COMUNICATO PKK – 28 FEBBRAIO 2011

TO THE PRESS AND GENERAL PUBLIC – 28 FEBRUARY 2011

Kurdish question, which has a past of two hundred years, has now come to the stage of being resolved. We, the Kurdistan Freedom Movement, have at all times aimed a democratic and peaceful solution to the Kurdish question and insisted on it. Despite Turkish state’s insistence to eliminate and implement its denial policies through the use of violence we declared number of unilateral cease-fires to strengthen the democratic and political alternative. The Kurdish People’s Leader has made serious and quite unique efforts for the past 18 years, since 1993, to this end.  

Our movement has hence declared many unilateral cease-fires in response to such efforts of our leader as well as the expectations of our people and the general public. For the perhaps very first time tremendous opportunities were given to the AKP government each year, who came to power in 2002, to resolve the Kurdish issue.  We declared unilateral cease-fires in 2005 August, 2006 October, 2008 December, 2009 April, 2010 August, September and November. AKP government has not made use of any of these opportunities. On the contrary it tried to portray these unilateral cease-fires to be the result of its own success and has strengthened its own power. As a result apart from targeting the  elimination of our movement it has not taken any positive step to resolve the issue. However our movement and the guerilla forces under its responsibility have totally adhered to the eight times declared unilateral cease-fires and met their requirements. AKP government has left these opportunities inconclusive through its actions and rendered them meaningless.

We hoped this spring to be a spring where we would herald a just peace to our people. We really hoped that this spring would strengthen the historical ties between Turkish and Kurdish people and would be a spring where historical developments would lead us to an honourable, strong-willed union of democratic free life project. This unfortunately is the result of AKP not being able to recover itself from the deep-rooted denial mentality as well as holding its power interests way above the interest of Turkey and that of people’s democratic interests. This period of cease-fire has been wasted because AKP wished to marginalize the free Kurdish will-power through its alliances within the system and policies based on its newly established Gladio as well as its insistence on such a concept of elimination.

As a movement we have always met the requirements of the responsibilities that fell on our shoulders so that there would be some advancement in the democratic solution to the Kurdish question. To this end we always gave priority to peaceful methods. This certainly was the case especially in 2009. We noted the democratic will-power of the Kurdish people during the 2009 local elections, expectations of the democratic public and heeded to our leader’s call carefully and sensitively by declaring a unilateral ‘no-action’ period on 13 April 2009.

However, the AKP government, only one day later, on 14 April 2009 initiated a period of political genocide against the legal-democratic Kurdish politicians calling it the KCK operation. Despite all objections raised by the Kurdish society this operation has been insisted upon and continues to date with around 2000 Kurdish politicians being arrested. In addition the military and diplomatic siege and wave of attacks have also continued. The peace groups from both the guerilla forces and Maxmur have been arrested for unconvincing reasons. The road-map prepared by our leader for peace and long lasting solution was confiscated and none of its requirements were met. The lynching and cultural genocide against the Kurdish people, politicians, women, youth and children continued in a worsening manner. In conclusion a wide-spread policy of intimidation against the Kurdish people was implemented and its political party DTP was shut down.

During such a period, where our people and achievements of our struggle were in danger and under serious threats, the announcement made by our leader on 31 May that he was withdrawing himself from all talks led to a new situation. Our forces adopted the position of resistance on 1 June 2010 in order to defend our freedom values and people on the basis of legitimate self-defence and hence initiating the fourth period of strategic struggle.

We highly valued the dialogues initiated by the state with our leader in the aftermath of the political and military atmosphere created by the resistance period. We tried to prepare the ground so that the dialogue period would evolve into negotiations. We did not approach this period tactically but in a strategic manner and hence declared a cease-fire on 13 August. Later, we took decisions that led to prolonging this cease-fire twice hence sustaining it until today. We presented the steps that the AKP government must necessary take up if the period was to evolve into a permanent cease-fire and shared this with the general public.

These were: 1- All operations targeting the military and political arenas must be stopped, 2-All the detained Kurdish politicians to be freed, 3- All obstacles before our leader to actively participate in such a process should be removed and the dialogue conducted should be elevated to the level of negotiations, 4- In order for advancements to be made in the process a commission to prepare a Constitution and another to Investigate the Truth should be established, 5- The 10% threshold, that does not allow the Kurdish people’s will-power to be reflected upon the parliament and that does not exist anywhere else in the world, should be removed.

Clearly these demands are embraced and approved by many different circles and are modest steps that can be easily implemented by the AKP government.

However the AKP government did not take up the above steps that would have prepared the ground for the solution of the Kurdish question. Instead although it had no project to resolve the question it made it look as if it had a project. Hence it tried to make use of the peaceful grounds established by our movement to eliminate our movement. Despite all this, in order to strengthen the tendency of dialogue and solution voiced by a section within the state and some circles, develop this will-power within the parliament and to be able to pave the way for the courageous involvement of the democratic public as well as to render war lobbyists and fascists ineffective our leader made serious efforts to prolong this period of cease-fire albeit under much difficulty.

