He conducted an
interview with me in which I sent a message to the
Turkish people. After its publication, the interview
generated a wide debate in Turkish circles and
queries on the initiative of this journalist to
visit Qandil. This correspondent met with senior
Turkish officials who asked him about what I said
and on how to deal with our issue in the future.
This is particularly important since in the
interview, I reaffirmed that the Kurdish problem in
Turkish should be solved through peaceful and
democratic dialogue. Despite the fact that this
matter had a limited effect on the circles concerned
in Turkey,www.ekurd.net
it is being discussed
but no practical steps have been taken. This can be
seen in the fact that the military operations are
still continuing against us parallel to the
campaigns of arrest of the followers of the DTP. At
any rate, two more weeks are left for the suspension
of armed operations and we will then see if Turkey
is going to extend the arm of peace or not. On our
part, we hope that Ankara would tilt toward peace;
otherwise, our initiative to stop armed operations
would have been to no avail. This is particularly
true since Turkish military operations against us
continue.
Q: What do you
expect from Turkey? Will it extend the arm of peace
toward you?
Karayilan:
Unfortunately, so far, it has not done so. However,
we reiterate that the Kurdish issue in Turkey, Iran,
and Syria should be tackled within the borders of
these countries by recognizing the rights of the
Kurdish people and by entrenching democracy. In
Turkey specifically, a genuine democratic autonomy
seems to be the ideal solution parallel to the
consolidation of democratic practices in the
country. On this basis, the Kurds would gain their
legitimate rights after removing the discrimination
against them. The Kurdish issue should be solved on
the basis of freedom, justice, and democracy, and
this is what we recently proposed to the Turkish
public opinion via our message. This is what is
being discussed at present in Turkey.
Q: Who in Turkey
rejects your peace initiative? The political
leadership or the military leadership?
Karayilan: Both
are; however, it is different this time. After our
leader Abdullah Ocalan was arrested by the United
States in collusion with certain quarters in the
world and after he was handed over to Turkey in a
step that was intended to extinguish our movement
and then to liquidate it completely, we took the
initiative of freezing our armed military activities
proceeding from our desire to solve the Kurdish
issue peacefully. Five years ago, we evacuated our
forces and withdrew from the northern part of
Kurdistan(Turkish Kurdistan). However, Turkey
continued to tighten the noose against us and to
torture our leader Ocalan while continuing its
military operations against us and confiscating the
will of our people by trying to "Turkisize" the
Kurdish people. As a result, we took the decision on
1 June 2004 to stand up in self-defense against the
Turkish offensives. In the past five years, we
accomplished a lot and became stronger. In the past
two years, we scored brilliant victories against the
military and political offensives against us. In
other words, we are now in a more powerful position.
To be more precise, we are now strong and not weak
and Turkey cannot ignore our initiative. This is a
glaring fact that everyone knows. As evidence of
what I am saying is the big military and political
victory that we scored when we repulsed the fierce
military campaigns against us by the Turkish forces
in 2007. These offensives were backed by logistic
and technological support from the United States and
by intelligence support from Israel that surveyed
all the mountains of Kurdistan. The purpose was to
destroy us. However, we emerged from the battle
stronger than before. In the recent local elections
in Turkey on 29 March, the Turkish authorities tried
very hard to ensure the victory of the ruling
Justice and Development Party led by (Recep Tayyib)
Erdogan (the Turkish prime minister) at the expense
of the Kurdish Democratic Society Party led by Ahmet
Turk. For this purpose, Ankara spent huge amounts of
money in the Kurdish regions and distributed
commodities and household appliances
free of charge to the
Kurdish citizens. The funny part is that it
distributed refrigerators to the villagers in
Kurdish villages that have no electricity in an
attempt to win over the Kurds by exploiting their
abject poverty. Turkey also exerted military
pressures on them through the army and mercenaries
supporting the regime. Nevertheless, the Kurdish
people in the northern part of Kurdistan waged the
battle of will and scored a brilliant victory. The
Kurds told the world that they will continue along
the footsteps of their leader Ocalan and that they
cling to their will and will never abandon their
cause no matter what happens. This was embodied in
the election booths and ballot boxes. After that
huge victory, we too issued our peaceful call to
Turkey and reaffirmed again that we are not
warmongers but advocates of peace and a democratic
solution. We expressed our readiness to solve the
issue peacefully. Thus began the debate and
discussion in Turkey on our cause. In the past,
Turkey used to block its ears to our calls and
peaceful initiatives. This time, however, all the
media outlets in Turkey are discussing and openly
debating our issue, especially after the appeal I
made personally through the Turkish journalist. I am
not saying for certain that Turkey will respond to
our call or peaceful initiative. However, I am
saying that the echo of our voice is reverberating
in and shaking Turkey. I believe that if Ankara
rejects our initiative, the advocates of peace and
democracy in the country will put strong pressure on
the Turkish authorities. If Turkey resumes its
military operations against us after this initiative
it would be exposing its true black face and the
world would realize who loves peace and who is
calling for war. The world will know this at the
beginning of next month, that is, after the period
of our initiative expires. It gives me pleasure to
convey through your newspaper to readers in the Arab
world about the living conditions of the Kurdish
people in the northern part of Kurdistan. I did the
same thing in recent interviews with the Italian
television station, the French newspaper Le Monde,
and other media outlets.
