Abdullah OCALAN:
18 August, 2010
Everyone expects something from me. Everything has fallen on my shoulders. The state is experiencing problems, the KCK is experiencing problems. Everything has yet again been left to me. There are expectations of me.
It is not enough to just do some activities against the rape culture. While fighting against the rape culture one should really become competent all round and struggle. Activities such as these should become wide-spread and institutionalized. If not all the protests and meetings that are taken up can not but be a flash in the pan. Women must become free. This is an issue that arose way back in history. Neither should woman be a slave of the man nor the man woman's. When I talk about rape I am not just talking about a physical rape. There is a profound and multidimensional siege. There was such a case in Mardin that was in the news a while ago. A little girl was raped by one hundred men. A similar incident occured in a village in Mardin as well. Of course this is not just happening in Mardin but all around and there are hundreds of examples at that. This cultural perception comes out no matter where. There are women who are punished by stoning in Iran. But of course I am not just talking about physical rape culture or the classical rapes that reported by the media. I am talking about both the cultural, economic, social rapes that occure in all areas of life. This is why women must build their own unique organizations in all areas of life. I had earlies talked about political academies, they can institutionalize themselves in these areas. In Diyarbakir and everywhere else women should discuss these issues well.
Woman should be the determinant partner in a relationship. Both the social siege and the siege of the male on the woman is an issue that has arisen way back in history. The woman has lost her freedom. Marriage is being used as a tool to gain dominance over women at the moment. You must also understand that a relationship in between woman and man is like an abyss. It is very deep, anything may come out of it. One can either exhaust one another or turn out to be a philosopher. One of the best examples to this is Socrates the philosopher. He proclaims: 'Marriage has turned me into a philosopher'. Zizek's determination on this subject is also very important. I am not condemning marriage but simply saying that such relations are extremely difficult and that it must be based on freedom. In marriage the choice of the woman must be essential. It must be the woman who is decisive. Women must determine their needs and demands accurately and must show the strength to make their own decisions in relation to them. They must have their unique discussions in relation to all aspects of life, take their decisions and implement them.
The incident in Batman must most definitely be solved. BDP should have had it clarified by now. BDP should have taken a stand against it, no matter who has done it. It must be understood why in the incident of Salih Özdemir in Batman, they saw a need to go out at that time of the night. Famous personalities should not go to evening appointments. In the event that if they shall then it must be according to a program. For example, when BDP shall organize a meeting at a certain location they shall take their own precautions. They must do this very carefully. They can't just leave their security to the state. If you can not take your own precautions then you have no right to say that they are attacking you. There may be provocations aimed at known personalities. In the past, just as in the flag incident of Mersin, after such a provocation they have had planned who to attack . At the time they could not carry out their plans but they did have a prior plan. They plan ahead and know who shall attack during the provocation. They may especially attack known personalities. Hence, everyone should take their own precautions and protect their own lives. This is a right enshrined even in the constitution.
There was a provocation contemplated in Dörtyol/Hatay. It is not just a matter of what happened in Dörtyol, I think there are many more such provocations planned. Such incidents have many similarities with that of the incidents in Maraş and Sivas. They could have killed three hundred people in the incident of Dörtyol. This is the completion of what the massacre of Sivas and Maras left incomplete. There may be plots to kill intellectuals such as the incident of Musa Anter. Such incidents are trials of concealed massacres. They were not successful there. The reason was due to the conflicts within the AKP, MHP and the state. It is also a bit of a coincidence as well. They could not run the risk. There are those within the state who are against such incidents. I did all I could, and still do, from here to be able to prevent such incidents. These provocations came to nothing. However the difference between these incidents with that of prior ones is that the prior incidents had not chance of success but the present incidents now do have a chance. This is why one must be real careful and take precautions. It is especially quite dangerous in some regions. The present conditions are more permitting for such things. Some of the structures within the state may use all kinds of provocations. If the war continues as it does then a corrupt style of warfare shall come into play by both sides and this shall be more dangerous then anything else. In a future incident they may try a massacre; many people will die and then no one can resolve it. All that is desired to be achieved through these provocations are nothing but a concealed genocide. I do not know whether it is the AKP, MHP or the state at the center play of the incident at Dörtyol, but I think the AKP was aware of the incident. The Kurds are not warring at present but trying to halt the concealed genocide against them; nothing more.
The other groups in Turkey have not participated in the last congress of the DTK (Democratic Society Congress). Although they were called their non participation has revealed their stance. I listened to the statements made by some NGOs in Diyarbakir in relation to the referandum. Of course they seemed to have arrived at an agreement with the state. They have been convinced that “if the PKK is eliminated full initiative shall be given to them”. But of course we are interfering with such an agreement and hence these plans can't be put into motion.
