KURDISH QUESTION IS A VERY SIMPLE ONE!

Here is why Ahmet Altan of Taraf thinks it is simple:

RACE and RELIGION

There are two ways to make someone accept the things that you do to him/her and don’t want those things to be done to you.

You either deceive them, or suppress them.

I don’t know a third way of doing this.

The Turks do the things to the Kurds that they don’t want to be done to them.

We tried to deceive them.

They did not buy it.

We tried to suppress them by force, with weapons and oppression.

They did not let it.

They rebelled 29 times (against us).

And their last rebellion has been going on for the last 25 years.

Many people died.

Actually, the problem is as complicated as it is said to be.

The Kurds want to be treated the way the Turks are treated.

It is that simple.

As much as I can see, the problem is with us, the Turks.

We don’t want to share (have the same) rights we have in this country with our “brother” Kurds that we want to deceive.

The behavior that should be analyzed is our behavior, why do we reject having equal rights with the people that we call our “brothers”.

What would happen if we were equal?

What would go wrong if we did not name them “you are Turks” by force; support their rights to have education in their mother tongue?

If we look at this problem from a religious point of view, maybe we will understand the Kurds better.

If the Christians had had a bigger population than the Muslims and had written, “citizens of this country are called Christians” in the constitution, would the Muslims have accepted it?

If it was said, “OK, you are Muslim, but your national identity is Christianity” would the Muslims have not rebelled?

Would they have said, “We are Christians” by force?

Don’t say, “Religion is different”.

People’s races, traditions and cultures are as “sacred” as their religions and beliefs are.

We are born with our race and religion.

In fact, you could change your religion, you could encounter someone  who was Muslim and converted to Christianity, and someone who was Christian and converted to Islam, but you cannot change your race.

If we look at this from a religious person’s point of view, “race” is a characteristic that God gave to human beings without giving them, “the right to change it”.

You cannot give up your race.

You carry the characteristics of your race from birth to death.

Would you accept the treatment if you were being looked down upon as if you were inferior to the others and “insulted” because of a characteristic of you that “cannot be changed and cannot be given up”?

 You would not, nobody would.

There is a race as Kurdish, and there is also a race as Turkish.

Lets first ask to the Muslims.

“Why would someone who was created by God be treated differently from someone else who was also created by God?”

Afterwards, lets ask to the nationalists who call themselves “leftists”.

“Why would one of the two races that were created by nature have to accept the other one’s superiority?”

The problem is not with the Kurds who are asking for equality, because it is their right both in God’s and in humans’ eyes, the problem is the fact that we don’t accept to be “equal” with them.

We don’t want to accept the ones that are not from our race, to be equal to us.

Is it not “racism”?

This is both a sin and a shameful act.

Why do we try to suppress other human beings just because we have an army and  we are more in numbers  than they are?

Candidly, I don’t understand why we have so much difficulty in saying that, “The Kurds and the Turks are equal”.

What is the logic behind saying, “The Kurds cannot have the rights that the Turks have”?

The Turks are not superior to the Kurds; they are just more in numbers.

Did you not get angry when the Muslims in Western Thrace, and the Turks in Bulgaria were being suppressed because “their numbers were less” (in terms of population)?

Now, why do you do the same things to our ”brothers”?

Why do you let thousands of children die, and thousands of mothers suffer in pain because of this?

Why is it so difficult for you to accept equality?

What does, “I can get education in my mother tongue, but you cannot, I could be associated with my own race, but you cannot” mean?

We are in an era, where people pride themselves on “what they do”, and not in an era where people pride themselves based on their race or religion, or see themselves superior to others because of their race or religion. Human beings are “individuals”, and the race and religion that they belong to only matter to them.

We are still in race-fight.

It should end now.

It is enough that so many children have died because of this stupidity.   

HOW COULD THEY (THE KURDS) TRUST (THE TURKISH STATE)?