Q: What is the
nature of your relations with the Kurdish Democratic
Society Party led by Ahmet Turk?
Karayilan: We
have a kind of relationship, but that party is now
being sued in the Turkish courts. We hope that this
party would embody the aspirations and will of the
Kurdish people, especially since it is a legally
licensed and unarmed political party. It is
different from our ideological and political armed
party that is waging an armed revolt in all its
forms. This does not mean that we are an armed
movement. On the contrary, 95 percent of our
struggle is political and our military command and
forces are separate from our political leadership,
unlike the Democratic Society Party that aspires to
achieve its goals through the ballot boxes in local
and general parliamentary elections. It is a party
that has been struggling since 1991 and that has
sacrificed many of its members and supporters
although it does not bear arms. Turkey is killing
and assassinating its members and expelling them.
This is what happened to Mohamet Senjal who was
assassinated although he was a deputy in parliament
representing this party.
Q: Are you not
worried that this party would replace you on the
Kurdish political arena in Turkey?
Karayilan: Yes,
many say so; but we are not worried about this
because our Kurdish people in the northern part of
Kurdistan considers leader Ocalan as their commander
and symbol. If our leader orders that the Democratic
Society Party should replace us we will follow his
instructions. The opposite is also true. In other
words, the people are the basis. This is
particularly true since the philosophy of leader
Ocalan is to unify the ranks of the Kurdish people.
Therefore, one cannot separate this party from the
[Kurdistan] Workers Party [PKK]. Even if such a
thing happens, the people would not be pleased
because they have united their ranks along the path
of Ocalan. The fact that thousands of followers of
the Democratic Society Party that recently staged a
sit-in in the towns of Turkey's Kurdistan were
chanting and wishing long life for Ocalan attests to
this.
Q: What is the
nature of the peaceful solution that you desire for
the Kurdish cause?
Karayilan: All
the facts show that we are victorious and ina strong
and organized situation. We are not a terrorist
organization as Turkey and some other countries
claim. We enjoy the support and backing of our
people. We reiterate that we have not and will not
receive any financial or military aid from any
country in the world with the exception of the
support and backing of the sons of our people. We
are on the land of Kurdistan and we do not have any
suspect connections to this or that country. We are
independent in our will and our decision-making
process. If Turkey wants to solve our problem it
should first and foremost release our leader who is
behind bars in Emirli Prison. Only then will we
accept peace with Turkey. Otherwise, we will not.
This is our basic condition. We also do not object
to having a face-to-face dialogue between Turkey and
Kurdish notables in order to solve our issue despite
all the attacks and military and political
offensives against us. However, if Turkey insists on
annihilating us with force of arms, we will no doubt
defend our existence.
Q: You have
repeatedly demanded an independent greater
Kurdistan. Are you still making this demand?
