Last year I visited England four times and during three journeys I was in the British Parliament in a Kurdish or Armenian meeting. I did not plan my journeys according to the seminars, but every time I went to London there seemed to be something important going on.
In picture: Mark Muller
Armenians have been talented for years in making lobby and now Kurds are learning the same skill.
There seems to be such understanding towards the Kurdish question in Great Britain what is missing in other European countries. Maybe it is the long war in Northern Ireland which has taught Britons to understand the many aspects of armed conflicts and especially the importance to end them. And of course the presence of British troops in Iraq increases public awareness to all issues in the region.
Lawyer Mark Muller is a hard-working man, a regular speaker in seminars.
Last June Muller said that there is a Kurdish entity in South Kurdistan.
"Turkish nationalists are right when they are afraid, they can not prohibit that a Kurdish state will be created", he believed.
Muller has practical approach towards the Kurdish question.
"In peace negotiations it is question about what helps, not about what is right or wrong", he said.
Despite the big problems Mark Muller had in June an optimistic attitude:
"We live now a very critical moment, but there is also a possibility for good seeds. Sometimes there is a solution and a new way of acting in the biggest crisis", he said in a seminar held in the British Parliament.
But Mark Muller was very serious in December in Brussels in the conference of the EU Turkey Civic Commission and spoke about the importance of critical planning until the beginning of May 2008.
He did not believe that there would be any purely political or military solution to the problem in Southeast Turkey. A twin approach is needed because there are many military and geopolitical aspects.
"The Kurdish issue in Turkey and the PKK issue are not identical despite they might be closely linked," he said. There are geopolitical aspects where PKK is not involved, like Turkey's relationship with Iraq and Iran. So these issues should be treated separately, he advised.
Mark Muller was again one of the speakers in a meeting in the British Parliament the 17th December. He explained how different AKP government is to previous Turkish governments and what opportunities this creates in the democracy development.
"The failure to move towards democracy is the biggest problem in Turkey. The Kurdish issue is only a reflection of this", he said.
"It is not question of Kurds on the one side and the Turks on the other side, or secularists against the islamists. People are targeting towards democracy. Turkey's democratization is much larger issue than only the Kurdish question", Muller explained.
Muller reminded that Britain has experience of complicated peace negotiations in North Ireland. This knowledge could be used for the benefit of Kurds.
Britain has its special responsibility to participate in the search of solution to the Kurdish question. It was one of the countries behind the Lausanne Treaty. If any country supports a declaration which claims that there is no Muslim minority when there is millions of such persons, the country must meet also the consequences.
There seems to be such understanding towards the Kurdish question in Great Britain what is missing in other European countries. Maybe it is the long war in Northern Ireland which has taught Britons to understand the many aspects of armed conflicts and especially the importance to end them. And of course the presence of British troops in Iraq increases public awareness to all issues in the region.
Lawyer Mark Muller is a hard-working man, a regular speaker in seminars.
Last June Muller said that there is a Kurdish entity in South Kurdistan.
"Turkish nationalists are right when they are afraid, they can not prohibit that a Kurdish state will be created", he believed.
Muller has practical approach towards the Kurdish question.
"In peace negotiations it is question about what helps, not about what is right or wrong", he said.
Despite the big problems Mark Muller had in June an optimistic attitude:
"We live now a very critical moment, but there is also a possibility for good seeds. Sometimes there is a solution and a new way of acting in the biggest crisis", he said in a seminar held in the British Parliament.
But Mark Muller was very serious in December in Brussels in the conference of the EU Turkey Civic Commission and spoke about the importance of critical planning until the beginning of May 2008.
He did not believe that there would be any purely political or military solution to the problem in Southeast Turkey. A twin approach is needed because there are many military and geopolitical aspects.
"The Kurdish issue in Turkey and the PKK issue are not identical despite they might be closely linked," he said. There are geopolitical aspects where PKK is not involved, like Turkey's relationship with Iraq and Iran. So these issues should be treated separately, he advised.
Mark Muller was again one of the speakers in a meeting in the British Parliament the 17th December. He explained how different AKP government is to previous Turkish governments and what opportunities this creates in the democracy development.
"The failure to move towards democracy is the biggest problem in Turkey. The Kurdish issue is only a reflection of this", he said.
"It is not question of Kurds on the one side and the Turks on the other side, or secularists against the islamists. People are targeting towards democracy. Turkey's democratization is much larger issue than only the Kurdish question", Muller explained.
Muller reminded that Britain has experience of complicated peace negotiations in North Ireland. This knowledge could be used for the benefit of Kurds.
Britain has its special responsibility to participate in the search of solution to the Kurdish question. It was one of the countries behind the Lausanne Treaty. If any country supports a declaration which claims that there is no Muslim minority when there is millions of such persons, the country must meet also the consequences.
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