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It
was reported that on Sunday 10 July 2005, a bomb
blast injured 20 people at seaside resort in West
Turkey’s town of Cesme, an Aegean Sea town popular
with tourists.[1] Reuters reported that a Kurdish
rebel group the Kurdistan Liberation Hawks (TAK)
claimed responsibility for the attack.[2] It is
believed that the TAK is a wing of the Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK).[3] A previous bomb attack in
the Aegean See resort of Kusadasi also was claimed
by this organisation.[4]
The Kurds have been fighting for their legitimate
rights for over 100 years. Despite the fact that
they have been deprived of their basic human rights,
they have never resorted to terrorism as a mean to
publicise their cause or gain their rights. They
have often been subjected to terrorism and the most
horrific punishments. They know what it means to be
terrorised and what it means for innocent children,
women and men to be killed.
It would be a mistake for any Kurdish organisation
to believe that through terrorising tourists or
killings they can harm their enemy’s economy or put
pressure on the ruling states to force them into
negotiations. The Kurds have been conducting armed
struggle for over hundred years; they have killed
and have themselves been killed. Unfortunately for
the Kurds, the states ruling over Kurdistan
recognise no value for human life, let alone human
rights.
The PKK has been fighting the Turkish state since
1984. During this period, it is estimated that
around 37,000 people have been killed. Has the
Turkish state even for once said let’s stop these
killings and negotiate? Has the Turkish state ever
asked, what are your grievances? The same is
applicable to other parts of Kurdistan. This
indicates that armed struggle cannot be the solution
to the Kurdish cause. It is time for the Kurdish
national movements to look for alternative
strategies to address the Kurdish question.
The Kurdish people should call upon the TAK to
distance themselves from terrorism. If they are not
involved in such activities, they should publicly
say so and condemn it. In the current atmosphere,
where terrorists are using the most barbaric methods
to kill innocent people, linking the Kurdish
national struggle to terrorism is a disservice to
the legitimate Kurdish cause.
Kurdish pride and honour has never allowed Kurdish
freedom fighters to kill children, women and other
innocent people. It has never been a part of Kurdish
tradition and it should never be. Nothing can
legitimise terrorism and the killing of innocent
people.
References
1. BBC, 10 July 2005.
2. Reuters, 10 July 2005.
3. Ibid.
4. BBC, 10 July 2005.
www.krg.org
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