Karayilan: We
reject the subjugation of peoples. The Kurdish
nation is one of the most ancient nations in the
Middle East alongside the Arabs, Persians,
Assyrians, Armenians, and Turks. Turkey is not more
than 1,000 years old. The land of Kurdistan was
divided into four parts and the rights of the
Kurdish people were violated. This injustice should
end. The Middle East needs an alliance similar to
that of the European Union in which Kurds, Arabs,
and other nations enjoy equal rights. In other
words, the Kurdish people should be liberated from
occupation and from being a second-class nation as
long as the establishment of an independent Kurdish
state is not possible at present. In other words, a
democratic regime should be established where the
Kurds would enjoy their rights on the basis of
fraternity with neighboring nations. Let me ask you
this question: Why is it possible to establish a
European Union but not a Middle East union that is
rich in its history and resources and that is the
cradle of the three divine religions and ancient
human civilizations? Briefly, what I am saying is
that the Kurdish, Arab, Persian, Assyrian, and
Turkish nations in the region should have relations
based on brotherhood without any obstacles or
boundaries among them. This is our goal.
Q: What is your
opinion on the current reforms in Turkey, such as
reinstating the original Kurdish names of villages
and townships and opening Kurdish television
channels?
Karayilan: In
the past, Turkey used to firmly say that there are
no Kurds in the country and that we are Turks living
in caves and mountains. Turkey used to say that the
word "Qurt" is derived from the sound made by frozen
ice on the mountains breaking under the weight of
footsteps. With time, this word became the current
name of "Kurd". In other words, Turkey used to claim
that there are no Kurds but that they are no more
than mountain Turks and that Turkey is educating
them by teaching them Turkish and civilizing them.
But after the struggle march of the PKK erupted from
zero, the situation changed gradually. When I was a
college student in the early 1970s I became
interested in political science along with other
Kurdish youths that were under the influence of
leftist ideologies. It was then that I discovered
that we area distinct nation totally different from
the Turks after I read the history of Kurdistan and
the Kurdish nation. Turkey used to devote university
seats only to Turkish students and forced everyone
to view things from a Turkish perspective. Leader
Ocalan was the first one who broke this theory when
he was a student of political science in Ankara
University in 1971. He once answered his college
professor who was delivering a lecture on the
Turkish state, its borders and origins and on the
ancient history of the Turkish people and telling
his students to be proud of their Turkish heritage
which is the only component of Turkey. Ocalan
shouted out, "No, not only Turks are in Turkey;
there are also Kurds and Kurdistan". His reply was
like a bombshell. It shocked the students who began
to ask how Ocalan dared to say such a thing that may
cause his death. Ocalan, however, insisted on the
presence of Kurds and Kurdistan. Our movement
erupted then and it was originally called a student
movement that stood up against the mercenaries that
were loyal to the Turkish state. They killed many of
our unarmed comrades and attacked us with heavy
weapons although we only had light weapons. When our
people saw this determination by the students they
gradually rallied behind our movement until our
movement forced Turkey to admit the presence of
Kurds in Turkey in the early 1990s. However, Turkey
insisted on annihilating them. After a while, Turkey
began to recognize the Kurdish issue contrary to its
past claims that the issue is only one of terrorism.
Turkey began to accuse our party of being the agents
once of Russia, once of Syria, and once of the Kurds
of Iraq. At present, however, Ankara recognizes the
Kurdish issue. About one week ago, Turkish President
Abdullah Gul admitted that Turkey is suffering from
a specific problem that could be described as the
problem of terrorism or the issue of terrorism. This
is Turkey's main problem. However, he did not dare
admit openly that it is the Kurdish problem. Thus,
in order to pre-empt us, Turkey resorted to
satellite channels in Kurdish. Only four days ago,
it reinstated the original Kurdish names of the
Kurdish villages and townships. These are token
measures that do not solve the Kurdish problem but
mislead the Kurds there to win their support for the
Turkish state and become the mercenaries of the
regime. Turkey would thus claim to the world that it
initiated political reforms in favor of the Kurds.
In other words, this is no more than media
propaganda.
Q: You used to
receive aid from Greece, Syria, Iran, and Armenia.
Are you still receiving this aid?
Karayilan: We
did not receive financial or military aid from Iran
or Greece or Syria or others, with the exception of
some minor assistance such as, for example, allowing
us to stay on Syrian soil or Iranian soil.
