Azernews.Az

ANKARA – Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has entered Turkey’s ongoing debate on a pro-Kurdish party’s call for "bilingualism," advising the country to adopt a multilingual system to allow different ethnic groups to understand each other better, Hurriyet reported.

"To be frank, I do not want to intervene in Turkey’s domestic affairs. But I can talk about our experiences. For example, the use of different languages enriches our culture in Iraq. If you educate a Turkmen in his native language, this student will comprehend much better," Talabani said in an interview with the private NTV channel Wednesday.

Talabani was in Istanbul to participate in the Economic Cooperation Organization, or ECO, summit also held meetings with local Kurdish politicians, namely Ahmet Turk and Aysel Tugluk, the former co-leaders of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP.

The BDP’s call for "democratic autonomy" has caused a tense debate in the country as the move was seen by many as an attempt to turn the republican system into a federal one with a semi-autonomous Kurdish region having its own parliament, flag and self-defense force.

"We see similar experiences in the world. Some 76 countries are governed with federal systems. That means more democracy. People decide about their own issues. The use of the language helps the parties understand each other. This was our experience. I do not know how it could be in your country," he said.

Talabani, himself a Kurd, had been the leader of the Kurdistan Patriotic Union, or PUK, but became the Iraqi President after the defeat of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

On outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s, or PKK, terrorist activities, Talabani urged the terrorist to lay down their weapons and concentrate on a "political struggle."

"It’s not time for an armed struggle. Armed struggle is over, it’s time for political struggle. That’s why I advise those on the mountain [the Kandil mountain where the PKK’s headquarters are located] to lay down their arms," he said.

"We have tried to convince those on the mountain to leave their weapons but we could not. This has to be done in a peaceful way," he said.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.

Citing some of the conditions that the PKK has imposed for its current cease-fire, such as the recognition of Kurdish identity and the Kurdish language, Talabani said the Iraqi government and the regional Kurdish administration in northern Iraq were ready to help Turkey in its "democratic initiative" to solve the Kurdish question.

Calling on Turkish citizens of Kurdish descent not to miss the historical proposal made by the Turkish government, Talabani said: "This is a historical chance. They should not miss the proposal the AKP [Justice and Development Party] and the Turkish government has made. I recently got news from İmralı [the island where PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan is serving a life sentence] and from the people on Kandil. They also want an end to the armed struggle and for democratic unity to prevail.