"This new leadership considers that 'all PKK members will henceforth live and fight as fedayin', that Turkey is 'mistaken to rejoice' and 'will soon regret Öcalan who did everything possible to stop the conflict between his followers and the Turkish army degenerating into a Turkish-Kurdish war'."
~ Kendal Nezan, March 1999.
~ Kendal Nezan, March 1999.
The bodies of two Turkish soldiers who were reported missing after HPG's highly successful attack against the Bezele military garrison in the Semdinli, Hakkari region have been found. Earlier, HPG Commander Abdullah Zap stated that HPG did not have possession of the two bodies:
"More than likely they were killed by shooting from helicopters. The information that they are captured by us is not correct."
HPG's statement was confirmed by the Turkish General Staff announcement that they had found the two bodies.
İlker Başbuğ is also pressing for a strengthening of OHAL (state of emergency) in those regions that are already designated as "special security regions". In June 2007, before the 2007 elections, the Ankara regime designated Şirnex, Culemêrg, and Sêrt as new OHAL regions, with the OHAL being extended in scope and length of time since then. Naturally, this resulted in and extension of human rights violations, for which Turkey is so well known.
The Turkish General Staff wants the destruction of certain laws that hamper TSK's ability to conduct human rights violations more fully in the OHAL regions. Some points mentioned in Özgür Gündem include the following:
1. The current anti-terror law restricts TSK's operations.
2. TSK expects its authority to be increased.
3. The number of days a person is kept in detention must be extended.
4. Some lawyers pass information from detainees to PKK (Implication: detainees must not be allowed to have access to lawyers).
5. TSK wants to create a coordination unit for the provinces in which operations take place.
6. TSK wants the legal restrictions they face at checkpoints to be removed.
7. For the counter-"terror" struggle, the concept must be extended and those organizations and media that make "PKK propaganda" must be banned from the OHAL regions.
8. Food and equipment going to PKK must be stopped.
9. Special forces teams must be revived.
So there you have Turkish "democracy" in action, folks. Instead of seeking a political solution, as PKK has sought for many years, and reiterated as recently as August 2006 (http://www.kurdish-info.net/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3467), the fascists want more freedom to repress and genocide the Kurdish people.
In those parts of Turkey which do not enjoy the security benefits of OHAL, such as those regions in the West, the Turkish population itself is free to repress and genocide the Kurdish people, as noted over the weekend in the daily Taraf and translated courtesy of Azadixwaz:
For the people who is reading this blog, I am sure that you are following what is going on in Turkey and Kurdistan. As recent as two days ago PKK attacked Belezê garrison and killed 15 soldiers, there are a lot of wounded soldiers too, and 9 PKK guerillas died in this clash as well. You already know that there have been and there are many cases of lynchings against the Kurds, in the Western parts of Turkey where a big population of the Kurds live. Most of the Kurds who live in those cities, excluding the Kurds of Anatolia that mainly live in Konya-Ankara region who have been living there for over centuries now, were the people whose villages were burnt down and were forced to leave their homes, villages, properties, loved ones behind and start a new and very hard life in these prejudiced and almost fascist cities of the Western Turkey.
I personally think that the true nature of the Turkish fascism/racism is coming out with these lynchings of the Kurds that by now have become almost normal and accepted events/incidents in the Western cities of Turkey.
I have translated an article that was written by Rasim Ozan Kutahyali and published by Taraf daily newspaper. Here is the link to the Turkish version of it. I dont feel like adding anything; this person I think draws a very through picture of what is happening in Turkey. I wil try to translate the following article asap and publish it here as well. Here goes the article:
There are certain points that I disagree with in the Taraf article, particularly the merely economic, but at least it begins to address the ethnic issue. However the title of the piece asks "Are We Going Towards a Civil War?" Cooler heads than mine have suggested in private conversation that this may be the only way to settle the question once and for all. Cooler heads may be right.
Meanwhile, Hevallo demands TSK leave Kurdistan:
To put pressure on Turkey to halt its purely military approach to an issue that has been allowed to continue since the establishment of the Turkish state.
A state that was established upon the denial of the Kurdish existence.
A state that was established by continuously suppressing the Kurdish population.
