PKK: BALL'S IN ANKARA'S COURT

"It is obvious that the Turkish Government and its army cannot solve the problem by the violence as it already tried this so many times. Politics of “surrender or destroy” have inflicted only harm to our people and caused the destabilization of our region. A democratic solution by means of dialogue will in contrast clear the way for a democratic development that can only be positive for Turkey, if only Turkey responds positively towards the ceasefire."
~ PKK Ceasefire Statement, 1 October 2006,

Western media, including Turkish media, have been reporting on the killing of Turkish soldiers over the weekend as a result of clashes the TSK initiated against the HPG in the area of Culemêrg (Hakkari), Yüksekova. Their body counts vary between nine to sixteen kills. HPG's website reports a body count of 35 and lists the names of the eight captives. The TSK has confirmed that eight of its troops are missing.

By the way, anyone who makes the claim that these operations are the result of "rebels" crossing the Iraq border, has no clue as to the geography of the region. These operations are not "cross-border" operations.

The IHT reports the TSK's confirmation of the captives and also reports that thirty-four HPG gerîlas have become şehîds but, on Sunday, HPG dismissed the count of thirty-four HPG şehîds as another example of Turkey's psychological warfare efforts.

More from the IHT:

A senior rebel commander, Bahoz Erdal, said the soldiers were in rebel hands, the Firat News Agency reported.

"Right now, these soldiers are hostages in the hands of our forces," Firat quoted Erdal as saying.

"Their health condition is good. One of them was slightly injured but was being taken care of by our medics."

Erdal said the families of soldiers should not worry about the fate of their sons. "We have not harmed them and we will not," Erdal said.

There is no reason to doubt that the captives are being well-cared for since Turkish security forces have been captured in the past and released in good condition, as was the case with Hakan Açil and Coşkun Kırandi.

The IHT goes on to mention a ceasefire that Celal Talabanî claimed would be announced by KCK today:

The Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, said Monday that Kurdish rebels would announce a cease-fire later in the day, according to his office.

Kurdish rebels last declared a cease-fire in June [Wrong--Mizgîn] and the rebel group said Monday that the cease-fire was still in place, the Firat News Agency reported. The cease-fire announcement in June [Wrong again--Mizgîn] did not halt fighting.

"We have not officially ended the cease-fire," the group said in a statement in response to Talabani, Firat reported.

"We're stating clearly that if the Turkish state stops its attacks, then increased tensions will be replaced with a clash-free environment."

But the rebel group said it was determined to defend itself against Turkish attacks. "We are calling on Turkey to give up a risky adventure and give a positive response to our peaceful and democratic initiatives for the solution of the problem," it said.

There was no ceasefire in June.

The ceasefire was called on 1 October 2006. When the Turkish military ends its attacks, there will be no fighting and this has been the stand of KCK for over a year. Nothing has changed in this regard. The information quoted from Firat News accurately reflects the KCK's position since last October but IHT's version doesn't mention that when the Ankara regime makes the offer of a democratic solution, KCK will be happy to consider it.

Recall that Yaşar Büyükanıt, Edip Başer, and Joseph Ralston were the three that refused to recognize the PKK's fifth unilateral ceasefire. They also refused to recognize PKK's democratic solution. Here's how Kevin McKiernan put it last year:

Iraq's president, Jalal Talabani, who is a Kurd, recently played a key role in behind-the-scenes negotiations to disarm the guerrillas. The result was a cease-fire announcement on Oct. 1 by the rebels, who also declared they might hand over weapons to US forces in Iraq in exchange for Turkish concessions that include human rights reforms and amnesty for rebels. In a speech in Istanbul last month Ralston opposed amnesty and dismissed the cease-fire, declaring he would never "negotiate with terrorists."

Büyükanıt, Başer, and Ralston--those three, along with Lockheed Martin and their puppets in the American government, really screwed Turkey good.

In one last item, since the Ankara regime gained a lot of attention from its psychological operations in Beytüşşebap, it decided to do a similar operation in Culemêrg, Yüksekova--the same area where the 35 Turkish soldiers were whacked. This time the Ankara regime attempted to massacre a wedding convoy, but their efforts only resulted in injuries instead of deaths.

Interesting, isn't it, that the Ankara regime always targets civilians in those parts of Turkish-occupied Kurdistan in which major TSK operations are ongoing? Just as three weeks ago there were major operations in Beytüşşebap and the regime massacred a dozen people, so this last weekend, during major operations in Culemêrg, Yüksekova, the regime tried to massacre civilians in a wedding convoy.

Ah, well, that's NATO's law of land warfare for you.