Kurdish News A Monthly Publication Of The Kurdistan Committee Of Canada Number 17 - June 1995 Index: 1) Interview With PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan 2) Free Kani Yilmaz! 3) Statement To The Public 4) We Will Prevail 5) The International Solidarity Movement Will Not Be Intimidated 6) Turkish Writer Goes On Trial 7) Turkey's War Of Words - By Yashar Kemal 8) MED-TV: Kurdish Television From Britain 9) Yeni Politika News Briefs 10) PKK Leader Ready For Peace 1) Interview With PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan In light of the contradictory reports about the aims and policies of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Washington based writer and former diplomat David Korn recently submitted a list of questions to PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. The following are Mr. Ocalan's preliminary remarks and his responses, translated from Turkish, along with Korn's questions. Ocalan: The international press and media have been manufacturing unfair and grossly distorted views about our party. The USA plays a significant role in promoting these negative views. The chief of the CIA has referred to our party as a foremost international terrorist organization. Such a portrayal of the PKK obviously does not rely on facts but on deliberate distortions. The PKK has no other role but to promote the demands of the Kurds for their own national identity and national rights, as they today face genocide. How can our resistance against this genocide be mistaken for terrorism? The chief of the CIA should understand that we are the victims of terrorism. The Republic of Turkey is a well known perpetrator of genocide and of the destruction of cultures. Korn: The international media continue for the most part to describe the PKK as a separatist organization that seeks independence from Turkey and the establishment of a Marxist-Leninist state. Could you comment on this? Specifically, is independence in fact the goal of the PKK, and is it correct to say that Marxism-Leninism is the PKK's political doctrine? Ocalan: It is a gross blunder to persistently regard our party as a strictly separatist organization that aims to establish an independent state. It is also groundless to compare the PKK to classic Communist parties. The political and ideological perspective of our party are not the same as those of classic Communist parties. Were that the case, we would have disappeared long ago. It is correct to say that our party from the beginning advocated socialism, but it has been built on scientific socialism. We are seeking to develop a socialist model specific to our nation. I believe that Marxist socialism and the parties that embraced it have failed to evaluate Kurdish realities, and thus they provided Turkey with opportunities to deny the existence of the Kurdish people. The PKK and the Kurds have suffered a lot from Marxist socialism and communism. We have a political manifesto that is humanistic in essence and that challenges inequality and injustice, not only among nations but also among cultures, religions, and genders. Our socialism is not the kind within which the rights of individuals disappear in favor of state authority. We are dedicated to a philosophy that is based on democracy and pluralism, not on the power of the state. We favor a synthesis of capitalism and socialism, an economic structure in which individuals will freely develop to their fullest potential. We are against all ideologies that defend absolute authority for the state at the expense of individual freedom. As for the question of separatism, we do not insist on a separate state, on the contrary, we defend a form of government that respects our people's distinct cultural, social, political, and economic rights. These rights can be realized under one state just as they would be under two states. It is inappropriate in today's political reality to conceive of forms of government as either unitary or separatist. We live in an age within which distinct political and social groups come together to form federal states. Belgium is a federal state composed of two distinct national groups. Spain is also an example, and I should also mention the Russian Federation. Considering these realities, it is unrealistic for the PKK to insist on a separate state, but it is also impossible for the PKK to yield to a unitary state structure that is governed by the dictates of exclusiveness, authoritarianism, and of one nation under one state. Evidently under the influence of socialism of Stalin and the fascism of Mussolini and Hitler, Mustafa Kemal developed the Turkish style unitary state. You certainly know that the Turkish state is not democratic. There is no cultural freedom for non-Turkish groups. Turkish democracy is a sham, and it is in reality under the control of the military junta. The Turkish government not only disregards the human rights of the Kurdish people but it also oppresses its own Turkish people. The PKK struggles for democracy against such an anti-democratic government. To refer to our struggle as separatist is to ignore reality. The Kemalist regime has reached a point where either it will survive by reforming itself or it will destroy itself by becoming trapped in the narrow structure of a unitary state. We have often stated that we are ready to participate in any political process that the Turkish government