Peace in Kurdistan Campaign



TURKISH ARMY ATTACKS ON

SOUTH KURDISTAN

Information file

September 2011

KURDISTAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (KNK) UK

e-mail: knklondon@gn. tel 020 7272 4131

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION: ON THE CURRENT TURKISH MILITARY ATTACKS ON KURDISTAN, WHICH CONTRAVENE INTERNATIONAL LAW

2. A DANGEROUS CONCEPT: A 'TAMIL SOLUTION' TO THE KURDISH QUESTION Statement by the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK)

3. NEWS ON TURKISH ARMY BOMBING RAIDS

4. NO CONFLICT CAN BE RESOLVED THROUGH VIOLENCE Statement by KCK

5. NEWS ON MASS RESISTANCE AGAINST TURKISH ARMY OPERATIONS AND PROTESTS BY “HUMAN SHIELDS” GROUPS

6. RAMADAN LAST DAY SHOULD BE DAY OF PEACE, SAY INTELLECTUALS Seven intellectuals including Rakel Dink, Orhan Pamuk and Serif Mardin published peace message for Ramadan, 27 August 2011

7. RENEWED COMPLETE ISOLATION IS UNACCEPTABLE Statement by the International Initiative – Freedom for Ocalan – Peace in Kurdistan

8. LEYLA ZANA LETTER TO OBAMA

9. THE DEMOCRATIC OPENING AND ILLUSION OF ADVANCED DEMOCRACY IN TURKEY By Muharrem Erbey, president of the Diyarbakır chapter of the Human Rights Association of Turkey, writing from Diyarbakir prison

10. STOP THE ATTACKS BY THE IRANIAN GOVERNMENT ON SOUTH KURDISTAN, Statement by YEK-KOM

11. TURKEY/IRAQ: INVESTIGATION NEEDED INTO KILLING OF CIVILIANS IN THE KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ Amnesty International Public Statement, 26 August 2011

12. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH SLAMS TURKEY, IRAN ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS IN IRAQI KURDISTAN

13. CHOMSKY: NEGOTIATION AND DIALOGUE ONLY SOLUTION TO CONFLICT, ANF News

14. ABDULLAH ÖCALAN - THE ROAD MAP

To Democratization of Turkey and Solution to the Kurdish Question –Excerpt of Summary

INTRODUCTION

ON THE CURRENT TURKISH MILITARY ATTACKS ON KURDISTAN, WHICH CONTRAVENE INTERNATIONAL LAW

Despite our expectations for an emerging breakthrough towards a real dialogue, it has become all too clear in the past few weeks that the Erdogan government is seeking a military ‘solution’ to the Kurdish problem. Some time ago government sources announced that, with regards to the freedom of movement of Kurds, a solution akin to the one carried out against the Tamil rebels was both conceivable and advisable. With the use of new, complex technology, Special Forces and a massive expansion of military facilities, the Kurdish guerrillas are to be wiped out. The police, who are under the control of the AKP administration, and the judiciary system, now heavily influenced by the party, are to reinforce this strategy through the widely conceived repression of Kurdish civil structures. In doing so, up until now more than 3500 Kurdish journalists, human rights activists, grassroots activists, mayors and politicians have been arrested and incarcerated on the grounds of the so-called KCK-procedure. In addition, the enormous vote rigging in the 2011 Parliamentary elections carried out on the part of the governing party, AKP, supported by the police, the military and the internment of six elected Kurdish deputies, has led to the conclusion that a political solution is no longer possible; in its place, the way has been paved for the government to introduce new military action.

The Kurdish people want peace, freedom and a democratic solution in all four parts of Kurdistan. On every level, the Kurdish freedom movement has promoted such a policy for years. As a result, in Turkey, for example, work in both local councils and in Parliament has made worthwhile steps towards a democratisation and stabilisation of the country, as well as improving the living conditions of the population and the emancipation of women. In this way, the proclamation of autonomous democracy on 14 July represented an important further step. Through autonomous democracy the Kurdish people want to achieve a long fought-for political reform for the devolution of power in Turkey, which has long been centrally-controlled, into regional administrative centres. The creation of grassroots-democratic, self-administrating councils is the focal point of the policy. These proposals, just like other Kurdish proposals, were, for the most part, ignored by the international community.

Contrary to the endeavours of the Kurdish Freedom Movement to find a peaceful solution to the Turkish-Kurdish conflict, the Turkish army, without interruption, and with increased vigour ever since the Parliamentary elections, have carried out military operations against the Kurdish guerrilla forces, and, in doing so, have gone so far as to use chemical weapons. At the same time, strong, repressive policies have been introduced against the civil institutions of the Kurdish movement, backed up by the police and the judiciary system. As a result of these attacks, the continuation of this one-sided ceasefire was no longer viable for the guerrilla forces. Therefore they resorted to retaliatory attacks and self-defence. On the 17 August 2011, as a result of a skirmish between the Turkish military and Kurdish guerrilla forces near the Kurdish city of Colemerg, 15 soldiers died. Amongst the soldiers were three high-ranking officers, several members of command units and also a paramilitary village-guard.

The military operations of the Turkish government continue to be portrayed in the European and Turkish media as reprisals for guerrilla attacks. That is, however, a conscious misreading of the reality because it is clear for all to see that the aggression is coming from the side of the state. Also, from the viewpoint of international law, it is fully justified to put up resistance against long-term oppression, such as serious abuse of human rights, illegal executions and proven war crimes. This is the long-term political and military context in which the new plans for war have been prepared. It could be judged that the AKP reaction was provoked because, amongst other reasons, they were not able to break the supremacy of the Kurdish movement in the Kurdish provinces of Turkey through democratic and constitutional means. They aim to therefore achieve it through an increase of cooperation between the government and the national security council, which was re-staffed with, amongst others, the known war criminal Necdet Ozel as general chief of staff, as well as a militarisation of Kurdish territory, diplomatic efforts from the Turkish government and last, but not least, Prime Minister Erdogan’s public declaration of his intention to exterminate the Kurdish movement.

As a part of the new military offensive, for over a week the Turkish air force has begun to continuously attack and bombard Medya defence strongholds (ie the area under control of the PKK in South Kurdistan/Northern Iraq). Here, it is predominantly civilian targets that are being hit. As a result of the air raids 7 civilians were killed on 21st August. In addition, so far seven villages in Southern Kurdistan have been evacuated. Targeted attacks on the civilian population are forbidden in accordance with human rights regulations and martial law. The Iraqi central government made the decision to support the Turkish government in the ‘depopulation’ of the Qandil area and the surrounding region. Therefore a further 170 villages in and around the Qandil region are to be evacuated.

We are convinced that Turkey would not be able to continue to implement such a war on the Kurdish people in the face of pressure from the international community.

In this respect, we ask the international community:

To protest against the bombing and attacks on Southern Kurdistan carried out by the Turkish government and to protest for an end to the border-infringing operations, which are against international law.

To exert pressure on the AKP government and Turkey in order to pave the way for a democratic and political solution to the problem instead of reverting to military action.

To use entirely diplomatic and judicial means, in order to clear the way for a dialogue and peaceful solution.

A DANGEROUS CONCEPT: A 'TAMIL SOLUTION' TO THE KURDISH QUESTION

Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) statement, 18 August 2011

Since yesterday, 17 August, Turkish aircraft have been bombing the border region in south Kurdistan (northern Iraq). According to first reports, civilian settlements have been hit. Turkey has already attacked this area numerous times under the pretence of trying to destroy PKK defence forces.

