From ahalavais at igc.apc.org  Mon Mar  1 20:04:39 1993
From: ahalavais at igc.apc.org (ahalavais at igc.apc.org)
Date: Mon, 01 Mar 1993 12:04:39 -0800 (PST)
Subject: IPS: TURKRY - Gov't hoping to avoid
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc6c1.127@igc.apc.org>

From: Alexander Halavais <ahalavais>
Subject: IPS: TURKRY - Gov't hoping to avoid

/* Written 12:22 am  Mar  1, 1993 by newsdesk at igc.apc.org in igc:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "TURKEY: Government hoping to avoid " ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1993, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: TURKEY: Government hoping to avoid another bloody Kurdish festival


an inter press service feature

by nadire mater and moyiga nduru

istanbul, feb 26 (ips) -- the annual newroz (new year) festivities
of the minority kurds is just three weeks away, and a wary turkish
government is hoping that perhaps this time round it can prevent a
recurrence of violence.

''we will not have last year's troubles again. we must refrain
from making any mistakes,'' turkish prime minister suleyman
demirel is quoted as saying to his cabinet ministers at a meeting
thursday night.

he is also widely quoted in the turkish press as having cautioned
his minister of state to ensure that the security forces do not
use ''excessive measures which might arouse public reaction''.

last year, at least 100 people, mostly women and children were
killed when the security troops suppressed public demonstrations
in the south-eastern kurdish towns of cizre, sirnak and nusaybin.

friday's press also quoted ismet sezgin, the minister of
interior, as having said that he would order regional governors to
do their utmost to keep the numbers down for the celebrations
beginning on mar 21.

but the kurds have other ideas. ''we will be in the squares,
streets and anywhere where we can be. we don't care what the
turkish republic says. how we could forget the last year?'' ahmet,
a 37-year-old cizre resident told ips in a telephone interview
friday.

the cabinet meeting was held as a follow-up to a meeting earlier
this week of the national security council which has recommended
the suspension of the emergency case legislation in 10 kurdish
provinces for another four month period. parliament will debate
this on mar 19.

in the meantime, however, the pro-kurdish people's labour party
(shp) has already held talks with turkish president turgut ozal
and is also seeking a meeting with demirel to map out strategy for
a peaceful newroz celebration.

and the guerrilla group kurdistan workers party (pkk), which for
more than eight years has been waging war with the turkish
government in a bid for self-determination, also holds out hope
that its relations with government may soon be improved.(more/ips)

turkey: government hoping to avoid another bloody kurdish festiva(2)

turkey: government (2)

''the present consensus between turkey and the western
governments over the kurdish issue is about to break. now there is
more access for a political solution,'' a pkk source told ips.

just last week the pkk sent a letter to the european parliament
in response to a call made last november by the parliament for a
truce between the turkish government and the guerrillas.

''the central committee of the pkk is glad to inform the european
parliament that we, without any preconditions, are ready to start
negotiations in order to arrive at a truce,'' the pkk said in the
letter addressed to egon klepsch, chair of the european
parliament.

the pkk began its armed struggle for a kurdish independent state
in august 1984. but in recent years the government has made a
determined bid to erode the power base of the guerrilla group in
the south-eastern provinces. this has led to violent clashes and
the casualty count has been high.

''we could very well smash the pkk in one night,'' ismet sezgin
said during a recent visit to the region with a german
parliamentary delegation.

''we could do what the western governments had done in the
past...bring all the suspects together, execute them and declare
that they had committed suicide. however we respect human
rights.''

human rights groups in turkey are however not convinced that the
government does respect human rights and have announced plans to
send watch groups to the region to monitor events. only this week,
the human rights association accused government security forces of
involvement in the killing of one of its members.

kurdish refugees in britain, germany and belgium also only
recently ended a hunger strike to protest alleged human rights
violations committed by the turkish government.

delal ozen, one of the 45 kurds who was on hunger strike in
london last week came to britain four years ago. many of her
relatives have died at the hands of government troops, she
claimed. she said her younger brother -- a pkk guerrilla -- met
his death during a clash with security forces just last april.

