WHY THE OUTRAGE?

Heaven
I'm in heaven
And my heart beats
So that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find
That happiness I seek
"Cheek to Cheek"

Why the angst? Why the agony? Why the shock and turmoil and foreboding?

Of course I'm talking about the news of the PKK attacks that have left a reported 24 TSK types dead. Others report 26 dead and some 20 wounded.

I'll let you in on something, though . . . friends in Hakkâri say that the death tally is quite a bit higher. Not surprising since the Ankara regime historically distorts the numbers, usually deflating it's KIAs and inflating PKK KIAs.

HPG itself reports that there were approximately 100 kills and wounded from this operation and that this number includes TSK personnel and Özel Harekât (police) team members. Five comrades lost their lives in the operation and HPG will publish the details of those comrades as soon as it is able.

Firat News has reported that a survivor of the Çukurca operation had called his mother and told her that there were many more deaths than Turkish media had reported. The mother, in turn, reported this information via telephone to Kanal 7 TV (Istanbul).

But let's get back to my original questions. Why the shock and agony? Why the promises of revenge from Ankara?

Turkey is a country ruled by a religious party. They refer to their dead as martyrs. So why aren't the ultra-fanatic AKP holy men and women rejoicing that paradise is bulging at its borders with more happy martyrs? I mean, this is what they believe, right, so why the long faces and mean words? The AKP should be asses and elbows on the road Kandil to kiss Murat Karayılan's feet for having overseen the creation of more martyrs.

I find the AKP's lack of faith extremely disturbing. They're worse than infidels because at least infidels aren't expected to have the proper belief system. But the holy men of the AKP? They should declare a holiday of national rejoicing at the mere thought of more Turkish martyrs. They should make Apo Prime Minister of Turkey for life!

Gee, Mr. Gül and Mr. Erdoğan, maybe you're not praying hard enough. Maybe your lack of sincerity in your prayers, your lack of good intentions and your sins have driven your faith away? Perhaps you could purify yourselves of your sins by sending your own children to fight the PKK instead of sending only the children of the poor to be ground into blood meal. You'd be following in the steps of Ibrahim, who was more than willing to sacrifice his son to show his rock-solid faith.

Somehow, I don't think that's going to happen, though. These religious hypocrites are just way too cowardly to put their own kids on the line for their ideology.

On the other hand, maybe the faithless Erdoğan could take some advice from The Baltimore Sun:

But while Erdogan has become a hero for millions of Muslims abroad by urging Arab leaders to embrace freedom and democracy and by championing Palestinian rights, Turkey's Kurds say Erdogan should first focus on problems at home.

Do ya think??

But we've waited over thirty years for the Ankara regime to allow anything like an Arab spring in The Southeast so it's time for the wait to end. It's time for the Kurdish people to create their own Kurdish spring. In fact, since the Ankara regime has placed military and police checkpoints at every meter of the political road in Turkey, there is no other choice but serhildan.

BDP is also falling into the trap of faithlessness. There's absolutely no need to apologize for sending worthy souls to paradise.

As for the hyenas of the international community and their absurd cries of solidarity with the infidel AKP, they want Turkey to continue to act for them in Syria and, ultimately, in Iran. After all, so much of the bombing has been cut back in Libya that the hyenas need to smell fresh blood. And Syria's convenient, too, what with İncirlik in the neighborhood.

In the meantime, I think I'm going to sit back and continue to enjoy a little schadenfreude.




Hevallere Not: Daha birkaç gün önce askeri üniformasıyla askerlere moral ziyaretinde bulunan Abdullah Gül'ün mesajına en kısa ve en anlamlı mesajınızdan dolayı sizleri kutluyorum.

KAYSERI COMMANDO GARRISON DESTROYED BY PKK!

Who am I, you ask?
The Kurd of Kurdistan,
a lively volcano,
fire and dynamite
in the face of enemy.
When furious,
I shake the mountains,
the sparks of my anger
are death to my foes.
~ Cigerxwîn, "Kîme Ez".

Oh, SWEET!!

A brigade of Kayseri commandos has been destroyed early this morning Kurdistan time by the beloved freedom fighters of the People's Defense Force (HPG)!

U-LULULULULULULULULU!!!!

Before we get to the announcement, let's review the role of Kayseri commandos in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan [emphasis in the original]:

The decision to ‘train’ alongside Turkey’s mountain commandos in 1997, we should note, was also made two years after Human Rights Watch had publicly disclosed that “two special Commando Brigades, Bolu and Kayseri, [we]re heavily involved in counterinsurgency operations. Unlike the regular Turkish Army forces, the Bolu and Kayseri [mountain commando] units [we]re more highly trained and [we]re expected to engage in closer contact with PKK fighters and with civilians suspected of supporting the guerrillas. [Witness] B.G. told Human Rights Watch that during his April 1994-May 1995 stint in the southeast, he learned that the Bolu and Kayseri were considered by soldiers and civilians alike to be far more abusive of the civilian population than the regular Army. ‘Nasty behavior toward the population [wa]s encouraged in the Bolu and Kayseri brigades’, he explained, ‘while the Piyade (infantry) Commando tend[ed] to be kinder. The commanders want[ed] there to be a kind of good guy - bad guy situation, which they then use[d] to threaten the locals. They sa[id] be good or we’ll send the Bolu after you!’ Bolu and Kayseri Commandos were prevalent throughout the 1994 Tunceli [Dersim] campaign, during which tens of villages were destroyed. Witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch said they were able to identify Bolu and Kayseri soldiers, and reported that they were involved in numerous violations of the laws of war, including village destructions, indiscriminate fire, and kidnapping civilians who were then forced into serving as porters during Army patrols … The Bolu and Kayseri Commandos”, furthermore, “appear to have incorporated a significant number of U.S.-designed M-16 assault rifles and M-203 grenade launchers into their regular arsenal … According to Reuters, 5,000 Bolu and Kayseri commandos joined 35,000 other forces in the Tunceli campaign [See ‘Turkish Army Torches 17 Villages, Residents Say,’ Reuters, October 5, 1994]”.

Now that we know these bastards have received what they have so richly deserved, on to the news report, from ANF:

Garrison Destroyed in Çukurca!

It has been announced that HPG guerrillas, who conducted an operation against a mobile military garrison in Çukurca, destroyed the entire garrison and killed 30 soldiers. It was also reported that the guerrillas confiscated a number of weapons and munitions.