will undertake to make democratic reforms. We hereby explicitly state that we do not insist on a separate state of our own. Should the Turkish side be open for dialogue, we can reach solutions based on the equality and liberty of both peoples within the existing borders. It is nonsense to see our demands as separatist in intention. We want a Spanish or American style of federalism. Korn: In recent years the PKK appears to have won the sympathy of a great many Turkish Kurds, and in some cases their active support. To what do you attribute this? Ocalan: It is due to the fact that the PKK has emerged as an answer, although very limited, to the historical expectations of our people. The support of the Kurdish people is largely based on their keen observation of the collective and individual sacrifices for democracy and national identity that our members have made under the most difficult circumstances. The Kurdish people have been deceived many times in the past by pseudo-leaders. But when they are convinced of the sacrifices of the freedom fighters, they mobilize for them. That is what has happened. With its twenty years of experience with strategies and tactics compatible with social and political realities, the PKK movement has gone beyond the earlier sectarian Kurdish revolts that were limited to traditional alliances of tribes and religious sects and which were suppressed within a few months. Here lies the real reason for the Kurdish people's support for the PKK. The Kurdish people as a whole avoided supporting regional and traditional Kurdish rebellions in the past because they knew that these types of rebellions usually resulted in conditions worse than the status quo. However, because they have witnessed our ability to survive for so long without defeat, they have given their support with incredible enthusiasm. No doubt the people's support is essentially reinforced by the PKK's organizational and propaganda skills, as well as by its military successes and its ability to take appropriate tactical steps consistent with the circumstances and to launch comprehensive peace initiatives. Korn: What response have you received from the Turkish government to your calls for negotiation? Ocalan: Unfortunately, our opponents pretend not to hear our calls. It seems as if we were talking to a wall. I think that there is no other regime in the world which is so inflexible. The Turkish state has never recognized the existence of other peoples or distinct ethnic groups within its territory. It waged wars on those ethnic groups who demanded the same rights as the Turks themselves and, as in the case of the Armenian extermination, served the Turkish goal of maintaining a unitary state. Now the Turkish regime seems to be deaf to any proposals made by us for civilized and democratic solutions to the conflict between us. Indeed, the Turkish government is more resolved than ever to solve the Kurdish question by bloodshed. The Turkish government has no tolerance for the Kurdish question. It has brutally repressed all Kurdish uprisings in the past. Turkish President Demirel has boasted of crushing the twenty-ninth uprising. During his visit to Chile, Demirel vehemently denied the existence of a Kurdish question in Turkey. The Turkish authorities continue to ignore any just solution to this conflict due to the mixed signals and encouragements they receive from NATO countries. All our reform proposals have been turned down by the Turkish government. It rejects formal or informal dialogue even with non-armed Kurdish political organizations. Korn: Even supposing that the Turkish government were to agree to a federal status for the Kurdish minority, how could such an arrangement be made effective given the fact that very large numbers of Kurds now live in Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, and other large cities outside of the southeast? Ocalan: It is true that almost half of the Kurdish population has moved to the metropolitan areas. However, the Kurds still constitute a majority of the population in Kurdistan proper. The presence of such a large Kurdish population in the metropolitan areas is because of the economic inequalities and political repression that our people face. The infrastructure of these cities is far from accommodating such a large migration. A solution such as federalism could reverse this trend of outward migration from Kurdistan. Moreover, the problem of the Kurds who stay outside of Kurdistan can be addressed in a democratic framework. A federal system is necessary for historical, political, and cultural reasons. It is erroneous to suggest that a federal system is not suitable due to the demographic distribution of the Kurds in Turkey. Of course, there are other alternatives, such as autonomy. However, all the possible avenues can only be explored through dialogue and democratic processes. We believe that constitutional reform which will accommodate federalism is the only reasonable way to overcome the present crisis. Korn: Turkish spokesmen claim that last year's Turkish army offensive dealt a serious blow to PKK military capabilities inside Turkey. Could you comment on this claim? Ocalan: Our military strength has been evident in our success during the Turkish military campaign in South Kurdistan this year. Moreover, the Turkish army is still conducting military operations in Dersim and even in the northernmost