''its painful to learn that all the security forces who have been
committing these atrocities have walked free,'' she told ips in an
interview.

mathew brady of the kurdistan information office in london said
that government security forces were behind the deaths of 13
turkish journalists in the past 11 months. ''many of the
journalists met their fate while investigating links between the
turkish state security forces and the counter-guerilla forces.''
(more/ips)

turkey: government hoping to avoid another bloody kurdish festiva(3-e)

turkey: government (3)

''besides the links, the journalists were also investigating the
events of newroz last year when hundreds of civilians lost their
lives after troops and police fired on peaceful demonstrations and
then went on rampage in many towns and villages,'' brady charged.

he added: ''it seems likely that the state is preparing to
perpetrate a similar or greater atrocity at newroz this year.''

kurds number more than 28 million with 15 million in turkey,
seven million in iran, five million in iraq, and 1.5 million in
syria. ''today we are the only largest nationality in the world
without a state,'' claimed hopir baran, who was also numbered
among the hunger strikers.(end/ips/pr-np/mn/nm/cpg/93)


From ahalavais at igc.apc.org  Mon Mar  1 20:07:02 1993
From: ahalavais at igc.apc.org (ahalavais at igc.apc.org)
Date: Mon, 01 Mar 1993 12:07:02 -0800 (PST)
Subject: IPS: IRAQ: Statehood not aid
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc6c2.1c2@igc.apc.org>

From: Alexander Halavais <ahalavais>
Subject: IPS: IRAQ: Statehood not aid

/* Written 12:15 am  Mar  1, 1993 by newsdesk at igc.apc.org in igc:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "IRAQ: Statehood not aid is the Kurd" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1993, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: IRAQ: Statehood not aid is the Kurds real priority


an inter press service feature

by lucy johnson

dohuk, iraq, feb 26 (ips) -- the last of the united nations trucks
bearing emergency food rations for the kurds rumbled over the
turkish border into northern iraqi kurdistan this week.

for the second year running, the trucks brought in tonnes of
wheat, cooking oil and sugar to help the kurds survive the bleak,
sub-zero winter in their mountainous safe-haven.

''we appreciate the work of the humanitarian organisations who
are here helping our people,'' said faizal merani, head of the
dohuk branch of the kurdistan democratic party (kdp), one of the
joint ruling parties in northern iraqi kurdistan. dohuk is located
in northern iraq some 40 kms from the turkish border.

like many kurds he is thankful the international community has
not yet lost interest in the fate of the almost three million
iraqi kurds who are tentatively in control in northern iraq.

but behind the official gratitude, kurds are becoming
impatient. to them, the shipping in of thousands of tonnes of
emergency food into this traditionally soil-rich area is a
mockery.

''the united nations has to realise that we are not a poverty-
stricken nation like those africa. our land is rich and are people
resourceful, if they are given a chance,'' said safeen dizayee, a
spokesperson for the kdp who was talking in the turkish capital of
ankara.

the dozens of aid organisations operating in iraqi kurdistan
are also whispering about the futility of annual hand outs to an
area that could perfectly well feed itself.

but they are unable to raise funding for anything but relief
and the most rudimentary repairs.

like the united nations, the aid agencies are shackled by the
international community's ambivalent attitude to kurdistan's
statehood.

despite the kurdish 'peshmerga' fighters who police the safe-
haven and the freely-elected kurdish government in irbil,
kurdistan is still officially part of iraq and thus subject to the
same punative economic sanctions.

until last year the kurds suffered, like the rest of iraq, from
trade blockades imposed by the outside world. then in june, saddam
hussein tightened the economic stranglehold on kurdistan by
cutting off trade with northern iraq.(more/ips)

iraq: statehood not aid is the kurds real priority(2)

squeezed between a double trade embargo, kurdistan's economy is
in deadlock. up until the 1991 uprising when the kurds, egged on
by western powers, revolted against iraqi president saddam hussein
only to be devastated by his superior firepower, kurdistan was the
bread basket of iraq, supplying 60 percent of the country's wheat.

now, tractors lie idle in the fields. the blockade has left the
farmers starved of seeds, fuel and spare parts, and they can
barely squeeze the wheat out of the land to feed their own
families.

