16. August 2000

1. "The Turkish -Kurdish Phobia is mounting", the mere idea of an Iraqi involvement in the terrorist attacks of September 11th, and the possibility of attacking Hussein´s regime to remove him from power terrifies Turkish politicians

2. "The Game Of Delaying Turks", columnist Mumtaz Soysal comments on the European Union meeting concerning Turkey.

3. "Turkish lawmakers begin debate on overhaul of outdated civil code", Turkish legislators on Wednesday opened debate on a series of wide-ranging amendments to the outdated civil code

4. "Crucial ESDP talks to start in Ankara today", both Europe and Turkey are expected to play their last trump cards in Ankara while many hope to sigh a deep relief if a compromise is achieved.

5. "'EU has to decide whether it's a Christian club, or...', ANAP leader warns Europe of confrontation of civilizations"

6. "The Future of Southern Kurdistan in light of the War on Terrorism", the recent anti terror campaign may thoroughly influence Kurdush future.

1. - Kurdish Media - "The Turkish -Kurdish Phobia is mounting":

By Eamad Mazouri

Regardless of the nature of the struggle the Kurds are leading, and despite the repeated assurances by the Kurdish leadership in Southern Kurdistan that the Kurds are not seeking an independent Kurdish State which is within their natural national rights according to the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and every international law, treaty, and convention. The Kurdish leadership, far from any ambiguity has been very clear about its current objective in its struggle to secure Federalism for the Kurdish people. This, despite the fact that the majority of the Kurdish people if given the freedom of choice and by their free will, they certainly will prefer an independent Kurdish State on any other choice.

Ever since the September 11th terrorist attack on New York and Washington allegedly by Islamic fundamentalists linked to the terrorist group Al-Qaeda led by terrorist Osama bin Laden, some U.S. Officials and Media sources have revealed the possibility of Hussein´s involvement with the attack, therefore, Iraq also might become a U.S. and British target in their war against terrorism.

The shere idea of the Iraqi involvement in the terrorist attack of September 11th, and the possibility of attacking Hussein´s regime to remove him from power has terrified Turkish Officials. Not because of their concern about the future of Iraq and Iraqi people and its sovereignty which they have overrated it long time ago. But because of the possibility that Kurds might take the advantage of circumstances and declare their own independent state. This has been a nightmare for the Turkish government officials who are against anything Kurdish and perceive Kurds as inferior creatures not human beings who deserve to have basic human rights. Unfortunately, their concern does not stop at their official borders, but it goes far beyond that to reach every part of occupyed Kurdistan and every Kurdish community in any part of the world.

While the Turkish government is refusing adamantly to admit to the fact that there are Kurds living on their own land within the Turkish Republic and denys them their basic human rights despite the trmendous pressure from the European Union and other Western countries, it refuses to accept the fact that Kurds in other parts of Kurdistan might gain some recognition and some national rights such as federalism in Southern Kurdistan.

A few days ago, in a TV interview, the Turkish Interior Minister Abdulqadir Chai describes the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by Mr. Masoud Barzani as a group of bandits, at the same time make some insulting remarks about the Kurdish struggle and right for self-determination. This is not the first time and it will not be the last remark from Turkish officials about the Kurds.

Kurdish struggle has been long and bloody and full of sacrifices. There is no nation on the face of earth who has been committed and loyal to its cause throughout the history as the Kurdish people fighting their way to freedom and self-determination against all the odds. Turkey better recognize that. There is no doubt that Kurdish people will take advantage of every opportunity to gain their national rights, including the establishment of an independent Kurdish State. It is not a crime for a divided nation to aspire for freedom and independence in the 21st century.Turkey is the only country in the whole world that is still is guided by the 14th and 15th century Ottoman mentality. Turkish officials should recognize the fact that world has witnessed great changes on human rights and nation´s right to free itself from foreign occupation. Today we live in civilized global community brought together by technological advances. Crimes against Kurdish people can not kept away from the scrutiny of the non-governmental human rights organizations and civilized Western countries.

The Turkish Officials as a result of almost a century of cheap and unsubstantiated propaganda among the Turkish public have created Hatred, detestation, and revulsion among the Turks towards the Kurds and anything Kurdish.The current Turkish official civilian and military are no exception. They also were raised under Kemalism philosophy which despised the Kurds following the establishment of the Turkish Republic in the aftermath of the 1st World War.

