National Liberation Front of Kurdistan (ERNK)
Press Release 25
May 25, 1995

We Will Prevail

     Turkey's largest military foray into South Kurdistan ended
with a failure. It was supposed to be the operation of 1995 with
the most promising results. Its aim was to finish off the Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK), something Turkey had planned to do in 1994,
but without any hope of success. Neither the plan nor the
calculation had any results.
     It was not surprising that this occupation incursion would
result in a total fiasco. The military wing of the PKK, the
People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK), had advance notice of
the impending Turkish invasion and had prepared itself accordingly.
A significant resistance was displayed; the Turkish army was
routed.
     This result has given birth to new developments. Voices of
dissent and dismay have been expressed both in Turkey and abroad.
It has become rather clear that blind force is no panacea for the
problem at hand and that to insist on such a course will mean an
escalation of the crisis.
     Again, the most recent Turkish bombardment of South Kurdistan
proves this anew. Our forces are well armed and well prepared to
counter these attacks. Turkey itself has come to this realization.
But it still continues to place large numbers of its soldiers in
the border region and now and then undertakes aerial attacks to
engage our forces so as to gain more time.
     The dead end that Turkey finds itself in offers us favourable
opportunities. The PKK, taking advantage of optimum conditions, is
intent on utilizing these military and political advantages for the
resolution of the conflict. One more thing has become clear: The
PKK is an unbeatable force in the region.
     This fact is now also dawning on the Western governments as
well. They too are realizing that the policy of blind force in
Turkey is harming their own interests. To that end, they are urging
Turkey to be open to the idea of a political solution to this
conflict.
     Turkey, by way of a response, has increased its level of
atrocities. To dampen the prospects of large-scale uprisings on the
part of the people, it has activated its dark forces, the contra-
guerrilla, to murder innocent civilians.
     Seeing that these policies of oppression and massacres are not
working, the Turkish Special War Department has begun to establish
so-called "strategic villages" in order to control popular
resistance. This policy is now in effect in the Botan region where
villagers are forced to sign statements stating that they were
forced to flee their homes because of PKK pressure. These villagers
are then collected in certain centres. The latest news is that the
villagers of Suke and Bure were forced to flee their homes and
settle in Ertus. The villagers of Libis and those of Jiyanis on the
other hand have been collected in Diyari village. The same fate has
also met the villages of Sifrezan, Erbis, and Tahta, whose
residents have been forced to seek refuge in Bilican. Cukurca town
in Hakkari province has also seen an upsurge of new residents. It
looks like Botan is setting the precedent for this practice; other
regions of Kurdistan will soon follow.
     This can only be construed as a sign of defeat for the Turkish
government. There are plans to station large contingencies of
Turkish soldiers in these so-called "strategic villages".
     This development also connotes a new phase in the war between
the forces of the Turkish government and those of the PKK. The
Turkish army, losing ground to our guerrilla forces, is avenging
its losses on the people. Atrocities and massacres have become the
order of the day. These tactics will not bring a solution to the
question at hand. On the contrary, they will unite our people and
help them to organize better.
     Turkey needs to stop these acts of barbarity. To do otherwise
is to hasten its downfall. If its policy of force has not brought
a solution by now then it is not going to help today either. Such
policies have an unavoidable answer and that is defeat, nothing
else.
     In an interview with the Reuters news agency on May 23, 1995,
the Chairperson of the PKK, Mr. Abdullah Ocalan, again indicated
his willingness to end this war. He said: "If the Turkish state
stops its operations of annihilating [the Kurds] in favour of a
political solution, we are ready for a cease-fire and peace."
     Our party makes this call for political solution because it
feels strong both in the military and the political field. If the
Turkish government is not afraid of political solutions then it
ought to respond. We feel the need to state one obvious truism
about ourselves: No power, above all the Turkish state, ought to
make plans to have the PKK subscribe to their brand of "solution".
The PKK is the strongest it has ever been. With a policy of total
mobilization, it has the power to resist the designs of its
adversaries. It is waging a war in the mountains, on the plains, in
rural area and urban centres, and even in the prisons. Its
guerrilla forces keep attacking the Turkish army on a continual
basis.
     These operations that have the annihilation of the Kurds as
their aim and these plans to have the Kurds be collected in
strategic hamlets are destined to fail because we have the strength
to foil them and prevail. Having said this, we want the public to
know, again, that we are ready for a political solution to this
conflict.

ERNK European Representation