SOLIDARITY WITH THE TAMILS

"After Sri Lanka survived English imperialism, the Tamils demanded freedom. There has been a Tamil people's continuous armed struggle for a period of almost 26 years."
~ Zübayir Aydar, KONGRA-GEL Chairman.

Zübeyir Aydar calls for solidarity with the Tamil people (Source: http://www.firatnews.info/index.php?rupel=nuce&nuceID=7619):

Kongra Gel Called for An Immediate Ceasefire in Sri Lanka

Kongra Gel chairman Zubeyir Aydar condemned the Sri Lankan state's massacre of the Tamil people and stated that Kongra Gel is with the Tamil people in their freedom struggle. Calling for a bilateral ceasefire, Aydar criticized the silence of the international community.

The Sri Lankan army has been conducting heavy operations against the Tamil people for months. For the Tamil people, the operations that have killed thousands of civilians is called an "attempted genocide". While the violent clashes are ongoing in the north of the island, during the night of Saturday to Sunday [9-10 May], according to Tamil sources more than 2,000 civilians lost their lives.

A Continuous Struggle

Kurds, too, are watching closely the massacre against the Tamil people and are conducting solidarity activites. The Kongra Gel chairman, Zubeyir Aydar, said, "After Sri Lanka survived English imperialism, the Tamils demanded freedom. There has been a Tamil people's continuous armed struggle for a period of almost 26 years."

In the north of Sri Lanka, twenty-five percent of the population consists of Tamils (5 million), Hindus, Christians, Muslims, whereas 75% is Buddhist Sinhalese (15 million) people. Tamils are a Hindu people. Tamil Eelam Freedom Tigers (LTTE), the Tamil guerrillas, are conducting an independence struggle for the Tamil people who live in the north and northeast of Sri Lanka. Since 1972, at least 70,000 people lost their lives in the clashes.

In 2002, a ceasefire was declared between Tamils and the Sri Lankan state. However, Sri Lanka, which receives support from India and the US, empowered its army and began attacks against the Tamil people after 2006. The ceasefire was abolished de facto. Sri Lanka's president broke the ceasefire in 2008 and intensified attacks.

The Tamil's Demand Is a Just Demand

Pointing out the hardliner attitude of Sri Lanka's government, Aydar said, "All the calls for peace and ceasefires from LTTE were left without any response. Almost one week ago guerrillas declared a unilateral ceasefire; the army did not acknowledge it and continued to attack."

Stressing that the Sri Lankan army is not obeying any kind of law or international laws of war, Aydar said, "Excessive force is being used, civilians are targeted, hospitals are fired on; these are war crimes. Despite the various numbers, thousands of civilians lost their lives in the last couple of months. In the clashes that took place on Saturday and Sunday, mostly civilians lost their lives. It is mentioned that the numbers exceed thousands; there is a humanitarian tragedy there. The Tamil people's freedom demand is a just demand. The demand for living freely in their own country is a just demand. The Sri Lankan government is in an unjust position. Its attitude is an imperialist approach. It wants to keep the Tamil people under pressure and imperialism."

The Imposition of Official Language
The Sri Lankan state imposed Sinhalese language as the national language in 1956. This exacerbated the Tamil peoples reaction. The imperialist attitude, the imposition of official language, and the assumption of the non-existence of the Tamil people's rights first made severe clashes in 1983, which turned into a civil war.

It Is Getting the Support of the Great States
"In the recent clashes it seems like the Sri Lankan army feels itself powerful. It seems like, in the international arena, they acquired the support of the great states. Using this advantage, it conducts a massacre in front of the world's eyes. It wants to smash a people's hope for freedom. The world is just watching," said Aydar.

The International Community Remains Silent
Criticizing the western counties' silence toward the massacre, Aydar said that some European countries' (France and England) foreign ministers went to Sri Lanka. However, their efforts did not go beyond their statements. Aydar said, "America is silent on this issue." He claimed that the international powers are encouraging Sri Lanka by putting the Tamil independence organization on their "terrorist list".