The clashes started between 0100 and 0200 hours. The mobile garrison that was targeted by the guerrillas was located 30 km from Çukurca district in Hantepe, between Bilican and Talise villages and the military unit was the Kayseri Commando Military Brigade Command.

30 Soldiers Killed

According to HPG sources, in the operation against the Bilican mobile garrison the entire garrison was destroyed. In the operation, in which 30 soldiers were killed, many weapons like artillery and artillery shells were destroyed.

Weapons Confiscated

While the TSK came to pick up their wounded soldiers with helicopters they too encountered guerrilla intervention and it was reported that the helicopters were fired at [by the guerrillas]. HPG sources also indicated that the helicopters were forced to retreat.

In addition, during the guerrilla operation, the guerrillas went into the military units and confiscated many weapons and munitions.

Clashes Continue

Clashes in the region, in the Uzundere area are still ongoing under the control of the guerrillas. Details of the clashes are expected from HPG soon.

One would presume that these Kayseri commando-types are the same types that would fill the ranks of a so-called professional army within TSK, which would be posted to Turkish-occupied Kurdistan to fight our guerrillas.

Sweet!!

Bijî Gerîla!


Çok Yaşa Gerilla!


Çok Yaşa Önder Apo!

PKK AND THE SCOTUS

"Hypocrisy in anything whatever may deceive the cleverest and most penetrating man, but the least wide-awake of children recognizes it, and is revolted by it, however ingeniously it may be disguised."
~ Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy.

On June 21 the SCOTUS [Supreme Court of the US] determined that providing "training, expert advice or assistance" to teach the PKK how to file human rights complaints or to engage in peace negotiations is the same thing as providing material support to a "terrorist" organization. From The Washington Post, amazingly:

WHICH OF the following is illegal under the law that bars providing "material support" to terrorists?:

1. Giving money to a terrorist organization.

2. Providing explosives training to terrorists.

3. Urging a terrorist group to put down its arms in favor of using lawful, peaceful means to achieve political goals.

After Monday's Supreme Court ruling in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project the answer is: all three.

The material support law prohibits U.S. citizens from providing "services," "personnel" or "training, expert advice or assistance" to U.S.-designated terrorist groups. It has long been understood that funding and providing weapons training were off limits. What was less clear was how far the law could reach to punish activities with no link to terrorism.

The court's answer: Very far. In our opinion, it is the court that went too far.

From Foreign Policy:

And although it seems like attempts to convince terrorist groups to use non-lethal methods to pursue their political agenda would be a no-brainer, the US Supreme Court concluded otherwise. How could this be? According to the Supreme Court, an FTO such as the PKK could misuse such training to feign an interest in peace while in the meantime it builds up its strength as it awaits a more opportune time to resume terrorism. In addition, it could use its newly-gained knowledge of international law to subvert the legal system by manipulating it to prevent successful campaigns against terrorism. Finally, when an FTO such as the PKK learns skills such as peaceful political advocacy and the norms of international law and international humanitarian and human rights law, there is the substantial risk that it will obtain greater legitimacy, thereby making it harder to defeat them.

The Atlantic continues:

. . . But as Justice Breyer suggested in dissent, it makes no sense: Independent speech about a designated group may legitimize the group as much (or more) than advice to the group on conflict resolution. Breyer was equally dismissive of the assertion that such advice enables terrorism by "freeing up" the group's resources: "The Government has provided us with no empirical information that might convincingly support this claim." Nor did it make a factual showing that the speech proposed by the plaintiffs in HLP would confer any particular "legitimacy" on a designated group.

One of the original court documents in the challenge to the Patriot Act can be found here, and the document contains the argument of the plaintiffs in the case, including that of Judge Ralph Fertig. Here's a sample:

Since 1991 the HLP [Humanitarian Law Project] and Judge Fertig have devoted substantial time and resources advocating on behalf of the Kurds living in Turkey and working with and providing training, expert advice and other forms of support to the PKK. Judge Fertig and other individuals associated with the HLP have conducted fact-finding investigations on the Kurds in Turkey and have published reports and articles presenting their findings, which are supportive of the PKK and the struggle for Kurdish liberation. They assert that the Turkish government has committed extensive human rights violations against the Kurds, including the summary execution of more than 18,000 Kurds, the widespread use of arbitrary detentions and torture against persons who speak out for equal rights for Kurds or are suspected of sympathizing with those who do, and the wholesale destruction of some 2,4000 Kurdish villages. Applying international law principles, they have concluded that the PKK is a party to an armed conflict governed by Geneva Conventions and Protocols and, therefore, is not a terrorist organization under international law.

There's much more in the court document that outlines some of the work of the HLP and Judge Fertig on behalf of the Kurdish people. Take a look so that you can get a better idea of what it is to be a "terrorist" in the mind of the United States in general and of the fascist Black Robes of the SCOTUS in particular.

At the same time that the fascist Black Robes of the SCOTUS determined that helping the PKK negotiate peace was an act of terrorism, news reports were discussing the fact that the US military and its civilian contractors were handing out beaucoup bucks to warlords and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

It's apparent from Le Monde Diplomatique that not only do US military officers like to flash the cash in the Taliban's direction, but NATO commanders are somewhat taken with the Taliban personally:

Sadly for the US, almost everyone supports the Taliban rebels. Even Nato commanders. A senior officer said: “If I was a young man, I’d be fighting with the Taliban.”

The same article says that, until recently anyway, the entire goal of the US military in Afghanistan was not even to defeat the Taliban:

For Nato soldiers, the fight is confusing. General Stanley McChrystal – their commander until President Barack Obama accepted his forced resignation last month, the result of his candour – told the troops that, in the counter-insurgency campaign, their primary goal is not to kill or even defeat the Taliban but rather to secure the population. The enemy is not even the Taliban, said Major-General Nick Carter, the British general in charge of the Kandahar campaign, but rather a “malign influence”, a code for corrupt government.

In light of a recent House subcommittee investigation into the matter, the Pentagon is taking the allegations "seriously". The entire congressional report can be found here and a larger news report on the investigation can be found at The Nation.

It makes one wonder whether or not such fine, upstanding Americans as US military officers and "free-market" contractors should, perhaps, be the first to be charged with offering material support to terrorists under the SCOTUS ruling. Alas, it's not to be for the simple reason that the Taliban is not listed as an FTO on the State Department's infamous List.

Now why is that?