The idea was to assimilate the Kurdish people into melting pot of Turkishism. Now the liberal elements of the Turkish society who are willing to accept the Kurds as such, are complaining that the Turkish people are not ready yet for any radical change in their view to accept the Kurdish national rights even though these rights have been downscaled to the mere some pity cultural rights. Of course you can not wipe out in a few years the poisonous propaganda that was systematically fed to the public by the Turkish government for over a whole century. This process requires a huge load of work of an organized effort by the government to right the wrong.

It ironic that Turkey differs in this regard from the rest of the countries that are occupying parts of Kurdistan. In Iraq, Syria, and Iran despite the differences betyween the Kurds and the dominant nationality, ordinary Arabs and Persian treat the ordinary Kurds with respect in any normal course of their daily life. However, in these countries they lack a liberated intelleginsia that sympathise with the Kurdish people and their just cause. In Turkey the whole thing is reversed. The Turkish public despise Kurds, while their intellectuals and free thinkers not only sympathise with the Kurdish cause, but also risk their life on that road. Many famous Turkish figures have spent manylong years of their life in prison because they have said or published something in the defence of the Kurdish people and their plight.

Now it is obvious for the Kurdish people that Turkey single handedly is the major obstacle in the way of their struggle to freedom, independencd, prosperity and decent living.

Turkey will have to overcome its Kurdish phobia and accept the fact that Kurdish people like any other nation have to be recognized on their own ancestral land as a nation who have been deprived from its basic human rights. Turkey has to recognize that Kurds have the right to obtain their national rights including the liberation of entire Kurdistan from the foreign occupation and the creation of a strong unified independent Kurdistan. They have to realize that when that day comes they will be the next door neighbor to Turkey.

2. - Hurriyet - "The Game Of Delaying Turks":

Columnist Mumtaz Soysal comments on the European Union meeting concerning Turkey.

As the Government was busy armwrestling with the Presidency in sending a message to the printing house, it missed the opportunity to react to a game played in another part of Europe. The game was declared by the current president of the European Union, Belgian Prime Minister Verhofstadt: Turkey was not going to be invited to the planned 'convention' following the Laeken Summit where the future of the EU will be discussed with the participation of its member candidates.

The reason given is that Turkey's full-membership negotiations with the EU have not started. The same reasoning was given at the time when explaining the distribution of the seats when the members would become candidates. The threadbare excuse of delaying tactics is once more repeated. One of the aims behind these delaying tactics is to dissuade Turkey from opposing Geek-Cypriot membership for beginning its own membership negotiations and even try to get it make some concessions and then exclude it anyhow.

However Ankara had a great opportunity to expose this hyprocritical approach when a joint war against terrorism was very much on the agenda. It is the time to turn to Brussels and ask a question which would embarass everyone: 'Aren't you ashamed to embrace an administration which has founded itself on the blood shed by terrorism, excluded the Turkish population by oppressing them with terrorist activities, and sheltered scores of terrorist organizations ranging from ASALA to PKK and Bin Laden?' The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' representative in the US capital, Ahmet Erdengiz, recently wrote a letter to 'The Washington Times'. which was published on October 8 was penned upon the publication of an article by Greek Cypriot representative Marcoulis, who holds the title of ambassador.

After introducing Marcoulis, who expressed his regrets after the Sep. 11 attacks as the representative of a regime which dared to change the date of the foundation of the republic from the date of its establishment on Aug. 16 to the EOKA terrorist organization's foundation day on Oct. 1, Erdengiz went on to cite the other activities of that 'state'. These activities include embracing the PKK with open arm, and giving them permission for fundraising, providing a passport for PKK terrorist organization leader Ocalan, enabling him to enter Athens and Nairobi, laundering money for Milosevic, and providing banking services for Bin Laden...

The letter also mentioned former NATO commander, Gen. Wesley Clark's statement to CNN on Sep. 14: 'The south of the island is one of the main transit centers used by terrorists in passing to Europe and the US.' Furthermore, the letter also quoted former CIA Chief James Woolsey's statement published in the Italian daily 'La Repubblica' on Sept 19.: 'The most notorious country in laundering the finances of terrorists is the Greek Cypriot Administration. We told our friends in Brussels to tell the Greek Cypriots that as long as they do not reveal information concerning Bin Laden's finances to us, they will not be able to enter the EU even if they waited for 400 hundred years more.

(SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION)

3. - AFP - "Turkish lawmakers begin debate on overhaul of outdated civil code":

ANKARA

Turkish legislators on Wednesday opened debate on a series of wide-ranging amendments to the outdated civil code in a bid to install equality between the sexes in this predominantly Muslim but secular country with aspirations of EU membership.

The 1,030-article reform package is the largest overhaul of the civil code which was drawn up largely from the Swiss code and was adopted in 1926, just three years after the modern Turkish republic was founded on the ashes of the Ottoman empire.

The amendments, aimed largely at eliminating the inequality of women especially in marriage, have reached the general assembly after two years of heated discussions in various parliamentary commissions.

One of the most significant changes scraps a provision that "the husband is the head of the matrimonial union", thus ending the supremacy of men in marriage and allowing women to have a say in matters relating to their union.

Another stipulates that all assets acquired during marriage are common property rather than belonging to the spouse under whose name it was registered. The current regulation has prevented many women stuck in troubled marriages from filing for divorce over fears of economic uncertainty in this patriarchal society.

Under other amendments, women will be allowed to carry their maiden names along with their husband's family name and will no longer have to get permission from their husbands to work.
The reform package also raises the legal age for marriage to 18 for both sexes from 17 for men and 15 for women, and gives men the right to demand alimony from their wives in case of divorce.

Another amendment lowers the minimum age requirement to adopt a child to 35 from 30 and allows single people and couples who have had their own children to apply for adoption as well.
If approved, the reform package will come into force on January 1, 2002.

The planned amendments are expected to improve the legal status of women in major urban areas, where women have largely integrated into working life and public administration. But they could fail to make an impact in Turkey's rural areas, especially the southeast where women receive inadequate education, are regarded as chattels and are confined to their homes in legally unbinding religious marriages in a feudal system the central authority has been unable to break.
Nonetheless, the reform package has been welcomed by women activists and non-governmental organizations as a step forward.

4. - Turkish Daily News - "Crucial ESDP talks to start in Ankara today":

Blamed by many for being a stumbling block before the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) of Europe to become partially operational, Turkey is to hold with Britain as well as with the U.S. crucial talks in Ankara today. Both sides are expected to play their last trump cards in Ankara while many hope to sigh a deep relief if a compromise is achieved.

ANKARA / by Lale Sariibrahimoglu

As the crucial talks on the ESDP is to take place in Ankara today, NATO ally Turkey which is not a member of the European Union (EU), is caught in a dilemma. On one hand Turkey has to decide whether it will continue to be at a "Diplomatic war" on this highly sensitive security issue with the EU that it hopes to become a full member finally or being used as a pretext by some members of the EU seeking looser ties with NATO.

Turkey`s Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ambassador Ugur Ziyal, his interlocutor at the British Foreign Office Peter Ricketts as well as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Bradtke are to hold a one day talk in Ankara today in an attempt to bring closer the divergence of opinion existing between the EU and Turkey over Ankara`s level of participation to the ESDP mechanisms including the European Army planned to be operational by the year 2003. Turkey has pledged 6,000 troops, aircraft and ships to the force making it the fifth largest contributor to the EU force.

Britain has been acting as a broker for a solution on behalf of the EU while the U.S. which has been criticising Turkey for its tactics that it has been pursuing on the ESDP, acts as a kind of a facilitator or an arbitrator for a compromise that might be reached between Turkey and the EU. The United States is concerned that Turkish policies on the ESDP may lead EU member countries such as France to establish their own cell of operational planning within an EU force, acting independently from NATO thus leading to an eventual weakening of transatlantic ties.
The British-brokered talks held in Istanbul in May during which a paper was prepared outlining the EU's position to accommodate Turkish concerns on the ESDP fell short of meeting Turkish demands. The leakage of the Istanbul paper to the New York Times which it reported among other things that Turkey has tentatively agreed the EU force to use NATO bases, had at the time angered Ankara.

Turkey, a member of NATO but not EU, has been rejecting to lift its veto for assured access to NATO assets and capabilities which will back EU`s planned 60,000-member rapid reaction force, unless its demands are met.

In the presence of both the EU now backed by the U.S. and Turkey do not appear to make a compromise on their basic positions what kind of a compromise will come out from today`s talks in Ankara is a big question mark.

Changes in language

Though the EU does not want to move further than what it has proposed in Istanbul, both parties have been reviewing their positions for many months now with the hope that in Ankara there may be a breakthrough.

