ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani commended Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and jailed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan for their efforts towards peace between the Turkish state and the PKK, in a message delivered through a representative at a Newroz celebration in Diyarbakir (Amed) on Friday.
“I hope that this year's Newroz will be a Newroz of goodness, happiness, and success for all of you. Our Newroz holiday returns this year at a time when there are grounds and hope for peace and stability,” President Barzani said in his message read out by his spokesperson Dilshad Shabab, referring to renewed peace talks between the Turkish state and the PKK.
“For this, I highly value and appreciate the efforts of the Turkish state, especially President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and all the forces and parties that have contributed to peace, as well as the efforts of President Ocalan and everyone who supports the peace process,” added Barzani.
He said that the peace process is a “historic opportunity and step that should not be lost” and called on everyone to “work wholeheartedly to ensure its success.”
A month earlier, Ocalan called on the PKK to disarm and disband, and instead take the struggle for Kurdish rights into the political sphere. His historic call followed meetings between him and a delegation from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party).
DEM Party has conveyed Ocalan’s message to Turkish parties and Kurdistan Region officials and political leaders. They are expected to meet with Erdogan in a couple of weeks time, after the Eid holiday that marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Successful peace talks could end a 40 year conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives and spilled across international borders.
“The Kurdish people, through peace and the promotion of a culture of coexistence, can better and more effectively make their voices heard and gain their rights. Peace can improve relations between peoples and nations, build countries, and bring stability to everyone,” Barzani said in his message.
He reiterated Kurdistan Region’s support for the peace process.
“We are ready to do whatever is required of us to ensure that peace prevails. The success of peace is the success of all of us,” he said.