''i am worried for my children, that they are always hungry: do
you think there is anybody in the world who would not worry in
this situation?'' said nasib sadiq, a farmer in a village 15 kms
outside dohuk, whose 10 children have not eaten meat for the last
year.

in the towns, packets of biscuits and tins of food in the shops
give the streets a deceptive air of normality. but few kurds can
afford to buy the food. mass unemployment and a bankrupt
government that can only afford to pay its employees 200 iraqi
dinars a month (about 10 dollars) is forcing many urban families
to sell their possessions to pay 400 dinars (20 dollars) for a bag
of rice.

aid organisations are battling to repair roads and clear the
land of the estimated 20 million mines that have forced the kurds
to leave vast tracts of land fallow, to try and stimulate the
economy.

but they know these small efforts are merely gestures. the
sanctions mean they cannot provide the tractors and fuel that the
kurds need to kick-start their economy.

one major obstacle to development aid that would help rebuild
the area is baghdad's tetchiness about the international community
showing kurdistan special favours.

the united nations, bound by an inbuilt code that recognises
the sovereignty of states, has bowed to baghdad. it has even
signed an agreement with the baghdad government defining the aid
it can send to kurdistan.

many non-governmental organisations, unwilling to abide by the
constricting terms of the contract between baghdad and the aid
world, now operate illegally in northern iraq.

but even these aid organisations are subject to the dictates of
their major donors, which in most cases are governments that like
the united nations are not prepared to flout iraqi sovereignty.

''we have got the spring project coming up and we'll try and
hide some development in it,'' said one aid worker. but funds from
the project's major donor, a western government, are aimed
directly at relief.

kurdish officials and members of the ruling coaltition say that
while their state is economically crippled they cannot create an
effective power base on which to build autonomy.(more/ips)

iraq: statehood not aid is the kurds real priority(3-e)

''we are not asking for a separate state, if tomorrow we
declared independence how would we support ourselves? ... it would
be difficult to lift the embargo but at least just to ease the
restrictions,'' said dizayee.

many believe the west's ears are deaf to their special case
pleading for one simple reason. for all its talk of unseating
saddam hussein, the west does not want to risk the growth of an
opposition that could topple the iraqi president and create a
power vacuum in the area.

''there is an idea in the west and the united nations that
islam would be exported into the area with the withdrawal of
saddam hussein,'' said merani.

their fear is that if the international community continues to
play along with saddam hussein, kurdistan will be easy pickings
when the west eventually loses interest.(ends/ips/ip/lj/mf/93)


From aforum at moose.uvm.edu  Thu Mar  4 20:27:19 1993
From: aforum at moose.uvm.edu (aforum at moose.uvm.edu)
Date: 04 Mar 1993 20:27:19
Subject: No Subject Line
Message-ID: <bac1c849.9303050427.AA13139@moose.uvm.edu>

From: aforum at moose.uvm.edu (Autonome Forum)


From: Autonome Forum <aforum at moose.uvm.edu>
Subject: Arm The Spirit
Followup-To: alt.politics.radical-left
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ARM THE SPIRIT

Arm The Spirit is an autonomist/anti-imperialist collective that disseminates
information about liberation struggles in advanced capitalist countries and
in the so-called "Third World". Our focus is on armed struggle and other forms
of militant resistance, but we do not limit ourselves to this. In our bulletin
"Arm The Spirit", you can find news on political prisoners in North America
and Europe, information on the struggles of native peoples in the Americas,
communiques from guerrilla groups, debate and discussion on armed struggle,
and much more. We also attempt to cover anti-colonial national liberation
struggles in Kurdistan, Puerto Rico, Euskadi, and elsewhere.

We come from an internationalist perspective that is anti-capitalist and 
anti-imperialist, but we do not separate the struggle against patriarchy,
racism, and homophobia from the struggle against capitalism and imperialism.
The development of a coherent revolutionary praxis is, for us, not rooted in
dogmatic ideologies, but in an anti-authoritarian practice that draws upon
many different strands of revolutionary theory.

For a six-issue hard-copy subscription to "Arm The Spirit", send $10.00 
cash or postal money order (no checks please!) to:

Arm The Spirit			Arm The Spirit
c/o Wild Seed Press		c/o Autonome Forum
PO Box 57584, Jackson Stn.	PO Box 1242
Hamilton, Ontario		Burlington, Vermont
L8P 4X3  Canada			05402-1242  USA

If you would like to receive updates from ATS on-line, please send your e-mail
address in a message with the header "ATS: e-mail request" to:

					aforum at moose.uvm.edu

Arm The Spirit is also availble via anonymous-ftp from 141.211.182.91
in the directory /pub/Political.

