The Turkish government lead by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been preparing for a war for quite some time. Although the AKP had promised to develop a new democratic constitution as the first act of the new government at the national election on 12 June, Turkey has now implemented border-crossing military operations and prepares itself for a broad political operation against the Kurds in Turkey. Political, judicial and security forces, and above all the press have been laying the foundations for weeks for such a war of extermination. The Turkish president has made clear at every opportunity that no one should expect any goodwill. He maintains that we are at the point where words no longer have any meaning and that Turkey will go ahead with a new strategy and new methods against the PKK, as well as against those who do not distance themselves from the PKK. It is extremely dangerous that a head of state is threatening such action in public.

As well as this stirring up of the public against the Kurdish nation, the Turkish media are debating a 'Tamil solution' to the Kurdish problem. A 'Tamil solution' means a military solution with thousands of deaths.

These border-crossing attacks are part of an general policy. It is well known that since the 16 July the Iranian military have also conducted border-crossing military operations in southern Kurdistan. It was clear that Iran did not begin their occupation completely independently of Turkey. It was also expected that gradually the Turkish military would actively participate. The goal being to take over South Kurdistan. Both Turkey and Iran see the existence of a Kurdish regional government as a threat and both want to bring the area under their control. Therefore the efforts of Kurdish organisations and the national congress of Kurdistan towards independence can be countered in advance by them. It is also no secret that Turkey is trying everything to incorporate the south Kurdish forces. Thus the Kurdish guerrilla would be simultaneously attacked on three fronts, and would be trapped and destroyed. Turkey is sure of the support of the international community. Iran's military offensive has already been condoned.

It is also a matter of concern that, on the prison island Imrali, the attacks against the Kurdish representative, Abdullah Ocalan, have intensified once again. Since the 27th July his lawyer has been refused entry to the island for arbitrary reasons. A few days ago four of Ocalans' lawyers were revoked of their permission to practice law. Kurds explain again and again that the approach towards its representatives is the same as the approach towards the Kurdish question.

The AKP government block all paths to a political solution. Due to the revocation of parliamentary mandates and due to arrests, the BDP have been pushed out of Parliament. The DTK have been criminalised and threatened with tough sanctions. The ongoing dialogue with Abdullah Ocalan has been used as a stalling tactic.

Turkey is playing with fire. It is playing with the future of a region as well as with the chance of a peaceful coexistence between Turkish and Kurdish nations.

We call upon the international community, above all the EU, to employ measures against the border-crossing military operations of Turkey, as they represent unambiguously a breach of human rights. The solution to the Kurdish question should not be through military measures, rather approached within the framework of a democratic constitution through democratic means.

NEWS ON TURKISH ARMY BOMBING RAIDS

Turkey descent into chaos

The Turkish Air Force bombed heavily on Wednesday and Thursday regions under the control of the Kurdistan Workers' Party in northern Iraq, causing extensive damage to the villages. Hours before the attack, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had openly threatened the Kurdish political and armed organizations, announcing his war plan that includes cross-border operations and mass arrests of Kurdish militants, according to Kurdish and Turkish media.

Ignoring the daily repression and gross violations of human rights, Erdogan systematically points the finger at the Kurdish party BDP and the Congress for a Democratic Society (DTK), a platform for Kurdish associations and movements, which recently proclaimed the democratic autonomy. According to the BDP, the government plans a massive operation against the DTK, while the media close to the government speak of a Tamil scenario.

Three days before the bombing, August 14, the Prime Minister announced that his government was considering military action and tougher enforcement against the PKK with the end of Ramadan. According to Turkish media, among these measures shall include cross-border operations and sending in the combat zones of special forces, known for their practice room in the War of the 1990s. The plan of the war also include the arrest of 800 to 1400 people, and some members of the DTK Kurdish journalists, the paper Haberturk. This plan recalls the time of Tansu Ciller, former prime minister between 1993 and 1996. Making use of secret funds to finance a secret organization, had compiled a blacklist of Kurdish businessmen to cut down on suspicion of financing the PKK. In 1994, the offices of the Kurdish newspaper, Ozgur Ulke had been bombed on the orders of the Prime Minister.

For his part, Murat Karayilan, the lead PKK announced in an interview granted to the Kurdish Firat news agency that the AKP government is planning assassinations against leaders of the PKK in Iraqi Kurdistan. "Elements of Special Forces were sent to Rania, in Sulaimaniya province. But we are not afraid and they will not work." Stressing that the Kurds are no longer afraid of the threats of the government, he warned: "The Prime Minister should know that we have mobilized only 5% of our forces. We are conducting a war of defense under control. If we give the formal order of war (total), they disrupt Turkey. " Recalling the eight cease-fire the PKK unilaterally rejected by the Turkish state, Karayilan said that the only way to silence the weapons is a cease-fire bilaterally.

Today, about 70 journalists, mostly Kurds, are in prison, making it the country's biggest prison for journalists. Hundreds of newspapers, magazines or books were banned by the authorities. 73 Kurdish children were killed by security forces since 2002, according to the initiative "Bir Göz Sen Ol 'who published the names of 477 Kurdish children killed in the last 20 years. More than 4000 active members of the BDP, including mayors, elected officials, trade unionists and defenders of human rights have been behind bars since 2009, as part of the case KCK, the Union of Kurdistan (KCK), an organization accused of "terrorism" and "complicity" with the PKK. Those who advocate for the Kurdish cause are likely to be arrested in connection with this case, viewed as a political plot by the Kurdish organizations.

Mass arrests are reminiscent of the 1990s and are comparable to the time Ciller. According to statistics compiled from reports on the situation of human rights, 21 612 people were arrentées in 2002 against 14,473 in 1994. In 2007, the beginning of second term of Erdogan, 7191 people were arrested and 16 000 arrests were made in 2010. A report from the Association of Human Rights (IHD) indicates that 4015 people were arrested during the first half of 2011, in the Kurdish region only, against 2,430 during the same period of 2010. The report found 16,482 violations of human rights in the first six months of this year, against 13,219 cases in 2010. The same report also noted 1010 cases of torture and ill-treatment to six months in the Kurdish region, against 433 in 2010. So, if Turkey is an "advanced democracy", as claimed by Erdogan and media, how to explain these figures? Can we speak of "respect", of "zero tolerance to torture", "democracy" or "political civil"? If this is the advanced democracy, how to define new measures of war announced by the government? Finally, how to define an Erdogan who intends to "pay" for the Kurdish politicians? As Saddam Hussein? Milosevic? and his dear friend Omar al-Bashir?

PKK areas extend for hundreds of miles between Turkey, Iran and Iraq, covering seven areas: Qandil, Metin, Zap, Xakurke, Xinere, Haftanin and Zagros. The guerrillas have no fixed camps, and most of PKK fighters are inside the Turkish border. The Secretary General of the Ministry of Peshmerga has warned that the Kurdish government undertakes to exercise its right of self-defense in case of attack against the Kurdish region. "As a Kurdish government, we consider these attacks as a violation of the rights of our citizens. We believe that this problem will never be solved by airstrikes and artillery. This is a political problem and ultimately it will be resolved through dialogue, according to the federal government of Kurdistan. "

The Kurds of Turkey will form Saturday, 20 August a human shield against the bombing, organizing a march to the border of the autonomous region of Kurdistan. This is the fourth human shield action since 2004. The march will begin Saturday in Hakkari and Sirnak, two border towns.