Aydar stressed that the UN's attempts are insufficient. It's calls do not go beyond the statements, like "We are worried about civilian casualties", "The guerrillas must lay down their arms". In addition, it tries to soothe the consciences by saying, "Weapons must be silenced".

Despite the statements from international human rights organizations about Sri Lanka committing war crimes and that there must be intervention immediately, the international powers do not even move. The UN data, too, reveals the massacre. According to the UN, since the beginning of this year to date, 6,500 civilians lost their lives. However, it is estimated that the real number is much higher.

An International Mechanism Must Be Established

Aydar stated that there are similar ongoing incidents in other parts of the world, and suggested the establishment of a neutral and just mechanism with a lawful foundation that has been formed. Mentioning that fifteen years ago great massacres occurred in Rwanda, that the incidents that occur in Kurdistan are before everyone's eyes, and that there was a humanitarian tragedy in Darfur. Aydar said, "There may not be any oil in Sri Lanka, there may not be any conflict of interest from international powers, however humanity is being hurt there. Humanity is put underfoot. The place to bring up such issues is the UN; however since the UN consists of nations, not peoples, it reacts based on the interests of states. For this reason, this mechanism is insufficient. The international community must improve a mechanism for such issues. This international mechanism must react immediately when a people, a minority, a belief, or any group, is subjected to torture by a state's imposition. This mechanism must be a mechanism for which a lawful foundation has been formed and protects the weak."

Kurds and Tamils Must Be in Solidarity

Saying that they support the Tamil people's freedom demand and their struggle, Aydar said, "We are in solidarity with them. Previously we have told our supporters to join the activities for solidarity with the Tamil people. We remind them once more. We want them to show solidarity with the Tamil people, to be with them, to share their griefs, and to protest the Sri Lankan army's cruel attacks."

Call for Immediate Bilateral Ceasefire

Calling on the Sri Lankan government, Aydar said, "The Sri Lankan government could not solve this problem militarily for 26 years. It cannot solve it, either. Maybe now they are more powerful than the guerrillas. They may have partial superiority against the guerrillas, but this will not solve the problem. Insisting on the current attitude will result in more casualties."

For the solution of the problem, Aydar primarily called for an immediate ceasefire. He said, "Our wish and call is like the way they have done before, to come back to the table and resolve the problem through dialog."

Here's a video of the concentration camps in which the Sri Lankan government is rounding up the Tamil people, from Britain's Channel 4. Note that having a "democratically-elected government" makes it all okay:

Nick Paton Walsh, the Channel 4 reporter at the end of the segment showing the concentration camp, and his team were expelled from Sri Lanka for this report.

Here was the reaction of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka's defense secretary, to Walsh's report:

“Who is this? You rang me earlier? Is this Channel 4? You have been accusing my soldiers of raping civilians? Your visa is cancelled, you will be deported. You can report what you like about this country, but from your own country, not from here.”

He certainly sounds like he takes it seriously . . . but not seriously enough to investigate.

For more background on the LTTE, check a report by one of LTTE's first female Tigers, teaser here:

December 23 1987 was a warm, clear day, and I was hiding under a lantana bush with eight of my comrades in a village north of Jaffna. With our rifles cocked and our cyanide capsules clenched between our teeth, we awaited the soldiers who had been scouring the area for us for several hours. Our orders were to empty our magazines into them before biting into the glass capsules we called 'kuppies' that hung on a thread around our necks. As a Tamil Tiger guerrilla, there was no honour in being caught alive.

There had been 22 of us that morning – nine boys and 13 girls, aged between 15 and 26 (I was 17). Now, four of my comrades were missing, two were wounded. Ten were dead.

For the rest of the story.

Long live the Tamil people! Long live the Tigers! Long live the solidarity of oppressed peoples!

HELICOPTERS DOWN AND OTHER NEWS

"He conquers who endures."
~ Persius.