Etyen Mahçupyan has written a great article about why the Kurds should not trust the Turkish state, and also why the PKK should keep its arms, and never lay them down even if there is peace! There is nothing more for me to say, read the article and see by yourself why we should keep fighting no matter what. Here is the link to the original page on Taraf, and here is the translation, the language might be a little heavy. OK, enough of talking, enjoy it (Note:the words in italics are my own additions to clarify the meaning):

It has been known for a long time now that the Kurdish Question cannot be solved solely by words. Actually, old attitude of the state demonstrates that while saying “There are no Kurds”, Kurds were considered to be important at the same time. Moreover, this “There are no Kurds” rhetoric was not a way for not recognizing the existence of the Kurds, but rather a way to fight the Kurds. But, creating “fake realities” is one of the most commonly implemented tactics of the Republican regime. Because the Republican administration considered a “system in which differences could live together equally” as a threat, thus they saw the differences within the society of Turkey as “alien”, and treated them as if they were citizens of another country. Consequently, any step that aimed to give the rights of those different identities (groups) back to them, or bring social equality and improve freedoms, was seen as a “compromise”. It was as if there was a conflict going on between the state, which represented the Turkish identity, and other different identities and the real aim of the state was to win this conflict.

When we look at the issue from this perspective, we see that “There are no Kurds” rhetoric has tactical/strategic purpose. The advantage of beginning from the rearmost (such as “There are no Kurds”) would always be available in a possible negotiation process… In addition to this, when you manipulate the society in this direction, a psychological advantage comes along with it. This approach shows us that the attempt of a military coup—that is incorporated in the Ergenekon investigation—is not that “post modern”. Because the state in Turkey is very experienced in moving one part of the society in whichever direction it wants to… And the base for these (manipulated) movements – contrary to the practices in the West—is the fact that the society is left ignorant and is intentionally misinformed (about the realities on the ground).  

The societies in which the level of ignorance is regulated, sometimes there are very convenient conditions for “solutions” to big problems, and the state does not miss that kind of opportunity. To give a simple example, the Capital Tax was implemented in the years of WWII (Turkish Capital Tax was aimed at the non-Muslim minorities of Turkey which impoverished them a lot), or if we go further in the past, the Assyrian and Armenian Deportation coincided with the WWI… These kinds of cyclical situations allow each country to get further away from the international laws, and break these laws. The ones who commit these crimes get away with what they do, and the actions of those times are buried in the history with the excuse of “some things have happened at that time, but there was a war”.

Thereby, regarding long–lasting problems that seem to be irresolvable, some big permanent steps are taken in favor of the state and consequently the Turkish identity… The ones who have the Turkish identity mostly don’t know of this special history and are not interested in it anyway. Most of them are happy with the ideological “information booklet” that the state provide them with, and continue their lives with the ignorance that is required by the citizenship. The small minority that objects to this is alienated/estranged and is forced to stay as if they are refugees, as a result of being blamed for a wide array of things that extends to being (called) a traitor.

But there is the exact apposite situation for the others (namely, non-Turks). For instance, the non-Muslims know this “state history” very well and are able to preserve their identity (conscience) partly by making this aforementioned history known. The same situation is applicable for the Kurds as well… So this bizarre situation comes to the forefront: “The more the Turks are inclined to forget, the more the Kurds are inclined to remember…”

On the other hand, the ones who are doing politics around/for the identities that are opposed by the state know that there is an untrustworthy/unreliable belligerent opponent/foe in front of them that looks for a cyclical situation (a moment that the opponent is weakest to attack). Because of this, they also try to maximize their bargaining power. To be on an unequal level against the state and to live in a republican regime that does not allow freedom of expression links the bargaining power usually to being an armed group. Shortly, emergence of the PKK as an armed group implies the pursuit of being equal (having equal power/authority) with the state. On the other hand, PKK’s existence is very functional, because even from the perspective of the Kurds that do not support its actions, PKK is an element of bargaining/negotiation against the state.

The ones who are talking about PKK’s disarmament are acting as if they are not aware of the history of the Republic of Turkey in the minds/memories of the Kurds.  PKK could seriously lay down the arms, and they could genuinely want this, too… But it will not lay down arms as far as possible, because the Kurdish society does not trust the state. There is no guarantee that a more tyrannical regime will not be imposed upon the Kurds under the disguise of politicization of the PKK and there isn’t any state authority that can guarantee this. Because history has proven that these kinds of guarantees are (never) executed. 

This year is a hundredth anniversary of the Adana Massacre in 1909…  An event that some want to see forgotten, and others that want to remember it. The reason behind the conflict that emerged right after the declaration of the second constitutional period was the attraction of the wealth of the Armenians. The events started in small scale but grew into an armed “interference”/confrontation quickly which killed a few people from both sides. The Armenians were stronger/more resistant than they were expected to be and because they did not trust the authorities they did not want to give in their weapons. In this situation, Parliament made a decision of disarmament and the delegation that was sent to the region persuaded the Armenians as well. The Armenians gave in their weapons… in the following days 30 thousand people were massacred…

Nowadays, you could explain to the Kurds what a “right” decision it would be if the PKK laid down the arms. As a matter of fact that is how they think, too. They know that peace can only be achieved in an environment where there are no weapons. But they also know the history of this region and they don’t trust the state. That is issue…

So, you see why PKK should never give in the arms in their hands? Because it is our only guarantee!

