INTERIOR MINISTER CLAIMS HUGE SUCCESS; DTP CLAIMS HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT

"[T]o solve the Kurdish question, Öcalan must be contacted, must be talked with. There is no one in Turkey, with the exception of him [Öcalan] to solve this problem. There is no one with the exception of him that can contribute as much as him to solve this problem."
~ Avni Özgürel.

If you stayed up until almost 0300 hours Pacific Daylight Time to listen to the comments of Turkish Interior Minister Beşir Atalay's news conference on the Kurdish "initiative", you were probably as angry as I was. Or as Ahmet Türk was, from Hürriyet:

DTP leader Türk, accompanied by DTP deputies Selahattin Demirtaş, Osman Özçelik, Hasip Kaplan, Gültan Kışanak, Akın Birdal, İbrahim Binici, Nezir Karabaş and Nuri Yaman, watched the minister’s remarks on TV carefully, with often taking notes. Türk was reluctant to comment on Atalay”s words, citing the rally on Tuesday organized by his party in Diyarbakır.

“The minister did not announce any solid plans, and we will tell the public our thoughts at [Tuesday’s] rally,” Türk told reporters, but he was hopeful about the current situation.

“The people expect the Kurdish issue to be solved in a peaceful, democratic way,” he said. “As politicians, we must carry hope. We must lead the people; it is our duty to do so.”

[ . . . ]

Later in the day, DTP leader and deputies joined hundreds of party members in Diyarbakır”s Sümer Park, who were to spend the night at the park for the “Sept. 1 Peace Watch.”

Having spent some time to think over the minister’s remarks, and buoyed by the support at the park, the DTP leader was much harsher.

“The remarks of the minister have created surprise and despair,” Türk told his audience. “The remarks did not include the democratic initiative and completely ignored the Kurds.”

According to Türk, the government did not take the opinions of the NGOs and Kurds into account, but instead “valued the opinions of those it could not even meet.”

“Everybody should know that this is not the way to solve the Kurdish issue,” he said.

One of the Kurdish demands mentioned specifically was a rewriting of the Turkish constitution, something which Atalay said is "not currently on the table". This is a point on which the DTP has insisted. Neither has there been any indication that Öcalan's perspective for a political solution have been included in this Kurdish "initiative".

Last week, Öcalan conveyed his long-awaited road map to the Ankara regime through prison officials. Over the weekend, not a word was spoken or written about the contents of Öcalan's road map. Perhaps that's because the Ankara regime nixed the road map even before it had been given to the regime.

During Atalay's press conference, not a word was mentioned about the contents of Öcalan's statement. Another Hürriyet article referenced "abundant common points" and declared the government initiative a huge success:

After meeting with political leaders, NGOs and vocational groups, Interior Minister Atalay says the government’s “Kurdish move” is a success. ‘The common points we heard were abundant, which shows that we have reached our goal. Everybody wants to put a stop to the terror. Everybody wants better democratic standards. No one is against these points," Atalay says.

The government’s Kurdish move has proved to be a success with clear public support and a will for a resolution to the country’s terror problem, Interior Minister Beşir Atalay said Monday. Atalay also called on the opposition to get passed their fear that the move might divide the country.

Well, perhaps some day, Sayın Atalay will be so kind as to let the Kurdish people know exactly what those abundant "common points" are now that the regime has achieved an incomparably stunning success in solving the Kurdish question.

Meanwhile, Ahmet Türk and the rest of DTP, and I are not the only ones awaiting the details of the stunning success of AKP's Kurdish "initiative"; Avni Özgürel, featured last October on Rastî, is also waiting:

What do you think is not going to happen according to the messages coming from the top level?

We understand from these messages that the official language of Turkey, which is Turkish, cannot be changed, and the unitary structure of Turkey cannot be changed. The opposition's reactions have mellowed since these points have been clearly voiced. But we still do not know the content of the project which will be prepared by the end of the year, as the prime minister said.

What do you think it will consist of?

It will probably consist of granting cultural rights -- like establishing Kurdology departments at universities, expanding opportunities for Kurdish broadcasting, providing Kurdish translations at courts and official places if there is a need -- also demanded by international agreements approved by Turkey. There is also another issue, which is addressing the terrorism dimension of the problem.

Özgürel knows that cultural rights are not enough, but a discussion of establishing Kurdology departments or increasing Kurdish broadcasts a la TRT 6 are already failed attempts and, after the results of the 29 March elections, have been rejected by the Kurdish people.

But here's a talking point from Özgürel that ought to be all over the Turkish media:

What do you see when you look at the issue from Turkey's point of view? Why is Turkey at the end of the road to solve the Kurdish problem?

Turkey has seen that terrorism will never end. Several chiefs of general staff said several times that the terrorism problem in Turkey was finished. However, it never ended, and it does not seem likely to end. Each dead person is a loss for Turkey even if they are from the PKK. They are citizens of Turkey. And they are people who should normally be carrying the hopes for their future on Turkey.

It's too bad no one in the AKP has half the brains of this guy.

We shall see what DTP's official response is tomorrow, at the Peace Day rally in Amed, at which one million Kurds are expected to gather. Hürriyet seems to believe that this is going to be a rally by the Kurdish people to thank the regime. But, given Ahmet Türk's reaction--and I completely empathize with him because the Atalay press conference was so . . . lame--I think there's going to be a lot more said tomorrow than a nice, meek "Thank you".

Expect a statement from HPG tomorrow, too, since it will be the expiration date of the current ceasefire.

HASHISH AND THE MARDIN MASSACRE

"What are they trying to hide?"
~ Ahmet Türk.

Some of you may remember Akin Birdal before he became one of DTP's Diyarbakır parliamentarians. If so, you will recall that he was the IHD president whom the state attempted to assassinate in 1998. Birdal has also been imprisoned for publicly urging a peaceful solution to the Kurdish situation in Turkey. In other words, there are very few others in Turkey who are as qualified to investigate human rights violations or state assassinations than Akin Birdal.

According to Akşam, the TBMM's Human Rights Commission has formed a sub-commission of five parliamentarians (out of the nine parliamentarians on the Human Rights Investigation Commission) to investigate the Mardin massacre and Akin Birdal, who is one of the nine members of the TBMM's Human Rights Commission, has been refused a place on the sub-commission.

My first thought about stuff like this is: "What are they trying to hide?" I'm not the only one who thinks that way. So does Ahmet Türk (Source: http://www.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=nuce&nuceID=7451):

"To this date, we have always been excluded. However the behavior of the Human Rights Commission is quite thought-provoking. The idea of creating a parliamentary investigation commission for the violence in Mardin came from our friend Akin Birdal. But although he is a member of the commission, he is not included in the sub-commission for Mardin. Whereas the sub-commission consists of five members. Despite this fact, our party, which has a group in the parliament, is excluded from the sub-commission's investigation. This contradicts justice and equality principle. Why are we being excluded? We are not going to be silent about this."

[ . . . ]

"What are they trying to hide? We are not going to be silent about the behavior that excludes our party. Although there wasn't any member from MHP at the commission's meeting, the chairman calls him and tells him to come. However, he [the commission's AKP chairman] excludes our friend, who is already present at the meeting. In the past, I was also the Human Rights chairman. From all the political parties which have groups in the parliament, the subcommission gets members. There is a logic of exclusion in this case. We came here [to parliament] to represent our people, not to be excluded. The chairman of the parliament must intervene immediately [in this case of injustice].

Maybe they're trying to hide that business about the hashish in Bilge village (Source: http://www.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=nuce&nuceID=7430):

Hashish fight over 40 thousand donums [Note: a donum is a unit of area equal to 1,000 square meters]

After the Assyrians and Armenians emigrated from their Bilge village land, the land became state property. However, the right to own that land divided the Çelebi family in two. The planting of hashish in almost 40 thousand donums in Bilge village caused the fight between village guards over shares.

Last month when there was a study for land registry, the debate over sharing of the land, which is marked as state property, was revealed Two weeks ago, the same debate heated up between nephew and uncle families [the Çelebis]. After the debate over the land--whose real owners were Assyrians and Armenians--was revealed, the Çelebi nephew family decided in favor of the massacre and the date for the massacre was chosen consciously. According to them, the wedding celebration was the most suitable time when everyone from the other family would be together. Thus they could massacre all of them without any witness.