corner of Kurdistan. Why is there a need for such large scale operations if our military strength was indeed broken? In fact, these are not limited operations but acts of war; operations that depend on the support of F-16s, helicopters, tanks, and heavy artillery are correctly defined as wars. We have faced a middle scale war for years in both South and North Kurdistan. As a result of our past experience and tactical gains, our military strength has improved a great deal. From now on we will be able to conduct better guerrilla warfare in addition to our political initiatives. For the first time, we are in a position to spread our guerrilla campaign all over Kurdistan. In a guerrilla movement, what counts is not the quantity but the quality of units and their levels of training and experience. We already see a substantial improvement in these areas. The latest Turkish operations have proven to be a total disaster for them. While our casualties number around 30, the Turkish army has lost over 900 soldiers. Even though we are unable to obtain a militarily advantaged position, we are far from defeat. We can maintain this situation for many more years. Korn: The governments of Turkey and the United States both consider the PKK a terrorist organization. If, in your view, this is not a correct assessment, what steps would you propose to take to correct it? Ocalan: In my answer to the first question, I have explained who the real terrorists are and how they control entire Kurdish populations with state terrorism. We have not deliberately shed the blood of any innocent individual. However, we have no other choice but to resist, whether by means of armed struggle or diplomacy, the repression of our national identity and rights by the Turkish state. Is this terrorism? If our democratic rights are assured, we will cease armed resistance at once. But the fact is that both the U.S. and Turkish governments do not seem to recognize our democratic national rights. Turkish official ideology still denies the existence of our people in Turkey and manufactures scientific garbage to prove that the Kurds are of Turkish origin, as demonstrated in the recent Turkish attempt to prove that Newroz, our national festival, originated among Turkish tribes in central Asia. Such denial of our existence is the most barbaric form of terrorism. American history is full of examples of anti-colonial resistance against Great Britain. Were your founding fathers terrorists? Unlike your founding fathers who sought freedom from the British crown, our political demands are not solely based on the idea of full separation. On the contrary, we want real democratic national identity and culture and to develop our political and economic institutions. We struggle in Kurdistan not only for the rights of our people but also for the rights of ethnic Armenians, Assyrians, and Suryani- Chaldeans who also face a reign of terror. Yes, we have a problem of terrorism in our country, but it is Turkish state terrorism. Korn: Turkey and others allege that the PKK finances itself through trade in illegal narcotics. Could you comment on this allegation? Ocalan: The Turkish government fabricated this lie in order to cover up its own genocidal crime against our people and to justify military measures against the PKK. Such charges first surfaced right after the military coup of September 1980, which also marked the escalation of military operations against the civilian population of Kurdistan. These charges serve the desire of the Turkish intelligence agency to cover up the sources that finance the contra-guerrilla and death squad activities Kurdistan. The same sources that accused us of assassinating Olaf Palme now attempt to vilify the PKK by spreading baseless rumors of our supposed involvement in the heroin trade. If Turkish intelligence wants, they can close all the drug routes in one day. However, the drug trade serves the Turkish government's aim of preventing at least some Kurdish youth in Europe from joining the national struggle. Likewise, they aim to control Kurdish youth in Kurdistan by encouraging them to join religious organizations like Hizb-i-relami Kurd, which is financed by the Turkish government as an alternative to the PKK. We regard drug trafficking as a serious crime and detrimental to our national goals. Korn: To what extent is the PKK associated with, or does it give aid to, extremist Palestinian groups that conduct terrorist operations against Israel? Ocalan: We had some relations with them in 1980. However, after the Palestine Liberation Organization opened a diplomatic bureau in Ankara in 1982, its representatives gave a cold shoulder to our interest in maintaining the friendship between our two organizations. Since then we have been on our own. As for Israel, we have no hostility towards Israel. Nevertheless we know that the Israeli and Jewish lobbyists have a significant influence on U.S. belligerence towards us. We don't understand Israel's enthusiasm and support for the Turkish genocide of our people. Korn: Is it now, or has it ever been, PKK policy to attack U.S. installations, interests, or personnel in Turkey or elsewhere? Ocalan: Certainly not. Even several Americans who were captured during our operations in Kurdistan were treated with respect and released without harm. Although we have no military or political conflict with the United States, it constantly provokes us by providing Turkey with intelligence, military, and political support against us. Even supposing that the U.S. is against the PKK because of its political position, there are many other moderate Kurdish organizations that the U.S. entirely ignores in favor of Turkish violations of all international treaties regarding human rights. By its support for the Turkish government in this conflict, the United States becomes party to the genocide of the Kurdish people. It is not the forces of darkness, like Turkey, but the forces of democracy and human rights that deserve support. (Translated by AKIN from Serxwebun, April 1995.) 