Sometimes, the assistance that was extended to us
was on a fraternal basis as was the case under the
late President Hafiz al-Assad who treated Syrian or
Iraqi or Turkish Kurds as brothers. We still
appreciate highly the stands of the late Syrian
President Al-Assad who built a strong and solid
bridge between the Kurdish and Arab nations.
Unfortunately, after his death, some regional forces
and other figures tried to sabotage our relationship
with Syria that changed its policy and began to tilt
toward Turkey. This led to the deterioration of our
relations with Syria. As for Iran, the issue of
PJAK(Party of Free Life in Kurdistan that represents
the Kurds of Iran) to which we are not connected led
to a crisis in our relations with Iran. We are a
regional force in the Middle East that seeks to
educate the world on the identity and cause of the
Kurdish people and enabling them to solve their
problem by themselves by benefiting from the support
of other peoples in the region on the basis of the
principles of fraternity. However, it would be
unacceptable if the countries in the region insist
on confiscating the will of the Kurds and
subjugating them by force. These countries should
understand that the Kurds have their national
identity like all other nations. They should respect
and appreciate the identity of the Kurdish nation,
especially since the Kurds are not trying to
establish an independent Kurdish state either in
Iraq or Turkey or Iran or Syria. He Kurds aspire to
have a free life of dignity like other peoples in
the region. At this point I would like to clarify to
the peoples in the region that the goal of our
movement that is marching along the footsteps of
leader Ocalan is to achieve genuine fraternity with
the peoples of the Middle East.
Q: Do you not
think that it is high time you lay down your arms
and embark on political action?
Karayilan: At
this stage, we are not waging our struggle in the
classical sense. We engaged in armed struggle until
1991 and since then we have resorted to political
struggle as a means to solve our issue. Our forces
-that number between 7,000 and 8,000 fighters - are
fortified on the mountaintops of Kurdistan and are
in a purely defensive mode. They will remain so
until our issue is solved. In other words, they are
a reserve force to guarantee the future and freedom
of the Kurdish people and to defend and protect all
parts of Kurdistan and the achievement of the
Kurdish people. International laws and charters
allow peoples the right to self-defense if subjected
to external attacks. In other words, we are
exercising our legitimate right of self-defense of
our people and homeland. Turkey, however, is seeking
to annihilate us whether we may be. So it is natural
for Turkey to clash with our fighters that are
defending their existence. We in the northern part
of Kurdistan are defendingour language, heritage,
and existence. Before our movement erupted,
Kurdish women were
not able to leave their homes. However, we started
the revolution of women and Kurdish women are now
carrying arms and lying on mountain tops. If the
constitution recognizes the rights of the Kurdish
people, the suspicions surrounding our forces will
disappear. However, we need to stay in order to
safeguard our gains and rights exactly as is the
case in [Iraqi] Kurdistan where the Peshmerga forces
are protecting the achievements of the people and
exercising their right to self-defense. In other
words, it is high time to resolve the Kurdish issue
peacefully and democratically, particularly since
the Kurdish people have demonstrated their will in
the 29 March elections. Turkey should respect this
will.
Q: Do you expect
a Turkish military offensive against you this
summer?
Karayilan: A
Turkish offensive is possible but not certain. The
situation will become clearer next month after the
current debate in Turkish circles on how to deal
with us is finalized.
Q: It is said
that it is the militarists in Turkey that are
refusing to solve your issue peacefully for selfish
reasons and motives. How true is this?
Karayilan: It is
part of the truth; the politicians also are refusing
to solve our issue peacefully. The militarists have
admitted that it is impossible to solve the issue of
the PKK militarily but by recognizing the personal
rights of individuals. So far, however, the
political will in Turkey that can shoulder the
responsibility of solving the internal problems in
the country has not evolved. For instance, Turkish
Prime Minister Erdogan is mediating to solve the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict or mediating between
Syria and Israel. However, he refuses to solve the
Kurdish issue in his own country and refuses to
shake hands with the head of the Kurdish bloc in the
Turkish parliament representing the DTP. He claims
that he is mediating in the Arab-Israeli conflict
and defending the children of Palestine. These are
all false claims. In other words, it is the
politicians in Turkey that are refusing to solve our
problem. They keep referring it to the military so
they would solve it in their own way.
