Kurdistan Info Bulletin #1

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From: newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl (newsdesk at aps.nl)
Subject: Kurdistan Info Bulletin #1


 * Originally by Arm The Spirit , 16:31/2
 * Originally to KIC London, 10:31/1.10
 * Originally dated 24 Jan 1995, 5:07

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Cc: newsdesk at newsdesk.aps.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam)
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Kurdistan Info Bulletin #1 - Winter 1994/95

Index:

1)  Introduction
2)  The Turkish Army Is Systematically Burning Kurdish Villages
3)  Kurdistan Is Burning!
4)  Ozgur Ulke Offices Bombed
5)  Statement From Ozgur Ulke Editor
6)  "Our Movement Will Continue To Grow" - Excerpt From An
    Interview With Abdullah Ocalan, PKK General Secretary
7)  For A Free And Independent Kurdistan! 16 Years Of The PKK
8)  Interview With ARGK Regional Commander
9)  PKK European Spokesperson Arrested
10) Kurdish Youth Murdered By German Police
11) Police Attack Kurdish Protests In Mannheim
12) Deportation Is Murder! Solidarity With The Kurds!
13) Letter From Leyla Zana
14) Kurdish MP's Sentenced
15) Kurds Resist Criminalization In Germany
16) Joint Statement From Kurdish Groups In Germany
17) GSG-9 Storm Kurdish Cultural Gathering
18) Kurds Sentenced For Consulate Take-Over

1) Introduction

The Kurdish national liberation struggle has consistently been an
important theme in our magazine Arm The Spirit. Since we did not
publish an issue in 1994, we collected a vast amount of documents
and news items related to the struggle of PKK over the course of
the year. We are now publishing some of these texts in an
independent publication, the Kurdistan Info Bulletin. As 1995
will be an important and eventful year for the Kurdish
resistance, both in Kurdistan and in exile, we are committed to
publishing this info bulletin on a regular basis as a gesture of
concrete solidarity and in order to inform the North American
left about the Kurdish struggle. We plan to publish the second
issue of this bulletin shortly before Newroz in March 1995.

Berxwedan Jiyane!

Arm The Spirit
P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A
Toronto, Ontario
M5W 1P7  Canada

e-mail: ats at etext.org

2) The Turkish Army Is Systematically Burning Kurdish Villages

     The Turkish army's offensive against the Kurds is
continuing. Every day, witnesses report civilian casualties.
     Since the end of September, the army has been forcing Kurds
out of their villages in the province of Dersim (Tunceli) and
neighboring provinces. According to reports from human rights
agencies, as well as spokespersons for the expelled villagers,
more than 30 villages in Tunceli have been destroyed and burned
in the last three weeks, 17 in the area around Ovacik alone. The
newspaper Ozgur Ulke recently published a list of the names of
the villages destroyed, as well as pictures of soldiers making
victory poses in front of burning houses. People fleeing from the
villages have reported that military commanders would spread a
"white, quickly-burning powder" in the houses, and then a soldier
designated as the "ignitor" would set the houses on fire. While
thousands of the expelled persons from Tunceli are camping or
staying with relatives in other cities, 35 people are still
missing. Last Friday, seven bodies of members of the Serim and
Icik families were found in their burned out houses in the
village of Gokcek. At the same time as villages are being
destroyed and their inhabitants forced to flee, residents are
also being subjected to aerial bombardments from helicopters
seeking to wipe out all the forests in the province.
     One high-ranking military official, who has since fled from
Turkey, told the newspaper Ozgur Ulke that the military code name
for the destruction and burning of the villages by the Turkish
military forces is "Operation Rome", a reference to the burning
of Rome by the emperor Nero. Soldiers also informed the newspaper
that the Turkish military is planning to destroy another 150
villages and settlements in the region. The Turkish interior
minister Mentese justified the military operation in a press
conference with reporters, stating that "the region around
Tunceli is a nest full of terrorists".
     While state sources respond to the accusations by claiming
that the PKK are the ones setting fire to the villages, both the
"minister for human rights" Azimet Koyluogluas as well as Turkish
parliament minister Cindoruk have publically acknowledged that
the army is destroying the villages, while not drawing any
consequences from this fact. Even a delegation of SHP
parliamentarians lead by party chairman and deputy prime minister
Karayalcin, which visited the city of Tunceli last week, did not
feel it was necessary to pay a visit to the villages destroyed or
even to speak with the families expelled.
     Meanwhile, committees in solidarity with Tunceli have been
established in several major cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, and
Adana, and on Tuesday they carried out a protest demonstration in
the capital Ankara. "The army is preparing the second destruction
of Dersim," commented the head of one Tunceli support group,
making reference to the tragedy of 1938 when the Turkish army,
after two years of effort, deported the entire population of
Dersim and then razed the city. The name "Dersim" was then banned
and replaced with "Tunceli". "But today, they aren't satisfied
with just driving us from our homes and destroying our houses,
but rather they also want to destroy nature, they want to destroy
all our forests so as to make the region uninhabitable forever."
     Making note of the comments made by the "minister for human
rights", the International Human Rights Association in Bonn has
called on the German government to announce an immediate
moratorium on the deportation of Kurds and to stop all weapons
sales to Turkey.