HPG downed two military helicopters since Friday, from Özgür Gündem:

HPG: Two Helicopters downed in Bingöl and Oramar

Two Sikorsky-type helicopters were downed by HPG guerrillas in Bingöl and Oramar. The helicopter downed in Bingöl was recorded by guerrillas while it exploded.

According to information received by HPG BIM (HPG Press and Information Center), after it was ambushed by guerrillas in Bingöl on 12 July, the Sikorsky-type helicopter made an emergency landing in the Heredan garrison. Then the helicopter caught fire and exploded. BIM said, "The helicopter's landing and its explosion was recorded by our guerrillas."

One more helicopter downed in Avinka village

In addition, on 11 July at 1230 hours, a Sikorsky-type helicopter which took off from the Oramar garrison was ambushed by guerrilla forces. BIM stated that the helicopter was shot by heavy weapons, then it caught fire after flying for a while. It was downed between Oramar and Avasin area, close to Avinka village. BIM said, "After the helicopter was downed, TSK casualties could not be clarified. The downed helicopter caused a fire in the region which lasted for two days."

If the video recording of the helicopter in Bingöl appears on Roj TV, I'll try to find a copy of it to post here. Meanwhile, there was more news about the German mountaineers, from Yeni Özgür Politika:

KCK: Red Cross must step in.

KCK executive council member Sozdar Avesta spoke to the French news agency AFP. Sozdar said they would release the German mountaineers, however [Turkish] operations must first stop.

Demanding the supervision of the release process by an international organization such as the Red Cross, Avesta said, "Their health is good. They've been taken as a reaction to the things Germany does. We demand of Germany a change its hostile attitude against the Kurds."

Germans are against the PKK ban

According to a poll conducted by German television channel SAT1, 77.5% of people criticized their government's policies against PKK. The PKK ban became a major issue in Germany while the unlawful ban of Roj TV by the Federal Internal Minister Wolfgang Schauble was still under debate. German television channel SAT1 conducted a poll on the morning of 13 July about this recent major issue. In the poll, conducted by phone, the channel asked: "The government is too harsh against PKK, is this a correct solution or not?" The people who participated in the poll overwhelmingly said "No" to the oppression of the German government against PKK and indicated this was not a solution. According to the results of the poll, 21.4% answered "Yes"; 1.2% said "I don't know"; 77.5% said "No" to this question.

The poll results also reveals that the German people are also against their government's ban against PKK and oppression against the Kurdish people and their institutions.

There was an interview with Zübeyir Aydar recently. Here are some excerpts:

Hawlati: In Kurdistan Region there are two main parties. Does the National Congress have any political or diplomatic relations with these two parties?

Zuber Aydar: We have relations with both. We wish to promote those relations. We further hope that the Kurdish-Kurdish relation will not be like that of two neighbouring forces, but rather, like one Kurdish force. And that will be boosted by adopting one national strategy. We suggested some time ago for both the two main parties - that is, the PUK and the KDP - that we should hold a national conference in which all the Kurdish sides would participate. We would set up a national strategy and would keep together because all of us are Kurds. We all share the same destiny. Kurdistan is the homeland of all of us. Wherever the Kurdish people are, they are all one nation. For if we stand single in front of our enemies, we will ourselves be weak.

To date, our relationship with the KDP and the PUK has not reached the level that the Kurdish people wish. It has not witnessed any progress. However, our efforts will continue. But, regrettably, our comrades in the south are not ready for a national conference. Therefore, once again, through you I call on all the sides in the south, particularly the KDP and the PUK to make efforts so that we will convene a national conference and draw up a national strategy so as to adopt it and work accordingly.

Hawlati: Do you think that there is external pressure behind the refusal of the KDP and PUK to hold a national conference?

Zuber Aydar: Yes, I think there is external pressure from Turkey, Iran, Syria, America and several Arab countries. They have relations with many countries. If the Kurds unite, those [countries] will be displeased.