2) Free Kani Yilmaz! In October 1994, Kani Yilmaz, the European Representative of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), was arrested on the most flimsy charges. It is difficult to comprehend the actions of the British authorities in this matter. There are political reasons behind the long duration of his detention. Great Britain isn't even afraid to break its own laws to do this. The arrest of Kani Yilmaz was a refined attack against the Kurdish movement. His extradition to Germany is part of this scenario. The recent wave of arrests against Kurdish politicians have also been carried out for dubious reasons. Great Britain cannot hide behind its argument that Kani Yilmaz is simply being deported to Germany. After his trial, which begins on May 4, Kani Yilmaz must be set free. The detention of Kani Yilmaz is a service to the destructive special war being waged by the Turkish army. Instead of allowing the conflict to become worse, steps must be taken to find a political and democratic solution. The current negotiations between Great Britain and Iran, at a time when Great Britain is acting as a party for the Turkish occupation army and Turkish state terrorism, are a contradiction. The continued detention of Kani Yilmaz, who is a man honoured by our people, is trying the patience and sensibilities of our people. The increasing tension which is caused by the continued detention of Kani Yilmaz is not in Great Britain's interest. We call on the British public to protest against these politics and to show solidarity with the Kurdish people. Ali Garzan, ERNK European Spokesperson, May 4, 1995 3) Statement To The Public The people of the world are currently celebrating the 50th anniversary of the ending of the Second World War in which millions of people lost their lives, became disabled, and suffered irreparable agony; this as the direct result of the redivision and redistribution of the world under the fascist imperialist system. Traces of this linger on to this day. Today people throughout the world join in commemorative activities in order not to forget the disasters that war brings and to ensure that these sorrows will never be relived. It should never be forgotten that an end to war on this earth is inextricably tied to the end of colonialism, oppression, and atrocities. Tragically, this is not yet the case; wars are being waged in various parts of the world. It is the imperialist system that holds sole responsibility for the division of Kurdistan and for failing to resolve the problem of ongoing oppression. The problem of Kurdistan is therefore the concern of all humanity. The fascist Turkish state is waging genocide against the people of Kurdistan, as the Ottoman Empire had done before it. Our people are living in great pain. As the result of state policies of oppression, assimilation, and forced repatriation, half of our people must live abroad, tens of thousands of them have been slaughtered, tortured, and arrested. More than 2,500 villages have been destroyed and emptied. Our natural wealth has been looted, our forests burnt down. Everything that represents our national identity has been damaged and destroyed. And the Turkish state can only continue this savage war with help from the outside world. Our people show great resistance in this war against their culture, their history, and their whole existence. Their struggle is in self-defence, is legitimate, and represents a struggle for all humankind. As we all come together today to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, we call on the whole world not to remain silent in the face of the destruction of our culture and heritage which is now taking place in Kurdistan, the very birthplace of civilization; not to condone this war which casts shame upon the whole of humanity. We call on the United Nations and all international organizations, most particularly the United States of America and all European countries, to seek a political solution that will bring about an end to the war in Kurdistan. Once again we stress the readiness of the peoples of Kurdistan for peace within the framework of national democratic rights. It is within this framework that we can hope to find democratic, political resolutions for all nations under colonial oppression and, in so doing, serve to bring about peace in this world. We wish for peace and an end to colonialism for all the peoples of the world. Kurdistan Parliament in Exile, Executive Council, May 7, 1995 4) 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. National Liberation Front of Kurdistan (ERNK), European Representation, May 25, 1995 5) The International Solidarity Movement Will Not Be Intimidated The U.S. government has seized on the April 19 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City as an occasion for promoting a series of measures restricting political dissent. The measure that most directly affects activists working on international issues is the Omnibus Counterterrorism Act of 1995. This bill, sponsored by Rep. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and drafted by the Justice Department with help from the White House and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), was languishing in Congress until the Oklahoma City tragedy suddenly gave it new life. One provision would allow the government to use secret evidence and unnamed accusers to deport foreign residents allegedly involved in terrorism; the accused would have no right to defend themselves against the charges. Another provision would forbid raising funds for any foreign organization the U.S. President designates as terrorist, with a prison term of up to 10 years and a fine of up to $50,000; U.S. agencies would be free to investigate -- that is, infiltrate -- U.S.-based groups that give money to organizations branded terrorist. The Clinton administration claims that this law would be used to protect U.S. citizens from the sort of shadowy right-wing organizations, domestic and foreign, that are accused in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and this year's Oklahoma City atrocity. The reality is that the bill's principal victims would be open, legal organizations on the left. The record speaks for itself: Until recently, the U.S. government's terrorist organization list included the African National Congress (ANC); the most prominent known target of an FBI counter-terrorist probe in the last 15 years was the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES); in 1993, Congressional liberals and the Clinton White House tried repeatedly, although unsuccessfully, to implicate the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in the World Trade Center bombing; each year Cuba is put on the U.S. State Department's "terrorist nation" list. Throughout history, governments have turned to "counter-terrorist" measures -- secret charges, anonymous accusers, spies, informers, and agent provocateurs -- at times when the ruling elite feared organized resistance to unpopular policies. This new campaign coincides with a frantic push to cut back services and benefits for the working majority domestically and, on the international front, a renewed drive to subject developing nations to "neo-liberal" programs of tight money, privatization, and "free trade." Both the domestic and the international policies have been disasters. Inside the U.S. the austerity budgets have met with strong grassroots resistance, especially from youth, women, and African-American and immigrant communities. In its international form, the austerity drive faces a resurgence of grassroots organizing in much of the world, an indigenous rebellion in Mexico, new revelations of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) atrocities in Haiti and Guatemala, and a dramatic decline in the value of the U.S. dollar itself. This is the context in which the Clinton administration is asking for broad new powers to spy and deport. The best defense for international solidarity organizations is to continue our open, legal efforts to educate the public on international issues, support legitimate resistance movements at home and abroad, and carry out the real fight against terrorism by demanding an end to the CIA and the School of the Americas. We must make it clear that we will not be intimidated by the current Red Scare atmosphere and that we will treat any dirty tricks against us as an admission by the U.S. government that it is unable -- despite its overwhelming advantage in financial and media resources -- to defeat us through open, legal debate. Just as in the Central America controversies of the 1980s, we will make sure that any effort to repress our movements will only strengthen our commitment and bring more adherents to our cause. Nicaragua Solidarity Network, May 15, 1995 Please call or write if you or your organization wish to endorse this statement: Nicaragua Solidarity Network, 339 Lafayette St New York, New York 10012 USA tel: 212-674-9499 fax: 212-674-9139 e-mail: nicadlw@blythe.org 6) Turkish Writer Goes On Trial By Aliza Marcus Renowned Turkish author Yashar Kemal went on trial on Friday charged under a controversial anti-terror law which the European Union wants removed as a condition for closer ties with Turkey. Kemal, who wrote an article criticising the state's treatment of Kurds, faces up to 5 years in prison if convicted under Article 8 of the Anti-Terror Law, generally used against people who speak out against Turkey's policies towards its Kurdish minority. Accompanied by Turkish luminaries from the arts, Kemal, 73, defended his article in the German magazine Der Spiegel by arguing that Turkey's fight against separatist Kurdish rebels in the southeast was a "dirty and dirtying war". He said the real crime was the state's alleged burning of forests to kill guerrillas from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), fighting since 1984 for autonomy or independence in the country's largely Kurdish southeast. "Isn't it true that the forests were burnt? Do I not have the right to blame the state for this act? Wasn't Turkey declared among the countries ranking high in torture?" he told the court, reading