Refusing to talk about a Turkish draft paper prepared for a discussion today, a senior Turkish diplomat, however, says that Turkey will start the talks with good will.

"There are two options. One is whether a new security architecture in Europe with a close linkage to NATO should be preserved or Europe should be encouraged to act independently from NATO. Of course the former will serve Turkey`s interests," says the same diplomat.
On ESDP Turkey should not be engaged in a diplomatic war with the EU that it has been hoping to become a full member in the future, says another diplomat.

A Turkish diplomat elaborating on the Istanbul paper says that in some areas this paper could meet Turkish concerns with slight improvements to be made in its language. But, he says, there are some other issues that have been far from meeting Turkish expectations.

The same diplomat recalls that there are some basic national interests that Turkey should preserve such as firm commitments to be made on Turkish participation to autonomous EU-led operations in its environs such as in the Caucasus and in the Balkans.

In fact Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, Deputy Chief of Staff General Yasar Buyukanit and Foreign Minister Ismail Cem met this summer to review Turkish position. However, a press leakage that Turkey made some changes in the language of its position received a strong denial from the foreign ministry.

The summer meeting has also attempted to remove the divergence of opinion existing between the country`s politically powerful military and the civilian bureaucracy over strategies to be pursued on the ESDP.

Both the military and the civilian bureaucracy seek to ensure that Turkey's vital interests within the ESDP should be preserved while the former has been pursuing a more hawkish policies.
Turkey has some other demands that includes Turkish participation from the very start to the decision making mechanisms of the EU prior to any independent European-led operations in its environs, before lifting its veto on an assured access to be given to the European Army by NATO.

Many European allies interpret Turkish demands as an infringement of the EU's decision making autonomy.

ESDP to be operational at Laeken summit

Among Turkish demands include the Committee of Contributors established under ESDP and to which all the EU members plus six non-EU NATO members including Turkey would participate, should be empowered with more responsibilities on decision making on the pre and post planning of any operations to be staged by an EU-led force.

Turkey argues that the role of the allies which are not members to the EU was limited to contributors committee which has neither strategic control nor political influence in an operation.
Turkey also seeks political guarantees that ESDP should not be used as a means for any bilateral political arguments, for example, on issues such as the Turkish-Greek and Northern Iraq that Turkey is directly involved. The reasoning of Turkey is that since it is not a member of the EU a decision to be made by the ESDP on bilateral dispute concerning Turkey would be made in the absence of Turkish input.

EU plans to announce during the Laeken summit in Belgium in December this year that the ESDP mechanisms such as the political and military committee as well as military staff office have partially become operational. Before this summit, the EU seeks a compromise with Turkey or threatens to go independent exerting pressures on Ankara.

5. - Turkish Daily News - "'EU has to decide whether it's a Christian club, or...':

ANAP leader Yilmaz warns Europe of confrontation of civilizations

ANKARA

Ankara served a warning to the European Union (EU) Wednesday that any step to exclude Turkey from European integration would be a step towards landing the world in a confrontation of civilizations.

"Europe has to decide whether it is a club of Christian nations or an above religions center of attraction," Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz told deputies of his Motherland Party (ANAP).

European Union leaders reached broad consensus last Friday on the next steps in the constitutional reform of their 15-nation bloc and had agreed on the composition and procedures of an advisory convention to begin work next year and make recommendations for the next overhaul of the EU's creaking institutions in 2004. Accordingly, current EU members and all candidate countries, excluding Turkey, would be attending the adversary convention. The leaders had failed to establish a decision whether or not to invite Turkey also.

Reacting to that ambiguous stance of the EU leaders on Turkey, Yilmaz said it was unfortunate that despite all efforts by EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen, the decision of the EU leaders demonstrated that a discriminatory approach towards Turkey was still in force.
Stressing that today Turkey was discussing the "confrontation of civilizations" issue, Yilmaz said terrorists like Osama bin Laden were trying to rigger such a confrontation by hideous acts. "In such a period, every attitude of Europe against Turkey would unavoidably be evaluated within the confrontation of civilizations concept. Irrespective how EU leaders may try to explain it, every step they take against Turkey will be evaluated as a concrete step towards a confrontation of civilizations.

Yilmaz warned that a European Union that excludes Turkey would be a club of Christian nations, representing a return to the middle ages. The ANAP leader said Turkey's membership issue will define as well the future of Europe.