Democratic Autonomy is the resolution project of the Kurds. We may describe Democratic Autonomy as being the body if we call democratic nation as its soul. Democratic autonomy is the concrete form of the construction of democratic nation. There are several elements or dimensions to democratic autonomy:
Political Dimension: There shall be an assembly or a congress of the people. This congress is the democratic society congress. There shall also be an executive council of this congress.
Juridical Dimension: This defines the juridical status of the project of democratic autonomy. The Catalans' define this as the 'status'. Let us call it the same. This is highly important. What will be the status of the Kurds juridically? This has to be determined and then projected on to the constitution and the regulations. Through regulations the framework for democratic autonomy can be determined.
Economic Dimension: There shall be a economic policy of the democratioc nation that is being constructed. What kind of economy there shall be, this shall be determined. It shall determine a policy against dams and all underground and aboveground resources. We can not accept capitalism as our economic system. It maybe that we can not eradicate capitalism totally but we can change it to an important degree. We can ware it out and establish our own economic system. This system maybe called the people's economy, and private economy may constitute a certain part of it. All these issues must be discussed.
Cultural Dimension: The cultural dimension is more in relation to language, education in mother tongue, history and arts. What should be the relationship between Kurdish and Turkish, how could one have education in mother tongue, what should be the language policy of a democratic nation? All these must be discussed. An education policy must also be formed. How could Kurds overcome cultural genocide. These must be discussed well, understood and cultural genocide must be overcome.
Self-Defence Dimension: We may also call it security dimension. We are indeed handling the issue of genocide here. Kurds must concretize how they can liberate themselves from genocides. The concept of genocide I use encompasses all varieites of genocides. I do not only talk of physical but cultural and all other genocides. Hence it must be ensured that Kurds attain their own self-defence. The society must establish their own self-defence. I am not just talking about a situation where they have weapons in their hands. Self-Defence does not mean armed structures such as that of KCK and PKK but people providing their own security. I am talking about the democratic society organizing and insitutionalising itself in all areas and attaining its own security system. People may discuss these issues as well and arrive at different conclusions. For example, whether they shall take their place in the army? They can discuss this. How shall the village guards be disbanded, how shall this issue be resolved? They can discuss this. This security dimension, the self-defence of the people is as important as air that we breath. Without it, life is not possible.
Diplomacy Dimension: This handles the relationship of Kurds with that of other peoples and societies. Shall also entail neighboring countries as well as Kurds in other parts. What kind of a relationship do we want with the other societies, how can we live with them? Diplomacy dimension can meet this.
The Kurds, BDP and DTK should deal with the democratic autonomy project. They should concretize the democratic autonomy project. This is the real agenda of the Kurds, this is what it must be. This referandum is emphasized so much so that the real agenda of the Kurds is changed, it is an artificial agenda. Through such discussion they are trying to overshadow the democratic autonomy demands of the Kurds. The Kurds must work on this until the elections so that we are not late in doing so. There maybe a need to put it before them and say that this is the project of the Kurds. When it is asked what the project of the Kurds are our proejct must be ready. The Catalans are also discussing the issue of democratic autonomy, they are a clever people. They prepared a project in relation to democratic autonomy and presented it. The Spanish Constitutional Court approved the project apart from a few points. The remaining points shall probably be accepted in the near future. They are still discussing it. The DTK and BDP must carry out enormous discussions in relation to our democratic autonomy project untill the elections. They must concretize the democratic autonomy project. They must work day and night on it and discuss it very well. I call a total mobilization on this. DTK must do the work on democratic autonomy. This is its area. The preperation of a democratic constitution is the area of the BDP. After the elections when the state begins to discuss proposals for a solution they must have proposals for a solution. They must have a project for a resolution. They should discuss all this very well. Our people in their millions must discuss and understand democratic autonomy well. We must be able to develop this as a project of resolution. It must be understood that democratic autonomy and democratic constitution are two different things. BDP must work on democratic constitution all around Turkey and must meet with NGOs all over Turkey. BDP must work hard in relation to democratic constitution. They must have a n extensive project in relation to a democratic constitution. The Kurds, DTK and BDP shall discuss what kind of a life it is that they want and decide on it. KCK and PKK shall determine its own place within the system of democratic autonomy. This is up to them. They must discuss this day and night. We are passing through a historical period. I had previously discussed the issue of democratic autonomy. I had touched on it in my book called The Freedom of Sociology. This time around it is important that a meaningful solution is developed.