Our movement took into consideration the fragility of the process so that there would be a response to our leader’s historical efforts. As a result, a conditional unilateral no-action decision was taken until the general elections and our movement declared that evaluation of the general situation would be made at certain intervals. It was especially announced that in the month of March there would be a re-evaluation and this would be shared with the public. Our movement has many times warned the AKP government over its implementations that are ambiguous, spread out over time, and aim to decompose, delay and eliminate. But the AKP government did not take a step forward to soften the process. Instead it has utilized some of the Kurdish collaborators to mislead the Kurdish society and has insisted on eliminating the free-thinking Kurds.

In the past 6 ½ months, since 13 August 2010, not only has the government not taken a single confidence building step or a serious undertaking it has taken exactly the opposite stance when it comes to priorities.

1- Although there was a decrease in the number of military engagements due to weather conditions, operations against the Kurdish politicians continue to increase.

2- KCK case is an exemplary case of the political genocide against the Kurdish people. During the trial defence in mother-tongue has been prohibited and to date not a single person has been released. The approach has been to delay the trial and make them give in.

3- Not only were there no changes made to the conditions under which our leader was held, but also the continuing dialogue was not taken up to the level of negotiations and there has been no outcomes.

4- Despite the fact that there is a new mass grave being recovered on daily basis and despite all the insistence for the Commission on Justice and Investigation of the Truth has not been established.  

5- During this period not only has the 10% threshold, which is an obstacle before the Kurdish people’s political will-power, not been lowered, but also the AKP government has introduced new laws so that the Kurdish people would be represented in as few numbers as possible in the parliament. If this continues to be the case, it is already clear that such assembly, where the Kurdish people’s will-power has not been represented in, can not draw up a balanced constitution and hence can not resolve the issue.

All the intellectuals, writers, democratic circles and liberal sections of the society who follow the developments would all agree that the cease-fire which we adhered to unilaterally and our various different efforts to democratize Turkey and to resolve the Kurdish question on the basis of democratic autonomy has not been responded to. Hence the no-action period declared to develop a democratic solution has now expired because of the AKP government’s denial and annihilationist policies. The AKP government by not responding to all the steps taken by us has invalidated the whole process, rendered it meaningless and thus has terminated it.

The AKP government has neither had a serious idea nor an implementation when it came to the democratic solution to the Kurdish question. All it has done is to delay and deceive. However, both the national and international atmosphere is most suitable for the resolution of the Kurdish question. But it is the mentality of the AKP government that does not allow it to resolve the issue and its current practice shows that it does not envisage a solution to the issue in real terms either.

The government instead of considering the democratic autonomy discussions of the Kurdish people to be within the framework of a resolution has accused it to be treason and conspiracy hence provoking it to be attacked by fascists. Indeed the final declaration of the National Security Council’s meeting on 29 December 2010 has rendered the no-action period declared by us meaningless. Despite this our movement has continued to preserve its no-action period with great patience. Following these developments the deadlock has become more profound.  

As can be deduced from these developments the essential problem here is that the AKP government’s approach to the issue has been tactical and has not abandoned its denialist and annihilationist mentality and aggressive policies. Despite all these facts we can not keep our people in expectation of the possibility of a positive step from the state and government to resolve the question. The present situation is a no-solution situation where there is an insistence on the policy of elimination. This policy is the policy to dissolve the Kurdish people within the Turkish nation and to never recognize its existence, identity and freedom. Therefore the AKP government is indisputably responsible for the termination of the no-action period.

Under such conditions our forces shall defend themselves more effectively in the face of attacks but shall not take military action against forces that do not attack, do not go out on military operations and do not target the people. It is clear that the policies implemented by the AKP government and state forces shall influence the character of the period before us.

The government’s approach especially to the 8 March World Woman’s Day as well as the period of Newroz, which is much valued as a Kurdish national value, shall be quite decisive. As a result it is of utmost importance that everyone concerned acts responsibly and sensibly.

We call on all the international powers that are concerned with the Kurdish question to observe the steps we have taken and to recognize universal rights of our people and not to support the violence based policies of Turkish state and AKP’s insistence on no-solution and denial of our people’s political will-power and existence.

We call on the revolutionary, democratic, patriotic and honest religious people of Turkey to see AKP’s no-solution policy and to raise their struggle so that the two peoples live in  freedom and peace within the framework of a common homeland and democratic nation by  constitutionally assuring the Kurdish people’s rights.   

We call on all the patriotic political powers within all four parts of Kurdistan to show more solidarity, to strengthen the national unity and to wage a common struggle against the Turkish state’s policies implemented by AKP to annul and deny the Kurdish will-power.

All our patriotic people, whether in four parts of Kurdistan or abroad, should observe that the peaceful efforts taken up by our leader has not been responded to by the state and government and hence should consider it his/her duty to approach the new period more responsibly and in a more organized manner. Everyone should know that the period ahead is the process of a solution to the Kurdish question and that no one can prevent this to be. Hence everyone should approach with the utmost responsibility in order to make good use of the available conditions of success.

The period ahead is the period of freedom and success. We call on all the patriots to duty in order to transform this historical period into Democratic Autonomy and Leader Apo’s freedom process. It has to be known that the Apoist movement shall know how best to convert the freedom struggle into absolute success based on its military and political experience uniting it with our people’s great support.                              

The Executive Council of KCK   
28 February 2011

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