(From: junge Welt, October 14, 1994)

3) Kurdistan Is Burning!

Dozens Arrested After Peaceful Demonstrations

     Kurds in several major German cities took to the streets on
Saturday, October 22, to protest the on-going offensive by the
Turkish army in the Kurdish province of Dersim. Several hundred
Kurds took part in marches in Dortmund, Munich, Hamburg, and
Frankfurt. In Hannover and Berlin, several people were slightly
injured after riot police attacked demonstrators carrying ERNK
flags and shouting slogans in support of the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK). At least two dozen Kurds were arrested and
charged with disorderly conduct and displaying symbols of an
illegal organization.

To The Public:

Yesterday Lice, Kulp, Halepce - Today Dersim!
Kurdistan Is Burning!

     In Dersim, hidden from world public opinion, a people, a
city, a region are being systematically destroyed by the Turkish
government. According to our information, at least 37 villages
have been depopulated and destroyed by bombing raids so far. The
forests are being set on fire, the farmers' fields are being
burned - a scorched earth policy is being followed. Hundreds more
villages have already been affected through death threats
designed to force people to resettle elsewhere. Dersim has been
hidden from the media for weeks, not even the Turkish media,
which is loyal to the Turkish state, has been allowed to enter
the area. Only military reports are sent from the region, and
these are then read, without comment, on state and private
television stations. It is no coincidence that all of this is
taking place in Dersim, which has been placed under a state of
emergency for 10 years, and in a higher state of emergency for
the last 2 years. There is a food embargo, a ban on taking sheep
herds into the mountains, and food is so strictly and minimally
rationed that families barely have enough to survive. Food and
livestock are confiscated by the military if they feel there is
too much food above the minimal level needed to survive. Villages
have been cut off from one another, steets are blocked, and the
people's right to free movement has been de facto abolished.

The "Reasons" For The Massacre

     These measures have been enacted against the people of
Dersim, because they are a population which are especially
progressive and critical of the government. That's why they have
been a thorn in the side of the Ankara government for quite some
time.
     This is not the first time that Dersim has experienced such
a massacre. For example, in 1938, 40,000 Kurds, elderly people,
pregnant women, and children, were killed.
     This event left a deep memory in the minds of the people of
the Dersim region, and that is why the people are so distrustful
of the Turkish state.
     Anyone who knows about what has happened in Lice, Kulp, and
Dersim can no longer stay silent in the face of the Turkish
government's aggression.
     We call on the German government to help establish an
independent international commission to look into the events in
Dersim.
     We demand that all aid to the Turkish government be
suspended, because this aid only serves to keep the Turkish
government in place and to allow it to carry out its massaces
against the Kurdish people.
     We demand that all occupying troops withdraw immediately
from Kurdish territory!