The construction of a democratic nation does not mean the construction of a nation-state. Look at Palestine; Palestine is not even like South Kurdistan type be considered nation-state. They are thinking of making them fight with one another through the construction of small states. Those Kurds who think in the same way say that 'if we only have a small state it shall be sufficient'. Such a perspective shall mean the death of thousands of people. One of the fundamental reasons for the fall of real socialism was the thought that the right to self-determination of nations could only be achieved through having a state. This nation-state perspective ended real socialism. Such an interpretation of it whether by socialism or liberalism has in any case served capitalism. Marx, Engels, Lenin and all the others have interpreted this wrongly. I have discussed my thoughts on the construction of democratic nation in detailed in my defences called the Freedom of Sociology.
I really very much love Doğubeyazıt. I send my special greetings to the people of Doğubeyazıt, Patnos, Serhad, Botan, Tatvan, Bitlis, Van and İzmir. They implemented a special warfare system in Bitlis. But I think this has now been broken down, I think there shall be really important developments in the future. I send my greetings to all the captives especially the women captives. I commemorate Evrim Alataş once again. I send my greetings to all our people and intellectuals.
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TO THE PRESS AND PUBLIC
1- On 20th of August, 2010, at around 23:00 hours, the Turkish state army launched a military operation in the rural area of the village of Nogelya/Semdinli/Hakkari. The operation began under support of a bombarding with obus and mortars.
TO THE PRESS AND PUBLIC
1- On 23rd of August, 2010, in between 09:00-12:00 hours, the Turkish state army carried an attack on the areas of Ertus, Kucuk Cilo, Sehit Neval Valley and the village of Petrot/Zap/the Medya Defence Areas, with obus and mortars.
TO THE PRESS AND PUBLIC
1- On 22nd of August, 2010, in between 19:00-20:00 hours, the Turkish state army carried obus and mortars attack on the areas of Hirore and Zozane/Haftanin/the Medya Defence Areas.
TO THE PRESS AND PUBLIC
1- On 19th of August, 2010, in between 06:00-07:00 hours, the Turkish state army bombarded the area of Besta/Sirnak, with obus and mortars.
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The European Court of Human Rights rejected our application for the re-trial case. There is a special jurisdiction implemented towards me. They are responding to unlawfulness with unlawfulness. The court in fact did not expose the plot and the subsequent kidnapping that occurred in Kenya. This could have been a turning point. They can either open a whole new page by exposing the plot or can continue with this state of unlawfulness.
The case in relation to the death penalty being converted to aggrevated life sentence is of importance because at the time they imposed a sentence that did not exist at the time of the trial. If ECHR ensures that the fifth volume shall reach them then I shall write that as well. This final volume shall be of importance because it shall be about the resolution of the issue, I have concrete thoughts. I am not sure if they shall hand it over. The Court can come and examine the conditions I am in. They can stay here for 24 hours and see. In order to be able to breath here I have to lean against the window. This is the only way I can get some air. Under such circumstances I can finish my defence by the end of the year. You may request additional time. If they can ensure that they obtain the defence then I can prepare it. As I have repeatedly pointed out they are imposing a special law on me, a law specific to me. ECHR must realise this.
What did really happen in Batman? That event looks quite ambigious. It should be investigated well. They are trying to blame the PKK. It could be a plot. There was a sheikh that was shot in Batman a while ago. Such families should be attended to and they must warned so that they are not deceived. Other families and tribes should also be made aware of such things. They should all be alert. This incident could be a plot and what follows it may even be a new period of murders by unidentified assailants. This is why I talk of self-defence. I herewith commemorate Salih Özdemir and the others who have lost their lives.
I plead that you protect yourself but they are unable to do even that. There are thousands of people around them, can't they organize themselves, can't they protect themselves? When I hear of such incidents I really get angry. In relation to this specific incidence one should find out the reason why they leave their house. I had previously said before that those well known personalities should not go out at night unless absolutely necessary and even then they should not be alone.
To commemorate Aram Tigran one could open a museum in Diyarbakır. It could even be called the Museum of the Artists or Art House and Aram Tigran could be reserved a room. Besides one could reserve room for the memories of important Kurdish artists and personalities as well. They should not discriminate between them, for example they could own up to artists such as Celal Güzelses as well.
I believe democratic autonomy is also being discussed. We made such a proposal because we thought this was the most appropriate way to resolve the Kurdish issue as it involves democratic and peaceful methods.