On the one hand you have the PKK, an organization that has never targeted Americans or even talked about targeting Americans--unlike the MEK, pet organization of so many Republican congressmen--and on the other hand you have the Taliban, which manages to blow up or otherwise kill Americans every few days. Or at least every week. So why is the PKK on the List and the Taliban is not? It all sounds so very arbitrary to me.

Of course, the reason the Taliban has so far avoided being listed is because it was the guest of the Americans back in the 1990s:

Late in 1996, however, the Bridas Corp. of Argentina finally signed contracts with the Taliban and with Gen. Dostum of the Northern Alliance to build the pipeline.

One American company in particular, Unocal, found that intolerable and fought back vigorously, hiring a number of consultants in addition to Kissinger: Hamid Karzai, Richard Armitage, and Zalmay Khalilzad. (Armitage and Khalilzad would join the George W. Bush administration in 2001.)

Unocal wooed Taliban officials at its headquarters in Texas and in Washington, D.C., seeking to have the Bridas contract voided, but the Taliban refused. Finally, in February of 1998, John J. Maresca, a Unocal vice president, asked in a congressional hearing to have the Taliban replaced by a more stable regime.

The Clinton administration, having recently refused the PNAC request to invade Iraq, was not any more interested in a military overthrow of the Taliban. President Clinton did, however, shoot a few cruise missiles into Afghanistan, after the al Qaeda attacks on the U.S. embassies in Africa. And he issued an executive order forbidding further trade transactions with the Taliban.

Maresca was thus twice disappointed: The Taliban would not be replaced very soon, and Unocal would have to cease its pleadings with the regime.

Unocal's prospects rocketed when George W. Bush entered the White House, and the Project for the New American Century ideology of global dominance took hold.

The Bush administration itself took up active negotiations with the Taliban in January of 2001, seeking secure access to the Caspian Basin for American companies. The Enron Corp. also was eyeing a pipeline to feed its proposed power plant in India.) The administration offered a package of foreign aid as an inducement, and the parties met in Washington, Berlin and Islamabad. The Bridas contract might still be voided.

But the Taliban would not yield.

It would appear that the Americans are holding out to continue pipeline negotiations with the Taliban, and are, therefore, not "Listing" the group.

If so it means that former HPG Commander Comrade Bahoz Erdal's repeated comments about the targeting of oil and gas pipelines takes on a much greater sense of urgency. Since the Taliban refusal to go along with American oil companies and its continued targeting of US military personnel have kept it off the List, maybe the same tactics could benefit HPG and the PKK and, finally, force Turkey and the US to negotiate for a peaceful settlement of the Kurdish situation.

THE FALCONS OF KURDISTAN

"Don't worry. Such things happen. We are doing all that we can."
~ General Gürbüz Kaya, TSK.

The falcons of Kurdistan are tearing the flesh of the wolves of the Turkish Republic.

On its website, Teyrêbazên Azadîya Kurdistan (TAK) has claimed responsibility for yesterday's bombing of a military bus in Istanbul. TAK states that the bombing was in retaliation for "an unjust war in Kurdistan" and it also warns TSK about using civilians as shields and warns all civilians to stay away from military areas and vehicles for their own security. It would appear that TAK's intention is to continue its attacks. There's a little more on TAK's statement at Bianet.

The Independent remarks that this bombing marks the end of HPG's ceasefire. However, the end of the ceasefire occurred on 1 June and HPG has no relationship to TAK. If urban operations continue, it may be possible that TAK will operate in some coordinated manner with HPG since TAK has always remained open to such a possibility. At this point, of course, it's too early to tell.

Still, it would be a good idea to avoid Turkey as a travel destination this year.

HPG's policy of active defense has resulted in numerous TSK deaths in the last few weeks. The responsibility for these deaths lies with TSK as the natural result of its recent heavy operations in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan. Heavy TSK losses are also a result of a combination of hubris and incompetence in the Turkish officer corps--a fact that Turkish families are suddenly recognizing.

Not that this would be the first instance of such hubris and incompetence. Remember the Dağlıca (Oremar) commander, Onur Dirik? Well, so does Zaman:

Dağlıca Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Onur Dirik had left his battalion at the time of the attack to attend a wedding. His pictures, dancing at the wedding at the time of the attack, were published in national newspapers.

Now the families are blaming the deaths of their beloved this last weekend on the paşa in charge of the garrison in Şemdinli, General Gürbüz Kaya. It would appear that not only is this particular paşa filled with hubris and incompetence, but he's a big, fat liar, too:

Kaya was previously in the press for his remarks in a recorded phone conversation last year after it became evident that mines that killed seven soldiers in an explosion two years ago had been planted by the Turkish military rather than the PKK. The tragic background of the incident was revealed by Van prosecutors who launched an investigation into the mine explosion after a telephone conversation between Brig. Gen. Zeki Es and Maj. Gen. Kaya indicating that the mines were planted by the people who were responsible for the soldiers' security came to light. In the recording, Kaya -- speaking about the blast that killed seven soldiers -- can be heard telling Es: “Don't worry. Such things happen. We are doing all that we can.”

OOPS!!

But, then, we know for a fact that Turkish officers don't give a shit. Remember this, from last year:

Four soldiers were killed in the eastern province of Elazığ on Aug. 17 after a lieutenant gave one of the privates a hand grenade whose pin he had pulled out to punish him for sleeping during his night watch, the Taraf daily claimed yesterday.

The testimony of members of the army obtained by the daily reveal that the four soldiers died when an activated grenade given to them by Lt. Mehmet Tümer exploded. According to the records, Tümer wanted to punish Pvt. İbrahim Öztürk for falling asleep during his night watch. It had previously been claimed that the soldiers were killed when a hand grenade carried by one of the soldiers exploded accidentally as they were patrolling the rural area against the prospect of a terrorist attack by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Four other soldiers were injured in the blast. However, soldiers' testimonies point to a totally different cause behind the deaths.

So, this criminally feckless attitude is rife among the officer corps of NATO's second largest army. How appropriate for such a pack of hyenas. Bengi Yıldız is right: "Don't send your children to military service".

On a related matter, Israeli UAV technicians and instructors were recalled to Israel in the first half of June, after the Mavi Marmara incident. CNN reported this:

After the May 31 [Mavi Marmara] incident, Turkey's prime minister ominously warned "nothing would ever be the same again," between the two once-close Middle Eastern allies. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has demanded that Israel apologize for what he has repeatedly labeled an act of "state terrorism" and "piracy" in the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey withdrew its ambassador from Tel Aviv, Israel, in protest and cancelled joint military exercises with Israel. But Ankara has been careful not to sever ties with the Israeli defense industry.

