FREEING UP A LITTLE MENTAL SPACE

"A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal. "
~ Oscar Wilde.

The Europeans are talking again, backing up the position of Joost Lagendijk and Cem Ozdemir. This time, 130 members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) are demanding that HPG lay down its arms. Peace activists in Turkey are calling for the same as a first step in finding a peaceful solution to the "Kurdish problem" that Ankara has created.

But there is something seriously wrong here, something seriously lacking in sincerity. PKK called for a number of ceasefires throughout the years, notably in 1993, 1995 and 1998. A significant ceasefire was called in 1999, one which lasted until 2004. More recently, HPG called a one-month ceasefire last August after Erdogan's photo-op in Amed. What came of all these ceasefires? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Given this history, are we really expected to believe any call, demand, request, invitation, or whatever, for "PKK" to lay down its arms as a prerequisite for a peaceful solution? This is a joke! Neither the Turkish government nor the EU bothered to avail themselves of PKK's laying down of arms in the past, why should anyone believe them now?

Just as with the Lagendijk/Ozdemir statement, so this statement from PACE makes no mention of DTP. At least the peace activists in Turkey recognize the existence of DTP and they recognize that DTP is in no position "to urge PKK to 'lay down its arms.'" Of course, they appear disingenous too, when they reiterate the IRA and ETA examples, "stating that nowhere in the world had armed parties ever sat around a table before laying down arms." The Turkish state is also armed, more dangerously so than HPG, so why are there no demands for TSK to withdraw? Why are there no demands for all of the state security apparatus to cease and desist in their operations against the Kurdish people, operations which have continued to include attacks against lawyers, human rights workers, children, excessive use of force? In short, operations which clearly indicate the government's intention of reinforcing its dirty war from the 1990s.

Then there are others who attempt to pass themselves off as "democrats," while at the same time placing all the blame for the serhildan on DTP. These others clearly indicate that they are happy in turning back the calendar to the 1990's because their attacks against DTP, all made with the Voice of Reason, naturally, are signs that they are complicit with the government in preparing the way to close DTP, just as the government has done to all Kurdish parties in the past.

Not only are the Europeans, the Turks, and peace activists attempting to remove the legitimate right of the Kurdish people to self-defence, they are also atttempting to bury every avenue of political recourse. In this, they are siding with the AKP and the Pashas. If anyone has any doubts about this, if anyone still thinks that democracy in Turkey is anything more than a facade, consider Erdogan's response in Sabah over the question of general amnesty for HPG. This is a man who is running scared of the Pashas. At least there were indications that Turgut Ozal was considering a phased amnesty plan for PKK, as reported by Jonathan Randal in his book, After Such Knowledge, What Forgiveness? Whether or not Ozal's plan would have come to anything is something that is now buried in history, but at least he considered the idea at one point.

Erdogan, on the other hand, is too scared to even meet with DTP. In fact, he's become a regular mouthpiece of the Pashas recently. Not only has he approved all Kurds as legitimate targets of security force aggression, he has also stated that there will be no end to the government's terrorist operations in Kurdistan:

"So, the operations should be stopped. Can the operations be stopped? What does this mean now? Security forces receiving intelligence on terrorism will conduct operations whether in the cities or in rural areas. This is their primary duty. We will do them, we have to do them. There is no stopping. The operations will definitely continue. Look at this man. He is a Mayor but he says lay down the arms. Just look at that remark! Before anything you do your job as Mayor. Security force members will carry their arms, what is that to you. "

That little tirade was Erdogan's attempt to berate Osman Baydemir for his request to end security operations in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan. I guess Osman feels the same way I do about all this laying-down-of-arms business, recognizing that it is not only HPG who bears arms in "The Region."

My skepticism is growing about the Europeans' "efforts" on behalf of the Kurdish people. I mean, Europe can't even get a grip on the reality of their own situation inside Europe, as unrest in the last few years there proves. They can't contain the violence of their own immigrant "problems" practically speaking--remember all the burned property during the riots in France last November? Nor can the Europeans get a grip on this situation ideologically, so what makes them or anyone else think that they are going to be able to do anything for Kurds, even IF Turkey gains EU accession? If Europe is unable or unwilling to integrate immigrants living in Europe, how is EU membership going to ensure any kind of rights for Kurds in faraway places like Amed, Hekarî or Wan?

I came across one indication of what the Americans may be starting to think about, and it is yet another "rescue" of Europe:

By leaving Iraq, the Americans will free up time and mental space for considering the islamization of Europe and what it means for European foreign policy, for the advanced weaponry including nuclear weapons in France and England, and for the continued survival of Western civilization. Not exactly small questions, but questions have been ignored.

Hilarious! They need mental space to figure out how to rescue Europe from itself, since it isn't able to sort out its own problems! If America starts thinking this way, why should Kurds put their hopes in the EU, especially with all the insincerity surrounding calls for Kurds to disarm themselves?

I came across that article because it mentions an independent Kurdistan, in the second paragraph from the last. But everyone can bet that the independent Kurdistan written about there, which is supposed to become a model for everyone else in the region, is that little part of Kurdistan in the South, which the Americans,and everyone else, can swallow without choking, and has nothing to do with the question of independence, federalism, autonomy or even "political and cultural rights," for Kurds in Greater Kurdistan.

Everyone is going to have to work much harder in order to be convincing.


By the way, The New Anatolian has a report on the findings of the parliamentary Semdinli Commission. The only surprise here is that the commission hints that Masud Barzanî and the KDP may be responsible for the bombings of last November. Any port in a storm, I guess.

The draft "findings" include the following:

* The state is acquitted of involvement--big shock.

* The claim is that the bombings were "local," thus contradicting Erdogan's statement at the time.

* The notion that there are any "illegal formations" in the gendarmerie is rejected, along with all of DTP's other concerns.

* There is no evidence that PKK was involved with the Semdinli bookstore bombing, but the commission wouldn't be surprised if PKK was involved.

* There is no evidence that PKK was involved with a September bombing in Semdinli, but all other bombings in the region were carried out by PKK.

The proposed solution? Yet more anti-terror organizations to harass and murder Kurds.


Why am I not surprised that AKP is doing the usual song and dance?