AZADÎ WILL COME SOONER OR LATER!

So, our hevals have been doing some minor harm to the enemy. First this:

At least 11 Iranian police officers have been killed in separate clashes with armed groups in two of the country's western provinces, local media reports say.

Those two provinces are in Eastern Kurdistan, in Kermanshah and Sanandaj. I am sure the number is much higher than they claim it to be, because we all know how the Psychological Warfare functions.
Great job and Congratulations to our heroes at PJAK!

And today apparently the Turkish Army is most formidable army in the world. Or wait, is it? Hmm, well it appears as 10, yes TEN soldiers from this military have been killed by the hevals. And guess what, there is no casualty on the PKK's side! I guess we need to re-evaluate when we think of the Turkish Armed Forces being the most formidable one in the Middle East. It obviously seems to me that there is something fundamentally wrong with that statement. Well we all se that acts speak louder than mere useless words, right? And take a look at this, too:

According to CNN-Turk, 10 soldiers have been confirmed as killed, but other reports claim that the death toll was nine with two injured.

I really think that it does not matter that much if the number is 9 or 10. The funny thing is that TSK has all the weapons in the world in their hands. And I mean it when I say they have all the weapons in the world. Just think about how much of their GDP actually goes to the military. I am not talking about the amount they say in their papers, but rather the amount that nobody actually knows because it is "Gizli Ödenek" or "Slush Fund" as it is a security matter thus, cannot be made public. Only god knows how much it is.

I intentionally quoted the sources that would be considered fair, even though I dont believe so because we all know everyone in this world is closer to the Turkish Government than they are to the facts and truth. They just cony and paste what the Turkish media writes, which is dictated by their all powerful, all knowing military! Maybe not that powerful, huh?

Anyway, I think they will see more of this as long as they continue with arrests of innocent DTP officials, but even more important than that as long as they continue to kill our little 13-14 year-old kids, beat them with their weapons, put them in come and kick them on top of all that inhumanity, and beat our beautiful mothers and drag them by pulling their hair, etc.

They should know this very well; the Kurdish people is ready for both peace and war, as Murat Karayilan has stated again in his last interview with Al-Jazeera. Hevallo has the video of the interview, take a look at it.

We prefer PEACE, but if they are going to try to kill us, they should know that we will be fighting until the last drop of our blood against the blood-thirst animals!

Long Live Gelê Kurd û Kurdistan!
Long Live Kurdish People and Kurdistan!

Ahmet Türk's Interview With Taraf Daily

Here is the full translation of the interview Ahmet Türk had with Nese Düzel of Taraf Daily.

Ahmet Türk: “THE OPERATIONS WILL NOT PREVENT THE (KURDISH) CONFERENCE FROM TAKING PLACE”

Why Ahmet Türk?

-There actually was a positive atmosphere. Arrangements for the Kurdish Conference that was, for the first time, going to bring the representative of the Kurds from all around Middle East, were being made, and it was thought/hoped this conference would bring a comprehensive solution to the Kurdish Question, and that it would be a first step towards disarmament of the PKK. Suddenly the arrest of the DTP officials came. 51 DTP officials were arrested. But the real striking development came after these arrests. One Special Forces police knocked out a 14 year-old kid, who was among a group of small kids that were protesting in a rural area, to the ground and started to hit his head with the butt of his weapon over and over again, and kicked him as much as he could. It was as if someone intentionally wanted to blow up the peace atmosphere. With the Co-chair of Democratic Society Party Ahmet Türk we talked about how he saw these events. We asked questions about the future of the Kurdish Conference that is supposed to be taking place in Hewlêr (Erbil) and hosted by Barzani, whether DTP was going to attend the conference or not, whether PKK was invited or not, how to avoid the violence that is being escalated by some ones, and whether there will be some reciprocal gestures to soften the current atmosphere to Ahmet Türk.

NEŞE DÜZEL: There is a big operation going on against the DTP officials. What do you think about timing of this operation?

