President Barzani urges seizing chance for Turkey-PKK peace in meeting with Osman Baydemir
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Monday met with Osman Baydemir, former Turkish parliamentarian and ex-mayor of the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakir (Amed) in southeast Turkey, the Kurdistan Region Presidency reported. The two discussed the importance of ensuring the success of the ongoing peace process between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
“Discussions focused on the peace process in Türkiye,” the presidency said, elaborating that “both sides emphasized the significance of ensuring the success of the peace process, noting that achieving peace in Türkiye would positively influence the region.”
President Barzani underlined the significance of “seizing the opportunity for peace and urged collective efforts toward its success,” the statement relayed. Meanwhile, Baydemir “expressed his gratitude” to the Kurdistan Region’s President “for his contributions to the peace process and encouraged him to persist in his endeavors.”
The peace process was revived in October when veteran Turkish politician Devlet Bahceli, the leader of Turkey’s far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and key ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, called for PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan to be allowed to address the Turkish parliament and announce the group’s dissolution.
In the following months, Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) took the lead in mediating the peace process. These efforts culminated in May, when the PKK announced its dissolution and an end to its four-decade-long armed struggle. The move followed a February appeal from Ocalan urging an end to the conflict, which has claimed nearly 40,000 lives, and advocating for a political and democratic solution.
In a previous visit to the Kurdistan Region in early November, Baydemir was received by President Masoud Barzani of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, his Deputy Qubad Talabani, and Bafel Talabani, head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
Baydemir then travelled to northeast Syria (Rojava) where he met with Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chief Mazloum Abdi to discuss the integration of the Kurdish-led forces under the Syrian state.
The Kurdish politician gained fame in 2017, when he - then a lawmaker - used the word “Kurdistan” while addressing the legislature. When the speaker of parliament asked him where Kurdistan was, Baydemir placed his hand on his heart and replied, “Here - Kurdistan is in my heart.”
In 2018, he was expelled from the Turkish parliament following a controversial conviction for “insulting a government employee,” a charge stemming from his criticism of police conduct. He eventually went into exile in the United Kingdom.
[Source: Rûdaw English]
