Barzani of avoiding cooperation with the Iraqi state and of being prone to manipulations by
the United States of America (USA) and Britain. Stating that both two Kurdish leaders,
being influenced by USA and Britain, had been avoiding cooperation with Iraqi state in
terms of reaching a cooperate solution to their problems, Aziz said this enabled Turkey
and Iran to intervene the situation in the region. Accusing Barzani and Talabani of not
being honest, Aziz stated that Iraqi state wanted to resume the negotiation process which
had formerly been initiated in 1991 and had not yielded much of a result. Adding that they
wanted the Kurdish problem to reach a solution by means of peaceful and democratic
methods, Aziz said, " We, with the approval of our president Saddam, have already invited
Talabani and Barzani to Baghdad in order to discuss the issue."

The meeting by Kurdish parties

Kurdish leaders of Iraq have not yet replied to Saddam's invitation but have decided to hold
meetings in order to resolve the differences between themselves.

Having met in Kalacholan town in line with the directions given by Talabani and Barzani,
PUK and KDP delegations have discussed over Washington agreement, which still has
not been put into effect being signed in 1991.

In the meeting attended by KDP Polit Bureau members Sami Abdurrahman, Cevhar
Namik Salih and Hosyar Zebari, issues such as the location and status of the regional
parliament, distribution of income gained from Harbur customs post and the problems
caused by illegal organization Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were discussed.

Ozgur Politika, a pro-PKK newspaper, published news which stated that PUK members
had asked KDP members during this meeting to help them in their efforts to eliminate
PKK from the region. The news article, which did not mention KDP's reply to this request,
read," PUK is planning to attack PKK after ensuring the full support by Turkish state and
by KDP. Talabani,during his recent visit to Ankara, asked Turkey to support PUK in their
efforts to include KDP in this plan. Talabani regards this stage as a prerequisite for the full
implementation of Washington treaty."
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The Kurdistan Observer
www.kurdistanobserver.com