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The US does not see the natural rights of
Kurds and calls it terrorism!: PKK Leader
25.1.2012 |
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Murat Karayilan is the acting commander of the
Turkey Kurdistan Workers' Party (Partiya Karkeren
Kurdistan - PKK) and chairman of the executive
council of the Kurdish Democratic Confederation .
Photo: Rudaw
America is unfair toward us. Kurds are not entitled
to less than what Turks, Arabs and Persians are
entitled to, PKK leader Murat Karayilan says
January
25, 2012
QANDIL MOUNTAINS, Turkey-Iraqi Kurdistan
frontier, — In the second of
a two-part interview with Rudaw.net, Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) leader Murat Karayilan said
Kurds in Turkey have the right to hold a referendum
to decide whether Kurdish areas in Turkey gain
autonomy. Karayilan criticized the United States and
Europe for supporting Turkey’s war against the
Kurds, maintaining that the Kurds have not been
recognized for their role in helping the US bring
democracy to Iraq.
Q: Layla Zana, a
Kurdish MP in the Turkish Parliament, told Rudaw in
a recent interview that the solution to the Kurdish
issue lies in either federalism or a referendum in
which the people will decide what they want. All of
the parties in Turkey, especially the Republican
People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement
Party (MHP) were angry with what she said. But you
supported Zana’s statements. Does that mean your
group is moving toward a federal solution or
referendum for the Kurdish issue in Turkey?
Murat Karayilan:
We do not see a fundamental difference between
federalism and autonomy. The thing is that the
Turkish state should understand that the era of
running a nation-state in a centralized manner is
over. Federal systems are now springing up all over
the world. Kurds see that as a window to a solution.
We as Kurds do not need to stick to one plan to the
end and abide by Turkey. Because Turkey is applying
so much pressure on us and doesn’t accept us, we
have to look for other options. Of course, a
referendum is a democratic mechanism. Most Kurds are
not with them (the ruling Justice and Development
Party-AKP). If the majority of Kurds are with them,
then let them have a referendum.
We consider Ms. Zana’s remarks in Rudaw appropriate.
Freedom and democracy are the rights of Kurds and
all rights are legitimate for Kurds as they are for
other peoples. Kurds have the right to everything
including establishing a state. Kurds are not
entitled to less than what Turks, Arabs and Persians
are entitled to. Therefore, states that have
occupied Kurdistan need to accept the projects
proposed by Kurds or we should have a referendum.
Q: There hasn’t
been any news from the (jailed) PKK leader Abdulla
Ocalan for months. What is the reason behind his
lengthy isolation by Turkey?
Murat Karayilan:
The Turkish state has been imposing a severe
isolation on our leader for nearly six months. That
is psychological torture aimed at imposing new
punishments on him. In other words, it’s a prison
within a prison. The isolation and pressures applied
on him aren’t even in the Turkish laws and are
against the universal declaration of human rights.
Prisoners have the right to meet their relatives and
attorneys and by not allowing that, the Turkish
state is clearly and officially violating
international and domestic laws.
What does the Turkish state want? It wants
submission (by Ocalan) and to force him to step
backwards. It wants President Apo (Ocalan) to back
down from his positions… (Ocalan) is resisting. He
said a while ago that “I will never allow the will
of the Kurdish people to be treaded upon.” In that
regard, there is a tremendous resistance on the part
of Ocalan toward the AKP’s persecution.
Their major goal is undermining the Kurdish
revolution and Kurds and imprisoning them. The
situation in North (Turkish) Kurdistan is very
abnormal today. There is not such a degree of
oppression even in the military regimes… Innocent
people are imprisoned or killed in broad daylight
without any reason. If this is not oppression, then
what else do you call this? And the greatest
persecution is taking place in Imrali (prison where
Ocala is held). But we, in Imrali, in the streets
and mountains of Kurdistan, are not going to bow our
heads in the face of this persecution. We are
resisting and will succeed.
Q: Several
people such as Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Deputy Chief
Nechervan Barzani have said several times that the
right solution lies in talking to the PKK and Ocalan.
Do you think Turkey understands that it can no
longer ignore the PKK and Ocalan?
Murat Karayilan:
It’s true that many parties have talked about how a
solution can be brought about, especially the
remarks made by Mr. Nechirvan Barzani in the media
that the solution will come through Ocalan and the
PKK. That is the truth and is a meaningful point.
The Kurdish issue will be only resolved in that way.