AHMET TÜRK: We expected some different developments in Turkey after the victory of the DTP on the local elections. We thought, “Either the high percentage we received will not be tolerated and the atmosphere would get more intense, or people’s support to the DTP will be accepted and the logic for solving the Kurdish Question will develop”. The first anticipation came true, the fact that DTP doubled its vote and became first party in the Kurdish Area in the 29 March local elections was not tolerated and the operations started.

ND: Who are the ones that did not tolerate the election results?

AT: At the forefront there is the political power (AKP). But it is not an operation that the government developed by itself. Politics are warded/under custody in Turkey. When the subject is the Kurdish Questions, AKP and the ones who ward the politics in Turkey come to an agreement on continuity of the 80 years-old policy of irresolution that halts the solution of the problem through democratic and peaceful means. After all we know that AKP was not shut down because they accepted such an agreement.

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

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

ND: Yes, what is it?

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

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

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

ND: Considering the operations will continue, do you think it is the right decision to end the ceasefire after June 1^st?

AT: Our hope is that the ceasefire will continue. Kurdish Question cannot be solved with weapons. It can be solved with democracy. We never wanted the weapons to reappear in the agenda. We know that weapons cause suffering and tears. But we need to be realistic. To make peace requires political will and determination. If there is not a political power that wants peace and believes in peace there cannot be a one-sided solution. The state needs to enter in the process of saying, “yes” to the demands for peace. Any person with a reasonable mind should not take any kind of role in resurgence of the time of the weapons. We are worried about this, which is why we are shouting, “lets sit down and solve this problem with mutual dialog”.

ND: Who should be sitting mutually to solve the problem?

AT: There are sides of this problem. If the government is the executive organ and is there with public’s will then we will base ourselves on this and inform the government of our demands. But there is no dialog between the government and us.

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

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

ND: The Kurdish Conference is supposed to take place soon in Hewlêr (Erbil). Are these operations going to prevent the Kurdish Conference from taking place?

AT: They will not. The important thing here is the determination of the Kurds to hold such a joint conference together. Even though the DTP officials are being arrested, we will continue with our struggle to improve the democratic process and determination to create the dialog atmosphere. Of course we will not back down against the oppression that is inflicted upon us, while doing this. They should not think: “We have arrested 50 DTP officials, and this is the end of the DTP”. This part will not end. We will raise our voice and democratic objections against these arrests by our actions and statements.

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

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

ND: If it is proven that the DTP officials that were arrested actually have links to the PKK, will you still criticize these arrests?

AT: This question is meaningless. These people have been in the democratic politics since the HEP, the DEP, and they have never taken up arms and gone to the mountains. They are being arrested because of their opinions, and because of voicing the societal realities. For instance I say: “PKK’s ceasefire until June 1^st is an important step for peace”. Because I said such a thing I could be sued tomorrow and I could be tried for being a member of the PKK.

ND: Why?

AT: Well, our arrested friends are not saying anything different from this. They also, like me, are making observations. And are trying to open/clear the road for democratic politics. Whether we like it or not PKK is a reality. After DTP was strengthened even more in the elections PKK stated: “ We should give a chance to the DTP as they have the support of the (Kurdish) people. We will give them this chance by silencing our weapons (ceasefire) until June 1^st”. This was a positive decision. This was a chance. But the state immediately did the opposite. They tried to stop this decision by the operations (against the DTP)…

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

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

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

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

ND: How should it be understood/interpreted?

AT: If a movement is receiving support from a people, and is acting to realize that people’s demands we need to put them in a different category. Because that movement is a terrorist movement according to some, but some people don’t look at it that way (but for some they are heroes). We need to see this reality. Hamas is also an armed group currently, but Prime Minister Erdogan goes, holds talks with them and asks them to play a role in the peace process. In the past, Mandela also served in the prison, he was sentenced as a terrorist, but when the conditions changed and there was an atmosphere for the dialog, nobody said “Mandela is a terrorist”. He received the (Nobel) peace prize. But did not his group also use weapons?

ND: You are being investigated because you said Abdullah Öcalan was similar to Mandela…

AT: I am saying this in terms of processes. Otherwise I don’t thin anyone is similar another one. And nobody needs to be similar to someone else. But the historic process functions like this. The conditions are set up, and the talks take place. We can give IRA as an example.

ND: Are you saying that in the end they will have to talk to Öcalan?

AT: Öcalan does not have such a demand. He does not say, “If you don’t talk to me, it won’t happen”. He says: “I believe in peace, and want peace. This problem cannot be solved with the weapons anymore. Talk to me so that I can contribute in the peace process”. And he points to the Kurds, to the NGOs and the DTP as the address to which they should be going to hold the peace talks.