Further down in that article, İlker Paşa had this to say:

When asked on Monday whether Israeli technicians and engineers had to cut short training on the new drones due to the recent rift in relations, Basbug insisted Turkish operators were adequately prepared to pilot the Herons.

"Now our own personnel, our air force, is using the Heron systems that we bought," Basbug said. "They got the training, it is over. We are capable, we have started using them."

But I think İlker Paşa prevaricates; yesterday, Zaman reported that a Turkish military delegation arrived in Israel on Tuesday to complete some testing on the Heron systems. They'll be there for two weeks.

So much for all of Katil Erdoğan's anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian solidarity shit.

In conclusion, let me express my best wishes to our dear Kurdish falcons and let's all lift a glass to happy hunting!

15 ŞUBAT

"In the category of small nations without any rights, it is best not to be Kurdish. It is better to be an ethnic Albanian or a Palestinian.... Because they do not fit with the interests of any superpower...and because they happen to be under Turkey's rule, a U.S. ally and NATO member, the Kurds will not have their Madrid conference or their Dayton agreement or Rambouillet talks.... While everyone has been recalling that Ocalan's organization is a terrorist organization, everyone has been forgetting that the Kurdish people of Turkey are the victims of state terrorism...called ethnic cleansing. The same thing that has the United States and Europe up in arms when it is done in the Balkans, leaves them cold when it is done in Turkey."
~ Le Monde, 18 February 1999.

Eleven years ago today Turkey thought its Kurdish problem was solved. It wasn't. Cengiz Çandar, writing in Radikal, doesn't think Turkey's Kurdish problem is solved either:

Oppression and Disappointment in the Southeast


If you make your way to the Southeast often--and not only talk to officials but also particularly have a relationship with the street--if you open up your heart and listen to the region's people, there is a result that you can easily arrive at: the ruling party's regional parliamentarians are not representing the region in Ankara but are representing Ankara and their party in the region.

I've stated this on every occasion when I met with important people in the state and in the government. The AK Party's Southeastern parliamentarians are not representing their regions; they do not convey the pulse of the Southeast to Ankara. Whenever they go to their election districts, they represent Ankara and their party.

Therefore, PM Erdogan's statement, "There are 75 Kurdish parliamentarians in my party," or the AK Party's receiving the greatest amount of votes in the region doesn't mean anything.

Have you ever heard these 75 "Kurdish" parliamentarians open their mouths to say anything about the Kurdish question? Have you ever heard them mention the unbearable oppression in the region in Ankara in front of the public?

A couple of days ago, Diyarbakır's Special Heavy Penalty Court convicted a fifteen-year-old girl called Berivan for "throwing stones at police" in addition to "cheering party slogans" during the events that took place on 9 October in Batman. She was convicted to 13.5 years at the first hearing. Yes, at the very first hearing.

Since she was a minor, the court showed mercy and reduced its punishment to seven years and nine months! At the event [during the protest in Batman], Berivan's face was covered with a scarf but police were determined that the girl with the scarf was Berivan. That girl with the scarf may very well be Berivan; but while there is more solid and concrete evidence for the generals who gathered to overthrow the government, which is a crime against the state, and while they've been released pending trial, have you ever seen any Southeastern AKP parliamentarian object to Berivan's conviction of 13.5 years for stoning police and cheering party slogans?

Do you know that there are over 1,000 children in prison in the Southeast?

In a condition where belief in justice is damaged so deeply, can we talk about the "Democratic Initiative" or the "National Unity and Brotherhood Project"?

In the Southeast there is no justice but oppression!

The other day, one of the members of AKP's executive council told me that in the council meeting PM Erdoğan was informed that people in the Southeast are very happy and very excited about the ongoing events [the "democratic" initiative]. Based on the PM's sources, everything is going well in the Southeast. Whereas the contrary is the case and the "political decision maker" [Erdoğan--i.e. Turkey's "decider guy"] is being deceived or prefers being deceived. Again, another piece of information I received from a similar source: AK Party's executive council is expecting very important incidents about Kandil around Newroz. If there are AKP members that believe this, I'm curious about what planet they're living on. Newroz is only one and a half months away; is there any indicator that thousands of armed people from Kandil will come and surrender?

Well, is there any little indication of a general amnesty to come out for the ones at Kandil? There are only two possibilities left so far. 1) America and Iraqi Kurds will have a joint military operation and finish PKK's military existence--for those who believe this, they are living in a dream. 2) The ones at Kandil disappear unexpectedly.

There are no such situations and there isn't the slightest sign that these will happen.

Meaning, within one and a half months, related to Kandil, it is impossible for any incident to happen, for PKK to disarm. A "climate" for such a thing has been removed in Turkey anyway. In the region [Southeast], in addition to 1,000 children, more than 1,000 people in political groups, including elected mayors, have been arrested.

The PKK members who came from Kandil three months ago are free; mayors have been handcuffed and arrested for having connections with PKK.

There are two ways to make the armed cadres give up on armed struggle:

1. Regarding Kurdish identity, you have to take such unilateral democratic steps that will remove the armed group's masses of supportö and the support will completely be removed. There won't be support of the masses for armed forces.

2. Open up ways for armed groups to become involved with peaceful [without arms] politics.

Until now, regarding the first, there are positive but insufficient steps. Regarding the second, just the contrary is being done. Elected people, who are involved with peaceful politics, are jailed. It is a politics of "to the ones in the cities calling 'go to the mountains'; meanwhile, to the ones in the mountains, 'stay there'" is being made.

The "negative atmosphere" and the "disappointment" in the region were reflected to Ankara as "information to the state in the governors' meeting". The governors in the East and Southeast told Interior Minister Beşir Atalay that, "initially, the democratic initiative raised expectation and excitement to their peaks in the region. Citizens became very hopeful. When the package ["democratic" initiative's packages] was presented, a serious disappointment took place. The citizens are expecting more concrete steps."

They are right.

For months, we have been saying and writing this. I forgot exactly how many articles I wrote specifically about this issue and specifically in this way. The governors who work in the region mentioned that our people's expectation became lively in March of last year due to Abdullah Gül's statement of "soon there will be good things on the Kurdish question" and with the initiative, their expectation is at its peak.