from a prepared statement. "Weren't thousands of villages burned down...? Didn't we make our country ashamed to face humanity as a result of such inhuman actions?" he said, as dozens of photographers jostled to take a picture of the country's perennial Nobel Prize candidate standing in the dock in an Istanbul courtroom. Article 8 bans "propaganda...aimed at damaging the indivisible unity of the state...regardless of method, intention, and ideas." Dozens of intellectuals have been jailed under it and the European Union has called for its removal. The European Parliament has said it will veto Turkey's planned customs deal with the European Union unless Ankara betters its human rights record before the parliament votes to ratify the agreement late this year. Western diplomats say easing restrictions on freedom of expression -- especially non-violent Kurdish protest -- is crucial if Turkey wants to assuage critics and strengthen its position in Europe. Kemal, author of the acclaimed 'Ince Memed' (Memed, My Falcon), joked with observers while his lawyers unsuccessfully argued Article 8 was contrary to Turkish law because the country has signed international human rights conventions. "Since Turkey has never been a democratic country, Turkey has been a huge prison for all of us. A prison that is smaller does not make a difference for me," said Kemal, before the judges set the next hearing for July 12. Prime Minister Tansu Ciller has repeatedly said she intends to change the harsh anti-terror laws, but some hardliners in her party refuse to consider lifting Article 8. Others will support the move if the article's provisions are essentially restated in the penal code. Human rights activists caution that while many people are charged with Article 8, Turkey has numerous laws and constitutional articles that could still be used to jail people for expressing unpopular ideas. (Reuters 05.05.95) 7) Turkey's War Of Words By Yashar Kemal (Yashar Kemal, author of 36 books, is Turkey's pre-eminent man of letters and a perennial candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. He recently went on trial in Istanbul on charges of violating Turkey's anti-terrorism laws. The charges stem from an article about the oppression of Turkish Kurds that he wrote for the German magazine Der Spiegel. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison. This article was published as an op-ed piece in the New York Times on Saturday, May 6, 1995.) One of the greatest tragedies in Turkey's history is happening now. Our Kurdish brothers are being slaughtered, and apart from a couple of hesitant voices, no one is standing up and demanding to know what the government is doing. No one is saying: "You are riding towards doomsday, leaving the earth scorched in your wake." What will come of all this? Fearing that Kurdish nationalist spirit threatens Turkish sovereignty over its eastern regions, the government has resolved to drain the pool to catch a few fish. The world is aware of it. Only the people of Turkey have been kept in ignorance; newspapers have apparently been forbidden to write about the drainage. Or maybe there is no need for censorship? Maybe our press, with its sense of patriotism and strong nationalist sentiment, chooses not to write about it, assuming the world will neither hear nor see what is happening. Our Kurdish brothers are at war to win their rights -- to save their language and their culture. During the War of Independence of 1919 to 1922, we fought shoulder to shoulder. We established this state together. Should a man cut out the tongue of his brother? Already over 1,700 people have been murdered. The houses of nearly 2,000 villages have been burned. People and animals have been burned inside them. The government has burned almost all the forests of eastern Anatolia to find the guerrillas hiding out in them. Not much that could be called forest is left. Turkey is disappearing in flames along with its forests -- anonymous acts of genocide -- and 2.5 million people have been exiled from their homes, in desperate poverty, forced to take to the road. Last fall, the village elders of the eastern town of Ovacik said that soldiers had burned their village; they were found dead in the burned forests nearby a few days later. The Minister for Human Rights, Azimet Koyluoglu, at first admitted that soldiers were burning villages, but quickly went back on his word, blaming the Kurdish separatists. The government has also put an embargo on food in the eastern regions. One must get a certificate from the police station in order to buy food (because some villagers have been feeding the guerrillas). Intellectuals in the West have begun to debate whether this is a new genocide; the possibility of a human rights court for Turkey's politicians and of an economic boycott against the country are being discussed. Turkey's leaders have gotten so carried away that intellectual crimes have been regarded as among the most serious; people have rotted away in prisons, been killed and exiled for writing or speaking their minds. Over 200 people are serving sentences for crimes of thought; hundreds more are on trial. Among them are professors, journalists, writers, and union leaders. As if a racist, oppressive regime were not enough, there have been three military coups in our 70 years as a nation. Each coup has made the Turkish people a little more