Scapegoat PKK by not leaving any witness

The Çelebi nephew family wanted to massacre the members of the family of the [Çelebi] uncle without leaving any living witness, thus they would be able to blame PKK for this massacre.

In the massacre, where 44 people died, if there weren't any witnesses, the incident would have been blamed on PKK because, at the very beginning hours of the incident, several news agencies and TV news channels stated that village guards had fired back against "terrorists" who succeeded in escaping due to a dust storm.

However, the three wounded witnesses who survived the massacre and gave the village guard perpetrators' names, turned their plan upsidedown.

The Sultan village garrison is two kilometers away from Bilge village, however the troops arrived at the village where the incident took place two hours later.

All of this is despite the fact that, as I mentioned previously, right after the massacre began, one of the victims managed to escape and go to the military garrison to warn a village guard relative of what was happening. The village guard at the garrison warned the military commanders, saying "they have left no one in our village; we should go." The response of the military commanders was "If you want, you can go, but we are not going now."

How typical is all of this? A fight over illegal drugs, a massacre, attempt to blame the Kurdish freedom movement, and the state's authorities in the region showing up well after any danger is passed . . . kind of like state authorities acted at Güngören.

Also, as I mentioned previously, the survivors screwed the whole thing up.

For more on the Mardin massacre, check Children of the Sun for a discussion from İsmail Beşikçi on the purpose of village guards.

Zerkesorg has a discussion of the massacre, too, with a translated opinion piece on what the massacre is called and what it would be called under other conditions. Very interesting, particularly since the Ankara regime's propaganda about the massacre has saturated English-language media to such an extent that even bat-shit crazy, ultra-rightwing, neo-nazi, pro-terrorist, anti-Muslim fascist extremists, like this one, are advertising, for free, the spin of the Islamist regime in Turkey . . . And they're calling it "honor killing," but only because that's also a racist site.

It reminds me of the old adage that says that the biggest mistake intelligent people make is to refuse to believe that people are a stupid as they really are.

Hevallo's recent post mentions a subject that I'll be working on soon, and that will be the translation of Hasan Cemal's interview series at Milliyet with Murat Karayılan. Lots of speculation is flying around about this, especially since Abdullah Gül said that he wanted to see Hasan Cemal, along with certain other politicos such as the new foreign minister, Davutoğlu, and Cemil "Chicken Little" Çiçek.

Regarding the interview with Karayılan, we need to remember that nothing he's said in the interview is new to us. Karayılan has been saying the very same things that PKK has been saying for years now, especially since PKK issued its statement on a democratic solution to the Kurdish question back in 2006--three years ago! Because the information is censored by Google, you'll have to copy-and-paste http://www.kurdish-info.net/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3467 to read the three-year-old declaration.

At this point, I see Hasan Cemal's interview as introducing PKK's long-standing offer of a democratic solution, which has been ignored or denied by the Ankara regime and its worldwide publicists, to the Turkish public for the first time. Hevallo is absolutely correct in warning about provocations because we all know what happened the last time a Turkish president seriously considered a peaceful solution. Things are not much different now; there are still a lot of Deep State types who are making a lot of money from the status quo.

It may turn out to be a very interesting summer after all.

TALKING THE TALK AFTER WALKING THE WALK

"Until this very day, when a Kurd asks for his identity, culture, language he is declared as a PKK member. Kurdish people’s demand for its identity, culture and language was considered as treason, as ethno-nationalism, as a movement to divide the country. Actually the state is telling us this: 'Either you will shut up, or I will see you as PKK members and treat you as PKK members as well.'"
~ Ahmet Türk.

My friend over at Azadîxwaz has done us all a big favor. He did a favor for me by taking somethign off my to-do list; he did a favor for all of you by translating Ahmet Türk's recent interview with Neşe Düzel at Taraf.

Here are a few highlights:

ND: Are you saying that the operation against the DTP officials is just a result of the local elections?

AT: That is the first reason. The second reason is PKK’s statement after the elections. PKK stated this: “Kurdish people supported DTP in the elections. We value this support. To open the road for the peaceful solution we will silence (Ceasefire) the weapons until June 1st”. They also hinted that if there was any positive development that they will extend the ceasefire. This is it. The ones are getting richer from this… the warlords got worried. Because they know that if the Kurdish Question is resolved by democratic means, Turkey’s EU process will accelerate and they will lose power. The ones opposing to the peaceful solution of the problem, stepped in. The third reason for the operation against DTP is …

ND: Yes, what is it?

AT: The possibility of peace in the Kurdish region. The Kurds live in four countries Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria in the Middle East. Kurdish politicians of all four parts are in search for reaching a common decision of what the demands of the Kurdish people are, and to start the peace period in this region. This also disturbed the state. To stop all of these peaceful developments it attacked the DTP.

ND: PKK ended its ceasefire because of this operation; do you think it is the right decision to end the ceasefire?

AT: PKK did not end the ceasefire. They made a statement on last Thursday saying, “ It is obvious that the state does not want solve the Kurdish Question. But we will honor our decision as we stated before until June 1st”.

[ . . . ]

ND: Have you held any kind of meetings with the AKP government or the prime minister as DTP?

AT: We cannot see the government when we look for it. We have asked them to have talks but this did not come to fruition.

[ . . . ]

ND: It is alleged that the DTP officials that were arrested have links to the PKK. Do you know anything about these allegations?

AT: Until this very day, when a Kurd asks for his identity, culture, language he is declared as a PKK member. Kurdish people’s demand for its identity, culture and language was considered as treason, as ethno-nationalism, as a movement to divide the country. Actually the state is telling us this: “Either you will shut up, or I will see you as PKK members and treat you as PKK members as well”.

[ . . . ]

ND: Once you stated, “ We have the same support base as the PKK”. Is it possible that there are some links between the DTP officials and the PKK other than this common support base?

AT: We need understand the developments in the world well. Say, some steps are taken for peace and we as the DTP had talks with the government and the state. At the end of these talks, will the state not ask us “OK, so if I do these, will the PKK lay down the arms”? Yes, it will. So then, the PKK is a reality and has a role in all these. If you consider identification of this role as having link with the PKK you cannot get any results. You have to take into account whether the PKK will accept the policies and projects for the peace.

ND: An armed group, whatever this group is, is a criminal against the laws. This is so in the world as well. Do you, as a parliamentarian, accept the fact that every armed group is criminal?

AT: We need to clarify the term “terror”. We need to understand Al-Qaida or Hamas correctly. We need to understand the PKK, Mandela’s party, and old Palestinian Liberation Organization correctly.

[ . . . ]

ND: What should be done to solve the Kurdish Question within a peaceful framework?

AT: We are very clear and open about this subject. The (identity) rights of the Kurdish people should be guaranteed and put in the constitution. A new constitution should be prepared and this constitution should be written in a manner that accepts the differences as richness. We also are citizens of the Republic of Turkey. The Kurdish citizens should be granted whatever rights the Turkish citizens have. Within the framework of the Democratic Autonomy Project, regional governments should be strengthened/supported and regions based on their needs should be able to make decisions about their economic, social and educational matter. The schools that teach in Kurdish should be opened. For instance they show TRT6 (Şeş) as a development.

ND: Is it not a development?

AT: But the Kurds cannot determine the programs of TRT6. I actually asked in England. There are three million Welsh people. They have to learn Welsh in Wales and it is obligatory. They told me that: “ We are so much assimilated that only 5% of our population could speak Welsh. But now it is 20%. And among the young generation it is 40%”. English government distributes 120 million pounds every year to private television channels to support the improvement of the Welsh culture. This is a recognition and protection of a right. TRT6 is, on the other hand, abuse of a right. These are what we want…

ND: If these conditions are prepared will the PKK lay down its arms?

AT: There is not a difference between what we say and what they say. The demands are almost the same. These are Kurdish people’s general demands. I have to abide by the demands of the Kurdish people. So does the PKK.

Read the whole thing at Azadîxwaz because Ahmet Türk makes a lot of important points.