AGIF (Federation of Labor Immigrants from Turkey)
Taunusstrasse 12a
51105 Cologne
Germany

4) Ozgur Ulke Offices Bombed

     On Saturday, December 3, 1994, the offices of the pro-
Kurdish daily newspaper Ozgur Ulke in the Turkish cities Ankara
and Istanbul were bombed. The editorial offices and printing
presses were completely destryed in the ensuing fire. Office
workers who attempted to put out the blaze were arrested by
Turkish police, witnesses reported. At least two dozen people
were hurt in blast, and one of the drivers for the paper, Ersin
Yildiz, was killed. No group has claimed responsibility for the
bombing, but indications are that it was either the work of the
Turkish fascist party MHP or the Turkish secret police - or both.
Just a few days before the bombing, Ozgur Ulke had published a
ceasefire offer from PKK chairman Abdullah Ocalan; Turkish prime
minister Ciller flatly rejected the proposal.
     On Monday, December 5, several thousand people took part in
Ersin Yildiz' funeral. According to the European office of Ozgur
Ulke, the Turkish police banned all gatherings and buried Yildiz
themselves. Police then attacked and seriously injured several
people wishing to attend the funeral.
     Several small Turkish democratic presses have pooled their
resources in order to make it possible for Ozgur Ulke to continue
publishing, albeit in a smaller form.

5) Statement From Ozgur Ulke Editor

To The Media And General Public:

We received the following statement from the Chief Editor of the
pro-Kurdish daily newspaper Ozgur Ulke, A. Baki Karadeniz:

     Between 03.00-3.30 a.m. last night, explosions ripped
through three of the main offices of our newspaper, Ozgur Ulke
(Free Land) in Istanbul and Ankara. Once again the world is
witness to another atrocity of the Turkish regime. Ersin Yilmaz,
a driver was killed and 18 people seriously injured. There is no
need to speculate as to the authors of this crime. They are very
clear to all of us and are as follows:

1. Ozgur Ulke, following its predecessor Ozgur Gundem, has
consistently fought against murderers masquerading as "generals",
"ministers" or "journalists";

2. By publicising new items, photographs and documents revealing
the true nature of the dirty-war Turkish regime in Kurdistan,
Turkey's mask was torn off before the eyes of the world;

3. Ozgur Ulke never pulling its punches, has been the voice of
the Kurdish people and at every turn, proved to be the paper for
both Turkish and Kurdish people;

4. Our newspaper always insisted on the need for a political
solution to the war in Kurdistan, a war which has already claimed
the lives of thousands, the destruction of hundreds of Kurdish
villages, and the torturing, maiming and imprisonment of tens of
thousands. Through this work, we have raised the awareness of the
people and thus become the target for the blood-thirsty
commissioners;

5. Despite confiscation of almost every issue and the repression
resulting in the reduction of its circulation to between
12-13,000 in Turkey, Ozgur Ulke continued stubbornly to be the
voice of the suffering masses.

     Therefore Ozgur Ulke had to face the myriad orders ranging
from those of the chief of staff to interior Minister, from the
police to the Special Forces, from so-called journalists to
mayors and last but not least we neither wait on the "findings"
of false investigations nor the "statements" of state officials
because:

1. Already, Interior Minister Nahit Mentese, a few days prior to
the atrocity, described our paper as a "separatist paper" and
added "I would have closed it down, if I had the authority";

2. Already, during the MGK (National Security Council) meeting
four days ago, our newspaper was on the agenda when it was
decided to silence it;

3. Already, our newspaper was declared a target by columnist Emin
Colasan of the Turkish daily, Hurriyet, which is nothing but an
arm of the contra-guerilla.

     These examples are enough to identify by conspirators.
     This attack which happens to coincides with the proposals
for peace and dialogue shows the real intentions of the state.
However, the state has failed again. They will not be able to
silence us by razing our buildings and offices. Ozgur Ulke will
be out tomorrow and for many, many days after tomorrow.

6) "Our Movement Will Continue To Grow"

Excerpt From An Interview With Abdullah Ocalan, PKK General
Secretary

What is the significance of August 15, 1984, in Kurdish history
and what role has it played?