Hawlati: The authorities in the south often accuse the PKK guerrillas of causing trouble and unrest for the experiment in the south. What should the guerrillas do to avoid agitating and troubling the experiment in the south?

Zuber Aydar: Those allegations are categorically unimportant, because the south is part of Kurdistan. Whatever role the peshmerga of Kurdistan play, the guerrillas play the same role for Kurdistan, even more. The guerrillas have a role. Their task is the protection of Kurdistan and not causing unrest and instability to the conditions in the south.

As you know, if at present anything bad happens to the guerrillas' movement, the Kurdish movement in the north will be in grievous trouble. It will have an effect on the Middle East and will create unrest in that region too. The extinction of the guerrillas will result in the increase in the sanctions on the south by Syria, Iran and Turkey and the south will grow very weak. Indeed, the role of the guerrillas is the protection of the whole of Kurdistan. That is why the south should know very well that the guerrillas are protecting them. The stand which the guerrillas made at Zab was also for the protection of Hawler and Slemani. So it is the duty of these two cities to support them and not to oppose them and become their enemies. This is our wish.

Read the rest because Aydar speaks common sense.

A friend sent a couple of items. First, Fethullah Gülen was featured on NPR yesterday. Gülen won a poll in Foreign Policy magazine as the world's leading intellectual. Yes, it's ridiculous but there's a reason why it's ridiculous, from NPR:

No. 1 on the list is Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim religious leader from Turkey. In fact, the top 10 of the leading 20 are all Muslim thinkers from countries with dominant Muslim populations.

That's not a coincidence, says Kate Palmer, a Foreign Policy editor. In addition to being highly subjective, the survey generated a competition fueled by legions of supporters and, in some cases, by the intellectuals themselves.

Gulen is closely associated with the Turkish daily newspaper, Zaman, which mentioned the poll on its front page in May. Within hours, his supporters were voting and waging a vigorous campaign online and through word of mouth. Foreign Policy notes that Gulen, who is considered by many to be a moderate Islamist, is controversial in Turkey because he's still seen as a threat to Turkish secularism.

Hmmm . . . his supporters waged "a vigorous campaign online and through word of mouth"? Now where have I heard something like that before? Oh, yeah! From court documents on Gülen's immigration case:

The record further shows that much of the "acclaim" that plaintiff claims to have achieved has been sponsored and financed by plaintiff's own movement. It is the government's position that the evidence of record permits only one conclusion: that plaintiff has failed to meet the requirements of an alien of extraordinary ability in the field of education.

[ . . .]

Plaintiff has never performed scholarly research in the field of education. He has never advised other academics in the field of education. And consulting on conferences about his own work is essentially continuing to promote himself and his movement by paying academics to write papers about him. None of this can be considered continuing to perform outstanding work in the field of education.

That's from Defendants' Response in Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgement, filed 18 June 2008 with the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. If you want a copy, send me an email. The point is that Gülen's own movement promotes him and just as he's no educator, so, too, he's no intellectual.

But, Hoca may have more troubles on the horizon, because the second item sent by a friend indicates that Gülen may be examined in connection with the AKP closure case. From Hürriyet:

Kilic demanded the file of the case against the religious sect leader, Fethullah Gulen, from the court concerned. The Gulen case would be taken into consideration in the closure case against the AKP, Hurriyet daily reported on Tuesday.

Gulen was tried on charges of "forming an illegal terrorist organization that aimed to introduce Sharia law using force and violence." A lower court ruled for the acquittal of Gulen, a verdict later upheld by a higher court.

Gulen, Turkey's most controversial religious leader has close relations with the ruling Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and has a broad following; however, many in Turkey believe he is plotting to dismantle the secular state.

In the AKP case the top prosecutor had written in his indictment that President Abdullah Gul wanted Turkish embassies to cooperate with schools belonging to Gulen with a mandate issued during his term in the foreign ministry.

Oh, well. I guess that acquittal didn't help old Hoca after all.