I find it interesting that Neşe Düzel says, "An armed group, whatever this group is, is a criminal against the laws. This is so in the world as well. . . " Of course she's right. Look at the armed group of the Ankara regime, the TSK, and the criminal behavior it has inflicted on the Kurdish people. Look at the armed group of the Washington regime, the US military, and the criminal behavior it has inflicted on people in Central America, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, to name a few. Look at the armed group of the Israeli regime, the IDF, and the criminal behavior it has inflicted on the Palestinians. And I could go on and on and on . . . Britain, France, Russia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka . . .

Of course, then we have the question of "laws", which Düzel brings up in her statement. There is a problem with "law" and that is that it is meaningless unless it is also moral and ethical. Just because something is defined as "legal" doesn't mean it is moral or ethical. In fact, it can be quite the contrary. Check out some of the eugenics or racial laws of Nazi Germany or some of the eugenics laws of the US--or the Jim Crow laws. Or even the whitewashing of torture as "harsh interrogation techniques". They might have been approved but they are still torture and torture is, of it's very nature, immoral.

And at the end of the interview, Ahmet Türk replies to this question of the violence of the state, and it seems to me that he agrees with my assessment of the armed groups of nation-states. Again, this is consistent with PKK's stance on the matter.

DEMOCRACY DOES NOT WORK

"I am for violence if non-violence means we continue postponing a solution to the American black man's problem just to avoid violence."
~ Malcolm X.

Last week we were told by the propaganda organs of the Ankara regime that the operations conducted against DTP were not really conducted against DTP but against KCK. DTP maintained that the state terror operations were directed against them and the reason for the operations was DTP's success during the 29 March elections.

Now, it appears that the truth is beginning to surface. Here's something from the hevals at KurdishInfo (http://www.kurdish-info.net/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=12996):

Unlike the fabrications seen in the Turkish media, the DTP members are charged with the party's campaign being illegal. The court is claiming that DTP's Democratic, Ecologically Sensitive, and Gender Equality Based Local Administrations Project and DTP's Local Administrations Office have been accused of being illegal and DTP members were questioned on them.

[ . . . ]

The DTP Projects are reason for the operation

Election campaign programmes prepared by DTP was treated as if they were illegal and the part members faced questions such as "why did you do this program?". DTP's Democratic, Ecologically Sensitive, and Gender Equality Based Local Administrations Project was treated as an illegal action and the phone conversations among party members regarding this project were presented as evidence of crime (DTP's project appeared in the media many times before). Talking about who should appear on Roj TV was presented as a crime as well.

[ . . . ]

Since the operation is classified the defence attorneys cannot get any information on the charges or evidence to be presented at the court. Nobody knows when this open ended investigation will end. Meanwhile the politicians are in prison.

For more on DTP's Democratic Autonomy Project, see here, here, and here.

DTP's bylaws are also being treated as criminal (http://www.kurdish-info.net/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=12998):

Prosecutors named DTP's organizational model as KCK's Turkey structure and included it in the list of crimes. However, DTP has prepared a project titled Democratic Autonomy Creation Project and had it approved at its congress much later than 8 November 2007. This model was handled as "Creation of Democratic Autonomy". In this project, it's proposed that Turkey should be split into 25 executive regions such that every region is to have its own council/senate to handle each region's education, health, social security services, agriculture, cultural services, telecommunications, etc issues. The project's organization was formulated as "The councils shall be called 'regional councils' and the participants shall be called 'regional representatives'. The council elects the chair and the members of the executive board. The chair and executive board members are responsible from execution of council's decisions. This structure doesn't imply federalism or ethnicity-based autonomy, but it's a new democratic executive support structure to bind central administration to the city-level administrations. Every region is to be called with its proper name or by the name of the largest city within the administrative borders of the region."

Despite the secrecy mandate put by the court, some newspapers have been claiming that DTP candidates have been identified by the PKK. However, DTP formed a 27 person Candidate Identification Committee six month before the March 29 elections. People forming this committee included old DEP parliamentarians, DTP administrators, representatives from NGOs, and Women and Youth Assembly members. The committee conducted a meeting during its administration, means of identifying candidates, and candidate identification criteria were decided. In order to comply with the decisions made by committee and fairness to everyone, in every city, town, belde, and metropolis, independent election platforms were formed. These platforms were formed by representatives from NGOs, DTP party members, and individuals who have contributed to democratic struggle in Turkey. Every candidate has come before these platforms. The platforms elected 3 names among these candidates and notified these names to the Candidate Identification Committee and DTP Central Management. DTP Central Management Council and the Candidate Identification Committee, among those 3 names, have picked the candidate with most votes (with one or two exceptions). DTP had identified its candidates for parliamentarian elections using the same procedure.

I mentioned above that the Ankara regime's propaganda organs had stated that the operations were not against DTP, but against KCK. It was Zaman that first came out with that lie, and both of the articles quoted above name Zaman and the Fethullahçı as the force behind the operation. Not surprisingly, MİT has been assisting (http://www.kurdish-info.net/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=12997):

Operation against DTP was decided at an Officer's Club

Firat News Agency (ANF), claimed that the operation against DTP was decided by the Turkish Secret Service (MIT). On April 12, a team of 7 MIT members went to Diyarbakır with 12 folders in their possession.

The MIT members met 5 prosecutors at Diyarbakir Army Officer's Club. 3 of the MIT members left Diyarbakır on a plane, on April 14, the day operations against DTP began.

The remaining 4 MIT members have directed the DTP members interrogations but didn't directly participate in the interrogations.

The articles may also be found at Özgür Gündem:

"DTP'nin faaliyetleri 'yasadışı' ilan edildi"

"İşte 'suç' sayılan DTP tüzüğü"

"Operasyona Ordu Evi'nde karar verildi iddiası"

Maybe someone can explain to me exactly what the point of democracy is, or where it has ever existed because, at this moment, I see democracy only as a propaganda tactic designed to reinforce repression and genocide.

Make sure to stop by Hevallo's place to read his report on Ahmet Türk's current visit to the UK and view some photos. Here's a sample:

“Turkey is now at a point where it has retreated farther into its own shell in comparison to the past,” Türk stated, refuting comments made by European politicians that the country now has a stronger democracy.

Türk’s remarks came on Sunday during a speech he delivered at the Kurdish Community Center in London.

Türk slammed the recent police operations against dozens of individuals suspected of ties with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which resulted in the arrest of several DTP members.

Officials said the raids and arrests were the culmination of a yearlong investigation into the PKK’s “urban extensions,” but the pro-Kurdish party said the police crackdown was the government’s revenge against the DTP because it defeated the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the predominantly Kurdish southeastern cities in last month’s local elections.

“A public cannot live peacefully with another public unless it is set free. ... We are evaluating the issue in terms of the brotherhood of nations rather than of ethnic nationalism,” Türk stated.

The DTP leader also complained about discrimination against his party’s deputies in Parliament. “We have been struggling to solve our problems through democratic means since we entered Parliament, but the other parties represented in Parliament turn a blind eye to our existence,” he said.

See? What did I say about democracy?

Check Gordon Taylor's new post at The Pasha and The Gypsy on "PKK confessor" Abdülkadır Aygan. It may very well be, as Gordon suggests, that Aygan lives now only to bear witness but I consider him a typical "confessor". He joined PKK before PKK existed and then developed cold feet because he claimed he was tired of "executions" within PKK and attacks on villages. But then he goes to work for JİTEM throwing people into acid wells. How is that for consistency? Oh, yeah, he also spent some time in prison doing a little creative writing for the paşas, just like Şemdin Sakık.


At Zerkesorg, there's an opinion about passive resistance and its relation to so-called democracy:

Let's now bring the recent "operations" of the AKPasha Inc against Democratic Society Party (DTP) to put things in perspective a little better. Turkey says "lay down the guns, come down from the mountains, and be a part of the democratic political process". So, you will detain over 240 people because they work at or belong to a legitimate party which kicked your as* in the elections? You will then put them up in jail and call that a democracy? That's AKPasha Inc's current Political Process for you. The detained and arrested people are politicians, lawyers, and alike who didn't touch a gun. God forbid if these people even had a toy water gun in their possession or be part of any corruption (AKPasha Inc, hint hint), I am sure the magazinews channels would be running stories 24/7. Does this revenge-for-losing-elections-in-Kurdistan campaign presented by AKPasha Inc give you an idea of what they would do to PKK guerrillas if they laid their arms and came down to cities without democratization of the fascist system?

