National Liberation Front of Kurdistan (ERNK)
Press Release 27
May 28, 1995

The Massacre In Igdir Was The Work Of The Turkish Government

     The Turkish death squads, the contra-guerrilla, have struck
again, this time in Ozdemir village in Igdir on May 25, 1995. As
a result of this attack, four children and their mother have lost
their lives. The dead are Cuneyt Aras (3), Ferdi Aras (5), Ergun
Aras (8), Pinar Aras (12), and Birgul Aras, their mother. The
victims were all gunned down by automatic weapons fire. Our
findings reveal that the villagers of Ozdemir had refused to
become village guards. As a result, the Turkish death squads
targeted the Aras family, not only to teach a lesson and to
punish those who refused to cooperate, but also to set an example
for other Kurds who might have contemplated doing the same.
     The Turkish media portrayed this massacre as a deed of
Kurdish fighters, members of the People's Liberation Army of
Kurdistan (ARGK). This is a ploy to hide the real culprits, the
members of the Turkish death squads.
     When one considers the recent developments that are taking
place in Kurdistan and in the world, one cannot help but reach
the conclusion that this was a well-planned and well-executed
incident designed to serve a specific need.
     The Turkish media, which is a special wing of the Turkish
war government, has covered this event in detail, blaming PKK
fighters for the deed. The act comes at a time when the Turkish
government finds itself at a dead-end both politically and
militarily. There is one other thing that seems to have baffled
the Turkish side, and that is the call for peace which was made
by Mr. Ocalan, Chair of the PKK, to the Reuters news agency on
May 23, 1995. It was a message that resonated well with the
international community. By means of this barbaric act, the
Turkish government wants to deflect attention away from the
message of peace. It basically wants to say that the PKK is not
interested in peace and that it is engaged in the act of killing
civilians and other acts of terror, notwithstanding its call for
a political solution. All this is done to mislead the public and
foreign dignitaries, among whom a delegation of European
Parliament MPs who were and still are conducting missions to
Turkey.
     Again, we are urging the public not to be mislead by these
dark deeds of the Turkish military circles. We expect the acts of
provocation will continue and that more massacres are in the
making. The Special War Department of the Turkish government
wants to derail the goodwill step that the PKK leadership has
taken relative to the war. It fears, rightly so, that public
opinion is in favor of peace. We want you to see these facts. We
await your condemnation of this act.

Ali Sapan,
ERNK European Spokesperson