Moreover, the Iranian army deployed reinforcements on the border with Iraq, Kurdish sources said. July 16, the Iranian regime had launched a major operation in coordination with Turkey along the border under the pretext of fighting the PJAK, the Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan, a Kurdish political and military organization that calls for autonomy a democratic confederal system. Heavy fighting took place for about three weeks that have resulted in the death of such three generals and seven high-ranking military officials in the ranks of the Iranian army. PJAK claimed to have killed over 250 soldiers, rejecting all attempts to cross the Iranian border in the region of Qandil.

20 August 2011

Maxime Azadi – ANF (Excerpts)

Attacks by Turkish army start fire in villages in Kurdistan

The bombings of Turkish warplanes in Kandil have once more targeted civilians. While Turkish army has reported that 352 targets were hit in two nights, fires were started in the crop fields of villagers. Local sources have reported that the bombing in Kandil which started this morning and hit the Kozine village in particular damaged the properties of villagers and many places villages.

Separately, yesterday’s bombardment in Zagros region is reported to have targeted the Erguşe village which suffered great material damage due to the attacks by Turkish warplanes. While many villagers had to leave their villages, there are no immediate reports of casualties. Following the intense attacks by the Turkish army in Kurdish Federal Region at the night of 17 August, the attacks of yesterday, starting at 22:30 local time, targeted the guerilla-controlled Metina, Xakurke, Xinere and Zap regions.

Despite the General Staff’s statement that the necessary sensitivity was displayed during the attacks for not affecting the civilian population adversely, attacks mostly have an effect on civilians living in hundreds of villages in the region. While a house in Zergele village of Kandil was completely destroyed by the attack at the night of 17 August, a cemetery of guerillas was also devastated at the same night.

Speaking to DIHA about the operations, a Peshmarga spokesman Yawer said; “There are many villages in the region exposed to the bombardment. The civilians living in these villages have neither a sin nor any relation with the groups taking up arms against these countries. This situation, according to international agreements, violate human rights and the rights of civilian population as the attacks have greatly damaged the houses, animals, fields of these villagers who had to leave their living spaces due to the attacks. We consider these attacks as the disregard of our citizens’ rights. We do not believe that this problem could ever be solved through air and artillery shootings. According to the Federal Kurdistan government, this is a political issue which will sooner or later come up with a solution through dialogue.”

People Defense Forces Press and Communication Center (HPG-BIM) also reported that forest fires were started in many areas and the villages in the region suffer great financial damages. HPG-BIM reported no casualities on the guerilla side.

ANF, 19 August 2011

General Staff: aerial strike on 20 PKK hideouts

According to a statement by the General Staff, 20 hideouts of the PKK have been attacked. Meanwhile, soldiers were brought to the Turkish-Iraqi border. Protestors against the operations encountered police interventions and tear gas in Istanbul and Diyarbakır.

On Saturday (20 August), the Presidency of the General Staff issued a statement on the third aerial strike in the region of Qandil, the mountainous area in northern Iraq that holds the base of the outlawed armed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). According to the statement of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), 20 points were bombed.

The 20 targets of the aerial combat are located on Qandil Mountain and in the area of Sinath-Haftanin, Hakurk and Gara. It was also said in the statement that the warplanes returned to their base. Apparently, 85 targets in the regions of Zap, Avaşin-Basyan and Hakurk were shelled with artillery. In the meantime it was announced that gendarmerie special operation teams were sent by helicopter to military bases in the district of Çukurca (Hakkari).

The Kurdish news agency Fırat reported that Skorsky helicopters took off from the 21st Border Gendarmerie Brigade Command in Çukurca to take the teams to military bases in Işıklı, Çayırlı and Hakantepe on the Turkish-Iraqi border.

"Sri Lanka Model is no solution"

The Diyarbakır Provincial Organization of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and the Istanbul Democratic City Council condemned the aerial strikes on Qandil and the government's "language of war" in press releases planned for Sunday (21August) afternoon. The statement criticized the so-called "Sri Lanka model" as put forward in the media some weeks ago, comparing the situation of Kurds with the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

"Sri Lanka is not a model for a solution but for slaughter. This project means bitter tears and the killing of civilians. It brings a process of destruction and assimilation like the policies of the fascist coup d'état on 12 September [1980]", the statement read.

It demanded to lift the isolation of imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and resume talks with him. The government of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the President were urged to act in awareness of their responsibilities.

"The Turkish people are waiting for peace. Peace will not come with threats and isolation", it was said.

 

Demand for peace met with tear gas

However, the police did not allow the group to make their announcement on Takism Square in Istanbul on Sunday. Hence, BDP deputies Sebahat Tuncel and Gültan Kışanak and Labour, Democracy and Freedom Block deputy Levent Tüzel issued the statement in front of the BDP provincial building.

Kışanak warned that the insistence on military operations would plunge the country into chaos. "Gas bombs, truncheons and panzers were put up against this demand for peace (...). Open the way to dialogue and negotiations to solve the Kurdish question", Kışanak addressed President Abdullah Gül.

The police intervened with tear gas when the crowd dispersed after the press release. The protestors threw stones at the policemen. Nine people were taken into custody.

"26th operation on Qandil”

In Diyarbakır, about 5,000 people gathered to demonstrate against the aerial strikes on Qandil Mountain. The police intervened against the crowd that was joined by BDP deputies Nursel Aydoğan, Adil Kurt, Aysel Tuğluk and Diyarbakır Mayor Osman Baydemir.

When the police stopped the protestors, BDP deputy Aydoğan read out the press release on the spot. She said that the actual aim of the 26th operation on Qandil Mountain was the depopulation of the region and the emptying of local villages in order to prepare a more forceful land operation against the PKK. (AS/NV)

Sources: and Etkin News Agency.

BİA News Center 22 August 2011

Eight civilians killed, 389 people arrested during Ramadan

Death, violence and detentions during the month of Ramadan

Turkish warplanes and police have killed at least eight civilians and 389 people have been taken into custody in a process during which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke of “reverence” for the holy month Ramadan which has on the contrary witnessed a bloody loss. Warplanes continuously bombed the guerrilla areas and villages, while on an average of 12 persons were detained per day during the Ramadan month. In a speech on August 14, Erdogan said that the turning point of peace would be very different after the end of the peaceful Ramadan month during which he added that they are showing patience.

However, the bombardment of the Turkish army on guerrilla areas, starting in the middle of the holy month, still continues in Kandil, Xakurke, Xinere, Metina, Zap, Haftanin, Garê and Zagros regions where civilians primarily come to harm in hundreds of villages.

During the bombardment in Kandil on August 21, Turkish warplanes targeted civilians in Kortek village of Ranya district, killing seven people included two women and four children, one of them yet six-months year old. Further, hundreds of people had to leave their homes as their properties and lands were burnt down and two cemeteries of guerrillas were targeted and destroyed by the warplanes. Only three guerrillas have been reported dead as a result of the attacks since August 17.

The act of human shields starting in 16 cities on 27 August to stop the cross-border attacks encountered the bloody attack of state forces at the border. BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) Van Councillor Yıldırım Ayhan was shot and lost his life on August 28 by the fire opened by government forces, which came soon after Erdoğan’s threat to make “them pay the price”. On August 14, Erdoğan uttered threats that those who don’t put some distance between the terror organization would pay the price, no matter what it would cost.

The Turkish army did not stop its operations during the Ramadan feast and bombed the guerrilla-controlled Haftanin region. Turkish police applied a detention terror during the Ramadan month, taking at least 230 Kurds into custody most of whom were children. While the number of detainees was at least 159 from August 16 to 31, 79 were arrested among the 389 people detained during the last one month. The figures of detentions were formed basing on the news reflecting to ANF and DIHA and the real figure is estimated to be higher.