ND: Was the DTP invited to the Kurdish Conference in Hewlêr (Erbil)?

AT: Of course… Since this idea was developed we have been holding talks. We said that: “All the Kurds should attend this conference. If one side does not attend, this conference will be incomplete”.

ND: Is the PKK included within this?

AT: Of course. Everybody should attend. In the end it is the PKK that has the weapons in their hands. It is the PKK that is being discussed. All of the policies that are developed and all of the events taking place are based on it. When you exclude it, what is the point of holding that conference then?

ND: Has the PKK been invited to this conference? Do you have any information related to this?

AT: I don’t know. This conference is still in the process of talks.

ND: If the PKK does not get invited, will the DTP attend the conference?

AT: We will take our stance based on its seriousness. We will look at how this conference will be structured and how much it will be based on the solutions to the problem. Why would we attend an ineffective/vain conference? It should be an effective conference where one could reach some conclusions.


NG: Will a conference without the PKK be ineffective?

AT: Of course, it would be lacking.

NG: What kind of conclusions are you expecting to reach from the Kurdish Conference that will aim to disarm the PKK?

AT: It is said: “We are holding the conference to disarm the PKK. That is what Talabani says also. And it draws criticism from the Kurdish people for not conveying the demands of the Kurdish people to the AKP government. Because you cannot hold a conference just to disarm a group. Then, they would say: “Did I go to the mountains to lay down my arms”. Lets speak openly/be honest. Naturally, our main demand also is to create a world without the arms. But if there is not a project that will grant/meet the demands of the Kurdish people for its identity, culture and right to receive education in Kurdish, and decentralization in government, this will be in vain from the beginning. The important issue here is that the demands of the Kurdish people are met. Even if it cannot be done in one day, the preparations could be made. There are many examples of this in the world. For instance, there is the case of South Africa. How was the problem resolved, who were the intermediaries, how was peace achieved?

ND: Which solution case are you taking as an example from the world?

AT: None of the problems seems exactly alike, but in the end everywhere in the world in order to achieve peace and solution, the preparations have been made, the sides have discussed the issue and a will for peace has been formed. The common thing everywhere is that, the governments have acted with the aim of “ I will save my people and my country from this chaos” to bring the peace in a determined fashion.

ND: Do you have a hope for peace?

AT: We have never lost our hope for peace and we never will. Without protecting this hope for peace, we cannot do politics anyway. We say: “Do not continue with the strategy of denial and annihilation. Peace, if not today, one day will certainly arrive. Kurdish people’s cultural and identity rights will definitely be granted. Within the territorial integrity of the Republic of Turkey an environment of equality will be created. Lets develop our democracy as soon as possible”. For the last operations indicate that there are some who are determined to prevent the democratic solution from taking place.

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

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

ND: Is it not a development?

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

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

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

ND: Under what conditions/circumstances will the PKK lay down its arms in your opinion?

AT: The state has to be open and transparent. Once you bring them down from the mountains, are you going to imprison them or are you going to put them among the society and open the way of the democratic politics for them? These issues should be openly discussed.

ND: Are there differences in the points of view between Barzani and the DTP?

AT: We are politicians that live in separate countries. Every country’s conditions and demands are different. If I were in Iraq today, I would ask for federation. Because, the Kurds of Iraq were part of the Ottoman Empire. Without internalizing the situation they were brought together with the Arabs, and they never came together. The situation in Turkey is different. The Kurds and the Turks have a chance of living together. Because, they really have been living together for a thousand years. As a result, we are not asking for federation in Turkey. We defend the concept of a democratic autonomous government. We want to empower the regional administrations/governments.

ND: What will the DTP offer to enable the peace?

AT: This should be understood by now. The Kurds are not in search of secession from Turkey. The Kurds want to solve this problem on the basis of equal rights with respect to the territorial integrity of the Republic of Turkey. If it is believed that this is what the Kurds want, solving the problem is not that hard. Because this is where the problem arises. Since the foundation of the nation-state the Kurds are seen as the potential danger. Some people should realize that the Kurds do not want to divide this country and get rid of this idea and their fears based upon this.

ND: Do you think that it is possible to make some reciprocal gestures to soften the atmosphere until a permanent peace is achieved?

AT: There is need for this. Gestures should certainly be made to bring out the sincerity for peace and solution.

ND: Can the PKK order its militants out of border as a gesture?