Q: How is
Ocalan's health at present? Do you have any
information in this regard?
Karayilan: As
far as we know, the Turkish authorities allow only
his brothers and sisters to visit him as well as his
attorney. He continues to have health problems and
so far he has not been given the proper medical
treatment. His respiratory system has recently
deteriorated. Moreover, he has been in solitary
confinement for 11 years. He is deprived of his
prisoner's rights as stipulated in Turkish laws,
such as meeting the members of his family every week
and watching television or listening to the radio or
reading newspapers.
Q: Are you still
receiving instructions and directives from Ocalan?
Karayilan: The
Turkish authorities keep claiming that he sends his
instructions and directives to the party. Each time
Ocalan makes a statement he is subjected to
penalties in his cell in prison. He is forced to sit
on a chair without moving for 20 days. The Turkish
authorities use some of his statements as excuses to
punish him. They claim that when Ocalan says the
lack of peace in Turkey would lead to a rise in
violence he is sending a coded message to his
followers that they should continue the fight and
threaten the security of the Turkish state. As for
us, we are proceeding along the path of the leader
that he outlined in more than 100 books that he
authored.
Q: Is it true
that the Turkish planes are using non-conventional
weapons in their raids on Qandil?
Karayilan: We
had suspicions, only suspicions, in the kind of
weapons used in these raids. I personally have not
stated or confirmed that they are non-conventional
rockets or missiles. However, some newspapers and
analysts suspected something after unordinary cases
of deaths among cattle herds. These perished as soon
as they grazed in the regions that were subjected to
the Turkish raids. However, we have not confirmed or
announced that Turkey used chemical weapons in
hitting the Qandil Mountains.
Q: It is said
that there are serious differences between you and
commander Jamil Bayek. What is your comment on this?
Karayilan: These
are Turkish intelligence claims that seek in vain to
convince public opinion that there are such
differences in the PKK leadership. The Turkish press
also claimed similar differences between me and
comrade Bahoz Erdal. Later, these claims disappeared
and were replaced by others that there are
differences between me and comrade Bayek. I confirm
that these claims are false and I firmly stress that
there are no such differences among us.
Q: If Ankara
were to offer the release of Ocalan in return for
throwing down your arms, would you accept the offer?
Karayilan:
Turkey is not ready to release Ocalan nor are we
ready to throw down our arms. This is an issue
called "The Kurdish Issue" that should be solved
first before we put down our guns. In other words,
the release of Ocalan only is not enough. Such a
release should be accompanied with a radical
solution of the problem.
[Aziz] What kind of relationship do you have with
the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK) that is
opposed to Iran? Is it the Iranian wing of your
party, as is being said?
Q: Absolutely
no; it is not a wing of our party. For instance,
there is an Iraqi communist party and a Turkish
communist party. Both have Marxist-Leninist
ideologies. However, each one is responsible for its
activities; in other words, they are brother parties
but each struggles in its own arena. The same
situation applies to the PKK and PJAK. PKK is headed
by Ocalan and PJAK is struggling in the eastern part
of Kurdistan under the leadership of Ocalan. These
are its ideas; should we prevent it from having such
ideas? This party asked for help and we responded to
its request. We have a strong relationship with it
and we strongly support it as we have said
repeatedly. However, we are two different and
totally separate parties. Iran, however, claims that
PJAK is a wing of the PKK and deliberately ignores
the facts that present conditions in the eastern
part of Kurdistan led to the emergence of this
party. Recently, when the fighting intensified
between the PJAK fighters and the Iranian forces, we
proclaimed that we do not support the escalation of
the fighting and the deterioration of the situation
between the two sides. We asked them to solve the
issue through dialogue and to stop the fighting
immediately. PJAK responded to our request but Iran
has not responded officially. However, we think that
Iran as well has stopped the fighting. Our views on
this issue are that the Kurdish people in Iran
should enjoy their freedom and legitimate rights.
They should be allowed to wage their political
struggle freely. We believe that Iran does not have
the right to kill the Kurds by using arms against
them. We hope that PJAK and Iran would tilt renounce
violence and tilt toward dialogue and peace.