     If we are to evaluate this 10-year period, which we can
consider to be the Kurdish people's first and last chance of
liberation, we may say it is the best organised step towards
nation building and national liberation for thousands of years.
The Kurdish people, who throughout their history have been
bedevilled by tribal divisions due to colonialist policies, were
on the point of losing their national identity when this striking
attempt was made to stop this process. The Kurdish people had
reached this point in the 20th century, a century in which the
development of national consciousness was at it zenith. In
general, the emergence of the PKK, and in particular the
launching of the armed struggle, stopped the slide to oblivion
and opened the door to the unfettered development of national
consciousness. It was only then that 'Kurdishness' began to
develop in a healthy environment. The people believed they could
be liberated. The despair of hundreds of years was swept away.
The movement that began on August 15, 1984, endeavoured to avoid
the pitfalls and fundamental weaknesses of previous Kurdish
rebellions. We examined the reasons for the failure of the
uprisings that took place in the years following the founding of
the Turkish Republic. We also evaluated the Turkish left-wing
movement of the seventies, its failure and the way it tried to
prevent the emergence of a genuine Kurdish national liberation
movement through social chauvinism. We are also aware of the KDP
experience. It is clear that the KDP, which started out as a
primitive nationalist movement, has completely failed to learn
from the uprising of March 1991 and has acted like a simple horse
trader and lapsed into a more reactionary position than all the
rebellions led by primitive nationalist forces. The PKK has
become the incarnation of the Kurdish people's values. It has
become a strong material force and is dominant on an ideological,
political, and cultural level. It has also transcended the purely
national sphere and begun to influence the whole of the Middle
East and the international stage. For the first time, the Kurdish
identity is being accepted internationally. It has reached the
stage where the world takes note and says "there should be a
solution". We are also exerting all our energy to ensure that the
process of building national institutions is based on a free
identity, and on sound principles. We have drawn the lessons of
the collapse of "real-existing socialism". From a military and
political standpoint, 15 August has brought the Turkish army,
supported by the imperialist world and using the most brutal
methods, to a standstill. Turkey's political life is also in a
cul-de-sac. 15 August is also the expression of resistance to a
host of political and diplomatic policies, all of which have been
successfully frustrated.

Could we categorise the last 10 years as the Kurds' transition to
a modern military activity?

     Not all armed revolts can be classified as army building.
The peshmerga is not a typical Kurdish army and is definitely not
an expression of a national process of army building. I believe
we have made progress towards forming an army on the national
level. We have only been able to overcome the characteristics of
the peshmerga tradition and traditional uncoordinated rebellion
through an intensive internal ideological, political, and
organisational struggle. Within the organisation the tribal clan,
family mentality tried to exert itself. This is a form of
expression of rebellion, the person is engaged in a conflict with
oppression and wants to fight back, but then thinks of his family
and changes his mind. This is particularly striking in the south
where the peshmergas, never having been able to abandon their
family interests, have consequently never been able to instigate
a protracted war in the mountains. This has prevented the
formation of a national army. Even in our organisation there is
only a limited number of people who want to be part of a highly
organised guerrilla entity. The social, economic, and cultural
level of our people makes them less amenable to this form of
struggle. I still see this as the most serious problem
confronting us. Those who claim to be intellectuals, even
revolutionary intellectuals, only indulge in long-winded rhetoric
when it comes to the struggle. They are unable to demonstrate the
necessary discipline and will-power that military matters demand.
All this has emerged since 1984 and with further analysis we
believe we will be able to succeed in developing the struggle
further. In this context, the 15 August process is a genuine
building of a people's army. If it hadn't been for great
discipline, patience, and foresight the 15 August uprising would
not have lasted 48 hours let alone I0 years.

What have been the economic, political, and military results of
10 years of war for the Turkish state and the people of
Kurdistan?