For more on the utter futility of passive resistance, let me recommend "Arms and the Movement" for your perusal. Among the conclusions there:

The Madrid bombings do not present an example for action, but rather, an important paradox: Do people who stick to nonviolent tactics that have not proved effective in ending the war against Iraq really care more for human life than the Madrid terrorists? From India to Birmingham, nonviolence has failed to sufficiently empower its practitioners, whereas the use of a diversity of tactics got results. Put simply, if a movement is not a threat, it cannot change a system that is based on centralized coercion and violence.

Time and again, people struggling not for some token reform but for complete liberation -- the reclamation of control over our own lives and the power to negotiate our own relationships with the people and the world around us -- will find that nonviolence does not work, that we face a self-perpetuating power structure that is immune to appeals to conscience and strong enough to plow over the disobedient and uncooperative.

Amen, brother.


Oh. We haven't heard much from that son-of-a-bitch Murderer Erdoğan lately, have we? Apparently some jackass somewhere decided that Murderer Erdoğan deserved a "tolerance" prize--be careful not to barf on your keyboard--and some German politicians are stunned by the suggestion. Stunned politicians belong to the German CDU, CSU, Greens, and SPD are still trying to recover from the shock. The best remark came from the CSU general secretary Alexander Dobrindt, who said that Erdoğan deserved an intolerance prize instead.

ACTION IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

More from Europe:

From MEP Vittorio AGNOLETTO and MEP Feleknas UCA

TO: ALL MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
+ their assistants and advisers
+ info Cabinet of the President

***************************

Dear Members and Colleagues,

We just need some minutes of your time to inform you about the seriousness of the political situation in Turkey (as far as the Kurdish question is concerned) and about facts recently registered in Turkey, where a totally unacceptable repression has been lunched by the security forces and the so-called Turkish justice system ...


1) ... against the pro-Kurdish DTP party ("Democratic Society Party"). As you know, the DTP is a fully recognised, legitimate and legal party with an important parliamentary group in the Turkish Grand National Assembly; after an important victory of the DTP candidates in the recent local / regional election, the Ankara's authorities launched a violent repression against Kurdish and DTP representatives; please note that until now, more than 300 DTP members, executives and activists, including the three DTP's Vice-presidents are detained or involved in police operations (which are still going on)!

Only the DTP leader, Mr Ahmet Turk, a politician very well-known and very appreciated here in the European Parliament and abroad, is not -for the moment- under arrest. This political move by the Turkish police follows the impressive results of the DTP in the local elections on 29 March 2009, in which the party almost doubled the number of municipalities it won (from 56 to 98). Immediately after these results, a number of statements were made by representatives of the Turkish government and the security forces, for example regarding the success of the DTP! Against this background, the police action can only be seen as politically motivated. We therefore call on the Turkish authorities to respect the will of the people, expressed in the recent local elections, and to guarantee citizens their rights, especially freedom of activity for political parties in Turkey, in this instance the DTP, of other regional organisations, such as the Union of South-East municipalities, and of the media. Please find attached the formal DTP-Ankara statement of the 14th of April, plus a DTP-Brussels note / information on the most recent situation.

2) ... against also (again and again) Mrs Leyla ZANA, European Parliament's 1995 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Let us underline that Leyla Zana has been sentenced in December 2008 to ten years of prison for speeches she gave (even) in the EU European Parliament and the UK House of Lords! This is an unacceptable violation of her fundamentals rights and political freedom, inspired and orchestrated by the Turkish government: please note, for example, that she's facing more than 35 investigations for simple declarations or speeches she made, she doesn't even know how many trials she has to face! On March 31st, 2009, took place -in Diyarbakir- the last session of one of those trials. Mrs Leyla Zana is officially invited to address the European Parliament's Conference of the Groups' Presidents on the 30th of April, 2009, in Brussels; she will have the opportunity to inform our Parliament about her situation.Please find attached an (incomplete) "list of trials" she has to face (in one of those, the Turkish Prosecutor, not satisfied for a condemnation to 10 years of prison, is now asking for 50 years of prison...). Please also find the speech she made during the trail on the 31st of March; an informal report of a relevant member of the UK Bar Human Rights Committee is also attached.


We invite you and your groups to show your solidarity with these people and organisations, such as Mrs Leyla Zana and the DTP, which are fully involved in the promotion of a political solution to the Kurdish issue in Turkey. We'll keep you informed on the situation, as far as on possible initiatives.


Thank you for your attention,

MEP Vittorio AGNOLETTO and MEP Feleknas UCA

Leyla Zana's statement:

10 April 2008
Diyarbakır


TO: DİYARBAKIR CRIMINAL COURT

Respectable Judges,

I would first like to point out that I consider it a disgrace for the democracy of Turkey that I am being tried because of my thoughts. The fact that expression of thought is being considered within the scope of the fight against terrorism underscores yet another topical and burning issue.

It is fact that to be able to express one’s thoughts is a guarantee for all other freedoms. Being deprived of the freedom of thought is synonymous with being deprived of the most basic human freedoms. In generally accepted terms, freedom of thought is borne out of the combination of three main elements: Freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom to disseminate one’s thoughts... The lack of one of these makes it impossible to talk about freedom of thought in any country. The said deficiency causes pluralism to be disregarded also. On the other hand, universal law has gone through an evolution whereby it has moved on from the idea of “the state comes first” to “man comes first”.

Whenever there is talk of the freedom of thought and its exercise, they always remind you that even in developed countries freedom of thought is not infinite and unrestricted. According to research done on this issue, “In almost all countries other than Turkey, the restriction brought on the expression of thought is based not on ‘the security of the state’ but on ‘social peace’ and the ‘security of the people’. Therefore, the claim that there are similar legal arrangements in other countries has no purpose other than distorting the issue.”

Respectable Chief Judge,

Kurdish people are one of the oldest indigenous settled peoples of the Middle East. Kurds living within the borders of Turkey-Iran-Iraq and Syria have been struggling for survival for the past 200 years. Kurds with a population of nearly 40 million, who have been subjected to many massacres during this time frame, have been deprived of all of their national and democratic rights. Despite the fact that some historians have observed that their population is larger than that, an objective census specifically for Kurds can not be carried out. Throughout one hundred year extending from Sheikh Mahmud Berzenci to Sheikh Said, from Seyid Riza to Melle Mustafa Barzani, from Mahabad uprising to the PKK, the Kurdish people have fought for their “status”.


Although Kurds, with a population of around 20 million within the borders of Turkey, who have remained ‘Turkish’ based on their legal description have tried all legal means in different periods, the democratic channels have never opened up at the desired level. The fact that Kurds’ democratic rights were not placed under constitutional safeguards when the Turkish Republic was founded and that they were not granted the right to express themselves in the legal domain, brought with it ‘resistance against oppression’.

The policy of “Divide-Fragment and Rule” and “Deny-Refuse and Destroy” brought about counter violence. The PKK emerged as a rebellion to the injustice entailing this dramatic pressure and destruction. The anti-democratic implementations developed with the justification that “throughout history Kurds rebelled 28 times, and PKK is the 29th rebellion and this rebellion will also be suppressed” were turned into a rigid official state policy. Changing times and various governments unfortunately could not change this policy. While those who were streamlined into the system became members of parliament, ministers, generals, high level bureaucrats, businessmen with money, property and wealth; those who denied assimilation and insisted on their national identity were victimised and considered as non-existent. They were pushed about, humiliated, and silenced by being confronted with an unchanging oppression.


While the shock of denial in the 1924 constitution was still not overcome, the injuries the democracy of Turkey suffered with regular military coups that took place every decade was felt most deeply among the Kurds. The inhuman treatment and severe human rights violations they suffered at the Diyarbakır Prison in particular became a milestone in the recent history of the Kurds. Probably because what they experienced was worse than fire, people placed their very bodies in fire.

