"The political situation in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region is recognized within the framework of the Iraqi constitution, and both the regional governments and the West have accepted this fact. Once this is accepted, the legal structure of the region must be respected," Sedek Zilan, a Turkey Kurdish lawyer and politician, told KurdPress about the future of the dispute between the PKK and the ruling Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Kurdistan Region.
"That is why the PKK presence in this legal structure is not welcomed by Iraq, regional governments, the West and also the US," he added.
He continued: "In 2003, Turkey started negotiations to resolve the Kurdish issue under pressure of the US, and these negotiations went well in the following years, but Turkey's wrong actions and Qandil (referring to PKK headquarters in Qandil Mt. in Kurdistan Region) big mistakes, led to the failure of these negotiations. Also the war of trenches was a big mistake for the Kurds, and inflicted a lot of political and economic damages to the Kurds in Turkey, and a large number of young Kurds lost their lives as a result of this policy."
Regarding the negotiations between the Syrian Kurds and the role of the PKK and KDP differences in the talks , the politician explained: "It is necessary to have a military force with a single management in Syrian Kurdistan and what happened in Iraqi Kurdistan should not happen here. There are still two Peshmerga forces in the Kurdistan Region and this has caused a lot of political and military losses to the Kurdistan Region. Meanwhile the PKK, as a third force, has been settled in a part of the Kurdistan Region which has caused a large number of threats for the region."
Sedek Zilan further added: Kurdistan region has a local government. It is true that there are differences between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the KDP, but there are the government and the parliament, and it is obligatory for the PKK to respect it and not make more problems.
He noted: " Europe and the United States have put the PKK in their terror list, and its military power does not extend that of Turkey, so military activity only exacerbates the problems of the Kurds in Turkey and the Kurdistan region. Perhaps the PKK was able to exert military influence on Turkey in 1991 and 1992, which the PKK lost the chance due to a civil war with the parties in the Kurdistan Region which the PKK was at wrong and lost the chance," adding that the PKK cannot make any noticeable military achievement against Turkey.
The Turkish Kurdish lawyer and politician stressed that the PKK needs to think responsibly about issues and not interfere in the affairs of Syrian Kurdistan and Iraqi Kurdistan.

Today, the Syrian Kurds have gained some legitimacy in the international community, and the PKK does not have to be a problem for them. The PKK is ideologically is against to the West and has ties to countries that do not agree with the rights of the Kurds and its political rationality has not been updated, so it is better not to make any excuses for Turkey and others to attack Syrian Kurdistan.
"The PKK must turn to realism and think of the interests of the Kurds in Syria and Iraq, as long as Turkey uses the PKK as an excuse to attack Syria and Iraq, the rights of the Kurds are being violated," Mr. Zilan told KurdPress about the PKK policy in Syria and Iraq.
He also reminded: "The PKK does not have much military power and cannot make any impacts militarily. Kobani (a Kurdish city in northern Syria) was not liberated with the YPG and YPJ weapons. Kurds could not make any achievements if there were not the jets and logistics of the (anti-ISIS) coalition," stressing that it is necessary for the PKK to turn to reality and pursue an appropriate policy.
Reporter's code: 50101