Q: Ramzi Kartal
[one of the founders of the PKK] is under house
arrest in Spain and Turkey is asking for his
extradition under the excuse that he is a member of
your party. What is your response?
Karayilan:
Kartal is not a member of the PKK but a deputy in
the Turkish parliament representing the Kurdish
people. He left Turkey carrying a passport that
identified him as a deputy in the parliament. He is
a specialist physician and a well known figure on
the local and international levels. Turkish
accusations of Kurdish figures that they practice
terrorism are always ready in order to distort the
image of the Kurds and of Kurdish diplomacy in the
world. Ankara has put the names of all the Kurdish
diplomatic figures in Europe on a list of wanted
people by the international police. This list
includes Ramzi Kartal who is under house arrest
until he is tried. In other words, the decision to
detain him is a political one, not a judicial one.
There are political motives behind this decision.
This is particularly true since there are European
countries that do not want a peaceful and final
solution to the Kurdish problem in Turkey so they
would not be forced to accept Turkey as a member in
the European Union. That is why these countries are
trying to ignite the struggle between the Kurds and
Turkey so that democracy would disappear in the
country and Turkey would thus lose the
qualifications needed to become a member of the
European Union. These European countries are very
shrewd. They know that Turkey will never be able to
crush the Kurds militarily. This is particularly
true since the states that divided the land of
Kurdistan into four parts in the Lausanne agreement
of 1921 wanted to turn the Kurdish issue into a
chronic disease afflicting the region. Moreover,www.ekurd.net
Israel does not want a
resolution to the Kurdish issue so that the struggle
would continue among the Kurds, Turks, and Arabs.
Israel wants to keep Turkey in need of it and of its
advanced technology and to keep the Arab countries
weak. In other words, Spain's stand on this issue
serves only war and it is a rejected stand.
Q: It is said
that the Turkish president concluded a secret
agreement against you with Iraq during his recent
trip to Baghdad. What is your information in this
regard?
Karayilan: We do
not have confirmed information in this regard. All
we know is what the press reported on this subject.
However, if the two sides wish to solve our problem,
let them offer a political plan. However, if the
policy of the current Turkish state wants to use
annihilation and slaughter of the Kurds as a basis
for its dealing with the Kurdish issue, the outcome
will not be good at all. We are present on the land
of Kurdistan. We are not the kind of forces that can
be besieged or the noose tightened around us through
an agreement between two countries or more.
Moreover, our fighters are in a much better state
than they were in the past. They can resist for
another 10 years while relying on their current
resources. Thus attempts to crush and destroy us
militarily will never succeed and will be futile.
Q: Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani gave you the choice between
leaving or laying down your arms. Were his
statements serious or were they only for media
consumption?
Karayilan:
President Talabani recently stated in Irbil that his
statements in this regard were distorted and that he
did not say so. This is the basis for us.
Q: In his recent
visit to Ankara, President Talabani said that the
formation of an independent Kurdish state will
remain a dream that is hard to realize. What is your
comment?
Karayilan:
Ideologically, the PKK does not demand the
establishment of an independent Kurdish state. A
state should be accompanied with guarantees of
freedom to everyone and should be established on a
modern basis; namely, the democratic confederation
system. However, it is not right to say that the
Kurds will never enjoy having a state and that they
will take this dream to the grave. The dream may
perhaps be realized. However, in the midst of
current circumstances and conditions, none of the
Kurdish leaders are calling for an independent
Kurdish state.
Q: Turkey is
accusing Talabani's party and Barzani's party of
providing you with logistic support. How true are
these accusations?
Karayilan: These
are mere groundless Turkish accusations. Turkey
thinks that an improvement on the situation of the
Kurds in Iraqi Kurdistan would prevent the Kurds in
Turkey from surrendering. When its forces were
subjected to a fatal blow in their attack against us
in February 2008 in the region of Al-Zab [River],
Ankara realized that it could not put more pressure
on southern Kurdistan. Therefore, it decided to
change its policy but deep inside, it still wants to
destroy us first and then destroy Kurdistan.
Q: Did the
current Kurdish leaders have a role in Ocalan's
arrest?
Karayilan: We do
not claim that Ocalan was arrested with the
collusion of some Kurdish politicians. We are saying
that there was some sort of agreement then to arrest
Ocalan in which some Kurds played a role. However,
we have no proof about the nature of this role.