AT: Of course… If they know that there is a serious effort for peace, and that they will not be trapped why not? First, an atmosphere of trust should be developed. These things were done in the past and during pull out 300-400 militants/guerillas of the PKK were killed. In addition to that in the past a peace group came. Following that other groups were also going to come but when the ones that came in were sentenced to 15-20 years it ended there.

ND: What should the Turkish and Kurdish politicians do in order to put the Kurds and the Turks into a peace atmosphere?

AT: The Turkish democrats have an important duty in order to stop the rising nationalist perceptions. Today, the Turkish intellectuals should support the efforts of the DTP to solve the Kurdish Question in Turkey within democracy and with respect to the territorial integrity of Turkey and they should spread this belief and trust to the people, the way Sartre and French intellectuals opposed to invasion of Algeria in France in the past.

ND: Don’t the Kurds want to secede and found their own country?

AT: Some might want this, but the politicians have to think about the societal realities, and understand how much harm ethno-nationalism causes to peoples in today’s world. We are against the concept of nation-state and are for the “democratic-state”. We do not have the right to make peoples kill each other by bringing nationalism to the forefront in a world where countries form unions, and EU is developed.

ND: Do you think that the nation-state is a very bloody process?

AT: Yes. In today’s World we don’t need to found nation-state. There is need for equal citizenship, and democratic state. But some people do not want change in this country. They want to keep the status quo. Because those some people will lose their ward on the politics when the Kurdish Question is resolved and Turkey is more democratic.

Another Abuse of the Kurdish Children ...

The Turkish government is completely out of control, they are running around like mad cows. We all know how fascist, brutal, oppressive, and undemocratic the laws and constitution of Turkey are. But one would expect that at least they would respect their own rules, that they have written to oppress all the others other than the Turks, right? Well, no should not expect such a thing when the matter has to do with Turkey, as there is no logic, order or anything of that nature to their actions. MAD COWS! you never know what they will do next.

Not only are they disrespecting their own laws, by putting Kurdish kids at the ages of 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 on trial and imprisoning them for just passing by a protest, or throwing stones at the Turkish Fascist Police Forces, but they also are completely undermining international conventions and treaties that they are signatories of. Who cares, right? Cuneyt Ertus case is still in the minds, watch the video here to refresh you memory.

Yesterday, April 23rd, there were protests going on everywhere in Kurdistan against unjust arrest of the DTP politicians, and here is what AP says happened in Colemêrg (Hekkari)

"An official says the government has launched a probe into the security forces after a 12-year-old boy was severely beaten during a demonstration by Kurds in southeast Turkey.

Video footage of the protest showed an official in military fatigues beating the boy in the head with a truncheon and then kicking him as he lay on the ground.

The state-run news agency says four people were detained and three protesters were injured in Thursday's demonstration in the mainly Kurdish city of Hakkari. The demonstrators barricaded roads and threw stones at police to denounce the detention last week of more than 200 Kurds in a nationwide police crackdown.

Hakkari's governor, Muammer Turker, says the government immediately launched an investigation into officials involved."

Of course we all know what happens when they launch investigations, dont we? As if it is not that same governor, police chief, army officer, politician, prime minister Kerdogan who is ordering these animals to beat our innocent kids, and mothers, indiscriminately and to prosecute and imprison them!!!

Here is the link to the video (I could not upload for some reason, sorry!) where a terrorist turkish police is beating a 12 years old little Kurdish boy. It is understandable as they only can beat our little kids, because they know they can never harm our heros, hevals, in the mountains so this is how they take their revenge from Kurdish people.

I think everybody should see this over and over again to realize how inhumane, brutal, ugly, dishonorable, terrorist, and fascist the turkish government, military, and police are! And this should make us come to our senses and fight with all our power against this fascist regime until we get what belongs to us!

And good job to the DTP members who spent 24 hours in the Parliament in protest for the arrest of its branch heads all around Turkey, for not attending the 23 April Children's Celebration Ceremony. That is what we expect from them! Not to attend the Children's Celebration on a day when Kurdish children are being beaten by the merciless turkish police so hard that one of the Kurdish children is in coma now in Wan. It is also a good way to draw the attention to the issue, and is a good example of Civil Disobedience.

Slowly, slowly they will see us, they will have to see us, we shall not give the option of not to! Then we will be in a better position among our people, in Turkey and in the world, too!

Attacking DTP? Continue with it!

Biji Kurdistan, bimri koledar!, Long live Kurdistan, death to the slaver.