31 August 2011

ANF / NEWS DESK

RAMADAN LAST DAY SHOULD BE DAY OF PEACE, SAY INTELLECTUALS

27 August 2011

Seven intellectuals including Rakel Dink, Orhan Pamuk and Serif Mardin published peace message for Ramadan Feast

Seven intellectuals including Rakel Dink, Orhan Pamuk and Serif Mardin have published a message for the coming Ramadan Feast which they defined as “the day of peace and not the day of war”. 



Ishak Alaton, Prof. Dr. Halet Çambel, Rakel Dink, Prof. Dr. Şerif Mardin, Orhan Pamuk, Prof. Dr. Turgut Tarhanlı and Prof. Dr. Nermin Abadan Unat have published a message to demand the ending of war and the progression of the dialogue environment through taking the necessary steps. Intellectuals also remarked that the BDP’s (Peace and Democracy Party) participation in the process will be of critical importance. 



The message of the intellectuals is as follows; 



“The Ramadan Feast is the day of reconciliation, not fighting, conflicting, suppressing, assimilating and destroying! The resumption of a conflict which has killed and deeply hurt thousands for thirty years is unacceptable. 



The problem can be solved through a commonsensical dialogue, not through war, conflict, operations, weapons, mines, artillery, guns, fire, gunpowder, imprisonment and threats. A permanent peace cannot be reached by making people kneel down. The way of peace goes through a rights-based reconciliation, not through shows of force and mass funerals. 



The solution of the Kurdish problem requires an immediate process of making peace and all political parties and circles, the government in particular, should make a contribution to this process. 



We, who resort to making peace, not war, call on the parliamentary parties to come together without waiting the opening of the Parliament. We invite them to take the necessary steps to make up the environment of a permanent dialogue. We are of the opinion that the BDP’s participation in the process will be of critical importance. 



We hope that this Feast will conduce to the realization of peace and hope."



D.F. - ANF/ Istanbul

ANF News Agency

RENEWED COMPLETE ISOLATION IS UNACCEPTABLE

Statement of the International Initiative Cologne, 22 August 2011

The Turkish government has renewed the complete isolation of Abdullah Ocalan. In the last two months all consultation with his lawyers but one have been inhibited by the Turkish state authorities. For the past four weeks no-one has been able to see Ocalan. Thus the total isolation that was imposed on Ocalan between 1999 to 2009 has been renewed by the Erdogan government.

The renewal of total isolation comes at a time when talks between Ocalan and state officials, which were officially conceded by both sides, seems to have collapsed. At the same time, the Erdogan government, having newly re-shaped the Turkish army, has declared war on the Kurdish legal party and organizations as well as the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). This war is conducted through the close and cross co-operation between Turkey, the US and Iran despite all the sanctions of the Western alliance against the mullah regime. Thus, this is the reason why the well-being of the Kurdish leader is feared for.

This is the same government that until recently promised to find a political solution to the Kurdish issue and started several “reform projects”. But now thousands of Kurdish politicians and community leaders are imprisoned over scandalous accusations. Turkish warplanes have illegally crossed the Turkish-Iraqi border and have been bombing the alleged positions of the PKK militants for more than three days now. The PKK had repeatedly been holding a one-sided cease-fire, including before, during and after the June 2011 elections.

Talks with Ocalan

The International Initiative “Freedom for Abdullah Ocalan – Peace in Kurdistan” has over the years repeatedly demanded a political dialogue with Abdullah Ocalan. This dialogue has indeed – in secrecy – started more than two years ago. Ocalan stated that the talks held were based on the Road Map he had drawn up (see ) and after the elections things would move ahead with the formation of a Peace Council at the initiative of the parliament of Turkey.

Ocalan even went so far to offer concrete steps for the disarmament of the Kurdish militants, but Erdogan did not even answer to this proposal. This is why Ocalan does not find the talks meaningful at the moment. Instead of searching for the grounds for a viable compromise, the Turkish government has used the talks as a means of delaying a real solution.

Bombings are no solution

The Erdogan government is fully responsible for the current massive military attacks which are in violation of international law. It is no longer possible to hide behind the back of the powerful Turkish military. There remain no excuses for not solving the conflict through political means. Erdogan wanted this military operation, he prepared it and he is leading it.

Military attacks do not contribute to a solution of the conflict but can only intensify it. The attacks on all representatives of the Kurdish people in Turkey – renewed total isolation of Ocalan, bombing of guerilla positions and imprisonment of politicians – threatens to have disastrous consequences for the foreseeable future. Again civilians will be among the victims of this fatal military operation.

The International Initiative calls for an immediate stop of all military action and a prompt resuming of the talks between Ocalan and the Erdogan government. Only dialogue can lead to a meaningful solution of the conflict. Ocalan's isolation must be lifted and he should be transferred into a setting which will allow him to successfully play his constructive and mediating role.

The international public should not stay silent in the face of the violation of Iraqi borders by Turkey and Iran. Europe should no longer support the warmongers in Turkey but pressure the Erdogan government to finally turn towards peaceful and political solutions to the ongoing conflict.

E-Mail: info@freedom-for-

freedom-for-

LEYLA ZANA WRITES TO OBAMA AND BAN KI-MOON

Diyarbakir deputy Leyla Zana has sent a letter to the U.S. President Barack Obama, NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, President of the Council of Europe, Herman Van Rompuy and Turkish President Abdullah Gül regarding the most recent policy implemented against the Kurdish people. While Turkey’s air strike continues in southern Kurdistan, Leyla Zana, in a letter to the leaders of the world, criticized the silence over the growing attacks against Kurds. 28 August 2011

Text of Leyla Zana’s letter

“While the world is going through a very fast process of change and transformation and the Middle East is witnessing new developments, our people who are deprived of the fairness of the history still continue their struggle for “existence” at the cost of their lives.

When it comes to the Kurds and their political status, the world opinion keeps remaining silent and condoning the right and boundary violations, bombings on villages, houses and people, regardless of women, men and children, cross-border operations and the ongoing aerial operations. This situation is greeted with great astonishment by our people and considered difficult to understand.

The constant attack position of these powers and their intention to destroy all the values of Kurds do not comply with the character of the 21st century and the principles of fairness in the world.

The latest aerial attacks on Kandil, which have killed a civilian family in the region, are defended by Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey which is currently trying to set an example of a “model country” to the Middle East and conducting negotiations to be a member of the EU. In a statement to a national newspaper, the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister, saying that “the operations are legitimate and true”, didn’t abstain from defending the attacks which target civilians. (Bülent Arinç/Cihan News Agency/22.08.2011)

I would like to express my regret that the Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey is increasing the policy of violence against Kurds as the Western world is holding up him as an example to the Middle East. I am greatly worried that we may face a modern dictatorship while the dictatorial regimes in the Middle East are falling down. The state’s attitude which forces the whole society to think the same with itself and the closure cases against the worldwide multilingual Roj Tv need to be accepted as a sign in this regard.

