Communiqué of the D.P.I.K.'s political Bureau To deny the rumors on secret negotiations With the Iranian gouvernment
The newspaper « ALZAMAN », published in Arabic in London, come out in its issue of 30 March 2000 with an article of its correspondent in Arbil,Mr. Shamal AQRAWI, under the title « Secret negotiations between the Iranian government and its Kurdish opponents ». In this article, Mr. Aqrawi writes : « Certain reliable Kurdish sources revealed that at the present time secret negotiations are being held between the Iranian government and the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan ; supported by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan of Mr. Jalal TALABANI,these negotiations are proceeding in Suleimania in Iraqi Kurdistan ».
In order to inform public opinion, the Political Bureau of our Party, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (D.P.I.K.),on the same day published a communiqué to deny rumors on the existence of secret negotiations between the D.P.I.K. and the Iranian government. In this communiqué,while confirming meetings betweenthe P.U.K. and the D.P.I.K., our Party leadership stresed that :
- There is nothing new in these meetings,which are in line with the customary meetings between Kurdish political groupings in order to exchange views on various important problems related to them ;
- After his visit to the D.P.I.K. Headquarters in Kota, Mr. Talabani returned to Suleimania, where he informed us that the Iranian regime proposes secret negotiations with the D.P.I.K. Our answer was categorical : no secret negotiations.
In this communiqué, the D.P.I.K. leadership also pointed out that :
- the position of the D.P.I.K. has always been to sove the Kurdish issue in Iran with peaceful means and by dialogue ;
- in spite pf the assassination on 13 July 1989 of our leader, the late lamented Dr. Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou, at the negotiating table in Vienna (Austria) by envoys of the Iranian regime who had comme there supposedly to « talk » about « peace », our Party remains convinced that there can be no military solution to the Kurdish problem in Iran,and taht this problem must be settled by dialogue and peaceful means. The D.P.I.K. is therefore in favour ofnegotiations, but they must be public and not secret.
The communiqué ends with a flat denial of secret negotiations between the D.P.I.K. and the Iranian government, as stated by the « ALZAMAN » newspaper.
Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan
Bureau of International Relations