One day, and that day is getting closer and closer, the Kurds will break the chains of this tyranny that have been inflicted upon them by the oppressors that have not only divided their country, but also taken their honor from their hands!

They should continue what they are doing! Yes, they should continue arresting members of the DTP branches in all around Turkey and Kurdistan. Please, arrest more people, please torture us more and more, do it until you cannot move your dirty hands because of fatigue anymore.

You know it very well; we will not be diminished by your torture, by your chemical weapons, by your expensive F-16s, by your UAVs, and all other shit that you are using on us. On the contrary we increase by thousands, by tens of thousands, and soon by millions!

We will, soon, be your nightmares! We promise, that we will turn the cities you live in into hell! We shall not let you even breathe! We shall avenge for every single slap, for every strand of hair that you have pulled off of our mothers hair in torture, for every dirty-ugly-fascist look you have given us! We shall do these! And we shall not let you die, as you have done to us, we shall let you suffer every second, every minute, every hour, every day until you beg for death! But no fucking around! Death is not that cheap!

AKP, Ergenekon, All Fethullahcilar, All the fascists in Kurdistan, we promise to you from now on that we will not let you even peek your heads from the doors, the windows of the places you live in, in Kurdistan. As we are humans, unlike you animals, we give you one last chance. GET THE FUCK OUT OF OUR HOMELAND-KURDISTAN, now!

You will regret what you are doing to us! You will regret very badly! You will see what the Kurds are capable of doing Katil Kerdogan when you inflict this terror upon them. The Kurds of the mountains have never given up their honor, their identity, what makes you think by these stupid actions you will scare them and they will give up everything they have been fighting for, for years now! No no no, you are making a big mistake Kerdogan, this time you will hit the rock, and it will be very hard and harsh for your beautiful and sensitive skin. You know what Kerdogan, the Kurds in the mountains have rough skin, and when you touch it you regret it. Not only have you touched their skins, but also you have been trying to rape those skins!

YOU SHALL NOT BE FORGIVEN! NEITHER SHALL YOUR FASCIST, UGLY, CORRUPT, FUCKED UP COUNTRY WITH ITS MILITARY!

You will all kneel in front of us and beg for forgiveness like DOGS, and I dont know if my honorable, brave, innocent, and beautiful Kurdish Mothers will forgive you then! As for myself, I will not forgive any of you for what you have been doing to us over centuries!

The Kurds are coming, they are like fire, when you approach them friendly they warm you, when you attack them they burn you! AND YOU WILL BURN DOGS! and you will ask for hell when you see the fire of the Kurds, I assure you of that!

I would have never used such a language normally, but they dont seem to be understanding what we are talking about when we use a civilized language. So we shall speak the language that they understand!

They still think the Kurd is the Kurd of old days, without a conscience, without the pen and the weapon! They are wrong, I am telling you! We are coming from all directions! Our guerillas with their Keleshes in their hands, and our lawyers/politicians/intellectuals with pens in their hands.
The Kurd is not the old Kurd; the Kurd is intelligent, intellectual, brave, and figting Kurd now! You better get used to it and stop this outrage now, or else we will show it to you how it is done in a much better way so that you idiots can understand!

Enough is enough, Êdî Bes e!

Long Live ROJ TV-Dengê Gelê Kurd!

So, here we go again! Apparently, Rasmussen, ex-prime minister of Denmark, promised to the Turks that he will shot down ROJ TV in exchange for the Turks to remove their objections to his candidacy to become the new secretary-general of NATO. And he now is the secretary-general of NATO. Meaning that the Turks believed him, or took his word seriously, and finally ended their blockade on his candidacy after making so much noise about it, and making all the EU presidents beg them to say yes to his candidacy! Berlusconi was late to the opening of the bridge that symbolized the unity of Europe, because he was trying to convince Erdogan to say yes. We all know how hard he could be. After all he is from Kasimpasha, right?

Anyway, at the end of the day with Obama, or Resho, and Abdullah Gul getting involved it was resolved somehow. But as I mentioned before, the Turks accepted only after receiving promises on the closure of ROJ TV, and some important posts in NATO be allocated to the Turks. I think they are smart! They made whole Europe beg them, go after them, kiss their ass basically. I wish Europe could have understood a little better what Turkey or Turks are by now. But wishful thinking is of no avail, as we Kurds know it too well.