In brief, the military, political, diplomatic attacks launched against the Kurds and most importantly, the boundless attacks on our civilian people are in front of the eyes of the world public opinion. It is possible to foresee how the destruction of an oppressed people’s children will deepen the deadlock. All efforts of the Kurdish side are intended for finding a democratic and political solution to this problem. Although Mr. Ocalan has many times silenced the weapons since 1993 and created opportunities for obtaining the rights of the Kurdish people on a democratic ground as well as convincing his public that the problem can be solved in this way, the state has negated all these processes with a negative attitude and turned a blind eye to these opportunities. Resisting extraordinarily about defining the problem, the state has at every turn considered and applied violence as the single method of solving the Kurdish problem.In the testimony of the whole world’s humanity, the geography which has been in a conflict environment for two hundred years is now expecting peace and quiet. Kurdistan’s geography should not be a second Palestine and the Sri Lanka simulation shouldn’t even be associated with the situation in Turkey. Otherwise, a social chaos and an ethnic war among the peoples will be unavoidable, which will no doubt drag the world peace and humanity into more disaster. I expect and wish that you will meet the requirements of your both conscience and position.”

THE DEMOCRATIC OPENING AND ILLUSION OF ADVANCED DEMOCRACY IN TURKEY

By Muharrem Erbey, president of the Diyarbakır chapter of the Human Rights Association of Turkey, writing from Diyarbakır prison

Voltaire said, “those who have lost freedom it lost it because they didn’t defend it.” The American Declaration of Independence of 1776, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1789, and the UN’s 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights all emphasize resistance to repression as a right and personal duty. Rights and freedoms can be restricted in any society; the issue is to what extent, and that extent mustn’t tip the scale of justice. Human rights defenders and people of conscience set out to fulfill their personal duties when repression in defense of power intensifies and destabilizes this scale.

Both in authentically democratic societies and those where the exercise of rights is a façade maintained through an illusion, we human rights defenders have adopted as a principle the protection of human honor without regard to race, language, ethnic identity, religion, class, or sex.

Founded in 1986, the Human Rights Association of Turkey (İHD) has struggled to help peoples’ search for freedom access justice. Twenty-three of our members have been extra-judicially executed because of their human rights work, hundreds of members and managers have been imprisoned for prolonged periods, and the organization has been subjected to thousands of lawsuits.

İHD documents the rampant violations committed in our region with data, reports and observations, and supporst victims both in the legal process and the wider struggle for justice. We share our data with the local, national and international community. We criticize. To those who claim that human rights abuses have ended, we say no, they’re continuing. We have been and are being targeted for this reason.

The president of the İHD branch in Diyarbakır, the largest city in the Kurdish region of Turkey, was last arrested in 1995, during one of the darkest periods of the conflict here. No other branch presidents have been arrested in the last 15 years, although they’ve been subjected to about 300 investigations and lawsuits. I was abruptly arrested in December 2009 as part of the single investigation currently pending against me. I’m not currently facing any other lawsuits or investigations.

Human rights has become chewing gum for everbody, but we’re being silenced.

When deputy prime minister Bülent Arınç and interior minister Beşir Atalay came to Diyarbakır to meet with us, we told them that we heartily supported the so-called ‘democratic opening’, which was begun by the government at the end of 2008. We emphasized that we wanted to help give the initiative substance, and that concrete steps were urgently needed to stop violence and put an end to deaths. Regarding the Kurdish issue, we pointed out that a solution required legalizing the use of the Kurdish language in the public realm, transfer of authority to local administrations, the creation of a civilian, egalitarian, pluralist constitution, and PKK members’ entry into civilian politics through an unconditional amnesty. Our work caused discomfort.

The Kurdish issue, which is Turkey’s oldest and most life-claiming, can be resolved through the participation and joint effort of a wide range of institutions, organizations, and other actors. Most human rights violations in Turkey are related to the Kurdish issue in one way or another. There have been 29 successive major Kurdish rebellions in the last 205 years, the first one occurring in Mosul in 1806. The 40 million Kurds in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria are deprived of basic rights and freedoms, perceived as second-class citizens, exposed to torture and maltreatment, prevented from freely exercising their language and culture, without status, and unable to sufficiently participate in administration.

It’s significant that, although history has known the Kurds for thousands of years, neither the dominant powers in Kurdish lands nor international forces recognize the Kurds, choosing instead to ignore the posture adopted against them.

I’ve been in prison since 24 December 2009, for approximately 18 months, due to claims that I ‘belittled’ the state in speeches about human rights and the Kurdish issue I delivered at the UN building in Geneva as well as the English, Belgian, and Swedish parliaments; advised victims in their applications to the European Court of Human Rights; prepared projects on women’s, children’s, and human rights; participated in work on preparation of a civilian, pluralist constitution; frequently participated in press statements delivered by various NGOs, and that I did so well; gave the PKK ‘morale’; wrote to public prosecutors and the Turkish parliament’s human rights commission on behalf of victims (indeed, the government prosecutor later characterized these writings as if they are furthering the goals of PKK); and that I’m a member of the Turkey Assembly of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK/TM), an organization said to be an extension of the PKK.

When I went before the public prosecutor and judge responsible for my case, I admitted to all of these activities (with the exception of being a KCK member), said that I stand behind them and have no regrets, and stated that I’ll do them all again when I’m out of prison.

In May 2010, and 7,500 page indictment was released. The folder dealing with 152 suspects, 104 of whom are being held in prison pending the result of the trial, amounts to 132,000 pages when supplementary ‘evidence’ is included; among those facing prosecution are 15 elected mayors, 2 chairmen of general provincial councils, and scores of politicians. We’ve been in prison for 18, 20, 24 months each. The claims about me include evidence from a ‘secret witness,’ and promote false and illusionary statements. In our first trial, we declared that we’d be giving our statements in our mother language, Kurdish, as well as Turkish. The chief judge turned off our microphones, characterizing Kurdish as an “Unknown Language”, and the prosecution has stalled.

Since the Turkish Republic was established in 1923, there’s been an effort to homogenize all ethnic identities through such methods as repression, forced migration, assimilation, arrests and extrajudicial killings carried out by unknown perpetrators.

The Turkish system has always resisted change by adopting a conservative stance against different identities and demands for freedom. In 2002, there were 52,000 convicts and suspects in Turkish prisons; as of April 2011, there are 123,000 inmates, most of them convicted.

Does the imprisonment of opposition politicians, critical journalists, and human rights defenders signify that Turkey’s regime has become totalitarian? All developments are implemented in the name of advanced democracy. The acceptance of difference is the essence of genuine equality. Attempts to suppress difference indicate inequality.

A little more tolerance, cooperation, empathy. Let’s not forget that everyone has the right to comment on their own society’s development and that doing so is a moral duty.

People must know how to embrace suffering and pain for freedom, to take nourishment from these difficulties. Notwithstanding those whose hearts have hardened, who feed on their own rage, who place unbearable emotional burdens on their heart, we stubbornly find nourishment and power in freedom. Everything for equality, freedom and justice...

Translated from the Turkısh by Jake Hess / jakerhess@

STOP THE ATTACKS BY THE IRANIAN GOVERNMENT ON SOUTH KURDISTAN

YEK-KOM, Federation of Kurdish Associations, Germany, 26 July 2011

Since the 16th July 2011 the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran have been attacking targets in the autonomous Kurdish region in Northern Iraq (Southern Kurdistan). The attacks are being carried out on the Free Life Party of Kurdistan, PJAK, who champion the right to autonomy for Kurds in Iran and for the democratisation of the country. As a result of the bombings and skirmishes, lasting days on end, Iranian soldiers as well as PJAK guerrilla soldiers and several civilians have died. Multiple villages have been damaged and hundreds of families have fled, according to figures from the Red Cross.

Around 8 million Kurds live in Iran. According to internationally recognised Human-Rights Organisations, Iran is the world’s second highest enforcer of the death penalty. According to Amnesty International, in 2010, the Iranian Mullah government carried out over 300 executions; amongst those executed at least one was a minor. Amnesty International suspects that the number of unknown cases of execution is considerably higher than the figures given. Iran hides prisoners away they are executed in a secret location which is why no exact figures on the number of people being executed in Iran can be calculated.