Although, of course, there have been some political movements made by the Turkish authorities in an attempt to put off the inevitable, but only because they have been forced to, by the struggle waged by the Kurdish people for their freedoms and Turkish dreams of European Union membership.
But they still desperately cling to the military approach, psychological warfare and the label of terrorism.
The Kurdish people's resistance and moral is at a record high and everyone must know and see that if the Turkish Generals still insist on war then Turkey's future is very bleak indeed.
Even before this incident, the very real possibilities of the war that has been conducted in the mountains of Kurdistan coming to the cities of Turkey have been seen. This will surely only now increase.
There is a strong message for the Kurdish and non Kurdish people, outside of Turkey and Kurdistan, who support the Kurdish Freedom Struggle too. Now is the time to increase our work too. Turkey will be launching a full scale military and psychological war against the movement and this will need to be answered.
We need to be calm, organised and disciplined, challenging Turkey's lies, labelling and psycho war.
Û jîyan berxwedane, heval.
5 comments:
Thanks for keeping us updated.
Here in autonomous Kurdish Region in Iraq people are afraid that Turkey will attack here. Cemil Cicek spoke about the need to change Turkey's boarders, the article was yesterday in the web page of Today's Zaman.
The common opinion here is clear: Turkey must find a political solution to the Kurdish question.
I got Arianet, so as soon as I have time I will write a post about the situation from this perspective. I put already one post to Sahmaran after a long break.
"Turkey must find a political solution to the Kurdish question."
This is almost every single political analyst would say about the solution of Kurdish question in Turkey. However, if you follow the Turkish media you would see people so called experts in TV screens talking about creating no-man’s land between the Iraq and Turkey borders, one of the famous local journalists in a small city suggests killing at least 5 civilian Kurds for every killed Turkish soldier by the PKK. Another interesting visual news comes from SKYturk where emotional appeal for the scared Kurdish children during the Besele garrison attack by the guerillas but ironically ignores bombing of the Turkish airplanes noise at the back ground while speaking to children.
According to European literature agency, research in Turkey the average Turks education level is below primary 3. As you would appreciate that, the visual media and what I mention above only few mild examples can easily direct a country that has such a low-level literates.
The measures Turkey is using against the PKK, is very similar to measures as in the USA, as pushed by Homeland Security. The purpose is to throw out any democracy.
Dr. Kristiina, you probably already know that Turkey has been conducting aerial bombings of South Kurdistan, in particular since the Bezele operation. It's the pashas way of covering up their incredible, bumbling incompetence. Why these guys are not taken out and hanged, I will never understand.
Unless, of course, you mean that the fear in South Kurdistan is that there will be another land invasion? This is never out of the question but you know the terrain. Now imagine having to leave all the fancy toys at home that might make your climb a little more convenient, and instead imagine humping it up those mountains with everything you need strapped to your back. Add to that constant ambushing by a guerrilla force that is lightly armed and acclimatized.
But you know the terrain.
TSK can come back if they like, but they will die as they always have without having gained a single thing. Now, if they would like to use their time fruitfully, there is always the democratic solution to the Kurdish question that PKK proposed over two years ago . . .
Please let me know when you have something up about the South Kurdistani perspective.
Hamo, Turkish media and Turkish regime constantly appeal to emotion. This is how the population is controlled. You see exactly the same thing here in the US. There is no such thing as reason under fascist regimes. Reason is counter to the very foundations of fascism.
Renegade, your point is well taken; however, in Turkey there has never been a "democracy" to throw out. On the other hand, if you're thinking of "democracy" in a very Newspeak kind of way, it probably could be twisted into something that resembles what passes for "democracy" in Turkey and for what now passes as "democracy" in the US.
Personally, on the subject of "democracy", I'm an agnostic.
Mizgin, I did not hear that TSK has bombed North Iraq after Bezele attack, I was three days away from Hewlêr and have access to internet only today. But it is not a surprise!
About the attitudes in North Iraq towards Turkey: this is a large issue, I do not have time to write much about it. But shortly: people here are very afraid of Turkish invasion. The common opionion is that Turkey uses PKK only as an exuce to invade the Kurdish autonomous area and Kirkuk and to prevent Kurdistan to become independent.
People here say also that aerial bombings to Qandil are of no military value, TSK is making them only for the sake of public opinion in Turkey. And to threaten Iraqi Kurds.
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