     There is no need for me to say much. Everyone can see that
Turkey is experiencing its worst economic crisis in the history
of the Republic and I might add arguably the Ottoman period too.
It is the struggle we are waging that has brought the economy to
this state. If the Turkish people are still putting up with the
economic crisis it is due to the pressure of the dirty war. Those
directing the dirty war are imposing their own chauvinistic
blackmail saying "If this struggle achieves success it will be
the end of us, we'll lose everything." They think that they can
pursue the war by making the people dependent upon them. Business
circles have begun to oppose this policy, and as a result the
government has threatened them.
     Politically, too, there is a crisis. There is no democracy
in Turkey. If you added up all the political parties they
wouldn't make one party. Most of the party leaders have been
appointed by the General Staff. There is no doubt about that.
     The press have also been put under the control of a
committee from the TRT which is a team from the Special Forces
Command. The entire press has been organised according to the
needs of the dirty war. Consequently the most important aspect of
the 10-year war is the way it has exposed the lack of democracy
and politics in Turkey. The generals are furious. Despite the
many weaknesses and shortcomings of the guerrillas, the Turkish
army has not been able to prevent the development of the
guerrilla struggle. This constitutes a defeat for them. The
General Staff is indulging in a gigantic bluff, trying to show
itself as successful by ensuring the media does not mention the
great losses suffered by the Turkish army. We know there are over
10,000 guerrillas in the mountains of Kurdistan. Every day over
50 troops are killed but there is not a word in the press.
Unfortunately, there is nowhere the people can go to find out the
truth. Thus the General Staff can conceal what is happening. I
invite the Turkish Grand National Assembly to send a commission
to find out the true situation. Are there or are there not
guerrillas in the mountains? There is no need for them to be
afraid. We will provide assistance to them. Parliament should
assume this responsibility and inform the public of the reality
of the situation. If parliamentarians are unable to tell the
people that the war being waged in Kurdistan is responsible for
their economic hardships, how can they conduct politics?
     Chief of Staff Dogan Gures claimed he would finish us off by
winter, then it was March, now he says "by the end of August"
which incidentally coincides with his retirement. On the
contrary, despite Gures the guerrillas have bases all over
Kurdistan, from Sivas to Artvin, near the Black Sea, and from
Erzurum to the Taurus Mountains near Adana. In fact from now on
we will conduct real guerrilla activity. Up to this time we have
only been making preparations.
     This year, as Dogan Gores has admitted, there is a
stalemate. The guerrilla forces have grown both numerically and
qualitatively. The Turkish army has launched countless operations
this year with 30,000 or 50,000 men but they have all ended in
fiasco. They have withdrawn with unexpectedly heavy casualties.
The state is on the point of bankruptcy. They cannot attack us as
they used to. We, too, aware of their equipment and numerical
strength, do not attack them in open warfare but we are able to
maintain our existence for long periods wherever we wish. This is
a significant military development which will have political
results. They will have to talk to us about a political solution.
The General Staff are aware of this situation but are afraid of
the Turkish public discovering it.

You have mentioned Dogan Gures's high-profile in recent years. Is
it possible to talk about a "Gures period"? And what is the role
of Demirel and the other civilian politicians during this period?

     In the last change of military personnel, Demirel attempted
to impose his authority, since by virtue of the authority
entrusted to him as president he is commander of the armed
forces. However he signed the order given him by Gures. Demirel
gave a banquet in his residence and some generals did not attend.
If people as a protest do not accept the commander's invitation
this means there is a military coup. Ciller says: "I won't
continue as P.M. without Dogan Gures", meaning she will retain
him and give him a ministry. Gures did not want to cause
discontent amongst other officers by postponing his retirement as
he did last year. Although he is no longer formally the Chief of
Staff, there is no doubt that he is still running the show.
Everyone is saying that his clique is dominant. So if this isn't
a clandestine coup, what is it? Gures began his move to power in
1990. At that time Ozal wanted to implement his own policies in
the Gulf Crisis and the Kurdish question. It was at that time
that the Gures clique made an intervention to weaken Ozal's
position. Of course Ozal's death has not yet been properly
explained. Even his own doctors say it was not a normal death. A
day before he died, Ozal said: "I'm going to solve the Kurdish
question and the northern Iraq problem." A day later he was dead.
It's too much of a coincidence.
     Going back to 1991 when the coalition came to power, it was
the army and the MIT (National Intelligence Organisation) that
ensured that the True Path Party (DYP) and Social Democratic
Populist Party (SHP) came together to form a coalition. As soon
as the coalition had settled in the massacres started. In March
1992 there were the Newroz massacres in Cizre and Nusaybin.
General Esref Bitlis was blown up while on a plane, the General
in Lice was shot, a colonel in Dersirii allegedly committed
suicide. None of these incidents have been properly explained.
The existence of the Kurdish question was once again denied as
Demirel and Inonu, the latter almost as if he wished to exceed
his father, rained bombs on the Kurdish people. Demirel has again
enrolled Turkes (leader of far-right MHP - trans.) to help
eliminate the resistance in Kurdistan and any other revolutionary
activity that may exist, as he has done for 30 years. In fact the
coalition is not a DYP-SHP one, it is a DYP-SHP and MHP one.
     The MHP is a secret member of the coalition government
because the powers that be do not want people to think the
coalition is another "national front government" (like in 1977).
Turkes's task has been to organise the so-called "mystery
killings" that have been perpetrated in Kurdistan.

