THE RESPONSE

"Those who come seeking peace without a treaty are plotting."

~ Sun Tzu.

Lazy journalists have characterized Koma Komalên Kurdistan's recent statement as a cease fire offer. Of course, it's the same lazy journalists, along with their comrades, Turkish propagandists, who continue to refer to KKK as PKK. In a concession to extreme ignorance, let's talk about this.

All of it should sound familiar, if you're up on old KADEK and KONGRA-GEL statements.

First of all, let's reference the statement as published on DozaMe. The statement clearly indicates that some preliminary steps must be taken before there can be discussion of any ceasefire. Those steps are as follows:

1. The Ankara regime "must issue a statement to show the will for dialogue and solution,"

2. The Ankara regime must "cease its attacks,"

3. The Ankara regime must "end the heavy isolation conditions on our Leadership,"

When these conditions are met, KKK will immediately begin ceasefire operations. Given the history of all the past unilateral ceasefires with their calls for the negotiation of a political settlement, it is common sense that tells us there can be nothing more done unilaterally. Unilateral ceasefires have only meant sacrifice for the Kurdish side, sacrifices that no one is prepared to make any more, with no one on the other side of the table with which to discuss. At the same time, the statement indicates the continued willingness of Kurds to negotiate a peaceful settlement and search for a political solution to the suffering of the Kurdish people.

With the examples of the IRA and ETA, and the respective governments involved, Turkey's hypocrisy is now in the open. Given the recent call for an abandonment of legitimate self-defense on the part of Kurds by the US State Department, American hypocrisy is also now in the open, with the use of American aircraft against Kurdish civilians punctuating that hypocrisy like a row of exclamation points. EU hypocrisy is also displayed for the world to see in the references to the will of the Kurdish people as symbolized by this year's Newroz celebrations and by the Amed Serhildan, and all the remarks on that fact remind us of Cemil Bayik's responses to interview questions a few months ago:

We expect Lagendijk and the EU to respect the choice and the will of the Kurdish people. On 15 February (the anniversary of the abduction of Ocalan), 8 March (International Women's Day) and during Newroz people demonstrated their support for the PKK and Ocalan by chanting "PKK is the people". The Kurds carried posters of Ocalan everywhere and stated that Ocalan is the representative of their political will. Mr Lagendijk who talks about democracy does not recognize that and insists to the people that "Ocalan does not represent you". I do not think that this attitude reflects a commitment to democracy.

Speaking of democracy and the will of the people, it's clear from the statement that it is unacceptable to engage in a "trilateral discussion" of the Kurdish situation in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan by Turkey, the US and Iraq. Nowhere, in those three entities, is the will of the people of Turkish-occupied Kurdistan represented. Without the representation of the Bakûrî Kurds, nothing will be accomplished. The best that the US or Iraq can do is act as mediators to bring Turkey to a position of negotiation with the Bakûrî.

In this, there has been one voice in Kurdistan Bashûr that has consistently spoken of justice for the Bakûrî Kurds, from the Kurdish Globe:

Mahmoud Othman, Kurdistan Alliance member of the Iraqi National Assembly, said that the decision of the government to close PKK headquarters in Iraq is wrong, a local media reported.

“Turkey does not recognize the right of 20 million Kurds in Turkish Kurdistan and that is why it is unacceptable that we should close PKK headquarters on the request of the Turkish government,” Othman insisted.

[ . . . ]

Othman called on Kurdish officials not to support the Iraqi government’s decision regarding PKK.

If the Ankara regime meets the steps leading to a bilateral ceasefire, KKK has listed six items as being first on the table:

1- The acknowledgement of the Kurdish identity and the constitutional guarantee of all identities under the identity of a Citizen of Turkey as the main identity,

2- The lifting of obstacles on the development of the Kurdish language and culture, the acknowledgement of education in the mother tongue and Kurdish acknowledged as the official second language alongside Turkish in the Kurdistan region, and with this to show respect to other minority cultures,

3- The acknowledgement, on the basis of freely practicing politics and organizing, of the right to thought, belief and freedom of expression, the lifting of all social inequalities in the constitution and laws, firstly being those of gender discrimination,

4- A social reconciliation project with the aim of mutual forgiveness of both people’s for the development of a peace and freedom union, on this basis the release of political prisoners including the PKK Leadership, and no obstacles to them participating in politics and social life,

5- The removal of forces in Kurdistan there for the purposes of special war, the abolition of the village guard system and the necessary social and political projects to be developed for the return of displaced villagers,

6- In parallel to the realization of the above articles, the initiation, with a timetable determined by both parties, of the gradual disarmament and legal participation into the democratic social life.

Not much is new here and almost everything has been at least given lip service by the EU. However, the idea of a "social reconciliation project" is something that has not been officially called for by anyone else, although it will be absolutely necessary in order to create a democracy. It should be similar to truth and justice commissions that have been used in other countries to put abusive and violent histories in the past. In the case of the Ankara regime, the risk will be that Turkish atrocities against the Kurdish people will go the way of the Armenian Genocide--into the black hole of denial--unless such a commission is established.

The second item is the proposal of the establishment of a timetable by both parties for disarmament as well as "legal participation into the democratic and social life," which I take to mean the integration of gerîlas back into civilian life, along with all leadership, as well as the full acceptance of DTP.

Given the barbarity of the Ankara regime with its "chauvenistic outlook," and the fact that it "has no other policy besides denial and annihilation," there is little hope that it will deviate from its usual behavior regarding the situation of Kurds under occupation for the simple fact that it only sees "everything in terms of force in arms and violence."

Ultimately, then, what is the point of this statement? Since we know that, at this point, Turkey is incapable of accepting any Kurdish demands, then we know this statemen is a reply to the recent US State Department call to PKK. On 15 Tebax, the US called on PKK to lay down arms and end it's legitimate defense against America's terrorist ally. It is also a reply to the Iraqi Government in its recent attempts to placate both the American and Turkish governments, over the will of the Kurdish people.

Ball's in your court now, America.