Q: What is
Turkey's role in the issue of obstructing a solution
to the issue of Kirkuk?
Karayilan: It
has an essential and active role. Had it not been
for Turkey, the issue of Kirkuk would have been
solved in 2004 or 2005.However, Ankara is using all
its weight on this issue and the United States
believes that a solution of this issue would make
Turkey take a negative stand. In other words,
Turkish policy has been 100 percent behind the lack
of a solution to this issue.
Q: Had Saddam
and his huge army of the 1980s been present now,
would he have supported you against Turkey or the
opposite?
Karayilan:
Saddam was present in the past and he did not give
us any support. In fact, he signed a security accord
with Turkey that allowed the Turkish forces to
penetrate Iraqi territory at a depth of 20kilometers
[approximately 12 miles] to launch military
operations against us whenever they wished. This
agreement is still in effect.
Q: How do you
see the future of Turkish-Iraqi relations?
Karayilan: At
present, the United States intends to withdraw its
forces from Iraq and it is thinking of finding an
alternative to on the Iraqi arena. Meanwhile, Iran
is in the arena in practice. That is why Washington
wants Turkey to have an active political role in
Iraq. That is why we see that with US blessings,
Turkey is establishing relations with the Sunni
leaders and even with the Al-Sadr Trend, the arch
enemies of the US presence in Iraq. The United
States wants to pave the way for Turkey to replace
Iran in future Iraq. In other words, the United
States is seeking to strengthen the Turkish-Iraqi
relationship. But the problem is the Kurdish issue,
particularly since the government of the district of
Kurdistan constitutes the most powerful factor in
Iraq and the most basic in safeguarding the unity
and stability of Iraq. That is why Washington is
seeking to improve the relations between the
district of Kurdistan and Turkey that continues to
refuse to recognize the government of Kurdistan.
Briefly, if Turkey does not hasten to solve its
Kurdish issue, its role in future Iraq will face
real difficulties.
Q: If Iraq were
to allow you to establish camps in the center of the
country - like the followers of Mojahed-e Khalq -
would you accept the offer?
Karayilan: We do
not need camps or bases. Our forces were not created
to establish camps; they are active forces. Camps
are established for those with families. Moreover,
we are not on foreign ground to establish camps.
Q: Is the ban
imposed on you by the government of the district of
Kurdistan still in force?
Karayilan: It
is, as you yourself noticed. But what is more
important is that the Kurds should learn to become
masters in expressing their policies. We should not
establish internal borders in the homeland of the
Kurds. If in the next few years progress is made on
the Kurdish problem in Turkey, the dangers
threatening southern Kurdistan and the government of
the district of Kurdistan will disappear. However,
if Turkey and the countries that are sharing
Kurdistan deliberately deal a fatal blow to us, the
suspicions will become stronger that these states
will be likely to tighten the noose on the
government of Kurdistan and subjugate the whole
Kurdish nation. Therefore, I believe that the coming
stage will be historic and very critical. The Kurds
in all parts of Kurdistan should understand well the
truth that all of Kurdistan constitutes one
homeland.
Q: It is said
that the government of the district of Kurdistan is
using you as a pressure card against Turkey to force
it to recognize the government of the district. What
is your comment?
Karayilan: Our
policy in the region is clear. Turkey has not yet
officially recognized the government of the
Kurdistan district despite the limited relations
between the two sides. Ankara refuses to recognize
this government but is allowing the two major
parties in the district to open representative
offices in Turkey.
Q: If the
Peshmerga forces were to attack you in order to
evict you from Qandil, how would you respond?
Karayilan: First
of all, I would like to emphasize that all the
Kurdish forces have repeatedly asserted that they
have turned the page of Kurdish-Kurdish infighting
for good and that they would absolutely not shed
Kurdish blood.
Q: Do you not
think that your armed activities against Turkey that
proceed from the territory of the district of
Kurdistan may reflect adversely on the government
and people of the Kurdistan?
Karayilan: Had
it not been for our presence here in Qandil, Turkey
would not have permitted the establishment of the
government of the district of Kurdistan.