President Gül said those words to three journalists--of whom I was one--in the plane on the way to Tehran. Since that day, I am among those who've been keeping an eye on the pulse of the region. I spent a remarkable amount of the summer months in the Mardin, Van, Doğubeyazıt, and Kızıltepe regions. On 1 August [2009], I was among the attendees for the Kurdish Workshop. One month later, in September, I traveled 1,000 kilometers between Diyarbakır and Şemdinli.

Today's atmosphere is 180 degrees different from the atmosphere of those days.

It is as much a deep disappointment and negative atmosphere [now] as it was equally positive in those days.

How in the world will "national unity and brotherhood " come about without including our Kurdish citizens who live in the Southeast, who want to join with great enthusiasm and an expectation of an optimistic future?

How will a "national unity and brotherhood" will come about from a region where 1,000 children are currently living lives of misery in prisons?

The Interior Ministry said "İnşallah, soon good things are going to happen" to the governors and wanted them to wait for a while. I wish this problem could be solved with "İnşallahs" and empty promises. This is not a kind of problem that can be solved with "İnşallahs" and "Maşallahs".

And god forbid the potential of the disappointment is so great as to overwhelm the struggle against the junta members in Ankara and Istanbul, and to overwhelm Turkey's successful foreign politics that present Turkey as a "rising regional power".

PM Erdoğan needs to open up his eyes to the ongoing things in the Southeast and, without any delay, he must change track.

Çandar's piece reminds me of something else from history, something that happened four years ago tomorrow--the visit of Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Ankara. Let's recall what was said at the time:

Although they feared that too open an endorsement of Hamas's victory would antagonise both Israel and the international community, Turkish Foreign Ministry officials were privately discussing intensifying behind-the-scenes contacts with Hamas in preparation for more contacts in Palestine. But they advised the Turkish government that it should delay any public contacts with Hamas until it had formed a government. In this way they could argue that they were meeting not with representatives of a group which is included on both the US's and the EU's list of terrorist organisations but with representatives of the democratically elected Palestinian government.

What was said by the AKP government in defense of the Hamas visit?

The Turkish government justified its decision to invite Meshaal, who is based in Damascus, by arguing that Hamas had won free and fair elections in the Palestinian territories. The Turks stressed the importance of having a dialogue with Hamas in order to moderate its position.

The AKP government has not changed its position on this subject as Katil Erdoğan was on Turkish media last week crying for Palestinians again. It should be noted, however, that Katil Erdoğan has yet to shed any tears for the Kurds of Turkey. What's more is that Katil Erdoğan's government continues to carry out mass arrests of Kurdish politicians who were, in fact, members of a legal and peaceful political party in Turkey and who had been overwhelmingly elected to their positions by the people of their constituencies during last year's 29 March elections. While I'm at it, let me reiterate that neither DTP nor BDP have been listed on anyone's "Terrorist" List . . . except perhaps for some super secret List which may have been filed in Gladio's Kozmik Odası.

Since the ruling party has completely ruled out any possibility of a political solution for the Kurdish people, there is only one approach left.

SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE THEY UNDERSTAND

"We are frankly Nationalist . . . and Nationalism is our only factor of cohesion. Before the Turkish majority other elements have no kind of influence. At any price, we must turkify the inhabitants of our land, and we will annihilate those who oppose Turks or 'le turqisme.'"
~ İsmet İnönü, 1925.

KCK Executive Committee member Bozan Tekin recently spoke to a graduating cycle of new HPG guerrillas. Here's what he had to say:

Bozan Tekin: From now on, we'll speak the language they understand.

At a time when the policies to take Kurds from the mountains are being used, the number of youths that join HPG is increasing. Forty-one warrior candidates were delivered to their units after successfully completing their Şehit Kemal training cycle.

In the closing session of the graduating cycle that was dedicated to Kemal Şêvişkî, who was murdered by the TSK at a time when the Kurdish movement had declared a ceasefire, KCK Executive Council member Bozan Tekin made a speech.

In his speech, Tekin mentioned that the Turkish state is conducting a new genocide under the name of "Initiative". Tekin said, "The discourses about 'initiative' that have been mentioned up until now are revealed clearly that it's a game. Despite all our goodwill and endeavors, the Turkish state conducts cultural, social, and political genocide against the Kurds with the policy of 'one nation, one state'. Despite our ceasefire decision, the level of military operations remained the same; in addition, our people's representatives have been thrown in jail. The Kurdısh party, the DTP, has been closed and its members have been arrested. My people, who were demonstrating their legitimate reactions, were raided and our youths were murdered. From now on, our movement and our people will speak the language they will understand."

After the swearing-in ceremony, the HPG guerrillas received their graduation documents and the ceremony ended with dancing.

According to a report from ANF earlier in the month of December 2009, the number of new guerrilla recruits joining HPG since March 2009 was 787, with 591 of those joining since August.

At this point, it is very likely that those numbers will increase in 2010.

OUR GUERRILLA SEHIDS 2009, PART 2

"Courage, it would seem, is nothing less than the power to overcome danger, misfortune, fear, injustice, while continuing to affirm inwardly that life with all its sorrows is good; that everything is meaningful even if in a sense beyond our understanding; and that there is always tomorrow."
~ Dorothy Thompson.

These and more photos at http://www.hpg-online.net/Photo/

OUR GUERRILLA SEHIDS 2009, PART 1

"None who have always been free can understand the terrible fascinating power of the hope of freedom to those who are not free."
~ Pearl S. Buck.

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.

GERİLLALARIMIZA SELAMLAR

PKK'nin 25. yıl dönümü dolayısıyla Kürdistan'ın siz kutsal ruhu olan koruyucu cesaret abidesi gerillalarımızı kutlar ve Kürdistan'ın özgürlüğü uğruna bedel ödemiş herkesi saygı ve hürmetle anıyorum.



(On the 25th anniversary of the PKK's emergence as the defender of Kurdistan's sacred honor, I greet all our courageous guerrillas and remember all those who have made the greatest sacrifice for Kurdistan's freedom.)


15 Ağustos Kutlu Olsun!

FIGHTING TO THE END AND EXPANDING THE WAR

"We will be forced to continue a war of defence. Such a war would be different from the period before 1 June."
~ Nurettin Sofi, HPG Headquarters Commander.

The ATC conference is ongoing in Washington through tomorrow and İlker Başbuğ is in attendanceç On Monday night, Başbuğ revealed Turkey's intentions with regard to the Kurdish question:

"Therefore, we are very much determined to fight against the terrorist organization until its total elimination. This fight is a long-term effort, and it requires patience," he said.