Taha Akyol does not really understand what is going on. Their heads are full of statist ideologies. But it is normal for them to be so since people are under the severe bombardment of capitalism. They have been raised under the influence of conventional forms of thought. Social sciences and universities have served capitalism as well. This is why he finds it difficult to understand that a different resolution model can exist. He can't even imagine it and think outside of these conventional forms. The evaluations I have arrived at are both due to my own thoughts but also due to the books and thoughts of other authors who are able to break free from capitalist thought.
We do not believe in a state and statist ways of resolutions. We have said this over and over again. But in the mean time I do not exactly think like the anarchist thinkers either. All we want however is that the state is cleansed off the racist-fachist structures and perspectives. To us democratization of the society and people's internalisation of democracy is of top priority. Within such a system what is really important is that the awareness of the people is raised through their organization. This can be achieved independent of the state and with no expectations from it. This is why I proposed that hundreds of NGO's and councils.
It is quite clear that a statist resolution shall not really lead to a solution but lead things to a more grave levels. There are those, such as Elci, who defend a resolution based on a federation here. Such a model shall not resolve the question at hand instead it is clear that it shall result in a chaos that may continue for many year to come just like the Palestenian question. What we are trying to do is to prevent such a development. They have fallen into the trap in the South as well. This is the trap of the emperialism, just like the Palestine. They established a puppet state in Palestine in order to intervene as they wish. This is why no peace can be attained for neither for Israel nor for Palestine. Indeed this is what is wished to be achieved with the Kurdistan formation in the South as well. One must be aware of this so as not to fall into such a trap.
I have explained the issue of democratic autonomy, especially in the book called 'Freedom of Sociology', in detail. In order for democratic autonomy to be understood these books should be read and discussed well.
I ratify the latest decisions taken by the PKK. I had made such calls to this end not long ago. It may be declared to the press and public that I support this decision of the PKK. I thank all my friends especially those in the mountains very much. I believe this shall last until the end of the referendum. Indeed it would have been enough for it to continue until the end of the referendum, like the 13 or 14 of September. But that is not so important, what is important is that this period is utilized well. The guerrillas shall keep away from attacking the garnizons during this period. In addition unless they have to protect themselves they shall keep away from using the mines. But just as I said if they are coming with an intention to exterminate and there is no other way then in order to protect themselves they can most definitely use all means.
At such a time everyone must work more then ever before. If you think that this issue shall be resolved in time by itself then you are gravely mistaken. Because such a period may on the one hand be an opportunity for a great peace and bear a democratic solution and on the other hand may be the exact opposite and evolve into an unwanted substantial warfare. I really feel uneasy. Ergenekon like war lobbiests may once again step in.
The conditions for peace and war are both present. The guerrillas must also be aware of this. The process may equally end up in either peace or war. In all the regions where guerrillas are present on behalf of me these things should be explained and each and everyone of them must be told that I thank them.
As I pointed out we shall wait until the date of the referendum and see the stance of the government. This period of 'inaction' shall expose whether AKP is sincere or not. The stance of the army shall also become clear. Towards the end of this period I shall make a new evaluation in the light of the developments. We shall not accept any delays. I had previously withdrawn due to such delays and the fact that the state and government were not behaving seriously. If they continue to delay things then I shall not be able to do anything anymore either.
Hence everyone; including NGO's, intellectuals, writers, socialists, democrats, who wants a democratic and peaceful solution to the issue then must do all that they can in order for this brief period to turn into something permanent. Especially those who called for a ceasefire must utilize this period well.
During this period of ceasefire politics must play its role, politics must be the main feature. BDP must utilize this period to make its political breakthrough.
The other issue is the issue of referendum. Just as you are all aware there is nothing that concerns the Kurds directly in this constitutional package; the Kurdish issue has basically been ignored. Our people are free to discuss it in all its dimensions. The new arrangement paves the way for the possibility of AKP to establish its own hegemony. One should also not fall into this trap either. Our people should discuss all possibilites and then come to a decision. We know that those that shall say 'yes' are the Islamist nationalists. But the others are national nationalists. But we should take a democratic stance in relation to the democratic developments.
For one there is a need to clarify this: Why do we Kurds not exist in this republic? If we are told we are the inherent constitutive element of this republic and we took part in the establishment of this republic then how did it happen that we came to this? This must be discussed well. This is the most important part; how did we become so flimsy? During the Ottoman times Kurds held an autonomous position. Even M. Kemal has acted together with the Kurds during the founding years of the republic and has talked about autonomy. But his statements in relation to the above aspects have even been censored from his most famous 'Speech' while he was alive. These issues are discussed in Ahmet Özer's book called “Turks and Kurds”. The democrats of Turkey must approach the issue from this perspective.