debased. They have rotted from the root -- their culture, their humanity, their language. There is no reason at all for this inhuman, purposeless war. This world is a graveyard of wrecked languages and cultures. How many societies whose names and reputations we have never even heard of have come and gone in this world? As a cultural mosaic, Anatolia has been a source of many modern societies. If Turkey's leaders had not tried to prohibit and destroy other languages and other cultures than those of the Turkish people Anatolia would still be a fountainhead of civilization. Instead, we are a country half-famished, its creative power draining away. The sole reason for this war is that cancer of humanity, racism. Otherwise, would it be possible for right-wing, racist magazines and newspapers to declare that "the Turkish race is superior to every other"? Another popular saying is: "Happy is he who calls himself a Turk." When I first went to eastern Turkey in 1951, this slogan had been written on the mountainsides everywhere in enormous letters visible from five miles away. Even the slopes of Mount Ararat were so embellished. The entire mountain had become happy to be Turkish. Each morning, they made the children declare: "I am a Turk, I am honest, I am hard-working." Throughout history, all cultures have fed one another, been grafted onto one another, and, in the process, our world has been enriched. The disappearance of a culture is the loss of a colour, a different light. Anatolia has always been a mosaic of flowers, filling the world with flowers and light. I want it to be the same today. If the people of a country choose to live like human beings, choose happiness and beauty, their way lies first through universal human rights and unlimited freedom of thought. The people of countries that have opposed this will enter the 21st century without honour. 8) MED-TV: Kurdish Television From Britain By Aliza Marcus It's showtime in Turkey and the latest television programme to hit the crowded airwaves favours documentaries about village life and children's game shows. But despite the ponderous -- some would say boring -- nature of the broadcasts, British-based MED-TV has its intensely loyal viewers, and all because the language of choice is Kurdish. "Every night from 7 pm to 10 pm you can find me right here, in front of the television", said a Kurdish businessman, chuckling as children draped in the red, yellow, and red colours of Kurdish nationalism danced across the screen. "Imagine, for the first time in history, we have our own television, which is being broadcast to Kurds all over the world", he said. Turkish officials are less than pleased about the British- licensed MED-TV, which uses satellite technology to beam from London into Turkey and evade Turkish laws forbidding broadcasts in Kurdish. Turkey, worried MED-TV is being used by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrilla group to promote demands for Kurdish autonomy or independence in Turkey, has asked Britain's licensing agency to monitor broadcasts. "I think this goes against the European conventions on television and human rights, because it stirs up racial hatred and is against the territorial integrity of Turkey", said an official with Turkey's Radio and Television High Commission. Whether it is linked to the PKK or not -- MED-TV officials say a wide variety of groups and businessmen are financd in Diyarbakir. May 12 -- Village guards acting as mercenary forces for the Turkish army visited the villages of Meskina, Siltok, Kodore, Robelme, Varga, Xemse, Kizil, Kizlere, Remok, and Sayhan. They collected all satellite dishes from the villagers and warned them not to watch the Kurdish television channel MED- TV...Hasan Ezer, a 34-year-old Kurd, was murdered in the Huzur Evleri district of Diyarbakir. May 13 -- Villages in the vicinity of Diyarbakir now have a new policy to follow: they all have to buy Turkish flags to hang on their houses to prove their loyalty to visiting foreign delegations. May 14 -- Mehmet Alcan, another Kurdish youth, was taken into custody in the Baglar district of Diyarbakir. His family is fearing for his life since the Turkish authorities are denying any knowledge of his whereabouts...A total of 146 people have applied to the Turkish Human Rights Foundation in the first four months of this year for help at its rehabilitation centres. The total number for last year was 472. May 15 -- The village of Sutluce (Tuluk in Kurdish) in Tunceli (Dersim in Kurdish) was machine gunned on May 10. Many houses received bullet holes, but there were no casualties. The Turkish soldiers who visited the village afterwards declared that the residents were guilty of aiding Kurdish guerrillas and that they must vacate their homes immediately. For now, the villagers have packed but remain in their homes...The villagers of Gendune, Bekse, and Maristo in Sason district were asked to either become village guards or else face the prospects of migration. They too have packed but are still living in their villages...The villages of Ekrek, Osgeh, Ardixe, Uzakli, and Bikhe are in quarantine since May 9. They happen to be in a district called Alibogazi which since March 19 has seen some of the heaviest bombardment of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict...The Islamic ritual Kurban Bayrami is a celebration in which grave sites are visited by loved ones. This