Press Release of the KCK
Presidency of Executive Committee of People’s Union of Kurdistan (KCK)
The Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Ocalan has told his lawyers on 27 July 2011 that he has withdrawn himself from being an intermediary between the Turkish state and the PKK. This situation means that the Kurdish question and the solution of this question has acquired a new dimension.
Our leader is being kept under aggravated prison conditions for the past twelve years. He has never made these conditions an obstacle in the discussions for a resolution. On the contrary he took special care that he fulfilled the requirements of his role despite the aggravated conditions and restricted means. He made a huge effort to enable the solution of the question, to bring the parties together at a common ground, to create the grounds for democratic resolution and to make sure that the process developed in accordance with a plan.
The public is aware that our leader has declared various unilateral ceasefires since 1993. Undoubtedly these ceasefires were invaluable opportunities for the achievement of peace and solution of the question. However due to the conventional strict state policy of denial and annihilation all these golden opportunities were unfortunately wasted. Despite all these our leader was very careful that the guerilla forces were kept out of clashes so that the ceasefires continued to be valid during the term of the AKP's governance and peace efforts continued to flourish in the society. He tried to attract the complete attention, efforts and awareness of our movement, people and democratic public to the peaceful solution of the question. He not only found that it was essential to raise the awareness of the society to the solution of the question but also the state.
Instead of a positive approach to the meaningful and valuable efforts of our leader the AKP government chose to implement quite the opposite policy. It considered our tendency to resolve the question as a weakness and a fault. Thus it not only aimed to isolate our leader from our movement and people it also aimed the surrender and elimination of our movement. The meeting between Erdoğan and Bush which is said to be a landmark is a result of these developments.
The comprehensive air bombardments and Zap warfare later showed how dangerous the historical secret agreement made between Erdoğan and the President of the USA in Washington on 5 November 2007 was. This agreement aimed active intervention of NATO and total elimination of our movement. Advanced technological power incomparable to any other time was used for air bombardment of the guerilla areas in order to inflict a severe-blow to our movement. On the other hand, policies of lynching, cultural and political genocide were imposed on the Kurdish people. Externally, under the leadership of the USA and NATO a unity of stance and attitude amongst the EU countries were achieved to implement the plan to besiege and crush our movement.
Our leader had prepared a road map in August 2009 which consisted of proposals for democratic solutions and aimed to advance the process from a no-solution situation to democratic solution situation. This road map was given by him to the Turkish state officials. However the Turkish state confiscated this road map which would have stimulated the discussions on resolving the question. It thus aimed to orientate the discussion on the resolution of the question within the framework of a project that targeted elimination and which was called “national unity and solidarity”. In addition military and political elimination was multi-directionally imposed.
Our movement responded the comprehensive attacks and operations of the Turkish state with its 1 June 2010 offensive. The 1 June offensive that continues for around two months re-strengthened the quest for a resolution. An example to this quest was that the Turkish state initiated direct dialogues in the form of an official delegation with our leader.
In response our leader made a call for a ceasefire to the parties in 2010 and thus prepared the ground for the negotiation process to start with the state. Our movement declared a unilateral ceasefire on 13 August 2010 to give a chance to the development of a peaceful solution upon the commencement of dialogue between our leader an official delegation on behalf of the state. In order for the period of dialogue to evolve into the negotiation level our leader presented the official delegation of the state with three protocols in May of 2011. In accordance with the agreement reached with the delegation that represented the state the new government that took office after the 12 June elections should have put these protocols in action. The AKP government has not taken a single positive step in relation to these protocols.
Our leader has clearly stated that in the event that Prime minister Erdoğan gives assurances and calls on him he can withdraw the guerilla forces out of the areas where clashes occur in one week and thus facilitate the question to be resolved. This is something that can not be decided by anyone else but by our leader. This would also have meant that if the state had displayed a decisive and strong-willed stance then the issue that had not been solved in the last thirty years would have been resolved in one historical step.
The AKP government has shown how insistent it is on the familiar policies of denial and annihilation by not heeding to this invaluable opportunity and calls. In addition it has thus signalled that military and political operations shall increase in the near future. In fact ever since the ceasefire of 13 August 2010 the military nor political operations of the state have not stopped. On the contrary operations against the political arena have increased immensely, tens of Kurdish women, children and youth have been killed and thousands of them detained and arrested. We have had more guerilla losses during this period of ceasefire then would normally be due to the military operations that have not stopped at all. Since March 51 guerillas have been martyred in these military operations by the Turkish state against the guerilla forces who had adopted a position of defence. The great losses the Turkish army incurred during the clashes that occurred in the rural areas of Silvan on 14 July was not an action that was pre-planned by our forces but as a result of a confrontation of the Turkish army's comprehensive and extensive operational forces in the area.
The Erdoğan government has used the clashes that occurred during their military operation in Silvan as a pretext to declare that they have commenced a period of offensive with new strategy and tactics. Undoubtedly it is the AKP government who shall be responsible for all the negative developments and losses in the near future. Erdoğan has thus confessed through this declaration that it is the end of an era. This shall either mean that a painful and a violent period with high costs and severe consequences for our peoples shall commence or the gateway to a true democratic solution for the Kurdish question shall be opened whereby a brand new future for our peoples shall begin.