Furthermore, all our military activities are purely
defensive to protect the dignity of the Kurdish
people. Our activities are not offensive at all and
they have greatly contributed to strengthening the
stands of all the Kurdish political leaders. For
instance, between 1999 and 2004, not one bullet
was fired in the
northern part of Kurdistan. But Turkey is now
interfering in the affairs of the government of the
district. It is seeking to contain it and belittle
it and it refuses to receive any of its officials.
After we resumed our operations, Turkey was forced
to improve and normalize its relations with the
district. This is the best evidence that armed
struggle in northern Kurdistan strengthened the
stands of the government of Kurdistan and the stands
of all the Kurds in all the parts of Kurdistan.
Similarly, the victory of the DTP in the recent
elections strengthened our stands and those of the
government of Kurdistan.
Q: Do you expect
a radical change on the policies, stands, and
conditions in the district of Kurdistan after the
upcoming parliamentary elections?
Karayilan: We
hope that the change would be in the direction of
consolidating democracy in the district and the
success of the democratic experiment in the region.
We hope that the Kurds in this part of Kurdistan
would have more stability and that the sovereignty
of the law and human rights would prevail so that
the democratic Kurdish experiment would have a
broader impact in the Middle East.
Q: Will you
participate in the expanded pan-Kurdish conference
that is to be held in Irbil soon?
Karayilan: A
date has not yet been set for the conference that
aims at bringing about unity among the Kurds and
consolidating peace in the region. It is primarily
focused on the Kurdish issue in northern Kurdistan
(Turkey). When we are officially informed, we will
participate. The Kurdish issue is now passing
through a historic phase. We hope that the
conference would contribute to creating a new
climate and a better groundwork for action. We hope
that this conference would focus on two basic tasks:
The first is the consolidation of brotherhood and
unity among all the Kurds and the second is to
strengthen the relations between the Kurds and the
neighboring peoples and deepen the brotherhood and
amity among the peoples of the Middle East. We do
not want the conference to focus on antagonizing the
neighboring countries but on discussing how to solve
the Kurdish dilemma peacefully with the neighboring
countries. It is essential for the representatives
of these neighboring countries to participate in
this conference in order to achieve peace in the
Middle East.
Copyright, respective author or news agency, aawsat
com
*
Over 44,000 Turkish soldiers and Kurdish PKK
guerrillas have been killed since 1984 when the Turkey's
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
took up arms for self-rule in the mainly
Kurdish southeast of Turkey (Turkey-Kurdistan). A large Turkey's
Kurdish community openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK rebels.
Turkey refuses to recognize its Kurdish population
as a distinct minority.
The PKK demanded Turkey's recognition of the Kurds'
identity in its constitution and of their language
as a native language along with Turkish in the
country's Kurdish areas, the party also demanded
an end to ethnic discrimination in Turkish laws and
constitution against Kurds, ranting them full
political freedoms.
The PKK is considered a 'terrorist' organization by
Ankara, U.S., the PKK continues to be on the
blacklist list in EU despite court ruling which
overturned a decision
to place the Kurdish rebel
group PKK and its political wing on
the European Union's terror list.
Turkey refuses to recognize its Kurdish population
as a distinct minority. It has allowed some cultural
rights such as limited broadcasts in the Kurdish
language and private Kurdish language courses with
the prodding of the European Union, but Kurdish politicians
say the measures fall short of their expectations.
** Kurds are not recognized as an official minority
in Turkey and are denied rights granted to other
minority groups. Under EU pressure, Turkey recently
granted Kurds limited rights for broadcasts and
education in the Kurdish language, but critics say
the measures do not go far enough.
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan" Southeast
Turkey.
Others estimate over 40 million Kurds live in Big
Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey.
Turkey is home to 25 million ethnic Kurds, a large
Turkey's Kurdish community openly sympathise with
the Kurdish PKK for a Kurdish homeland in the
country's mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey.
Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed
severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish language,
prohibiting the language in education and broadcast
media. The Kurdish alphabet is still not recognized
in Turkey, and use of the Kurdish letters X, W, Q
which do not exist in the Turkish alphabet has led
to judicial persecution in 2000 and 2003
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan
but unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag
is banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it
is a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey)
wikipedia
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