Başbuğ has been meeting with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mullen and we can assume that they are working out the details of Turkey coming to US aid in Afghanistan/Pakistan. Any deal on this issue will require a counter-deal from the US and that counter-deal will focus on PKK, especially since the Ankara-Washington "Kurdish" conference has been indefinitely nixed, thanks to DTP's success in the 29 March elections. Bet on some new fly in the ointment for the future, in spite of the recent publicity that Hasan Cemal's series from Kandil generated.

I mean, if that got your hopes up, you're a real tenderfoot anyway. There is only one way to solve Turkey's most serious problem.

And so much for Gül's less than impressive remarks that the Kurdish situation is Turkey's most serious problem. Such is an obvious statement of fact, the acknowledgement of which does not mean that there will be any steps of goodwill from the Ankara regime. In August 2005, Katil Erdoğan went to Amed [Diyarbakır] and promised to deal with the Kurdish situation by applying more democracy. The opposite happened: after the Amed Serhildan seven months later, repression and murder became, once again, the order of the day.

Following that example, we should expect more repression from the regime as an answer to the Kurdish situation and we have seen the beginning of that in the recent arrests of DTP members.

Meanwhile, HPG Headquarters Commander Nurettin Sofi countered Başbuğ's statement:

HPG commander Nurettin Sofi announced that "if the attitude of the government and the army does not change, there will be an intensification."

Speaking to the Fırat News Agency (ANF), Sofi said, "We will be forced to continue a war of defence. Such a war would be different from the period before 1 June."

He threatened a spread of fighting throughout Turkey.

Mark the last two sentences there and pay attention! Like I said above, there is only one way to solve Turkey's most serious problem.

Sofi points out that which I have pointed out here in the last few weeks, that TSK operations against HPG continue in The Southeast. On top of that, we all know what Başbuğ means when he says that Turkey will fight PKK to the end:

. . . [S]ince March, the area has been home to backhoes and salvaging equipment. What was once unheard of is now happening in southeastern Turkey -- in Cizre, in Silopi, in Kustepe and wherever else local lawyers have filled a petition to have the "death wells" opened. Turkish officials have now started to dig for the remains of Kurds who have disappeared. But the digging also means working through one of the darkest chapters in this country's history, when Turkish security forces waged a dirty war against supporters of the PKK and its suspected supporters.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, thousands of civil rights activists, politicians and businesspeople suspected of having ties with the PKK were kidnapped and murdered. No one knows their exact number, and it was only in rare cases that the victims were even identified. Many corpses were dumped into wells; others were doused in acid and thrown into fields. The horror of the sight was meant to serve as a deterrent. But the majority disappeared without a trace and are still listed as missing.

[ . . . ]

Other former henchmen of the state, such as Tuncay Güney and Yildirim Begler, are now talking about the war against the PKK. From the safety of exile in Canada, Sweden and Norway, men like these recount the names of the victims and the places where their mass graves can be found. They describe the bestial interrogation methods and the orders to kill that always came "from the very top." They talk about how the gendarmes would bathe the dead in acid baths and make them disappear in wells. And they never fail to mention the type of cars the Jitem usually used: white models of the Renault 12-based "Toros" manufactured in Turkey between the 1970s and 1990s. When the angels of death appeared in their white cars, inhabitants knew that one of their friends or neighbors would be disappearing soon.

At this point, HPG has extended its ceasefire until 15 July and we shall see what happens. Until then, this is a good time to prepare for any eventuality, which is exactly what I believe our comrades are doing.

NOTES FROM KANDIL 2: THIS ISN'T YOUR DAD'S PKK

"An elimination scenario was written before 29 March. It was a scenario based on DTP losing votes . . . But it didn't pan out."
~ Murat Karayılan.

This is a continuation of Hasan Cemal's interview with Murat Karayılan. The first part can be found here.

Karayılan: PKK is not the old PKK any more

Karayılan explains the change in the PKK with the following words: "PKK is at a more reasonable line compared to the past. For example, it [the PKK] used to want an independent Kurdish state. This is in the past now. In other words, PKK is not 'secessionist' any more. We want the Kurds to live freely and in equality within the borders of the Turkish Republic. I would like to state this. This is not a tactic. The process that dropped secessionism, excluding the independent state, started in 1993; 1999 began with İmralı (1999 is the year Öcalan was captured and sentenced to life time imprisonment, HC). The paradigm has changed."

Qandil Mountain, North Iraq [South Kurdistan]

During my four-hour-long meeting with the PKK's number one man, Murat Karayılan, in a short two-room village house made of mud-bricks on the skirts of Mount Kandil, I tried to keep one topic the subject of conversation constantly:

PKK laying down arms...

PKK coming down from the mountains...

At some point Karayılan said this: "Look, we didn't go to the mountains because we've lost our mind. Like so many others say, we didn't go to the mountains for picnic either."

When the PKK's coming down from the mountains comes up, Karayılan smiles sarcastically. At the same time, the expression on his face says it's not so easy and there are other things to be done before it comes to that phase...

When I pushed it, he said this:

"The saying, "PKK should lay down arms," is an empty one, it's shooting into the air. Where shall PKK leave its arms? How? To whom? What are the grounds? It's meaningless to say leave down the arms. First let's sit down and talk."

"We are at a more reasonable line"

According to Murat Karayılan it's impossible to get to anywhere by calling the PKK "a terrorist organization". He says that the PKK at the same time represents the Kurds' aspirations and for that reason has their support.

And he always adds this:

"PKK is not the old PKK any more"

When asked what the change is, in summary, he gives this answer:

"PKK is at a more reasonable line compared to the past. For example, it [the PKK] used to want an independent Kurdish state. This is in the past now. In other words, PKK is not 'secessionist' any more. We want the Kurds to live freely and in equality within the borders of the Turkish Republic. I would like to state this. This is not a tactic. The process that dropped secessionism, excluding the independent state, started in 1993; 1999 began with İmralı (1999 is the year Öcalan was captured and sentenced to life time imprisonment, HC). The paradigm has changed."

"How did it change?"

"Look, now we say 'Democratic Autonomous Kurdistan'. What we mean by autonomy is not federation. It's not redrawing of borders. It's a solution that preserves the unity of the state. The Local Administrations Law can change, the local administrations will be made stronger."

"We caused some complications too"

Murat Karayılan again stressed a point which was in yesterday's article:

"First the weapons must be silenced!"