The Iranian government has attacked the autonomous Kurdish region in Northern Iraq at regular intervals. According to the local Kurdish government’s Minister for Peshmerga, Jabba Yawar, military attacks from Iran and Turkey have cleared 400 villages since 2007.

The Iraqi government, which is economically and militarily dependent on the USA and Iran, and also the local Kurdish government have generally remained silent thus far about the attacks in its territory. The occupying US power, on the other hand, has encouraged these attacks, by sending secret service intelligence regarding the whereabouts of the PKK and PJAK to Turkey, which in turn is sent on to Iran. Through these renewed attacks and through the occupation of southern Kurdish territory, Iran wishes to silence its domestic political opposition. Likewise the Turkish government has played the anti-Kurdish card in an attempt at rapprochement with Iran, after they had previously, within the body of NATO, positioned itself against the Iranian-allied Baath government in Syria.

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein the region has begun to change. This change has unsettled the Iranian government. Through its current military operations Iran wants to take control of the area currently controlled by Kurdish guerrilla forces, lying on the Iranian-Iraqi-Turkish borders. With the help of Islamic force, instability is being provoked. In the face of such a dark plan, we mustn’t remain silent!

As a result, we request that the international community protests both against Iranian attacks on Southern Kurdistan and for bringing an end to the border-transcending operations.

Furthermore, we ask the European governments and EU to publicly condemn the Iranian government’s attempts at occupation, which are against international law, and for them also to instigate measures to end these attempts.

TURKEY/IRAQ: INVESTIGATION NEEDED INTO KILLING OF CIVILIANS IN THE KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC STATEMENT

26 August 2011 Index: REG 01/003/2011

The killing several days ago of an Iraqi Kurdish family of seven, including two women and four children, when the vehicle they were travelling in was attacked in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, reportedly by a Turkish warplane, must be promptly and independently investigated, Amnesty International said today.

In the early afternoon of 21 August 2011 Hussain Mostafa Hassan, a 61-year-old Kurdish farmer from the village of Bolle near Mount Qandil on the Iraq-Iran border, was heading to the town of Rania, accompanied by six members of his family, when the car he was driving was bombed, reportedly by a warplane belonging to the Turkish armed forces. Hussain Mostafa Hassan, his 43- year-old wife, Mer Haci Mam Kak, his daughter Rezan Hussain Mostafa, aged 20, together with her two daughters Sonia Shamal Hassan, aged two, and Sholin Shamel Hassan, aged six months, his son Zana Hussain Mostafa, aged 11, and his niece Oskar Khuzer Hassan, aged 10, all died as a result. Later their burnt bodies were taken to a hospital in Rania and buried the same day.

Since 17 August 2011 Turkish warplanes had been attacking Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets in the mountainous regions of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, particularly in the vicinity of Mount Qandil on the Iraq-Iran border. The raids, said to be in retaliation for the killing of eight Turkish soldiers and a guard reportedly by the PKK in Turkey, have forced many people to desert their villages.

Iranian troops have also been shelling border areas inside the Kurdistan region of Iraq in recent weeks, apparently targeting strongholds controlled by an Iranian Kurdish armed group, the Party for a Free Life for Kurdistan (PJAK). At least three civilians have reportedly been killed, including a 13-year-old shepherd on 28 July 2011.

Iraqi Kurdish politicians, including Mas’ud Barzani, the President of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, as well as journalists and human rights activists, have all condemned the Turkish air raids. Several demonstrations have also been organized in Sulaimaniya, Erbil and other cities and towns in the Kurdistan region and elsewhere in Iraq to protest against the raid.

Amnesty International calls on the Turkish authorities to open a prompt, thorough and independent investigation into this incident. The investigation should determine whether Turkish forces respected relevant rules of international humanitarian law and international human rights law and its findings should be made public. Anyone reasonably suspected of having committed a serious violation should be brought to justice in proceedings that conform to international fair trial standards, and surviving family members of those killed must receive reparations, including adequate compensation.

Public Document

For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or email: press@

International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, UK



HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH SLAMS TURKEY, IRAN ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS IN IRAQI KURDISTAN

Cross-Border Attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan Should Spare Iraqi Civilians, HRW Says. At Least 10 Dead; Hundreds of Families Displaced. Iran and Turkey’s cross-border attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan have killed at least 10 civilians and displaced hundreds since mid-July 2011, Human Rights Watch said today. Some of the attacks may have been carried out without sufficient attempts to ensure minimal impact on civilians, Human Rights Watch said. Both Iran and Turkey say that their military operations, including artillery and aerial bombardments, are aimed at armed groups operating out of Iraqi Kurdistan along the northern and eastern borders. When Human Rights Watch visited those areas in August, Iraqi residents and officials said that many of the targeted areas are purely civilian and are not being used by the armed groups. Evidence suggests that the regular Iranian bombardments may be an attempt to force Iraqi civilians out of some areas near the Iranian border.

“Year after year, civilians in northern Iraq have suffered from these cross-border attacks, but the situation right now is dire,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Iran and Turkey should do all they can to protect civilians and their property from harm, no matter what the reason for their attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan.” Iran started its cross-border attacks in northern Iraq in mid-July, claiming to be targeting an armed group associated with the Iranian Kurdish Party for Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) operating in the mountainous border region. Beginning on August 18, Turkey carried out attacks across its border with Iraq, targeting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), an armed group affiliated with PJAK that is fighting its own decades-long conflict with Turkey.

Shelling by Iran

Since mid-July, Iran’s operations against PJAK inside or near villages close to the Iranian border have led to the displacement of hundreds of families, caused the deaths of at least three villagers, and wounded an unknown number of people, according to international humanitarian aid organizations, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials, and media reports. Farmers from the border regions told Human Rights Watch in early August that the shelling had damaged their homes and that they saw Iranian soldiers cross the border into Iraq and kill farmers’ livestock. The attacks on civilians and their property that they described were similar to attacks documented by Human Rights Watch in June 2010.

Human Rights Watch visited the Choman and Qalat Diza districts and Qasre, Sangasar, and Zharawa subdistricts between July 26 and August 6 and interviewed more than a dozen displaced villagers as well as others in villages still being shelled. All villagers interviewed said that Kurdish armed groups had never been in their areas and that there were no other military targets in the vicinity at any point before or during the shelling. The affected areas are in the Qandil Mountains, along the eastern borders of Erbil and Sulaimaniyaprovinces, in the region administered by the KRG. In the crowded Gojar tent camp in Sulaimaniya province, Fatima Mahmoud, 70, told Human Rights Watch she fled there with 11 family members in late July, after two Iranian shells struck her house in the village of Sune, 30 kilometers west of Qalat Diza. She said the village mosque and school were also damaged by shelling. “It has been more than six years that Iran has been shelling our area, but this year, it was unbelievable,” she said. “I don’t know why Iran is shelling our village – we have never seen any PJAK members at all. I have never seen any [PJAK] members in our village.”

Attacks by Turkey

On August 18, Turkey began a bombing and artillery campaign against the PKK, which it blamed for earlier fatal attacks in Turkey. On August 21, according to Iraqi officials, Turkish warplanes bombed a vehicle carrying civilians. The attack killed seven members of the same extended family according to relatives of those killed, local officials, and media workers. Turkey denied its planes were responsible. The family group, which included four children, was driving on a highly travelled main roadway in a white 2011 Nissan pickup truck from the village of Bole to Rania to visit relatives. Shamal Hassan told Human Rights Watch on August 29 that the attack instantly killed his wife, Rezan, and his daughters, Solin, two months old, and Sonya, 18 months old. The attack also killed his wife’s parents and two other children.