Many things were tried: Kurdistan was turned into a place of exile, Kurds were turned into the “other”, state of emergency and martial law were imposed in the area for over 20 years, Kurdish was banned, the yellow-red-green colour combination was considered an offence, extra judicial killings were committed, villages were evacuated, village guard system was put in place. Even during civil disobedience actions entailing democratic demands, many of our people lost their lives for a life of freedom. While the perpetrators of these losses arising from uncontrolled use of force were not punished, Kurds were once again made targets through counter-guerrilla actions based on organisations of gangs and confessions. The feudal structure was strengthened by the support of state policy. Yet another method used for suppressing the demands of the people was to keep tribalism alive. Other important dimensions of this multifaceted problem include forced relocation from villages to urban areas, differences in regional development and inadequate provision of health and education services.

This wave of violence of course wasted many human, ecological and economic resources of the country. These implementations dating back to the beginning of the republic did not just result in numerical losses. Hearts that turned into places of devastation after fire, lives that were broken and lives without a trace slipped away from our hands.

As a result there is not a single Kurd that has not been offended in Turkey. Almost all started life with anxiety and prohibitions imposed on them. Even when they were still a baby, their name suffered prohibitions. During their childhood their language was banned and when they became young men and women their identity and their stance in life were placed under prohibitions. They were forced to think in a single language, express themselves through a single language and think from a single angle of perception. Lullabies their mothers sang to them, their fathers’ cultural characteristics and preferences were denigrated, their preferences ridiculed and they were pushed outside the society. This feeling of anxiety often forced them to speak their mother tongue secretly behind closed doors. They were moreover ridiculed for speaking the official state language with an accent. They were the brunt of jibes and ridicules. ‘Kurdishness’ which was revived due to political, sociological and psychological reasons, gradually turned into will power. The difficulties of being Kurdish in the public domain politicised each and every Kurdish youth ever more. Kurds who did not initially have this political awareness started questioning the reason for their suffering as time went on. From ‘individuals who were ashamed’ of their characteristics originating from their birth, a social awareness and demands that came along with that awareness were born. The burning fire that started off from a small ember started covering every place Kurds lived in without exception. Every prohibition, excluding behaviour or insult brought the mountains a little closer. In time, every Kurdish family started finding a piece of it in the mountains. Thus it became apparent that being “Kurdish” was nothing to be embarrassed about.

Respectable Judges,

Today, the reason for my being in this court has been described as praising crime and criminals and undertaking propaganda for an illegal organisation. I do not think we need to further analyse the legal aspect of this problem, which is in essence a constitutional problem. No democratic country can carry the burden of the 12th of September constitution developed by army generals and one which, let alone being the answer to the requisites of our age, exacerbates existing issues.

If the issue in hand is ‘crime’ and ‘praising criminals’, what is ‘crime’ and who is the ‘criminal’? I would like to state that I do not regard defending a people’s demands for respect, equality and freedom as a crime. My premise in this is not victimisation! In fact I have never adopted the policy of victimisation as a method for seeking rights. I have lived through experience showing that material force, power, and the might that comes with that power will never stand against the will of the people. The definitions of ‘crime’ and ‘criminal’ for those who approach the world on the basis of democracy, human rights and the will of the people are relative concepts. In fact the concepts of crime and criminal are delicate concepts on which universal agreement has not been reached throughout history. We all know that depending on periods, incidents and historical realities, the concepts of ‘crime’ and ‘criminal’ have undergone a process of update. The real crime is to meticulously distract attention from issues that need to be discussed in the democratic public opinion.

Reflecting reality and explaining it in a way different from what it really is, does not solve problems. It is not possible to explain and understand without talking. Then, we must open up ways and means of being able to discuss the issue. How much longer can one hide the truth or ignore it in an age when technology is advancing at a dizzying pace? The traditional ‘statist’ approach has gone bankrupt in the face of a world that has become much smaller. Social reality makes itself felt and compels one to accept it. It is amply clear that those who are regarded as ‘criminal’ in one part of society are regarded as a value in another part of that society.

The world becomes ever more divided and complex day by day. People fear uncertainty. Producing solutions for this division requires that faster decisions are taken against uncertainty. There is a growing need for contributions that underscore respect for differences.


Distinguished Judges,

In this context, developing societies need leaders that develop them. Leadership is a role. People need to be convinced about the leadership, creativity and problem solving power of the person who takes on that role. The leader must first convince people about the necessity of the cause that is being defended. It is difficult to strike a balance between yesterday, today and tomorrow. The leader is the one who builds bridges between the ‘today’ that we want to leave behind and the ‘tomorrow’ that we dream about. He also convinces us that we will be able to cross that bridge and encourages us to do so. That is why their leadership is approved by people.


In this framework I think it is a historic duty for me to express a reality one cannot avoid underlining. During the Newroz celebrations held last year, I said in front of millions that Kurds have three leaders and we are grateful to all of these three leaders. My intention here is neither to make propaganda for an organisation nor to praise it. In fact, I do not think the personalities in question need any praise anyway. I believe that my speech should only be perceived as an observation of a historical situation.


In the indictment, the prosecutor excluded Mr Barzani and Talabani from his evaluation due to their political position. I would like to remind the prosecutor that only yesterday Mr Talabani and Mr Barzani were blamed with the same accusations that Mr Öcalan is subject to today.

Although each of these has a different sphere of influence, all three leaders have an important place in the feelings and thoughts of the Kurdish people. None is an alternative to the other. And because they have demonstrated the skill to turn differences into unity, our people mention them with gratitude. Gratitude, in its simplest sense is the “expression of indebtedness, of a heartfelt debt, of pleasure for a ‘good deed’ that has been done”. In this framework, ‘good deed’ is the ability to prevent peoples from cutting each other’s throat. It is a voluntary reflection of the will to live together. This meeting on the axis of peace and freedom can be described as the greatest “good deed” done throughout history for the sake of Kurds.

The initiators of this effort that has reawakened a nation—a nation that even history itself had forgotten-- will certainly be mentioned with gratitude. Not to say that a great majority is impressed by the ideas of these leaders who, while seeking a future without frontiers, have embraced the culture of social peace and democracy and taken it to their people would be a travesty of truth. In this framework, it is inevitable and natural for Kurds to accept these three leaders as persons of value. What I wanted to voice in behalf of our people was giving unto those who deserved what they duly deserved.

“Leaders come on the stage of history with a call for social needs. The goal of the leader is victory. The struggle against evil, the inadequate, and the mediocre also aims for victory. Therefore, it is not a coincidence that great leaders emerge and show the way for solving problems in war or peace or during times of a drive for change, in other words during turning points in history.”


It should be known that if, despite decades of conflict, the Turkish and Kurdish people have not confronted each other, Mr Öcalan’s role in that is great. This role is also the guarantee for an honourable, just and lasting peace. Preparing society for the historical journey called change is possible when the right people become leaders at the right time. There are many people with great goals and who spend a great deal of effort to achieve them. But those who act in the name of their people and who accomplish their mission alongside their people are regarded as great leaders. It is because of these reasons that our people have repeatedly stated both in writing and verbally that he is accepted as the Kurdish People’s Leader. In the eyes of our people just as speaking Kurdish, saying Kurdistan and saying Mr Öcalan is not a crime, believing in this cause is not a crime either. Taking ownership of one’s leader is a human, conscientious, moral and political responsibility. In this context, the message distilled from the cries of millions of our citizens taking to the streets with the slogan, “PKK is the people, the people are here” should be understood correctly. Describing the Kurdish people’s demands for peace, freedom and equality as “terrorism” offends the Kurdish people.


One should not forget that at a place where there is war, one day there will definitely be peace. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’ reading the peace declaration with Mr Yasser Arafat whom he called a ‘terrorist’ for years, the courage of the South African President Mr De Klerk and Mr Mandela in ending the three hundred year white supremacy are still clear in our memories and remembered with respect. Peace, which will be a new life is not divisive, destructive and dislocative; on the contrary, it is unifying, bringing together and inclusive; because peace is the very act of building itself.

Respectable Judges,

As I conclude my presentation on this portion of the trial, I would also like to take this opportunity to announce an important decision of mine. From now on, whatever the ‘charge’ may be, I am thinking of not using my right to defend myself in trials. Since I started my struggle, irrespective of time and place, at squares or at trials I have always defended the same ideas. I was sometimes the witness and sometimes the defendant. I also stayed in prison for many years. The direction of my thoughts did not change either when I was a ‘prisoner’ or when I was ‘free’. You may not approve of my ideas; in fact we can defend conflicting and different ideas as well. But now I believe in the senselessness of repeating ourselves. I wish for a process where an evolution of thought has been completed in which our people will not be suspects, defendants or prisoners because of their thoughts.