year, Turkish soldiers barred some of the new residents of Kulp and Lice from practicing this tradition. These were people who had left their villages because they had refused to become village guards for the government. May 16 -- A Kurdish patriot named Seyit Semso was killed by members of the 'Hizbikontra' contra-guerrilla. The city residents were so appalled by the murder that they took the law into their own hands and lynched three of the perpetrators...Ercan Bingol, an 8-year-old boy, died after stepping on a mine that was planted by Turkish soldiers in Kumludere village...Another mine exploded in Akdemir village in Tunceli, injuring children once again. Sahin Erol (6), Pelvin Erol (10), Sevgi Erol (8), and Erkan Erol (12) were all seriously hurt. Erkan Erol, who had received the deadly blast, lost both of his legs while his siblings are in better condition. Their mother, Sultan Erol, blamed the Turkish soldiers for mining the area...Berivan Kultay, in a study of executions in Turkey, notes that the Turkish claim that the death penalty does not exist in the country is simply untrue. Referring to the work of human rights advocates, she notes that, in the last four years, 874 people have died in custody with another 2,000 reported missing. May 17 -- Turkish commandos stationed in Gurpinar town in Van province held a soccer match with the town's Gurpinar Youth last Saturday. The commandos lost the game and then proceeded to fight with local residents, calling them "dirty Kurds". 9 people were injured. May 18 -- Hasan Ocak, a 29-year-old Istanbul shopkeeper missing since March 21, was found via pictures in the albums of the Cerrahpasa Hospital. The authorities said that his body was discovered in Beykoz on March 26 and later buried in a grave site for unknown persons. An autopsy revealed that he had been strangled with an iron wire. May 19 -- Naci Parmaksiz, the governor of Adana, in a scene reminiscent of what Prime Minister Tansu Ciller had done last year at the Holiday Inn in Istanbul, spoke of a list of businessmen who are supporting the PKK. He said, "You are benefitting from the riches of this country; I am asking you to think again." He did not give any names. After Ciller's threat, several Kurdish businessmen were kidnapped and killed in Istanbul. May 20 -- Ahmet Bulut (10), Rahim Kumru (10), and Huseyin Yilmaz (48) were killed in Gundik Mala Hato hamlet near Kermete village in Mardin province. They died in an attack by Turkish soldiers and village guards. May 21 -- 15,000 people gathered for the reburial ceremony of Hasan Ocak in Istanbul...Giyasettin Oruc, chairperson for the People's Democracy Party (HADEP) for Beykoz district, is missing. Eyewitnesses insist that they saw Mr. Oruc taken away by people who they said were civilian police but the authorities are denying the arrest. (The above news items were all translated from the pro-Kurdish daily newspaper Yeni Politika.) 10) PKK Leader Ready For Peace PKK Chair Abdullah Ocalan has made another call for peace. In an interview with the Reuters news agency on May 23, 1995, he made the following statement: "If the Turkish state stops its operations against us and is willing to resolve this conflict through political dialogue, we are ready to declare a cease-fire and opt for peace." This is an unequivocally clear message. We are the side seeking peace. It is a political solution that we seek. On March 17, 1993, the Chair of our party, Mr. Abdullah Ocalan, declared an unconditional cease-fire to pave the way for a political solution to this question. Lest the other side did not have enough time to respond in the affirmative, the deadline for the cease-fire was extended. Again on March 12, 1994, an offer for a peaceful resolution of this conflict was made at the International Conference on North-West Kurdistan in Brussels, Belgium. Another call for peace was made through a letter sent to the members of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) on November 14, 1994. To our messages of peace, the Turkish state has responded with military violence. This policy has brought no solutions, rather it has only escalated the crisis. This was the upshot of the Turkish military occupation of South Kurdistan. While the world, in unison, has condemned this Turkish policy and belligerency, the so-called message of support coming from Washington is quite peculiar. As the Kurdish side, we believe and insist on a political solution of this conflict and we assert that only this engagement can bring peace and prosperity to both Kurds and Turks. To that end, we keep repeating our calls for a peaceful resolution of this conflict. Those who value peace should not support Turkey in its policy of belligerency. It ought not to be forgotten that this blind faith in the policy of violence is a denial of the principle of peoples rights to self-determination. In this lies the source of instability and the threat of perpetual war in the Middle East. The Turkish state is aiming at subduing us by way of military force with the hope of exterminating the Kurdish people. So long as these policies continue, we will use out right to defend ourselves with no reservations. ERNK European Representation, May 27, 1995 ----- Kurdish News is published by: Kurdistan Committee of Canada 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 tel: (613) 733-9634 fax: (613) 733-0090 email: kcc@magi.com -----