The Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan made some important statements in his weekly meeting with his lawyers. Öcalan conveyed these messages: ‘‘This game will not stick; everyone will lose in this game. I am appealing to Prime Minister Erdoğan; if you do not solve this problem, if you dither, if you resort to demagoguery like in the past seven years and approach the issue flippantly then your situation will be like that of Özal, whatever was done against Özal in the last 48 hours of his life will be done against you. You must be courageous.’’

THE TURKISM OF THESE PEOPLE IS THE FOREFATHER OF HITLER’S FASCISM

‘‘This mentality rests on a hundred year history. It begins in 1906 with a coup. It begins with Abdulhamit’s dethronement. Abdulhamit was the sultan, but he was a man of his time and was doing what needed to be done. In that period his mentality was better than this (Turkism), he was someone who understood his age. Abdulhamit’s dethronement wasn’t due to one military officer; the Germans and English were behind it. The situation of 1915 and the Armenians are well known; Hitler stated ‘they are my teachers’ about the perpetrators of this genocide. He said ‘they killed the Armenians and nothing happened, we can also do this.’’

‘‘With this lesson Hitler went on to massacre the Jews, he took heart from this. It may seem like an exaggeration but the Turkish nationalism – Turkism of these people is the forefather of Hitler’s nationalism – Hitler’s fascism, this is its nature. The situation of the Kurds is similar to the Armenians, in fact it is worse, the Armenians were massacred once, the Kurds have been massacred many times and this massacre continues. This policy has its roots in the mid-19th century. I have read and am reading Baskın Oran’s series of articles. He talks about the Turkism ideology created from above and enforced on the people, he says this Turkism is terrifying. I havebeen saying this for a long time.’’

THEY CANNOT ANNIHILATE THE PKK

‘‘Turkey must realise that they cannot get a result with these games. They shouldn’t attempt to annihilate the PKK by using Barzani and Talabani. They cannot annihilate the PKK. Also there are the conglomerates and corporations they have formed in Ağrı, Bitlis and other places. They may be able seduce some Kurds in this way but they will not affect all of them. The majority of the Kurds will not abandon their freedom movement and their honour. The Kurds are on their feet in the South and in the four parts of Kurdistan; the Northern Kurds are standing proud and showing an honourable and resolute stance.’’

THE ISSUE MUST BE BROUGHT TO PARLIAMENT AND RESOLVED

‘‘I am appealing to the President and Prime Minister once more; you must be courageous. This issue must be brought to Parliament and resolved there. Parliament must give the decision for peace and open the path of peace. It must decide for a democratic political resolution. We want to prevent loss of life and pain. I made this decision 16 years ago and have been struggling since. We are saying peace is a possibility.’’

IF THE AKP DO NOT RESOLVE THIS ISSUE THEY WILL BE ELIMINATED

‘‘I have convinced myself for the PKK to be disarmed and channelled into the peace process. I have changed, we have changed. We wanted to resolve this issue with Özal, but it didn’t happen. I replied to Özal’s call a little late. Again I am upset we couldn’t solve it with Erbakan, he wanted a resolution as well. However, in conclusion it can be seen that both of them were eliminated by certain powers. Now there is the AKP. If the AKP do not solve it they will also be eliminated. If the peace process does not develop during these winter months, then a very strong conflict may prevail towards spring. The Government and State must decide on peace as well. If a decision for peace is not forthcoming, then a conflict between Turks and Kurds will be developed and this is what these powers want. For them the death of two million people is a risk they are willing to take.’’

I WILL GIVE MY LAST BREATH WITH HONOUR

‘‘They want to turn Turkey into Iraq. It will become like Iraq and Afghanistan. This is what I am trying to prevent. The PKK must be able to make its decisions itself. The Kurds must be able to make their own decisions. I do not know how much more I can endure here; I will not resort to suicide, regardless of everything I am trying to resist. I would like it to be known that I will strive to struggle as a friend and comrade bound to my people and will give my last breath in an honourable way. I would like to declare something in all certainty; do not expect practical leadership from me. The Kurds should discuss and decide what they are going to do amongst themselves. However, if they want me to play a role then they must give me some freedom and improve my conditions. It has been 11 years, my health issues are connected to my conditions. I cannot follow everything, I don’t receive news of many things.’’