"Then?"

"Then it will be turn for rights associated with the Kurdish identity (He refers to constitutional changes--HC) and the 'societal reconciliation project' which some people interpret as amnesty. This is a two sided subject. On one side there have been armed rebellions . . . On the other side denial policies have been followed . . . These have done damage . . . There are over 17 thousand murders with unknown perpetrators that have been committed against us, Kurdish people . . . Yes, there have been some complications from our side too. That's why we are talking about this societal reconciliation project. This something that is mutual, reciprocal. This project is to mutually forgive one another. It is to reach reconciliation on a new constitution that reflects voluntary unity."

Murat Karayılan adds this:

"All we want is for Kurds to live their culture freely."

"Kurdish conference can prepare the environment for solution"

I notice something. While I have been talking with Murat Karayılan in a short village house on the skirts of Mount Qandil, two members of the PKK's Leadership Council (made up of five people), Bozan Tekin and Sozdar Avesta, didn't say anything. I bring up the subject of PKK laying down arms and coming down from the mountains again. This time within the context of Kurdish conference. In summary, I say this:

"A Kurdish conference for all Kurds, living in every country [Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey], is going to be held and a call is going to be issued to the PKK to lay down arms; the scenario will be fixed such that PKK is going to enter the phase of laying down arms. Such an expectation was created. But then the conference was postponed to Autumn. Did you or PKK cause this?"

Murat Karayılan agrees that expectations regarding the Kurdish conference were created. On this subject he laughs at the role Kurdish leader and Iraq's President Jalal Talabani played and takes a sarcastic tone. But at the same time, while stating he takes the Kurdish conference seriously and summarizes the subject: "The conference was originally our idea. But the last undertaking was not ours. If correctly approached, this conference can create an environment for solution. However, this is a reality: from such a conference will not mean 'PKK should lay down arms!'".

"Özal would worry about the Kurdish Question"

There is a question on PKK's number one, Karayılan:

Are we going to return back to the first half on 1990s?

Especially to 1994 . . .

The period during which the fire in The Southeast [North Kurdistan] flared... Karayılan asks:

"Will the government forward everything to the military again, like it did in early 1990s?"

Karayılan is looking for an answer to this question.

In summary, he said this:

"Özal died in 1993 and the opportunity for peace was missed. Özal was leader who was able to see the Kurdish Question and who worked seriously to solve it. Özal died in 1993 and 1994 was horrible (like Öcalan, Karayılan too places Turgut Özal at a very positive place in regard with Kurdish Question--HC). Is an attack reminiscent of 1994 on the way again? We are feeling some things but we are not sure. Will Erdoğan's government forward the issue to the military and cause a blood bath? What do you think?"

"So the military too can wait . . . "

Murat Karayılan is trying to read into the period after 29 March [local elections]. He says that a scenario was written for elections such that DTP would lose votes and Tayyip Erdoğan was so engaged in this, and trusted himself very much, but at the end was disappointed because DTP increased its votes and municipalities in the local elections.

He points to military's role in this scenario indirectly and says:

"An elimination scenario was written before 29 March. It was a scenario based on DTP losing votes . . . But it didn't pan out. We lived the calmest winter of last 25 years. The military waited until 29 March. So the military, too, can wait (he said this sentence with a bit of sarcasm--HC). Why didn't the military attack us during the election period? But we were hopeful from this despite all . . . Some indications of solution appeared. We thought this could be a new phase in which the military takes part, too. But no. The day after the elections, on 30 March, the military started even though it wasn't on a large scale . . . On 14 April, this time the start of targeting DTP was given. But the election results had given us hope in the name of peace and democracy.

"Where is the Prime Minister Erdoğan of 2005?"

Karayılan, during our four hours long conversation a few times talked about Prime Minister Erdoğan. He mentioned the speech Erdoğan made in Diyarbakir in August of 2005. In that speech Erdoğan said "The Kurdish issue is our issue; the state has made mistakes in this matter; these can be corrected".

PKK's number one mentioned a few times that today nothing was left of Erdoğan's speech and raised the following point:

Political power vacuum . . .

Karayılan said this:

"I am not able to be optimistic. At the top there is no political willpower about the Kurdish Question. The absence of will power is a very serious problem. Today, even generals started saying different things. But where is the political will power? Where is the Prime Minister who said those words in 2005? Where is the Erdoğan who prepared a Kurdish report in 1994 when he was İstanbul's mayor and handed to his party leader even if it was not his job to do that?

"Armed struggle is now in the line of legitimate self-defense"

Karayılan comes back to "PKK is not the old PKK" point once more. He tries to explain the PKK has changed. He says they are open to the media and says "let them come and learn about us". He states that their method of struggle are starting to change.

In summary, he says this:

"We are not the PKK of 10 years ago. We don't do the armed struggle with classical means any more, either. We work in the line of legitimate self-defense. We are putting emphasis on mass activities, civilian disobedience, and political work. But meanwhile, what are you going to do with 6-7 thousand armed people? They are, in a sense, a guarantee for the gains, for legitimate defence . . . We don't want people to die. The last four years we are in a limited war. It's not like 1993, 1994. In the rural areas, if you are being attacked, you will defend yourself."

"The explosion at university prep school too was one that happened out of control"

Then he adds this:

"In the new phase, after 29 March elections, a new war is imposed . . . We don't even want to think of this. In case of such an imposition, it will exceed the one in the first half of 1990s, it will be more dire, for both sides. We don't want this. But we are ready for this too. Unwanted results may come out. We don't do things out of control. Military actions that hurt innocent people, civilians, and that are not in legitimate self-defense enter the class of terror."

In this regard, Karayılan talks about the horrible explosion that happened in front of a university prep school, the terror action in Diyarbakır and says: "It is very wrong. We didn't approve it either. It happened out of our control."

To be continued.

NOTES FROM KANDIL 1

"It's not our goal to make propaganda. We have hope for peace. That's why we decided to meet you . . . "
~ Murat Karayılan.

Here is the first part of Hasan Cemal's interview with KCK Executive Council Chairman, Murat Karayılan, which will be carried here on Rastî. I'd like to extend my thanks to the comrade who volunteered to work on this translation, and the ones that will follow. This work and his tenacity in completing the task while I have been too busy in the last week to attend to it, is much appreciated by me and I'm certain it will be much appreciated by all the others who read it.

This translation is a portion of the original piece, which can be found at Milliyet.