A Europe that excludes Turkey would not be able to fulfill its ideals, Yilmaz said warning that policies based on religious and ethnic foundations that are seen in some European countries appear to be decisive in the EU's approaches to turkey.

However, Yilmaz said, membership of a country like Turkey, a natural bridge between the east and west, Christianity and Islam would invalidate the confrontation of civilizations thesis that may land the European Union and the United States in a catastrophe.

He said EU membership would make Turkey, with its Islamic identity, an inseparable part of the Western world and would enable the 21st century be an age of peace and tranquility.

He said the cost of pulling relations with Turkey to a pre-1999 Helsinki summit level would be much heavier for the European Union than losing any of the existing 13 countries invited to the convention.

Similarly, Yilmaz said, Turkey should make its final decision also. He said his party saw Turkey's future in being with the West and in being a full member of the European Union but "unfortunately Turkey is not only us. Furthermore, there are plenty of people in Turkey who were extremely pleased with the anti-Turkish developments in Europe. It's high time for everyone to make clear their position, take down the masks and decide on the future of Turkey."
Yilmaz said if Turkey wanted EU membership it ought to take many serious steps in a short period of time. He said taking those steps has now become easier with the latest amendments made in the Constitution, but further steps of harmonization of laws and regulations were required to be taken.

The deputy prime minister said Turkey must meet all EU criteria as soon as possible and knock on the door of the European Union for the start of accession talks.

6. - Kurdish Media - "The Future of Southern Kurdistan in light of the War on Terrorism":

by Eamad Mazouri

The terrorist attacks of september 11th on New York City and Washington have caused a great ripple in the sea of the World politics.

With the war moved on the American soil for the first time since the Civil War, the United States government was left with no choice but to respond by declaring war on terrorism, and specifically Taliban of Afghanistan.

The Taliban government since taking over the country have been running it in the sense of medieval mentality. Furthermore it has not only sponsored fundamental Islamic Groups, but also it has given a safe haven to terrorist groups such Al- Qaeda led by the renown terrorist Osama Bin Laden who has been linked to a range of terrorist acts abroad against U.S. targets, culminated by latest ones.

Now that the war against terrorism has started and the attack on Afghanistan is underway, the civilized international community is playing its role in waging war on terrorism. It was obvious from day one that this war is not a conventional war, because terrorists are faceless enemies. There is no doubt that they are taking advantage of democratic system of the West to spread their terror. The same system they despise and fight so relentlessly. It is clear that this war is about intelligence, sharing information, diplomacy, effort coordination and international cooperation, and economic crack down on all the possible channels and avenues that terrorists might use in their war against the secular and civilized world.

Terror of Jund Al Islam
Amidst this huge international efforts to combat terrorism, the Kurds are trying very hard to take their share of responsibility by waging their own war on the terrorists represented in the so called Islamic Kurdish organizations, and specifically Jund Al- Islam. This particular group has become a major obstacle in the way of Kurdish people and their aspiration to build -up their democratic experiment I that part of the world where democracy is neither recognized nor it has any traditional roots, which makes the Kurdish task much harder to overcome the insurmountable challenges.

These organizations are foreign to the Kurdish people and their noble national struggle. Certainly they are not of the main stream of the Kurdish national movement, besides the fact that their entire leadership is made up of foreigners who do not belong to the Kurdish society. They certainly do not share the Kurdish people their fight for freedom and their national dreams. Most importantly they have not sacrificed a single life in a fight against the enemies of Kurdish people. What they have done is no more than spreading terror in Kurdistan and creating obstacle in the way of the Kurdish civil services hampering all the Kurdish sincere efforts to reinforce the idea of a civil society.

Since these groups are concentrated in their proximity in areas under the control of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) led by Mr. Talabani, PUK with the physical and moral support of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by Mr. Masoud Barzani, waged its own war against these destructive terrorist elements to clear the mountains of Kurdistan from the foreign mercenaries who are functioning in the name of Islam. The sacrifices of Kurdish people are too much to give in to such groups. Only Kurds have right to use their mountains as shield against all foreign invaders, including these Islamic groups. Kurdish people will not allow some Arabs or Afghans to snatch away our cause and use the Kurdish territory to spread terror. The Kurdish leadership is up to the challenge to wipe them out and reinstate the Kurdish authority over the Kurdish land.