-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arm The Spirit				Arm The Spirit
c/o Autonome Forum			c/o Wild Seed Press
PO Box 1242				PO Box 57584, Jackson Stn.
Burlington, Vermont			Hamilton, Ontario
05402-1242				L8P 4X3
USA					CANADA

e-mail: aforum at moose.uvm.edu		FAX: (416) 527-2419                    
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From aforum at moose.uvm.edu  Wed Mar 10 18:55:15 1993
From: aforum at moose.uvm.edu (aforum at moose.uvm.edu)
Date: 10 Mar 1993 18:55:15
Subject: No Subject Line
Message-ID: <bac1c849.9303110254.AA49918@moose.uvm.edu>

From: aforum at moose.uvm.edu (Autonome Forum)


From: Autonome Forum <aforum at moose.uvm.edu>
Subject: Turkish army wounds Kurdish POW's
Followup-To: alt.politics.radical-left
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: newsdesk at mit.hacktic.nl (Newsdesk Amsterdam)

PRESS-RELEASE

202 PRISONERS OF WAR AND A GERMAN JOURNALIST WOUNDED BY SOLDIERS IN THE
PRISON DIYARBAKIR, TURKISH KURDISTAN.

The Kurdish Press-agency Kurd-ha reported on Feb. 12 that on Feb.4 and
Feb.9 in the prison from Diyarbakir, 202 prisoners of war were injured by
soldiers. Amongst them are 69 heavily injured. The german journalist Stephan
Waldberg, who is detained in this prison, was also heavily wounded.
In the Dutch press there was no information about this "incident". There
apeared only a short message in the "NRC" (a so called quality paper here)
that because of recent escapes from prisoners, recent incidents in the
prison from Diyarbakir (without mentioning the number of wounded) Turkey
applied for a subdidy from the EC from 78.000.000 dollars for making
their prisons more secure.(!)

When there's a need we have a list of 139 names of prioners who are wounded.

Newsdesk Amsterdam <16:31/102 at ECN.FNT> <newsdesk at mit.hacktic.nl>

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arm The Spirit				Arm The Spirit
c/o Autonome Forum			c/o Wild Seed Press
PO Box 1242				PO Box 57584, Jackson Stn.
Burlington, Vermont			Hamilton, Ontario
05402-1242				L8P 4X3
USA					CANADA

e-mail: aforum at moose.uvm.edu		FAX: (416) 527-2419                    
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From pnmideast at igc.apc.org  Thu Mar 11 06:48:26 1993
From: pnmideast at igc.apc.org (PeaceNet Middle East Team)
Date: Wed, 10 Mar 1993 22:48:26 -0800 (PST)
Subject: *Facilitator Note* MIDEAST.NEWS CO
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc6c3.c1a@igc.apc.org>

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: *Facilitator Note* MIDEAST.NEWS CO

/* Written 10:45 pm  Mar 10, 1993 by pnmideast at igc.apc.org in igc:mideast.genera */
/* ---------- "*Facilitator Note* MIDEAST.NEWS CO" ---------- */
The new MIDEAST.NEWS conference is now up and working!  Which
means that all Middle East related IPS and other mainstream and
alternative news services posts are going to be posted there.

PLEASE START SENDING YOUR NEWS POSTS TO MIDEAST.NEWS
AND NOT TO THE OTHER MIDEAST CONFERENCES.

If you would like to *moderate* a discussion of a news post, then
you can crosspost it to the other conferences, otherwise please
respect all netters time needs by not crossposting to the other
conferences.

For preceeding discussion of this new conference, please see
mideast.forum under "Important--Renaming" and "Improving Regional
Resources."

Thanks.

Jennifer Smith Middle East facilitator, PeaceNet
pnmideast at igc.apc.org

From aforum at moose.uvm.edu  Sun Mar 28 13:18:19 1993
From: aforum at moose.uvm.edu (aforum at moose.uvm.edu)
Date: 28 Mar 1993 13:18:19
Subject: No Subject Line
Message-ID: <bac1c849.9303282117.AA17619@moose.uvm.edu>

From: aforum at moose.uvm.edu (Autonome Forum)


Kurdistan Information Package #1, February/March 1993

Arm The Spirit is an autonomist/anti-imperialist organization
that disseminates information on liberation struggles throughout
the world. We have previously posted information about the
Kurdish liberation struggle in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan in
various Internet newsgroups and ftp sites, but we are now
numbering and dating these packages as can be seen above.
Previous info packages are still available from the E-mail
address at the end of this file.