Karayılan: We have hope for peace

PKK's number one man Murat Karayılan says 'The first thing is to silence the weapons; nobody should attack. Let's talk this issue ourselves... Let's start the work with talks, not with weapons'. Karayılan offers a mechanism composed of [unbiased] intellectuals, if necessary. He said "We are at an important juncture. There was opportunity for peace in 1993 [and] it was missed. Let's not miss it again. We don't want blood to be spilled anymore'.

Qandil Mountain, North Iraq [South Kurdistan]

For many years now the PKK is being managed from Kandil mountain. They say "the leadership's office is İmralı [Öcalan's island prison]," but today PKK's number one man is in Kandil, living in the mountain, Murat Karayılan.

I met Murat Karayılan in a short, two-room village house made of mud bricks on the skirts of Mount Kandil last Monday for four hours.

Where we were was not at a PKK base but, as they [the PKK] call it, in 'PKK territory'. This was obvious from the women and men PKK members with arms on their shoulders, whom we saw while arriving at our meeting location through picturesque views.

Murat Karayılan came with two members of the PKK's Leadership Council, which is made up of five people. They were assistant commander Bozan Tekin, who was from Urfa, Bozova. He went to the mountains after staying in jails for 20 years, from 1980 to 2000. The other assistant commander was Sozdar Avesta, whose real name was Nuriye Kesbir. While living in The Netherlands, her extradition to Turkey came up and she ran away and came to Kandil. The third person with Murat Karayılan was Ahmet Deniz, who is in charge of PKK's communications with the media and civilian organizations.

[...]

Saturday at 12, Murat Karayılan met us in front of the village house.

Karayılan said "I think it's your first time at the PKK's rural area". If we don't count Zeli, my meeting with Öcalan at Bekaa, that was the case.

[...]

I said to Karayılan:

"I am here as a reporter. I am not bringing any kind of message or anything like that from anyone in Turkey. Don't think like that. I came as a reporter to learn what PKK's administration thinks".

Then I added:

"Please don't record this meeting on camera. As reporters, we make news rather than being news".

Karayılan:

"We will make a 5 to 10 minute recording for our archive, that's all."

They put their tape and we put ours on the plastic covered table and started the conversation.

Murat Karayılan's first sentence:

"It's not our goal to make propaganda. We have hope for peace. That's why we decided to meet you . . . "

Positive messages

Karayılan gave positive messages. He didn't speak negative but positive. He said "The first thing is to silence the guns, nobody should attack anyone". He said this when he offered a definitive mechanism for dialogue:

"We are at an important juncture!"

He stated that in 1993, too, with the ceasefire at the time, there was a "big opportunity for peace"; however because of the "lack of political willpower," the government of the time forwarded the issue to the military and the opportunity was wasted.

He continued: "Let's not miss the peace opportunity this time".

He added:

We don't want blood be spilled any more. Because years will pass and we will end up at the same point. Turkey will lose blood. PKK cannot be finished with military methods; they were tried for 25 years and they didn't work."

Karayılan, who didn't say anything about whether they would extend their unilateral ceasefire beyond 1 June, said this:

"The first thing is to silence weapons."

"Not laying down arms?"

Karayılan:

"Laying arms down is a later phase . . . First weapons must be silenced. Nobody should attack anyone. Let's talk this issue ourselves . . . Let's start the work with dialogue, not with weapons; let's talk among ourselves'.

I interrupt:

"How is this going to happen? On one side the state and on the other the PKK? Is this possible?"

Intellectuals Mechanism

Karayılan's mechanism is like this:

"At the first phase, the weapons will be silenced . . . Then dialog will begin . . . İmralı is the place for dialog . . . If that's not accepted, we are the party for dialog . . . If we are not accepted, it is the elected political party (He is not mentioning the name of DTP but when I mention he nods in agreement) . . . If this is not workable either, then a joint commission will be formed somewhere and intellectuals will meet. For example, people like İlter Türkmen (former Minister of External Affairs and Ambassador) and you will gather; a mechanism like this will start and begin to work . . . A mechanism like this will be accepted by the state as an addressee for dialog . . . "

Murat Karayılan adds:

"Why not, why shouldn't a mechanism like this be formed?.."

Karayılan asks then:

"Is there no political willpower? Is there a vacuum in the political area? One wonders where the Prime Minister of 2005 is . . . "

"We are sorry for the 10 martyred soldiers"

I asked Karayılan this:

"You declared a unilateral ceasefire, you said no attacks, and you said you were extending this until 1 June. But on the other hand, what were the PKK attacks in Diyarbakır and Hakkari that martyred 10 soldiers about?"

His first reaction was this:

"We are sorry for that too."

Karayılan continued:

"It wasn't a move planned from the headquarters. It was in the field, a decision taken at the local level with their own incentive. They see soldiers in the field and feel that soldiers are coming at them with an operation and they take measures to protect themselves. They lay a mine. We are sorry too."

For a little more on what you might expect from Murat Karayılan through Hasan Cemal, check this short overview from Bianet.

Some seem to think that "indirect negotiations" have already started. Apparently Abdullah Gül, Cemil "Chicken Little" Çiçek, and the new foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, wanted to meet Hasan Cemal on his return from South Kurdistan and Gül stated last week that the Kurdish "question" is Turkey's priority.

For Ahmet Türk's recent comments on the subject to the DTP parliamentary group, check here.

There is also a great post at Zerkesorg that addresses the discussion about the possibility of peace talks between the Ankara regime and the PKK. I agree with his conclusions there and would like to point out this quote:

PKK doesn't need to rush. PKK doesn't have a Kurdish problem, Turkish state has a Kurdish problem it needs to solve.

And being that the Turkish state is the state, and since the founding of the PKK is an effect of state policies (as opposed to the cause of state policies), the Turkish state has the moral burden of finding a peaceful solution to the problem it has caused.

But, then, I'm the skeptic; I won't believe anything before I see it. We all need to see concrete steps from the Turkish state before we can believe anything. Given what Karayılan and Türk have said, it seems to me that the proper first concrete step would be an end to TSK operations in North Kurdistan in order to allow HPG to keep its side of this most recent unilateral ceasefire.

There are other "hidden hands" involved here, belonging to groups that can be trusted as much as the Turkish state, and the Americans are not the least of those untrustworthy "hidden hands".

In other words, the time for unilateral ceasefires has ended. Now is the time for that first monumental opportunity--a bilateral ceasefire.