Leyla Zana

Trial observer statement:

REPORT ON OBSERVATION OF TRIAL OF LEYLA ZANA

MARCH 31ST, DIYBAKIR

Margaret Owen. Member Bar Human Rights Committee.


Leyla Zana appeared in the Diyabakir Court on March 31st to answer charges that she is a terrorist, praises crime and undertakes propaganda for an illegal organisation (the PKK). She is indicted under the Anti-Terror Law and under certain articles of the Turkish Penal Code (TPC), as evidenced by her speeches made abroad between 2007 and 2008.

Over a hundred foreign observers many from Germany and Italy, and others from Sweden, the UK and representing the European Parliament and the Commission) had come to attend the trial, which was due to open at 10.am. However, since only 2 days earlier the DTP had won a resounding victory against the AKP and other parties in the local elections in the South-East, and tensions were running high, which were thought might severely influence the judge and prosecutor in the case, the defence lawyers sought and obtained an adjournment to June 2nd. The judge accepted Leyla’s lawyers’ plea that they needed further time to formulate the defence. Nevertheless there was still a short hearing.

As always (to a UK observer) the physical geography of the court room both shocks and surprises, since it seems to reflect the Kafkaesque features of the Turkish judicial system. High up behind the platform sit 4 people in it seemed, identical judges’ robes; but the one sitting close to the central figure, the chief judge, is in fact the Prosecutor. On the other side are the two other judges who appear to take little part in any discussions on the bench, show little interest in what is said, while they twiddle with the mouse on the laptop. (Could they be playing solitaire?) Lower down in the court-room, to one side, sit the defence lawyers, Meral Bestos, Muharrum Erbey and another. Visually there is clear inequality between prosecution and defence, and the proximity of prosecutor to judge raises questions of course about the independence of the judiciary and the fairness of any trial given this scenario.

Although we had been told that an adjournment had been granted, there was still a short hearing in which Leyla Zana read out, in turkish, (or rather repeated) the speech she had made as her defence to her prosecution in April, 2008 for the speech she had made at the Newroz of 2007, defending her defence. She said “Respectable Judges, I would like first to point out that I consider it a disgrace for the democracy of Turkey that I am being tried because of my thoughts. The fact that expression of thought is being considered within the scope of the fight against terrorism underscores yet another topical and burning issue. It is a fact that to be able to express one’s thought is a guarantee of all other freedoms”. She spoke about fundamental rights of the Kurds to freedom of expression, assembly and of their language rights. Concluding she said “I would also like to take this opportunity to announce an important decision of mine. From now on, whatever the “charge” may be, I am thinking of not using my right to defend myself in trials. ….I believe in the senselessness of repeating ourselves. I wish for a process where an evolution of thought has been completed in which our people will not be suspects , defendant or prisoners because of their thoughts”.

After the adjournment the observers were invite to a lunch with her lawyers, and later on the day the UK delegation, and others had a further meeting with Muharrem Erbey. There we learnt more detail about the danger for Leyla Zana of the indictments under a combination of laws, under both the TPC and the Anti-Terror Law. Under the TPC, Article 304 para.2 and Article 220 para. 6 in particular. The latter spells out that even if a defendant is not an active member of an illegal (terrorist) organisation, and does no work on its behalf, if he or she “ acts like a member” the charge of terrorism can be sustained. TPC Article 222 para. 4 provides for the Prosecutor to appeal when he considers the court has given an inadequate and too lenient a sentence. Whilst the charges arising from the speeches made between 2007 and 2008 outside the jurisdiction but recorded and circulated in the country ( including one made at a meeting held at a House of Lords Committee room last summer, 2008), will be prosecuted on June 2nd, Leyla Zana also faces an appeal, by the Prosecutor, at the Court of Cassation in Ankara, against the sentence of 10 years imprisonment for other speeches and writings on the grounds that the sentence is “not enough” for a conviction on both providing propaganda for an illegal organisation and for being a member of a terrorist group. He is asking for a further 23 years. However, Leyla’s lawyers emphasized that the hearing on June 2nd. is the crucial one, rather than the Ankara appeal, for which no date is expected to be given for another 4 or 5 months. They earnestly request the presence of foreign lawyers to observe this hearing, and hope that the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) can be persuaded to send observers to report on the fairness of this coming trial.

The "List of Trials" is available upon request.

TERROR OPERATIONS CONTINUE AGAINST DTP

"Power in defense of freedom is greater than power in behalf of tyranny and oppression."
~ Malcolm X.

Amed (Diyarbakır) protests against Turkish state terror operations. Many thanks to the friend in Amed who sent them.






Turkish state terror operations against DTP continued throughout the week with a balance of arrested person reaching 245 on Friday (Source: http://www.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=nuce&nuceID=6298).

Ahmet Türk is due to arrive in the UK very soon and will speak at a round table meeting at Chatham House on the situation in Turkey after the local elections. This event will take place on Tuesday.

I bet that's going to be one hot round table.

THE DEFIANT ONE

"Our mistreatment was just not right, and I was tired of it."
~ Rosa Parks.

Here he is, the Defiant One:

At about 2:03, Türk begins speaking in the "unknown language" and at 2:10 he's cut off. The Meclis TV/TRT 3 talking head explains that they cut the broadcast because the Turkish constitution and political parties law only permit Turkish to be used in the TBMM. TRT 3 apologizes to their viewers.

On the other hand, there are those who disagree with TRT 3's interpretation of the constitution:

[B]ianet spoke to Prof. Dr. Mithat Sancar, a lawyer at Ankara University. Sancar was of the opinion that Türk speaking Kurdish in a party group meeting did not violate either the constitution or the Law on Political Parties. He argued that on the contrary, those trying to widen the ban expressed in the law were violating the principle of legislative responsibility in the constitution.

The constitutional article, so Sancar, did not mean that languages apart from the official language were forbidden. If that were the case, then neither could the Prime Minister say anything in Kurdish, nor could the recently set up state TRT 6 channel broadcast in Kurdish.

He added that the speech in a party group meeting could not be counted as a formal procedure.

Taraf's interview with Mithat Sancar was published here in December, although it includes no mention of RTÜK laws which severely limit Kurdish language broadcasts.

The wider question here is not a matter of whether or not the constitution or political parties law allows the use of Kurdish. The wider question has to do with morality and ethics, not legality; because many times laws are written and instituted by scoundrels to protect their own interests. At one time in the US, it was illegal for African Americans to sit in the front seats of buses. Was Rosa Parks, therefore, a criminal for refusing to move to the back of the bus? No. Like Ahmet Türk, she was a Defiant One. The law loses all its meaning when it is devoid of ethics and morality

Bianet has a copy of Ahmet Türk's speech at the DTP group meeting. It includes the following:

“21 February is International Mother Language Day. Language is very important in Kurdish history. Because the Kurds who did not know any languages apart from their own were put under a lot of pressure. During the military coup, the state arrested many people and put them in prison. I was also arrested. Our families came for visits, and they wanted to talk Kurdish, because they spoke no other language. But because they knew that if they spoke Kurdish it would create problems for us and them, and that we were beaten for it, they could not speak. Sometimes we defied the ban and said ‘how are you mother?’ because we wanted them to go home without their hearts broken. Later we paid for it and were beaten. At that time I promised myself that one day, I would speak my mother tongue at an official meeting.”

“The Prime Minister is praising his party and their projects on TRT 6 (the newly set up state channel broadcasting in Kurdish). But when members of the DTP greet others in their own language, they are taken to court. They are investigated. When a mayor speaks to his people in his own language, he is taken to court. But when the Prime Minister speaks Kurdish, no one says anything. We find this wrong, hypocritical. What has the Prime Minister done to make the language free, we wonder.”

You go, boyfriend!

In other news, DTP's Gülten Kışanak has proposed a bill that will make the FORBIDDEN LETTERS helal for use in Turkey. If it passes, not only will this bill make it possible for Kurdish parents to give their children Kurdish names, but it will also make it possible for BMW to be known in Turkey as "BMW", instead of simply as "BM".