An emotional Hassan told Human Rights Watch, “The attack was so destructive that we couldn’t recognize their bodies. I want the international community to hold Turkey accountable. They ruined my life.”

Media photos released by multiple Iraqi Kurdish news organizations of the scene corresponded with Hassan’s description, and showed charred and disembodied children and adults splayed on the ground near the remnants of a destroyed vehicle. Human Rights Watch could not independently verify the authenticity of the photographs. There has been no evidence of any military target in the vicinity. While the Turkish military said that it has killed more than 145 suspected PKK militants with artillery fire and airstrikes in northern Iraq since August 17, it has denied that its warplanes killed the family, saying only that news footage of the destroyed vehicle was not consistent with damage caused by Turkish aerial bombardment. However, Turkish officials have stated that Turkish warplanes were bombing multiple military targets, such as anti-aircraft guns and ammunitions caches, in the area at the time. Iraqi political and military officials have repeatedly blamed Turkish warplanes for the attack. An August 28 statement from the KRG stated that “[KRG] President Barzani strongly condemned Turkish military attacks,” which it said were responsible for the seven deaths.

Civilian Displacement

Abdulwahid Gwani, mayor of the Choman district, which has been particularly hard-hit by Iranian shelling, told Human Rights Watch that the attacks by Iran and Turkey had cumulatively killed 9 civilians and displaced 325 families from Choman and 500 families in the Sidakan area.“They [Iran and Turkey] don’t differentiate between civilians and armed groups, and the bombardments are more intense compared with last year,” Gwani said. “We notice that the Turkish bombardments are more random this year – they used to target specific locations in previous years but now it is kind of arbitrary.”

Earlier in August, Gwani and several displaced villagers told Human Rights Watch, the attacks forced hundreds of poor farmers to leave their crops unattended, destroying much of this year’s harvest. A number of farmers told Human Rights Watch that because there has been shelling each year during the short planting and harvesting season, they believed it showed an intentional effort to drive civilians from the area by harming their livelihood. As in past years, aid organizations and local municipalities have struggled to meet the displaced families’ basic needs. The Kurdistan government does not keep an official registry of displaced villagers. The representative of an international humanitarian aid organization working in the affected areas told Human Rights Watch on August 30 that the attacks have led to the displacement of 450 families, but that this number includes only families who have resettled in tent camps, and not those still moving around, staying with their families, or elsewhere. A delegation of Iraqi civil society organizations from Baghdad visited the areas on August 3 and reported the displacement of “up to 750 families from the areas of Choman, Sidi Khan and Haji Omran.”

The International Organization for Migration told Human Rights Watch on August 26 that it has so far distributed aid to approximately 295 families in tent camps – 275 families in Sulaimaniya and 20 in Erbil – but that another roughly 300 families from Erbil have been displaced and may require future aid.

Government Reactions

In August, the Iraqi government summoned both Iran’s and Turkey’s ambassadors in Baghdad because of concern about the operations, and both the Iraqi and KRG parliaments have strongly condemned the attacks.

On July 27, an Iraqi parliamentary official who declined to be named told Human Rights Watch that, during a meeting with a high-level Iranian diplomat that day, the diplomat stressed the “importance to Iran” of creating a buffer zone along the Iranian border “with no residents.” The official said that the diplomat also suggested deploying the Iraqi army to the area, instead of the Kurdistan regional forces who now patrol the border, because the Iraqis are not “as close” to the Kurdish residents.Officials of both the KRG and the central government in Baghdad have told Human Rights Watch in recent weeks that Iran and Turkey have been defiant and dismissive in their private responses. Publicly, both countries contend that they have a right to attack the armed groups inside northern Iraq and both countries deny targeting civilians.

At an August 21 news conference in Turkey, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ said that the militaryoperations “will continue without hesitation when necessary.” The governor of Iran’s West Azarbaijan Province, Vahid Jalalzadeh, told Iranian state television on August 6 that, “The operation against the group [PJAK] will continue until all members are killed,” but called reports of Iranian soldiers crossing into Iraq “rumors.”

The PKK and PJAK both openly admit to multiple guerrilla attacks against Turkish or Iranian soldiers in a self-proclaimed struggle for ethnic equality for Kurds in those countries. Both are considered terrorist organizations by the United States and European Union.“The evidence suggests that Turkey and Iran are not doing what they need to do to make sure their attacks have a minimum impact on civilians, and in the case of Iran, it is at least quite possibly deliberately targeting civilians,” Stork said. “Regardless of their reasons for carrying out attacks, they need to respect international humanitarian law.”

2 September 2011



CHOMSKY: NEGOTIATION AND DIALOGUE ONLY SOLUTION TO CONFLICT

In an interview with Özgür Politika Chomsky says European institutions could help the process of dialogue in Turkey

Linguist Noam Chomsky remarked that it would bring disaster to solve the Kurdish issue by military means, saying; “There s a need to put the legitimate demands of Kurds on the agenda and to conduct sincere negotiations”.

Noam Chomsky, considered as one of the world's greatest living thinkers, stated that the Kurdish issue in Turkey is fundamentally ‘a matter related with the human and citizen rights of the Kurdish people who have been exposed to brutal oppression for a very long time’.

Speaking to the Özgür Politika newspaper, Noam Chomsky called on the Turkish state to give up the search of solving the Kurdish problem with military methods.

Pointing out that negotiations would be the only way to stop conflicts and prevent the issue get more violent, Chomsky remarked that international institutions and the European Union could make such a process easier. However, the relevant institutions should make a choice in terms of taking a role for the solution, added Chomsky.

Commenting that the silence of Western governments about the civilian deaths in Kortek region of Kandil is quite ‘normal’, Chomsky emphasized that the relevant powers often make a direct and serious contribution to such crimes.

Drawing attention to the role of the United States in the Kurdish issue, Chomsky said the followings; “While the Kurdish territory was experiencing a terrible savagery in the 1990s, the Western military aid moved this cruelty to a higher extent. The U.S. military assistance to Turkey in 1997 exceeded the supports given since the beginning of operations conducted for the suppression of the uprising. Besides, I don’t count Israel and Egypt here as they need to be evaluated in a separate category. And almost all of the crimes committed during that period were covered.''

D.F. - ANF / News desk, 29 August 2011

ABDULLAH ÖCALAN - THE ROAD MAP

To Democratization of Turkey and Solution to the Kurdish Question – Summary

Published by the International Initiative “Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan – Peace in Kurdistan”

2011

Addressed to the European Court for Human Rights, one of the Council of Europe's most important organs, the “Road Map” is part of Abdullah Ocalan's written defence in one of his pending cases. The Turkish authorities confiscated it illegally in August 2009 and did not hand it over to the Court for eighteen months. The Court got hands of it only after repeated insistence that the Turkish authorities have no right to withhold documents from the Court or even read them.

But read it they did undoubtedly. After carefully examining Ocalan's proposals the Turkish state decided to start high-level talks with Abdullah Ocalan. These talks were confirmed by the government in August 2010. The claim that the “Road Map” was the document that set off the talks does not seem exaggerated.

It is therefore a key document in the struggle for a peaceful and democratic solution for the fundamental problems of Turkey: its lack of democracy and the Kurdish question. The “Road Map” addresses all of these problems in a comprehensive manner. We have summarized some key points of its analyses and proposals to foster a better understanding of the Kurdish perspective on the solution of the conflicts and challenges.