Index:

1) "May Too Much Blood Not Be Spilt" - Interview with ARGK
Commander Osman Ocalan
2) Patriotic Women's Association Of Kurdistan (UK)
3) PKK Statement
4) Police Raid On Kurdish Newspaper Yeni Ulke
5) Another Journalist Killed In Turkey
6) Turkish State Terror Continues Unabated
7) Turkish Population Control In Kurdistan
8) Kurdish POW's Wounded In Diyarbakir Prison

1. "May Too Much Blood Not Be Spilt"

An interview by the Turkish daily "Hurriyet" with Osman Ocalan,
member of the Central Committee of the PKK and commander of the
Zile camp, December 21-22/1992

     Hurriyet went to the PKK's new camp in northern Iraq and
spoke to Osman Ocalan. The PKK's Zile camp is situated near the
Iranian border. In the evenings the Iranians carry out
bombardments from the other side of the mountains.
     The PKK members say, "Iran wants to let us know it is here."
     Ocalan said their struggle continued but that "our 
preference is for the war to be concluded without the spilling of
too much blood." PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan's brother Osman
Ocalan frequently stressed the point that they were opposed to
the oppressive policies of the Turkish state, not the Turkish
people and that they wanted fraternity with the Turkish people.
He said that they would fight against the state for as long as it
persisted in its policy of annihilation. He said, "At the
beginning of our struggle, Turkish comrades like Haki Karer and
Kemal Pir played a central role."
     According to Ocalan, the Turkish state had, by constantly
vilifying Apo, made him even more important in the eyes of the
Kurdish people. In other words "Turkey created him..."

Hurriyet: In Mehmet Ali Birand's "32nd Day" (a monthly current
affairs programme on Show TV, a private TV channel - KR) you said
that during the Turkish military operations you hadn't suffered a
serious blow and that you had maintained your manpower and
firepower and were continuing a normal life in the camps. After
that you told Ozgur Gundem that your involvement in a frontal war
was a mistake. We want to ask frankly, did you suffer a blow
during the military operations or not? What is your balance sheet
in terms of camps, manpower and weapons lost during these
operations?

Osman Ocalan: For both sides to suffer losses is the
characteristic of war. Our losses were 150, as many again wounded
and some loss of equipment. It may be a point of discussion
whether or not this situation is a serious blow for us. We
consider even these losses to be too high. In our statement to
Ozgur Gundem, when we said, "A frontal type of war was not the
kind of warfare we should have chosen, our main method should
have been guerrilla warfare", it should not be implied that we
came off worst in the engagements. What we meant was that if we
had implemented a guerrilla form of warfare we could have
inflicted a heavy defeat on the Turkish army and the Kurdistan
Front alliance. Let me emphasize another point. To suffer losses
in a war does not mean to suffer a heavy blow. In the first place
the alliance was unable to achieve its aim. They wanted to
destroy our forces on the north-south frontier. In this they were
without doubt unsuccessful. Both the Turkish army and the
Kurdistan Front forces suffered a loss of morale and courage.

Recently both you and your older brother Abdullah Ocalan have
been giving interviews to the local and foreign press. Previously
you preferred to stay underground. Do these efforts to get onto
the agenda of public opinion stem from a wish to be legalised? If
this is the case how do you see this being realized?

     The question is not phrased correctly in that as far back as
1988 we have had contacts with the press. This has happened
according to the development of the struggle. In 1988 our
struggle achieved a mass dimension. In connection with this our
movement wished to influence public opinion. From 1988 to 1991 we
had a frequent, close dialogue with the press, both Turkish and
foreign. However, the provocative attitude of the Turkish press,
particulary its war-mongering approach, led to us freezing our
relations with it. So it was not a case of us distancing
ourselves from public opinion. This question should be directed
to the Turkish press. It is trying to prevent the development of
fraternity between the Kurdish and Turkish peoples. It incites
war unilaterally. Therefore the statements we have made, mainly
to the foreign press, have nothing to do with our wish to be
legalised.
     We have never chosen war, it was a necessity that imposed
itself on us. The Turkish state's refusal to recognise the
fundamental human, democratic, political and national rights for
the Kurdish people left us with no option than to choose and
develop the armed struggle. It should be understood that if the
opportunity had existed for political activity we wouldn't have
opted for war. We would have preferred political struggle.
However, Turkey's anti-democratic character, its oppressive
measures and denial of the issue of Kurdistan and its efforts to
destroy the national identity of the Kurdish people left us with
no alternative. Today too, we have to continue the armed struggle
as the Turkish state does not acknowledge any opportunity for the
Kurdish people to gain their fundamental human and national
rights through political struggle. Whenever the Turkish state
shows respect for a political solution and shows that it is ready
for that, then we will prefer the political struggle to the armed
struggle.