And an interesting obit--The chief of the National Police Special Operations Unit blew his brains out in his car. BOOOO-HOOOO-HOOOOOOO.

Right. Suicide. Just like that JITEM scumbag, Abdülkerim Kırca.

THE "UNKNOWN LANGUAGE"

"All moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue."
~ The UN

.

Ahmet Türk speaks Kurdish in Parliament for UNESCO's International Mother Language Day and Meclis TV/TRT 3 (Turkey's version of CSPAN) cuts its live broadcast of the DTP leader.

According to Hürriyet, Türk was cut off "because using a language other than Turkish in speeches in Parliamentary is forbidden under the Constitution of the Republic."

Well, so the hell what? Let's remember that TRT 6, aka TRT CEHŞ aka KORUCU TV, Turkey's first channel broadcasting in the "unknown language"--is completely in violation of broadcasting laws and Katil Erdoğan is allowed to speak the "unknowwn language". Şerafettın Elçi goes around making political speeches in the "unknown language". But nothing happens to Turks or fake Kurds who use the "unknown language", does it?

Yet the "unknown language"--oh, by the way they use this term of stupidity of "unknown language" because they're so freakin' racist that to say the words "Kurd" or "Kurdish" would absolutely choke them to death--yet the "unknown language" is forbidden in prisons--especially if you're an "unknown language" person prisoner and you have visitors who speak nothing but the "unknown language"; it's forbidden for use by political parties for political purposes; it's forbidden for use in correspondence by associations; it's forbidden for use in sermons; and it's forbidden for use in naming "unknown language" persons if said "unknown language" persons have a name in the "unknown language" that contains one of the FORBIDDEN LETTERS! For more on that see IHD General President Öztürk Türkdoğan's speech at the EUTCC's 5th International Conference on the EU, Turkey, and the "Unknown Language" Persons (copy-and-paste: http://kurdish-info.net/News-sid-Oeztuerk-Tuerkdogan-lawyer-General-President-12392.html )

And if you happen to be an "unknown language" person infant with the FORBIDDEN LETTERS in your name, you will be refused medical treatment!

Why is it that when Katil Erdoğan invites Shimon Peres to speak in the TBMM, and Peres makes his speech in another "unknown language", Katil Erdoğan and Peres are not investigated?

Moreover, why is it when I have to write about stuff about this, I feel like I'm writing from the Twilight Zone?

Ahmet Türk and the DTP are following in the honorable steps of Leyla Zana and the DEP parliamentarians so let us see just how far the investigation will go. For the time being, just as in Leyla Zana's time, Kurdish is still forbidden for Kurds.

Happy Freakin' Belated International Mother Language Day, Kurdistan!

TÜRK CALLS OUT ERDOĞAN ON HYPOCRISY

"The events are under control... Security forces will intervene with every possible means indiscriminately, including against women and children."
~ R. Tayyip Erdoğan during the Amed Serhildan.

Oh, yeah, what Türk said:

Türk: AKP is implementing Israeli policies in the Kurdish question

The co-chair of DTP Ahmet Türk called the government "First you stop the internal clashes. Supposedly you spend energy for an Israeli-Palestinian peace. All right, then, what are you doing for your domestic peace? Outside you will make a stand favoring Palestine, however internally you will not implement a policy different than Israel implements."

DTP co-chair Ahmet Türk made an evaluation about Israel's Gaza attack, the political issues in 2008, the expectation and hopes for 2009, the Kurdish broadcast in TRT, the TESEV report, and the economic crisis in DTP's [parliamentary] group meeting. Wishing 2009 to be a year of peace for both Turkey and the world's people, Türk gave his condolences to those seven youths' families who were poisoned by natural gas in Ankara on the New Year. Mentioning that 2008 was a year in which important incidents occurred within the world and the Middle East, Türk said a wind of change has started through the whole world however the bloody attack Israel conducted against Gaza in the last days of the year collapsed as a shadow on hopes for peace. Türk said, "With this attack, which aimed at civilians and did not differentiate between women or children, the cruel face of war is once more revealed. This is a massacre. Israel committed a crime against humanity and continues to do so."

Turkey was aware of the murder

Saying that this pessimistic scene that indicated the reality that was revealed, Türk continued, "Unless the problems are solved through dialog and peaceful means, the tension between people will continue and this will crack the door for the new war plans of the dominant powers. For this reason for the people of the Middle East it is an unavoidable historical duty to stand against this blind war with a peaceful struggle. The only option that will disable wars as a fate is a united peaceful struggle of the people, and it should be.

"Turkey, which instead of solving its domestic problems through peaceful means and implements policies that cause domestic clashes, must derive lessons from the ongoing incidents in the Middle East. Let's not forget: Regional peace is only possible by domestic peace. There is no credibility of the prime minister's Middle Eastern peace tours, who does not see this reality and leaves his domestic peace aside. Aren't they going to tell you, 'First organize your own house, then come and tell us about regional peace!'? Nevertheless, the prime minister, who sees Israel's attack as "disrespect" to Turkey and referring to the plight of Palestinian children [and speaking to Israel] says 'sooner or later you'll get yours,' is not credible nor sincere. You have to explain to the public what you have spoken about with Olmert in Ankara and what kind of deals you have prior to Israel's Gaza attack. It is the public's right to know what is going on behind closed doors. Were you aware of these attacks Mr. Prime Minister? Why don't you explain this?"

Remembering Erbakan, who in the past criticized Israel with the most severe words, Türk said, "However, Erbakan himself signed the strategic cooperation agreement with Israel. Today you are keeping this tradition and cooperation persistently. The countries that were aware of the attack historically have as much responsibility as Israel for the ongoing massacre in Palestine. You cannot hide these realities."

Are Israeli pilots trained in Turkey?

In his speech, touching on the claims that the Israeli pilots who bombed Palestine are trained in Konya, DTP co-chair Türk said: "This is a very serious claim and the government must make a statement to the public. Without eliminating these realities, there is no credibility in condemning Israel. If you are sincere, cancel the military tenders you have with Israel, suspend your relations. However, you do not have that courage nor power because you are connected [to Israel] by the umbilical cord."

Remembering the defense minister's trip to Israel for an agreement to purchase unmanned aircraft, Türk said, "There is no secret agreement or alliance that you have not used under the name of finishing the Kurdish question with military means. It is claimed that the financial dimension of military cooperation with Israel is around $1.8 billion. The Turkish public must see ongoing events and meet the real face of AKP. Don't be decieved by the prime minister's attitude as an apostle of peace. All these things are just words. On the one hand you will conduct aerial and land operations against a neighboring country. On the other hand you will say 'Israel must stop its operations against Gaza, a ceasefire must immediately be called.' You cannot deceive anybody with these fake policies and fake mediations."

But the hypocrite Kerdoğan runs all over the world mediating for world peace while refusing to accept PKK's ceasefire from two-and-a-half years ago. The hypocrite Kerdoğan cries crocodile tears for dead Palestinian civilians, including women and children, while he was the one who ordered Turkish security forces to shoot Kurdish women and children during the Amed Serhildan almost three years ago. And Kerdoğan now claims that Israel is using the Gaza attacks in order to win votes for the upcoming Israeli elections, while it may be, in fact, that Kerdoğan is running all over the Middle East in order to gain votes in his upcoming election because it isn't at all a sure thing that he'll get the support in The Southeast that he thinks is his due:

Although the AKP has made inroads in the southeast by promising increased rights for the Kurds while playing up its Islamic credentials, recent missteps made by Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan have also given the DTP an opening.

In a November speech he made in the southeastern city of Hakkari, Mr. Erdogan told the audience: "We have said, 'One nation, one flag, one motherland, and one state.' Those who oppose this should leave." Erdogan's words, which echoed the rhetoric long used by Turkish nationalists, were met with fierce criticism in the southeast.

[ . . . ]

But Bakir Karadeniz, a member of the retired imams group, says his religious beliefs compel him to vote against the ruling party in the upcoming local elections.

"The AKP are not good Muslims, and they are not good democrats. They are using religion, and they are lying to us," he says. "The question is not if the DTP is socialist. The most important thing is to support our rights."