While the war against Afghanistan is continuing and against terrorism in general, various unofficial sources indicated the possibility of the implication of Saddam Hussein's regime in the terrorist attack of September11th.Some are predicting that Baghdad Regime might be the next target in war effort against terrorism. Here, we have to mention the fact that if that scenario becomes reality it will have to wait until after the collapse of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. It is not wise for the U.S. and Britain to open other fronts against any other Islamic country before reaching any conclusions in the mid of this anti Western euphoria. That would only further antagonize the Islamic public opinion at a time when the West is trying very hard to differentiate between Islam and terrorism working under the fake banner of Islam.

However, when that day comes, as Kurds we have to see the similarities between Afghanistan and Iraq. No doubt, that the Western alliance will seek the Kurdish assistance and cooperation in their efforts to topple Baghdad regime. Southern Kurdistan is only part of official Iraq that has been liberated from the tyranny of dictator Hussein and his henchmen. The world, although unofficially, has recognized the Kurdish Administration in the area. It is the only area that a serious and an organized opposition to the Iraqi government do exist. The resemblance here is striking with Afghanistan. The Afghani Northern Alliance is made up primarily from ethnic groups of Uzbek and Tajik in contrast to the majority of the Afghani people of Pishtu. And the U.S. and Britain certainly were desperate to use their assistance in their latest fight against Taliban and Osama Bin Laden. In addition to the supplies of weapons and money, these ethnic groups must have been promised to have a secure future in the post Taliban Afghani government. Their cooperation with the Western Alliance must have been on condition that they would have a saying in their upcoming government.

In the light of that, and using the same logic, the Kurds in their turn would have a winning bargaining chip in their hand when the time comes for the second phase of the war against terrorism. In the face of all the challenges, the Kurds have every right to use every opportunity to further their just cause. And it is time for us to learn playing these games. We as Kurds are very grateful for the protection we were provided by the West. Nevertheless, we have to remember that the Kurdish problem was not and it will never be reduced to a mere humanitarian issue, as it has been dealt with as such by the international community. It is a political plight of a divided nation and the world community has to face this reality and stand up to its responsibility. Today the Kurdish problem has intermingled so deeply and extensively with the international issues that it cannot be ignored any longer. The security and stability of the Middle East and Europe is at steak. In fact the world stability is at issue here and we have to admit it. The steady stream of Kurdish immigrants flooding continental Europe is a serious issue for the whole world. Only a universal political recognition of the status of the Kurdish people as a divided nation would be a satisfactory response to the Kurdish plight, anything short of that will not resolve the Kurdish issue. I still remember very vividly the first meeting by the European Union following the September 11th attack, one of its resolutions was to pay more attention to the problems that might a fertile ground that generate terrorists and terrorism.

We are aware of the fact that in the post Cold War, there thousands of conflict all over the Globe. The majority of these conflicts are of ethnic roots; Oppressed minorities seeking freedom and independence. There is no doubt from these conflicts rises terrorism. The civilized world playing the role of world leader has to adopt fairer set of standards in dealing with these movements. There must a criterion set out specifically to differentiate between Osama Bin Laden´s terrorist organization Al-Qaeda and the Kurdish national movement that represent a just cause of a whole divided nation fighting for its freedom and independence in the face of oppression and total denial of its existence not to mention its language, heritage, and culture. The Kurds in general despite the complications that surroud their cause and in the face of insurmountable obstacle and challenges and state terrorism have refused adamantly to take part in any terrorist act. In addition to that, the philosophy of non-violence, peaceful means, and diplomacy is becoming the dominant school of thought in the Kurdish circles.

Therefore, the Kurdish leadership must exercise all its options when it comes the fate of Kurdish people and their struggle. Today and under the circumstances, we have to unite all our efforts to clear Kurdistan from any fundamental elements that are foreign to our cause and our nation. Then concentrate all our efforts and resources to serve our people and build up our infant democracy and protect it. We need to explore all the avenues to find out about how to rebuild the infrastructure of our economy, embodied in electricity, water supplies, communication, and roads. Only an independent economy can sustain a political entity, and the enemies of Kurdish people realize that. We have to learn how to exploit to the fullest all aspects of Western democracies, political, social, economic, legal and diplomatic and manipulate them in a legitimate way to our advantage in order to promote our cause. The whole international arena is open for us to fight for our cause by using political and peaceful means to secure our national goals.