The Turkish state has been trying for a while to
meet different people and seek a solution through
them. But they could not achieve that. If they want
peace, then the road to it is quite clear. When will
the Turkish state accept that? Only when it will
realize that extermination is impossible.
There is now a multi-faceted attack under way. If
those attacks will not produce results, then they
will have to end the isolation (of Ocalan), see the
reality and accept it.
Bowing and weakness will embolden the government and
the issue will never be resolved that way. But
through resistance our people will succeed and get
stronger and then they (Turkish state) will have to
see the reality and accept it.
Q: What do you
think the US and Europe need to do to realize a
peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue in Turkey?
Murat Karayilan:
The fact of the matter is that the original source
of the Kurdish problem is the west, that is to say
the US and Europe. So far, neither the US nor Europe
– which talk a lot—have had any serious policy to
resolve the Kurdish issue. The noteworthy thing is
that they support the violent policies of the
Turkish state to eliminate the liberation movement.
Our movement demands the natural rights of Kurds and
not terrorism. We demand the right to language,www.ekurd.net
cultural and political rights. We are a nation too.
We want to resolve the issue through political and
peaceful means. But the state attempts to
exterminate us through warfare. We need to resist
and protect ourselves in the face of those attacks.
Self-defense is a legitimate right and we will
resists to protect our honor and dignity. We are not
terrorists. It is the Turkish state that resorts to
terrorism against us. Isn’t the killing of 35 people
in Roboske (village) an act of terror? Isn’t killing
two persons on the streets of Diyarbakir terrorism?
The Turkish state is using terrorism against Kurds
and the US and Europe support it. What can those
states do toward the solution of the Kurdish issue?
The solution is really in their hands. If they don’t
support Turkey, then Turkey will have to accept the
solution. If the US doesn’t support Turkey, then
Turkey cannot fight against us. Turkey is fighting
us with American technology and intelligence. It is
adopting those chauvinistic and harsh policies due
to the support from the US. Those countries need to
not fool Kurds anymore.
For instance, the US entered Iraq and Kurds
supported it. If the Iraqi Kurds had not directly
taken part in the war, the US could not have toppled
Saddam’s regime. We Kurds supported the US in order
to bring about stability in Iraq. Then, did the US
resolve the Kurdish issue in Iraq? They left. Did
they resolve the issue of Kirkuk? Oil and other
issue? No. This is the US stance toward South
(Iraqi) Kurdistan. With regard to North (Turkey’s)
Kurdistan, the US does not see the natural rights of
Kurds and calls it terrorism! So they are being
unfair toward us.
They created that problem with the Treaty of
Lausanne. The US may have not had a role in it back
then, but Europe did. Today they need to resolve the
issue... We say the US and Europe need to give up
their current policies and not support the killing
of the Kurds and Turkey’s state terrorism against
Kurds. Enough is enough... They should show some
compassion and not look at everything through the
prism of their political and economic interests.
They say, “Turkey is with us against Iran and we are
with Turkey.” Turkey says, “My condition is you
should support me in terms of the Kurdish issue.”
And they accept it too. In other words, they
sacrifice Kurds for their political and economic
interests.
If they (the US and Europe) talk so much about
freedom and democracy, they should know that Kurds
also need some of that freedom and democracy. That
is the truth. If those states make up their mind to
resolve the Kurdish issue, it will be resolved
within six months. And if it has not been resolved
so far, the reason is because they support the
Turkish state. And that emboldens Turkey to not
accept a peaceful and political solution.
Q: Iraq’s
political situation is deteriorating. How do you see
the Kurdish opposition’s rejection to talk to the
ruling parties in the Kurdistan Region?
Murat Karayilan:
It’s a very important juncture in South (Iraqi)
Kurdistan and in all parts of Kurdistan in general.
The current incidents in Iraq show a deterioration
indeed. When one looks at it, he reaches the
conclusion that the Kurdish position should be
united. I believe the interests of Kurds in South
Kurdistan and in all Kurdistan need unity. But the
opposition also has its own say. There needs to be
dialogue over a solution between the opposition and
the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The
government needs to fulfill its obligations. We
don’t want to be a party to this but deem it
necessary for all parties to have a united position.
We hope both sides understand each other. Each party
needs to take positive steps so that they can gather
on the same table with a united platform. The way we
see it is that the problems are not caused by only
one side.
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author or news agency,
rudaw.net
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