OK, so lets talk about closure of the ROJ TV. Will it happen, or can it happen? Yes, it can happen, and now it is more likely, because according to the Turkish Media Obama or Resho (actually I will just call him Resho from now on: it is cute), himself has said that he will take the matters into his hands. We should be scared now! President of the United States of America, the most powerful country in the world, has promised something. Of course he will keep his promise. But you know what? I am doubtful about that, as I am equally doubtful about Obama promising such a thing.

By the way, I know Mizgîn at Rastî has commented about Resho's speech as "same shit. different day.", and though I mostly agree with this comment, I have to say that he was/is different from others. Now will that difference in his personality change anything in the world? That I don't know and I don't think so. But he did use the word "KURD" in the Turkish Parliament. That is something in my understanding. He talked about giving more rights to the Kurds and other minorities withing Turkey. That is something. It is not something BIG, but is nonetheless is important. He is president of the USA, so we cannot expect him to be groundbreaking when the matter is the Kurds or the PKK.

They cannot shut down ROJ, they think they can; it is because they don't know what ROJ means.
Shutting down ROJ means darkening the day, obscuring the sun. Do they really think they can do that? Hodri meydan canakam! If they close it, we will open another one. Let them show us and the world how fucked up they and their corrupt and meaningless "democracy" are. As that is the only thing it would entail.

While we talk about this, Imdat Yilmaz, manager of the ROJ has already defied the Danish authorities by saying that they cannot shut down the ROJ. On the other hand, prosecuting judge from Denmark Liselotte Nilas has already stated that it is within their jurisdiction to shut down ROJ or not, and that he has not felt any pressure from anyone to shut down the ROJ.

So lets wait together and see what happens!

Congratulations DTP!

After a very rigorous period of campaigning and fighting against all odds the DTP (Democratic Society Party or Partiya Civaka Demokratik) managed to get most votes in 8 cities of Kurdistan and consequently mayoralties which are: Amed (Diyarbekir), Êlih(Batman), Sêrt(Siirt), Colemêrg(Hekkari), Shirnex(Shirnak), Wan(Van), Idir(Igdir), and Dêrsim(Tunceli).

When one thinks about what kind of difficulties the DTP had to fight in order to win in these cities, one appreciates their success much more. It is a success that has been won on the lives of so many martyrs of Kurdistan, it is a success that has been won on the tortures and imprisonment of so many young kids, it is a success that has been won on tortures, destruction of thousands of villages, burning forests, shortly many big sacrifices. Thus it deserves to be celebrated joyously, and DTP should be congratulated once again for what they accomplished.

It is not an easy thing to win those 8 cities when all of the political parties in Turkey are united against you to crush you, it is not easy when all of the bureaucrats including governors are all working against you; it is not easy especially when the bloody korucus(village guards) and soldiers and the police hold a gun on the voters' necks and threatens to kill them if they vote for the DTP. That is why they should be congratulated over an over again. Not only the DTP politicians and activists but also the Kurdish people as a whole should be congratulated for their courageous work, because if it was not for their bravery and sacrifices this would have happened.

We have been hearing from the news, and by that I dont mean the sold out/corrupt/fascist media of Turkey or Dogan, but rather real and honest news agencies/papers that a lot of the votes that were cast for the DTP were either burnt, thrown away or counted for other parties, as it is the case in Chewlik(Bingol) for instance. And in Agiri(Agri), election council of the city has repeatedly rejected the objections of the DTP of the vote fraud. And they are not accepting to recount the votes, because they know if they do that the DTP will most likely win there, too.

Agiri, Chewlik, Mush, Mêrdin(Mardin), and Bilis(Bitlis) also should have been won. But I am not blaming the DTP for it, as I know the have tried their best to win. And probably DTP would have won in those cities as well if the deep-state or the superficial and corrupt state did not cast shadows on the voting and counting procedure. In other words, if they did not steal the vote that were cast for the DTP.

Even then, what the DTP has got is a big success and a big blow at the face of all of the system parties and Turkish government and military that were all united against the Kurds and their righteous representatives. They all hate each other AKP, CHP, MHP, military, bureaucracy, but when it comes to the Kurds they all unite immediately because they hate us the Kurds that much that they undermine their hatreds or differences. I think this we should take a lesson from as the Kurds.

We should unite around our commonalities, and not be divided based on our small differences or small and temporary interests. We should show them that we are the Kurds, and proud of being Kurds and that they will never ever be able to finish us as for every one of us that they take there will be ten more waiting in line.

I think now the international arena, the EU and the USA should understand this very clearly; the only legitimate representative of the Kurds is the DTP, not AKP or any other entity. And consequently show the respect and due attention to the DTP immediately!