Will The War In Kurdistan Spread To Western Turkey?

Interview With Dogan Roj, ERNK European Representative

In the province of Sivas in central Turkey, 450km east of Ankara,
there has been intense fighting over the past few days between
units of the ARGK, the armed wing of the PKK, and the Turkish
army. Up until now, most of the fighting had been limited to the
southeast. Which side started this offensive in Sivas province?

     First, let me remind people that PKK chairman Abdullah
Ocalan announced a unilateral ceasefire on behalf of the PKK on
December 15, 1995. In his statement, he said that the ceasefire
would last until a new government is formed after the elections,
provided that army units do not continue with their destruction
strategy. Tansu Ciller, the Turkish prime minister, immediately
declared that there would be no negotiations with terrorists. She
therefore proved that the offer of a ceasefire would not be
seriously considered. But despite that, we have kept our word.
     When the ceasefire was announced, however, we made it clear
that we would be forced to defend ourselves if operations were
launched against us. The recent clashes were brought about by the
Turkish state, which is seeking to press forward with its
operations. The Kurdish guerrilla units are simply defending
themselves. In addition to Sivas, the Turkish government has also
launched operations in other regions. But there is a new
strategy, namely to carry out these operations in the name of the
state governor. There have been some clashes, and 50 soldiers
have been killed.

According to press reports, the ARGK didn't previously have any
units stationed in the Sivas region. Were units simply
concentrated there in order to react to the army offensive?

     No, the ARGK already had units in this regions. In his
ceasefire declaration, Abdullah Ocalan stressed that we are
prepared to accept peace, if the Turkish state is willing. But if
not, then the war won't simply continue in Kurdistan, rather it
will advance even more forcefully all over.

Sivas is a stronghold of the Islamic Welfare Party (Refah), which
received about 22% of the vote and was thereby the winner in the
recent early general election. Do you think there's a connection
between Refah's strength and the Turkish army's operation there?

     I don't think so. In Sivas, many people are loyal to the
Turkish state. The Turkish state purposely made lots of
propaganda on behalf of Refah in the cities. Many Kurds and Turks
are religious and follow Islam. Refah made use of this, in that
they went to people's homes with the Koran and said, either you
vote for Refah or Allah will punish you. But throughout all of
Kurdistan, it was plain to see that, despite all of the
repression, the people's choice was HADEP, which was the
strongest party in Kurdistan with more than 35% of the vote.
Refah only won 18% in Kurdistan.

Following Refah's election victory, will the PKK now take on more
Islamic aspects in order to increase their acceptance in the
population?

     No. The Kurdish population faces a certain reality.
Contemporary Islam is not true Islam, that which was originally
preached by Mohamed. Contemporary Islam cannot account for the
oppression of people as we know it. People who call themselves
"faithful to Islam" do nothing to stop the murderous war which is
being waged against the Kurdish people. They are contradicting
Islam.

Are there, in your opinion, liberating elements within Islam?

     It's hard to say that exactly. We are not fighting for an
Islamic society, rather for a socialist society. That allows us
to recognize the reality of the Kurdish people. Even if there are
principles in Islam which do not contradict the socialist
principles of the PKK, the PKK will nonetheless continue with the
class struggle. Certain human goals, which cannot necessarily be
connected to Islam or other religions, are in line with our
goals, for example our right to existence and the right to have
our own state.

(Interview by Charlotte Spielmann. Published in Junge Welt Nr.2,
January 3, 1996. Translated by Arm The Spirit.)