Jailed PKK leader and Iraqi Kurdish president ‘on same page’

ERBIL - Doğan News Agency / Anadolu Agency

Independent Kurdish deputy Leyla Zana and People’s Democratic Party (HDP) organize a press conference in Erbil, Feb 13. AA photo

Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani and the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan, are “on the same page,” according to independent Kurdish deputy Leyla Zana and People’s Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Sırri Süreyya Önder.

Zana and Önder visited the PKK head in prison on Jan. 25 and organized a press conference in Erbil on Feb. 12, after delivering Öcalan’s letter to Barzani. 

“We witnessed that both have similar opinions regarding the region and the liberties of Kurds,” the two deputies said, adding that they would now carry a message to Öcalan written by Barzani.

Emphasizing that they were doing everything they could to turn the current peace process into a lasting solution, Zana and Önder suggested that while there might be some disputes between various Kurdish movements, they “don’t discriminate between peoples.” 

“The obstacles in the path of the Kurdish National Congress, due in Erbil, can be overcome. We witnessed that sincere efforts are being made and we hope that the congress will soon be organized,” Önder said.

Criminal complaint

Meanwhile, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputy Altan Tan announced at a press conference in Parliament on Feb. 13 that he has filed a criminal complaint against businessmen Hayrettin Özaltın and Mehmet Cengiz, whose wiretapped phone calls recently leaked onto the Internet.

“These individuals say things like ‘The best Kurd is a dead Kurd’ and curse at the mothers of Kurds,” Tan said, referring to the leaked calls.

He criticized the Turkish government and the KRG for letting the companies of these construction magnates win lucrative tenders, building highways in southeast Turkey and airports in northern Iraq. 
“Mr. Prime Minister, if you can cover up these insults of Cengiz and Özaltın, well done to you! … And Massoud Barzani, if you let these two ignoble people to win those contracts, shame on that Kurdistan and shame on you!” Tan said.