# The KDP leader says Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds can make a fresh start but can't begin from scratch and that past Kurdish contributions should be noted.
Ilnur Cevik

Erbil - Kurdistan Democracy Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani says his administration has sacrificed the lives of 3,000 Peshmerga fighters in the war against the PKK terrorist organization in the past 12 years and is annoyed that the Ankara administration is still trying to test his sincerity.

Barzani, speaking to the Turkish Daily News at his Seri Raj office in Salahaddin in northern Iraq, said his administration wants "excellent" relations with Turkey but refuses to be bullied or treated with disrespect.

Barzani who is also a member of the American-appointed Iraqi Governing Council said, "if after sacrificing 3,000 martyrs in the fight against the PKK some people in Turkey still think we are enemies this is catastrophic."

The KDP leaders stressed the Iraqi Kurds had done everything to please Turkey and its military by cooperating in the fight against the PKK terrorists. "We paid blood so the Turkish authorities would trust us.

Barzani said Turkey did not want to understand the goodwill and sincerity of the Iraqi Kurds and the KDP.

Barzani said "I wanted to solidify Turkish-Kurdish friendship and brotherhood. I repeatedly said we have to cooperate with you. But past administrations in Turkey did not want to understand our sincerity. They only wanted to use us for military purposes and then discard us."

Barzani said some people in Turkey have to change their mentality towards the Kurds. "They look down upon us as if we are inferior. This cannot be accepted in this day and age. We do not claim to be superior to anyone but we do not accept being treated with disrespect. We want to be partners with Turkey and cooperate in all fields."

Barzani, however, stressed that any new start with Turkey would not start from zero where the Kurds are required to prove their sincerity and go to lengths to convince Ankara that they do not want to establish an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq.

"After sacrificing the lives of our Peshmerga fighters in the fight against the PKK we are not prepared to prove anything to anyone in Turkey. We do not want to start from zero with the Turkish government. We want to start from a position where they respect us as allies who have not hesitated to make sacrifices," Barzani declared.

Barzani said Turks and Kurds have to live together on these lands and cannot be moved to other parts of the world. "Turkey is valuable for us and we want extraordinary good relations with the Turks," ther KDP leader said.

Barzani said the Sunni and Shiite Arab leaders were also against the deployment of "troops from neighboring countries" and this did not single out the Turks. He said any involvement of a neighboring country will invite interference from other neighboring countries "and that is the last thing we need now."

Barzani said the PKK is an enemy of the KDP. "They attacked our villages and hurt our people. They were very bad. Now they are holed up in the mountains beyond the reach of anyone."

The KDP leader said the PKK is in contact with Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda militants and the Islamic Ansar terrorists in Iraq. "If the PKK feels it is cornered they will cooperate with Al Qaeda and thus very dangerous people will move up into the mountains.

He said the PKK problem has to be solved and the militants have to be brought down from the mountains. Barzani said he did not feel the partial amnesty issued recently by Turkey was comprehensive enough to convince the PKK militants to come down from the mountains. "The Americans do not think the Turkish offer is sufficient or else they would have clamped down on the PKK with an iron fist."

On talk that the CIA is in contact with the PKK he said "this is normal. They would like to have some contacts with the PKK to see what they are up to. They too know the Al Qaeda and Ansar links and they are unhappy. But I do not think the Americans have any intention of cooperating with the PKK."

Barzani said the KDP has information that there are problems within the PKK. "If a new law was passed and a real amnesty was issued many of the militants would come down from the mountains leaving their leaders behind."