Could you elaborate on this please?

     It would appear that Turkes has been the head of the Special
Warfare Department since 1958. Just as he was in the 1960 coup,
since the end of 1991 he has been the clandestine Prime Minister.
Turkes and Ciller have had secret talks, it seems that they have
regular meetings.
     Turkes's old cronies have also been put in charge of the
other parties, both the main opposition party, the Motherland
Party, and even the SHP and DYP. So who else could be Prime
Minister? Since 1991 the real president has been Gures and the
Prime Minister Turkes. In the same way as the Austrian, Hitler,
brought disaster to Germany, it seems the Cypriot, Turkes, is
trying to bring disaster to Turkey. In fact, if you look at the
representatives of racist-chauvinist Turkish nationalism you will
see that nearly all of them are non-Turkish. There are Balkan
immigrants, Arabs, Circassians, Cypriots, and even Kurds.
     The Turkish Republic continues the Ottoman tradition of
taking people from its periphery and relying on them to
perpetuate its existence.
     The Special Warfare Department has used all its resources
against us. They used Hikmet Cetin until he had no more use, like
a squeezed lemon. Now they have brought in Mumtaz Soysal, who
used to consider himself a leftist. He is now an ally of fascism.
     Since 1991, Turkes has been organising the "killings by
unidentified persons". These murders have been carried out by the
"Special Army" which has been organised by Turkes. Hundreds of
people have been murdered, Kurdish businessmen have been killed
in the west of Turkey.
     I want to emphasise the danger that "Turkes's Turkish
nationalism" poses for the Turkish people. It is carrying the
Anatolian Turk along the same disastrous road that the Ottoman
Empire went under the guidance of the Committee for Union and
Progress. Democratic forces should be aware of this danger.

In Turkey there is intensive debate about a "democratisation
package" that is to be presented in the autumn.

     There is no democratisation package. This is a facade to
conceal the losses suffered by the coup. The DEP trial has
exposed the lack of democracy. The government wishes to cover
this up. Ciller and Karayalcin are like a pair of conjurers doing
"hocus pocus", distracting the people's attention. The people
won't put up with this much longer. The crises in their parties
demonstrate this. I do not expect these people to change. They
are part of the team from the Special Warfare Department.
Otherwise how could they have come from nowhere to become leaders
of their parties? There are politicians with 30 or 40 years
experience in both Ciller's and Karayalcin's parties. The
so-called "democratisation package" will in fact be the exact
opposite and will help to intensify the contradictions within the
system. The guerrilla struggle will also deepen these
contradictions and intensify the crisis.

What is the state of Kurdish diplomacy?

     One of the most important products of the 15 August has been
the effect on the international scene of the struggle which has
developed in Kurdistan. Turkish diplomacy has, in recent years,
expended great efforts in trying to prove that the PKK is
"terrorist" and in so doing isolate the movement by casting a
shadow on its legitimacy and limiting its external support. In
the last two years, Turkey has used a Kurdish, in origin at
least, Foreign Minister in an attempt to prevent the development
of Kurdish diplomacy and, consequently, the international effects
of our struggle. Unfortunately the negative effects of some
Kurdish collaborationist circles can also be observed. Their
approach can be compared to merchants competing in a bazaar who
see Kurdistan as an alienable and negotiable commodity to be
bought by the highest bidder. We have exposed this for what it is
as cheap trading. It is not diplomacy. We have proved the
effectiveness of principled, revolutionary diplomacy. We are
still at the beginning of this process and there are serious
shortcomings to be overcome. However, there is intense interest.
Every state now has a foreign office Kurdish desk. There is an
increasing interest developing around the DEP trial. There are
the MPs in exile. There is a need for a Parliament in exile or a