Recently a group of journalists that wanted to interview you were
not accepted into your camp. You turned them away. What was the
reason for that?

     Those 27 journalists were sent by the state. It was a
response of the General Staff to the 32nd Day programme. They
wanted to neutralize the effect of that programme. Thus it was
organised with the Kurdistan Front. It was an imposition, that is
why we rejected it. The press is inciting the people and the
army. This is not in the interests of either the Turkish or
Kurdish peoples. But with the 32nd Day programme if the press
cleans up its act then perhaps we'll be able to have better
contacts with the media.

Under what conditions would you accept a ceasefire?

     War costs human life and material damage and military
spending in Kurdistan is the most important factor in Turkey's
high inflation rate. The longer the war goes on the lower the
people's standard of living will get. The great loss of life
cause by the conflict and the other factors mean that we would
prefer an alternative. If the Turkish state would abandon its
policy of denial of the Kurdish people and its efforts to destroy
them, and instead accept the principle of the fraternal co-
existence of the Turkish and Kurdish people and look for a
political solution, then a ceasefire and subsequently a political
solution would be possible.

What is the position of relations between you and the peshmerga
forces. The Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq say you are
prisoners, whereas you say that you are not. What is the real
situation?

     The war on the borders between north and south set things
out clearly. The KDP and PUK are not forces that act of their own
free will. They act according to the initiative of the Turkish
state and various western powers, chiefly the U.S. This is why
the conflict began. The policies followed subsequently are also
on this basis.
     Turkey wants the Kurdistan Front to approach things in this
way whereas we have a different perspective. We are working
within a framework in which to prevent the Kurdish people being
pitted one against the other, we will not use south Kurdistan as
a base to launch attacks on Turkey. In other words we no longer
want to use the south as a base area for the armed struggle in
the north. This is the essence of the problem. So we have changed
the disposition of our forces on the border. We have moved one
part of those forces to what we call the border of south-east
Kurdistan, to Zile camp, here. We are in our own country. Amongst
our own people and in our own country there is no question of
being prisoners. Time will show this more clearly.

What is the PKK's political and military position at the moment?
Was it your aim to end up in the cramped camp in northern Iraq?

     The claim that we are stranded in a camp is put out by those
opposed to us. They often make claims that even they do not
believe. In the last 4 years they have claimed many times that
"the PKK is cornered", "the PKK is finished", etc. These claims
reflect their intentions not reality. In fact we are not stranded
here, we are amongst our people more than ever before and in a
position to make our contribution to our liberation struggle.

In most western countries you are being labelled as "terrorist".
Increasingly a thick line is being drawn between the Kurdish
people and the PKK. This being the case, you still expect results
from the armed struggle?

     When we began the armed struggle the West, like the Turkish
state, didn't accept the reality of the Kurds and Kurdistan let
alone offer any support. The socialist block which existed at
that time also showed no interest in the Kurdish people. We
developed our struggle, step by step. We are not concerned as to
whether the West is positive or negative about us. From the very
beginning we have been self-reliant. We believe that the strength
of our people will be able to realise its liberation and we are
waging our struggle on this basis.

What will happen in 1993, what will the PKK's position be?

     The Turkish state will be on the retreat, both militarily
and politically. In 1993 the state will lose all its authority in
the rural areas and suffer a weakening of its authority in the
towns.
     Finally I would like to say that war will never bring a
solution for the Turkish state. History will not repeat itself.
We would prefer to find a political solution without more
bloodshed. If the state insists on war then our people will
intensify the struggle under the leadership of our party.

(From Kurdistan Report #13 - February/March 1993)


2. Patriotic Women's Association Of Kurdistan (UK)

     The Kurds who number about 30 million are the largest ethnic
group in the world denied recognition as a nation and deprived of
a territorial state. Instead, as a result of western diplomacy
after the First World War, their territory was divided and
colonised by Turkey, Iran Iraq, and Syria. Defying this division
and oppression, the Kurds have fought consistently for their
national self-determination and unity. This historic aim is to
reclaim their heritage and preserve their identity by abolishing
their arbitrary frontiers, throwing off their foreign shackles
and establishing an independent Kurdistan. To achieve this
historic task the Kurdish people have embarked on a national
liberation struggle led by the PKK-ERNK and ARGK.
     Women play an important and indispensable role in every
aspect of this struggle for national and social liberation,
establishing their equality both in the political and military
fields by their skill and courage. Today, 40% of the PKK
guerrilla armed wing (ARGK) are young women.