In addition to Kerdoğan's "Love it or leave it" speech, let's not forget all the human rights abuses the AKP government inflicted on the Kurdish people last year. Let's not forget the invasion of South Kurdistan which every group in parliament voted for, with the exception of DTP. Let's not forget AKP's implementation of a new OHAL in The Southeast. Let's not forget Şemdinli or Ahmet and Uğur Kaymaz. Let's not forget the use of chemical weapons against HPG or the use of cluster bombs in South Kurdistan--all under AKP's watch. And just as Israel was behind HAMAS' founding, so too the US has been behind the AKP and that George Bush chose Kerdoğan to be Turkey's prime minister.

Umm, yeah, what was it Atatürk said . . . "Peace at home; peace in the world"? But I guess Kerdoğan's been too busy memorizing Islamist poetry to pay any attention to peace at home or peace in the world.

AN INVESTIGATION OF GENOCIDE

"It was a year after Turkey's generals in 1993 formally banned the use of the Kurdish language altogether and launched one of the most ruthless repression campaigns in the Kurdish regions that the PKK seriously took up arms and systematically challenged these forces. It was the same year, that in the province of Van, I spotted a Turkish Major with my own eyes beating a 10-year-old boy in the street for speaking Kurdish. It was evident then, as it is now, that the PKK was destined to strengthen and expand, out of natural reaction if nothing else."
~ Ismet Imset.

Somebody tell me why they bother to have the Internet in Turkey at all. On Friday, Hürriyet reported that "The world's biggest blog site was closed down". "Youtube wasn't enough, now access to Blogger has also come under a ban."

The order to ban Blogger.com came from Diyarbakır's First "Criminal Court of Peace"--how's that for Newspeak--on 20 October. Hürriyet asks if shutting down websites is really a solution? Well, I guess those that are scared shitless think so.

Rastî's site statistics confirm the ban. The last visitors from Turkey were on early Friday morning, whereas in the last few weeks this site had been receiving around 30% of its visitors from all over Turkey.

Ahmet Türk's remarks earlier in the week, about Kurds suffering a political, social, and cultural genocide in the wake of the 12 September coup has caused an investigation to be started by a prosecutor in Diyarbakır.

By all means the regime should investigate Ahmet Türk's words. Absolutely! Yes, Mr. Prosecutor, you go and delve deeply into the results of the 12 September coup. Delve deeply into the events at Dıyarbakır Military Prison, the true birthplace of the PKK. Delve deeply into the gross human rights abuses committed by the American trained and sponsored contra-guerrillas. Let all the crimes against humanity by the current regime be fully exposed.

Then we'll compare notes and see if the regime's prosecutor comes to the same determination as Ismet Imset did in the 1990s:

Yet, another development in 1980, added to the overall history of repression of the Kurds, provided the true jus ad bellum the PKK required in order to use the overall Kurdish right to go to war. This was non other than the military coup in Turkey, supported by Washington, which gave not only the Kurds but also the Turks the unquestionable right to legitimately pursue any method of struggle against an illegitimate, foreign supported, military junta; its leaders and its forces.

Immediately prior to the take-over, several senior PKK leaders had predicted what was going to happen and in fear of persecution had escaped from the country like many other intellectuals.

By the morning of September 12, 1980, when tanks moved into capital Ankara and a nation-wide curfew was imposed by the junta, Turkey's martial law-based system had already banned most legal left-wing, radical Marxist activities as well as propaganda and had jailed thousands of Turks under the US-indoctrinated concept of "preventing the spread of Communism." Hundreds of Turks and Kurds were facing systematic torture sessions throughout the country as even school children at the age of 12 were being detained and promptly beaten to extract confessions -- incidents which have all been placed on the record.

With the military takeover though, the conditions for a "just cause" to launch a war for freedom and democracy if nothing else, were stronger than ever and the very fact that a group of generals, using their force and weaponry had ousted an elected civilian regime and abolished the country's constitution, spoke for itself in way of legitimacy for any form of resistance. The generals had taken over the country, closing down parliament, banning all political parties and placing their leaders, including the prime minister, under "protective custody."

A summary of that period was recently published in a Turkish news magazine and is highly important in the context of the PKK's own struggle and its reasons. It is, in reality, a full explanation of the immediate circumstances in which the organization launched its armed struggle and thus claimed that it was a legitimate one or a just war: Throughout the coup era in which the PKK launched its first organized operation in Turkish territory, a total of 650 thousand people were detained and most suspects were either beaten or tortured; over 500 people died while under detention as result of torture; 85,000 people were placed on trial mainly in relation to thought crimes or guilt by association; 1,683,000 people were officially listed in police files as suspects; 348 thousand Turks and Kurds were banned from traveling abroad; 15,509 people were fired from their jobs for political reasons; 114 thousand books were seized and burned; 937 films were banned; 2,729 writers, translators, journalists and actors were put on trials for expressing their opinions. One can hardly argue, as we enter the 21st century, that such a regime had any legitimacy other than to conform with the financial and political expectations of its foreign supporters.

Amir Hassanpour points to the assimilationist policies of the post-1980 coup regime, which have as their goal the destruction of the Kurdish identity:

The 1980 Coup d''etat Regime

The Turkish regime has made no secret of its intention to eliminate Kurdish ethnic distinction (cf., e.g. van Bruinessen 1984; Nezan 1984; Helsinki Watch 1988). The suppression of manifestation of Kurdish, as well as Armenian or Greek, existence has been extended to such places as the Lufthansa airline office in Istanbul and the American Library in Ankara. An old globe, for example, carrying references to Kurdistan and Pontus had been used as part of a publicity photograph in the Istanbul Rotary Club magazine. This led to a demand of a three-year prison sentence for the company's Istanbul deputy manager (London Guardian, march 23, 1984). The Turkish embassies in Europe have regularly used diplomatic and other pressures to prevent the participation of Kurdish groups in cultural programs sponsored by European states. Similar pressure on the broadcast media has been documented.

Increased militarization and political control of the Kurdish provinces has been accompanied by new assimilation programs: "A general campaign to improve literacy in Turkish, and intensive Turkish-language courses were introduced in primary schools. Provicial commanders had their own programs to stamp out the use of Kurdish, at least in the towns. Traditional Kurdish clothes, which had reappeared in the 1970s, have been banned again" (van Bruinessen 1984: 12).

The armed resistence led by a leftist Kurdish political party, Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan (Kurdistan Workers Party), in the early 1980s has led to massive deployment of the army in the Kurdish provinces. To prevent the spread of the movement among the rural population, a project of setting up strategic hamlets is being carried out in the rural areas. (14) Another project is the resettlement of thousands of Turkish-speaking Kirghiz refugees from Afghanistan in Kurdistan. The government suggested that the area was chosen because of its similarity to the mountainous homeland of the refugees. Since there is no shortage of mountainous terrain in the Turkish-speaking regions, the real reason has more to do with Turkification of Kurdistan than considerations of landscape (de Manuelian 1986).

Interpreting the crime of genocide as it's written in international law includes the following ideas:

The crime of genocide has two elements: intent and action. “Intentional” means purposeful. Intent can be proven directly from statements or orders. But more often, it must be inferred from a systematic pattern of coordinated acts.

Intent is different from motive. Whatever may be the motive for the crime (land expropriation, national security, territorrial integrity, etc.), if the perpetrators commit acts intended to destroy a group, even part of a group, it is genocide.

The phrase "in whole or in part" is important. Perpetrators need not intend to destroy the entire group. Destruction of only part of a group (such as its educated members, or members living in one region) is also genocide. Most authorities require intent to destroy a substantial number of group members – mass murder. But an individual criminal may be guilty of genocide even if he kills only one person, so long as he knew he was participating in a larger plan to destroy the group.

Ahmet Türk is absolutely correct. There has been a genocide campaign against the Kurdish people, especially since the 12 September coup. Nothing has changed.

After Katil Erdoğan's disastrous visit to Turkey's internal colony Kurdistan last week, he had some comments:

The use of children in recent activities involving the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) demonstrates the [ ] group's ignorance and ferocity, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said.

I may be the only one who remembers what Katil Erdoğan said during the Amed Serhildan:

"Security forces will intervene with every possible means indiscriminately, including against women and children."

And so the ignorant and ferocious killed ten during the serhildan, including five children, and imprisoned over 100 children.

Sayın Başbakan, no one is as ignorant or ferocious as you.