Barzani’s Diyarbakır Visit Could be Game Changer for the Kurds

ISTANBUL, Turkey – Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani arrives in Turkey’s Kurdish heartland of Diyarbakir on Saturday, as Erbil’s differences with the dominant Kurdish party in Syria escalate and Ankara’s peace process with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is on the rocks.

The weekend trip, which includes a meeting in the city with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will focus on bilateral ties, Ankara’s recently improving relations with Baghdad, developments in Syria and the government’s peace process with the PKK, the premier’s aide and foreign ministry sources in Ankara told Rudaw.

Barzani’s first visit as president to Diyarbakir is seen as an important signal to both the PKK and its Syrian wing the Democratic Union Party (PYD). It has been increasingly at odds with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Erbil and on Tuesday declared an interim administration in the country’s northern Kurdish regions.

“This visit is a message both for the PYD and PKK,” said Mehmet Ozcan, an academic and director of the Ankara Strategy Institute. “’You are not the only Kurds in the region’ is the message,” he told Rudaw.

”In Syria the PYD is bullying the other Kurdish parties and tries to be the sole representative of the Syrian Kurds, as  the PKK once did in Turkey,” Ozcan said. “On the other hand, the PKK is creating problems by blocking the peace process and putting pressure on the public before the local elections” in March, he added.

Kurdish author and commentator Irfan Aktan agreed that developments in Syria, where the PYD runs its government from the city of Qamishli with strong support from the PKK in Diyarbakir, were driving Ankara and Erbil ever closer.  “This alliance would weaken the Diyarbakır-Qamıshli axis, and this makes many Kurds uneasy,” he said.

Indeed, Ertugral Kurdcu, co-chairman of the pro-PKK People’s Democratic Party (HDP), called for Erdogan to show the same hospitality to PYD leader Salih Muslim in Syria.

According to the Yeni Safak daily, which sides with Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), Barzani will meet with key Kurdish figures in Diyarbakır to deliver this message: “The armed struggle is over; now it is time for political struggle for all the Kurds.”

It added that Barzani is also expected to propose mediation talks between Ankara and the PKK’s political and military headquarters in the Kurdistan Region’s Qandil Mountain to restart a stalled peace process.

“If Barzani is ready to mediate the talks between Ankara and Qandil and that is accepted by Erdogan, it would pave the way for a very positive development in the region,” Aktan said.

“There is great excitement in the city because of the visit and according to the reports we received from Diyarbakır, 95 percent of the public is supporting the peace process at the moment," said the Turkish premier’s top aide, Yalcin Erdogan, in televised comments.

Aktan said that Barzani’s visit may also be related to efforts by the AKP to gain support among the Kurds ahead of local elections in March next year, in which the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) will vie for the Kurdish vote.

“In the southeast, there will be a tight race between the AKP and the BDP in the local elections. Therefore, Barzani’s visit to Diyarbakır to meet Erdogan is an open support to the AKP, a clear message to Kurds to vote for the AKP,” Aktan said. “Although the BDP has its own electorate, Barzani’s popularity might influence the others to vote for the AKP,” he added.

When they meet, Erdogan also will reportedly inform Barzani about a recent thaw in Ankara-Baghdad ties. “The relations with Baghdad is not at the expense of the KRG and vice versa,” a foreign ministry source told Rudaw.

While Ankara’s ties with Baghdad are on the mend, its relations with Erbil have been hitting new highs. Turkey is Erbil’s largest trade partner, and the two are involved in multi-billion dollar pipeline deals to get the Kurdistan Region’s rich energy reserves to markets in Turkey and beyond.

Barzani reportedly visited Diyarbakır in 1996 and stayed one night. This will be his first visit as president. He arrives in Turkey with beloved Kurdish singer Shirwan Perwer, who has been in exile for 37 years.  Erdogan announced that Perwer will sing a duet in Diyarbakir with legendary Kurdish singer Ibrahım Tatlises.