The aim of our leader in continuing the dialogue with the state was to initiate the resolution and peace process that our peoples deserve. It has thus been exposed that unilateral ceasefires and dialogues taken up under these conditions are not sufficient to generate the means necessary for a solution. The three protocols presented to the state and our movement by the Kurdish people's leader has not been responded by the state. Although our leader had previously given a certain meaning to the dialogues with the state the point we are at has led him to find both the state's and our movement's behaviour inadequate. As a result he has declared it publicly that he has withdrawn himself to be an intermediary between the state and our movement. This stance has been taken up by our leader because an approach to advance the democratic constitutional process and to make headway in the democratic solution project has not been taken up. Serious and important conclusions should be deduced from this situation by the Turkish state and all concerned circles. This is also an important stance that should be seriously evaluated by our freedom movement and Kurdish people. As a result it is understandable that Kurdish and Turkish intellectuals as well as many circles, politicians and academics are discussing and evaluating this stance of our leader.
Despite the fact that we are at the strongest position of our movement's history our inability to officially draw the state to the point of resolution and to come up with the necessary means of tools to resolve the question is a serious inadequacy. This is a matter for criticism and self-criticism especially in terms of not being able to fulfil our duties by not achieving a sufficient level of richness and performance in our struggle.
We have reached a level where it has become clear that if we do not have the opportunity to meet our leader directly and the Kurdish people's leader can not move freely in order to fulfil his duties then under these conditions it is not possible to develop the democratic solution. It is clear that as the movement and people we greatly value and lend meaning to the unique efforts of our leader. We have acted in great awareness and sensitivity despite the state's elimination policies and the conditions of imprisonment in Imrali so that these efforts would be responded to. We have yet again seen that the position adopted by us and our sensitivity were not enough to advance the process.
The solution to the Kurdish question which has been turned into a Gordian knot can only be resolved by talking to our leader Apo and to create conditions of health, security and freedom to move. The twelve years under the imprisonment conditions of Imralı and especially the events of the last two years have unarguably shown us that the question can not be resolved if our leader is not free. The mentality and policies that set the position of the Kurdish people's leader and PKK apart from the solution of the Kurdish question are ill-intentioned and dangerous approaches that have no desire to resolve the question.
The state must clearly show that it has decided to abandon its policy to resolve the Kurdish question through violence, oppression and elimination and that from now on it is sincere in developing the democratic constitutional solution. The state therefore must generate the conditions where our leader shall be in a surrounding where his health, security and freedom to move can be secured. Our movement and our people shall not be convinced and satisfied by any other statement and development.
The solution to the Kurdish question is more then ever demanding its resolution. The only person who has the power and role to attain its democratic solution is the Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Ocalan. This is a reality everyone knows and accepts. Therefore in order to speedily commence the negotiation process and to be able to soundly head the process Kurdish people's leader must be given the means. On these grounds we find it urgent and necessary that our leader has the means to move freely and the issues of health and security are resolved.
All circles and personalities who are for the resolution of the question should see this reality and act more sensitively and courageously then ever before if they are to contribute to this process being crowned with democratic solution and peace. Permanent peace can only be achieved like this. As the movement we have the necessary strength and decisiveness for a struggle that is ever more competent and with rich means in order to overcome the inadequacies experienced in the past, to attain a solution to the Kurdish question and to achieve our leader's freedom. Denial and annihilation policies indexed to violence were the fundamental policy of the Republic of Turkey when it came to Kurdish question. These policies have now failed. However the AKP is putting these policies back on the agenda through different tools. It is thus clear that our movement's great experiences together with a richer and more competent struggle shall lead to a magnificent resistance that will render this new offensive fruitless. It is quite clear that our people and movement have the strength to defend itself in the face of these violent policies and thus to carry the struggle to more advanced levels. This reality must be seen and the path to the resolution lies not in re-adopting policies of violence but lies in the state taking the calls made by our leader on 27 June into consideration. This is the only path to the profound solution of the question. As a result the initial and the most important step for a solution is to create the necessary conditions for our leader to play his role. Our struggle shall have its focus on such an axis and shall fundamentally target the creation of the health and security conditions of our leader as well as his freedom to move and thus to develop a solution to the question.
It is quite important that our people and democratic and patriotic institutions focus on this axis and advance the struggle of the new period. It is clear that we shall evaluate all conditions with great care so that our great offensive attains an ultimate outcome, all our strength shall be channelled to our struggle so that our great historical march shall be successful and that we shall implement a manner of struggle that shall ascertain success. Through such a belief and decisiveness we shall take up the duties of the new period and shall attain peace and freedom.
In particular our people should be aware that a new and political struggle and leap forward has commenced and thus should strengthen its organization and target success on the basis of a high level participation.
TO THE PRESS, OUR PEOPLE AND DEMOCRATIC PUBLIC OPINION
The liberation issue of Kurdish people is the liberation and democracy issue of the region. The system that is imposed on our people is based on annihilation – denial and slavery. As a people, it is impossible for us to accept...