USA Turkish Times - Talabani's value is better appreciated

Talabani's value is better appreciated

Ilnur Cevik - News that Iraqi President Jalal Talabani was rushed from Sulaimaniyah to Amman and hospitalized there came as a shock to everyone in the region, and his friends, like all of us, prayed for his survival throughout the night. Next morning we were relived to hear that Talabani was well and would recover fully. Our prayers were well received.

The scare about Talabani's health also underlined his value not only for the Kurds but also for Iraq and even Turkey.

Talabani is an excellent balancing factor in Iraqi politics. He has good relations with all the interested parties from the Sunnis to the Shiites and has not used his ethnic background as a Kurd, and has always served as a good Iraqi patriot trying his best to mediate between bickering sides.

He has a good relationship with the Americans who appreciate his leadership qualities. He is held in high esteem in all European capitals as well as in Moscow and Beijing.

Many people have said his departure would be a nightmare for everyone as no one fitting his qualities could replace him in Baghdad and that would create more complications in a violence-ridden city.

He is a Kurd with international status as a good statesman. Thus, his services are appreciated and needed.

What is sad is that Talabani has been completely misunderstood in Turkey. He is a man of vision as well as one of reconciliation. He never holds a grudge and always looks at the glass as half full rather than half empty.

He has been openly insulted in Turkey. The fact that President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said he would not invite Talabani to Turkey as president of Iraq was an unprecedented rebuff that the Iraqi leader did not deserve.

Talabani, like many other Kurdish leaders, knows well that the future of the Iraqi Kurds lies with Turkey and has said this several times in the past. He has always spoken about Turkey with praise and affection.

Yet he was still insulted, which is a great shame. It is Talabani who brought moderation to Kurdish politics regarding Turkey. Those who watched NTV on Monday and listened to the Massoud Barzani interview realized that that Kurdish leader still has a very tough position regarding Turkey which needs to be blunted. Only Talabani can do this.

If Turks started thinking what life would be without Talabani, then they would realize the injustice done to him. We need his moderation, and we need his perspective to start a dialogue with Turkey.

It's a great shame that he was not rushed to a Turkish hospital when he fell ill and had to be flown to Amman for treatment. That was because Sezer told him he was unwanted in Turkey…

The world knows the value of Jalal Talabani. It is time we also appreciated it.

< Önceki		Sonraki >

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