The Zana code
It is an important development that Leyla Zana is visiting İmralı Island. The reason is that the peace process in Turkey has come to a point where it can directly affect what is going on in North Iraq and North Syria. Zana, after her previous İmralı visit, had crossed over to Iraq and met with Masoud Barzani. I think that after her visit Thursday, she will again meet with Barzani and possibly with the Democratic Union Party (PYD).
The aim of that is, first of all, the laying down of arms congress, the one Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), called the PKK to convene in the spring. This congress will be held in the region controlled by Barzani. A call from Barzani in the congress to lay down arms will be effective. Zana seems to be providing this correspondence between Öcalan and Barzani. Thus, a pressure will be formed for those probable contrary voices coming from within the PKK.
Leyla Zana will play a very important role here. If Sırrı Süreyya Önder is a mediator for Ankara, Zana has a role in cross borders.
The Perfect Spring
“The Perfect Storm”... As May approaches, this film comes to my mind. However, I am changing the title of the film with spring; “The Perfect Spring.” How?
In a nutshell, a perfect storm is explained as such: When three large weather systems collide, a perfect storm happens.
This coming spring, three political weather systems will be blowing strongly for us, it seems.
The Mosul wind: The U.S. Land Forces announced it could conduct an operation in Mosul in the spring.
In this operation, which we will also participate in, it is mentioned that about 20,000 Iraqi and Kurdish troops will be formed against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Such a war and the future of Mosul is a very delicate wind for Turkey.
The PKK congress: The laying down of arms congress Öcalan called for is also scheduled for spring. This is a very delicate congress in terms of Turkey and the peace process. The wind speed it will create is important.
The general elections: The strongest of the political winds will maybe blow during the general elections in June. Mosul and the PKK congress are two developments that will directly affect the general elections.
Thus, in this situation, as of May, three delicate topics are scheduled on the same month. That is why I call it the “The Perfect Spring.”
Of course, what I wish is that the “The Perfect Storm” in the film turns into “the perfect democracy spring.”
Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu and political maturity
I had the opportunity to listen to Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in Berlin, where I was attending a meeting. While he was explaining Turkey to a wide audience, the horizons he reached were exciting. I can write about the details of this later.
But most important of all was the call Çavuşoğlu made to the voters who will cast their votes abroad.
These words of the foreign minister are especially precious in terms of showing the most desired maturity and fair-play in politics:
“Dear friends, I am inviting you here to exercise your rights for democracy. Please cast your vote. No matter which party you vote for, absolutely cast your ballot. The turnout was low in the last elections. Have a say in the administration. Show your will.”
Çavuşoğlu, as a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) will of course ask for votes for his own party. But for him to make this call first is very precious in terms of democratic maturity, political gentlemanship and the belief in democracy amid all this fighting, chaos and polarization.