I send my special greeting to the people of Batman.
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TO THE PRESS AND PUBLIC!
1- On 20th of August, 2010, in between 18:30-20:00 hours, the Turkish state army bombarded the area of Besta/Sirnak, with obus and mortars.
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President of the Kurdistan Democratic Confederation (KCK) Murat Karayilan set conditions to extend the ceasefire that will last on September 20.President of the KCK Murat Karayilan said that the aim of the ceasefire is to pave the way of a bilateral truce between Turkish state and the PKK.
He demanded the release of the 1700 Kurdish politicians and activists still in jail. Karayilan also said that Turkish state must lay out the framework for Kurdish national leader Abdullah Ocalan's active participation to the peace process
Karayilan labeled 10 percent election threshold as a barrier to Kurdish political parties and called Turkish to lower it.
“If all these conditions are met this process can lead to a sustainable peace” Karayilan said.
Karayilan said the declaration of ceasefire is “a chance for peace”.
Karayilan also called the president of Federal Kurdistan Government Massoud Barzani to take role in peace process and welcomed Barzani’s statements after the declaration of ceasefire.
“This process can move forward if Turkish state and AKP government take steps. If they don’t it will end in a stalemate” Karayilan said.
KARAYILAN:
CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN USE FOR 16 YEARS
19.08.2010- On 18th of August, 2010, the Chairman of the Executive Council of the KCK, Murat Karayilan, answered questions from the ANF news agency regarding the reports in the German media on the use of chemical weapons by the Turkish state.
Karayilan said that the Turkish state army had been using chemical weapons for 16 years now. And, this has again brought to agenda before by a labororatuary in Munich/Germany. He said that Turkey regularly uses chemical weapons in some areas against the guerrillas. This is not something new. The Turkish state army has been using chemical weapons against our guerrilla forces wherever they have got into difficulty against the guerrillas during the clashes since 1994. Even in the spring of 1999, I think it was in May, 20 of our guerrillas under the command of friend Hamza, have been martyred near the village of Bilika/Cudi/Sirnak as a result of the use of chemical weapons by the Turkish state army. After the clashes, our friends found a tube of the chemical that had been used against the guerrillas on the scene where the clashes occurred. This tube was sent to Europe, where I was at that time. So, I personally followed closely on this issue to be analysed in the laboratories. And, we sent it to a lab in Munich, Germany to analyse the contents of the tube. After that, the result of the analysis was that there was a chemical element to effect a certain small area.
So, Germany knows that chemical weapons have been used against the guerrilla forces since that time. What I do not know is why they put this report on the agenda now. And, according to the reports in the press, they even took the case to the German parliament. So, for the last sixteen years there is use of chemical weapons against our guerrillas. Despite the result of the container with the chemical element, no one, including the international forces, either said or did anything about it. Somehow, we could not carry this to the international agenda at the time. Yet, now this has been put onto the agenda in Germany. It has to be followed to see how serious they can be to stay on this case. However, it is a reality that Turkey uses chemical weapons, not everywhere, but wherever they see it is as suitable to use.
KURDIH ASSOCIATIONS IN EUROPE SUPPORT DEMOCRATIC AUTONOMY
18.08.2010- Kurdish organizations in Europe declared support for Peace and Democracy Party's (BDP) decision to boycott constitutional referendum on 12 September. At the same time the organizations declared their support to the proposal of a Democratic Autonomy. The proposal is being debated among various circles both in Turkey and Europe. So far it has been discussed especially by Kurdish associations and groups, but interest in the project has already been declared by various institutions and intellectuals in Europe.
Representatives of 228 Kurdish organizations throughout Europe issued a statement in support of BDP's boycott campaign, in Dusseldorf.
At the same press conference the Kurdish organizations also declared their support for Democratic Autonomy as the only method to find a peaceful solution to the Kurdish Question.
The Kurdish organizations called on the United Nations, United States, Russia and European Union to contribute to the peace process.
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TO THE PRESS AND PUBLIC
1- Special Teams and soldiers wearing civilian clothes belongs to the Turkish state army launched a comprehensive military operation against the villages of Kirmecok, Baskent, Benzen, Mila Koxe and Geliye Gulik/Varto/Mus, in the morning hours of 17th of August, 2010. The military operation's scope extents while continues.
TO THE PRESS AND PUBLIC
1- On 12th of August, 2010, in between 08:00-09:00 hours, the Turkish state army bombarded the area of Ware Kemal/Haftanin/the Medya Defence Areas, with obus and tanks.