We are confident that the publication of this text will contribute to a better understanding of the ongoing process. We hope that on the basis of this road map it will evolve into a negotiation process that will finally lead to democratization of Turkey and a solution to the Kurdish question.

(…)

1- The Solution Plan of Traditional Policy of Denial and Annihilation: Although not as much as before there are still plans developed and implemented to attain such a solution. These are circles that came into existence as middle-class bourgeoisie and bureaucracy resting upon the wealth attained from the state. They have been exposed and isolated both internally and externally yet they do not hesitate to enforce their annihilation plans through insidious and brutal methods. The response of all the Kurds, apart from the traditional Kurdish collaborationist sections, against the implementation of this plan is to stage the most comprehensive resistance of their history.

The PKK, who is in the leadership position of the resistance, has the capacity and the power to comprehensively implement its own action plans. It is in a position to make transitions from passive defence plan to active defence and to all-out resistance plans. In the period ahead it maybe expected that it makes the transition to the all-out defence plan because there will be serious bottlenecks to be experienced in the democratic solution.

2- The Federalist and Nationalist Solution Plan: These plans too are being implemented in different areas and dimensions. It is the traditional colonial nation-states and global hegemonic powers who are behind these plans that are being implemented by the Iraqi Kurdistan Federal Administration. Although they each have a different aim there is a general consensus. They support this plan because they wish to distort the revolutionary and democratic potential of the Kurds. The USA is the hegemonic power that most openly supports the Kurdish Federal Administration. This Federal Administration plays a strategic role in controlling Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey. The Turkish, Iranian and Syrian administrations have been supporting the “Small Kurdistan” plan through various plans since the Second World War in the North of Iraq in order to break down the resistance of their own Kurds and to rule out their own Kurdistans. When the Kurds wish to overcome the role designated to them these forces raise their objections all at once.

Politics and plans based on divide and rule are being mostly executed by the “Small Kurdistan” project. The revolutionaries, radical democrats and socialists are counteracted through this manner. A fundamental target of the plan is the isolation of PKK. There is a comprehensive Gladio operation to isolate and eliminate the PKK in return for a “Small Kurdistan”. Furthermore this plan gets a wide spread support from the field of international diplomacy. The US, Turkish and Iraqi administrations, who have now included the Kurdish Federal Administration amongst them, are for now in accordance with this plan and trying to lure the PKK away from the armed struggle. But this plan is not sufficiently executed due to the differing interests of the parties whereby its implementation remains limited. It holds no hope because it is not widely supported by the Kurdish society and because it only serves the interest of a narrow elite sector. It is hence exposed and isolated ever more each day.

The response of PKK to this plan is not to surrender and continue to resist. Many people who were undecided, morally and ideologically weak for a long time in our ranks ran away and took refuge with the holders of such a plan. Although the holders of such a plan wished to create a new collaborationist movement it did not take long before they were exposed. Kurdish nationalism is traditionally quite weak. This therefore does not allow it to develop a consistent nation-state plan. It has, so to speak, become their fate to become corrupt and then be eliminated. They have pinned all their hopes to the breakdown of PKK's resistance. Turkish governments too had vested all their hopes in much the same way for a long time. They had hoped for help from the Kurdish nationalism based on “Small Kurdistan”. They tried to implement a plan similar to the one implemented against the Greeks and Armenians to the Kurds on the basis of “Small Kurdistan”. However the difference in the conditions and the position of the PKK has left the plan counter - productive. As a backlash PKK's line is becoming even stronger.

3- The Democratic Solution Plan: The fact that the first two plans above have not given much hope and have been very expensive at all fronts has turned the inclination of the Republic of Turkey towards democratization projects. Indeed contemporary developments also support such advancement. The urge by the US and EU (in terms of harmonization), the similar tendency shown by the media, civil society, the general public as well as all the Kurds increase the feasibility of the democratic solution plans for the very first time. Despite all the counter resistance of the nationalist-fascist front, which have become a minority, the fundamental institutions of the state too are not against the democratic solution projects. On the contrary they are taking on important roles to prepare the ground work. All these increase the chance to implement the solution plans. In theface of this new historical situation a feasible action plan between the parties needs to pass through a few stages. If a consensus is reached amongst the fundamental institutions of the state and the government over the main features of the Democratic Solution Plan and if the support of the Kurdish side together with the support of democratic forces are attained then the possible implementation and phases are as follows:

a- The First Phase: The PKK will declare a permanent no-action period. During this phase the

parties should be careful not to be provoked, to have a tighter control over their own forces and

continue to prepare the general public.

b- The Second Phase: A “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” should be established with the

Government's initiative and it should obtain the approval of the Grand National Assembly of

Turkey. This commission should prepare proposals that shall assist in the removal of legal obstacles. Maximal consent shall be sought between the parties in the composition of the commission. In connection with the confessions and defences presented to the commission, the commission

shall propose an institution of amnesty to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. In the case

that legal obstacles are as such removed the PKK shall then be able to withdraw its extralegal

structures outside the borders of Turkey under the supervision of a board consisting of authorities from the US, EU, UN, Iraqi Kurdish Federal Administration and Republic of Turkey. It shall in time be able to position its forces in different areas and countries. However the critical point at this stage is that the release of those detained and convicted for PKK activity and the withdrawal of PKK armed forces outside the borders are jointly planned. Here the principle of “neither shall be implemented without the other” shall apply.

c- The Third Phase: As constitutional and legal steps to democratization are taken there will be no grounds left to resort back to arms. The gradual return home of all those who have been in exile for many years, especially those who have taken office in the PKK, those who have lost their nationality and those who are refugees shall begin. As the activities of KCK shall attain legality there will be no need for PKK to have activities within the border of Turkey. It shall base itself on all aspects of legal and democratic political, social, economic and cultural activities.

My position is of strategic importance when it comes to implementing this three phased plan. This plan has a limited chance of implementation without Ocalan. Therefore reasonable solutions need to be developed in relation to my status.

I can thus present my draft thoughts and proposals in relation to a democratic solution and its plan as was expected of me by the general public in Turkey and the vast majority of the Kurds. It is clear that I shall be in a position to review, modify and improve my thoughts and proposals on the basis of thoughts and proposals made by the parties.

Now that I have prepared this draft report or road map undoubtedly most of the responsibility falls on the AKP government as well as the authorities from the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and the fundamental institutions of the state. If a general consensus is reached then there will be a need to start straight off from the first phase. If not, and this is not a threat, then both the PKK and KCK shall be forced to make the transition into the phase called “all-out resistance to protect the existence of the Kurds and free them”. Therefore in order not to pave the way for this we need to prevent daily political interests and desires at any price and implement our model and plan of democratic opening and solution of the Kurdish problem.

In the case that “The Model for Democratic Opening and the Solution to the Kurdish Question”, which can be a response to the Turkey's historical realities and present conditions, is implemented this shall not only mean a more independent development of Turkey but also shall mean a democratic, equal and free development path for the peoples of Middle East. The advancement of the elements of democratic modernity against the occupation and colonialism of the regional culture by the elements of capitalist modernity shall give democratic modernity the opportunity and strength to transform into a system that is in accordance with its own historicity. History shall perhaps for the first time escape from being written as the history of occupation, colonialism and all forms of invasions and begin to be written as the history of a society composed of the life of democratic, equal and free individuals.

Abdullah Öcalan

15 August 2009

Translated and edited by International Initiative "Freedom for Ocalan-Peace in Kurdistan"

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