YJWK

     Women are also in the forefront of popular demonstrations,
hungerstrikes and every other form of protest. The Patriotic
Women's Association of Kurdistan (YJWK) was formed in 1987 to
educate Kurdish women about their rights, raise their political
consciousness, eradicate illiteracy and ignorance about Kurdish
history and Turkish oppression and equip women for the tasks of a
people's war as well as the political and social responsibilities
imposed by a liberated society with will inevitably follow.
     The YJWK strives for nothing less than the full and
voluntary participation of Kurdish women in the struggle for a
free Kurdistan, for the maximum utilisation of all the talent,
courage, perception and organisational prowess of Kurdish women
in the cause of national and social liberation. Above all this
means an undeviating struggle to combat the pernicious influence
of the reactionary semi-feudal tribal society with its heavy
emphasis on the patriarchal family and the social inferiority and
oppression of women.
     The YJWK has branches in most European countries as well as
in Kurdistan. The UK branch was set up in 1991 and is supported
by the majority of Kurdish women in Britain.

Aims and Objectives

- Organise Kurdish women in the UK in support of the national
liberation struggle and encourage their active involvement in
this struggle;

- Fight every form of oppressive discrimination and division and
semi-feudal tribal customs of traditional Kurdish society;

- Eliminate all discrimination against Kurdish women and secure
social, political and economic equality;

- Encourage interest among women's groups in the UK in the
history and culture of Kurdistan and the role of women in Kurdish
society.

Activities

- Organise maximum support for women prisoners of war, political
prisoners in prisons in all parts of Kurdistan and Turkey, for
Kurdish women on hunger strikes and any other campaigns
organised;

- Promote understanding and organise support and solidarity among
women in Britain for the national liberation struggle of
Kurdistan and the struggle of Kurdish women for women's rights;

- Forge close links with women's groups in the UK including women
from other national liberation movements, trade unions, human
rights and other progressive organisations;

- Hold regular meetings and seminars and organise and participate
in cultural functions in the UK:

- Organise special functions jointly with women's groups in the
UK;

- Publish booklets, statements etc. publicising the Kurdish
struggle, Kurdish history and culture from all parts of Kurdistan
and the struggle of women in Kurdish society;

- Encourage active support and solidarity among Kurdish women for
the struggle of women, workers and trade unionists in the UK by
participating in meetings, conferences, demonstrations, pickets,
etc;

- Expose and fight all violations of democratic and human rights
and all forms of racism and discrimination against the Kurdish
people, in particular of Kurdish women, in Britain;

- Organise regular events on March 8 - International Women's Day.


For Information Contact:

Patriotic Women's Association of Kurdistan
11 Portland Gardens
London N41 1HU
Tel O81-880 1759

Kurdistan Solidarity Committee
44 Ainger Road
London NW3 3AT
Tel: 071-58 5892

3. Press Statement To World Public Opinion

Statement given to KURD-HA newsagency, Germany, by the Workers'
Party of Kurdistan (PKK) - Middle East representative

The PKK Has Decided To Undertake General Action Against The
Tourist Economy In Turkey.

     The Kurdish people are fighting for their freedom under the
leadership of the PKK. Before the eyes of the whole world the
Turkish regime is waging a dirty war against the Kurdish people.
In this barbaric war the regime has not shrunk from any inhuman,
illegal act. Throughout its history the Turkish state has brought
nothing to its own people and neighbouring peoples but murder,
torture, oppression and pain. Any demand the Kurdish people make
for respect for human rights, or for the most everyday rights and
freedoms is bloodily crushed. Thousands of civilians are locked
up in jail, denied any right to human dignity. Whole cities are
burned down and villages bombed with no consideration for the
lives of women and children. Every day innocent people are killed
by the contra guerrilla, or Hizbi-contra (government-backed
counter insurgency force).
     At this moment when the Kurdish people have never been
closer to achieving their freedom, the Turkish state could so
easily bring them to total destruction. A dictatorship which has
initiated such inhumane measures thinks nothing of taking
advantage of the world-wide silence on the suffering of the Kurds
to impose its policy in the most barbaric way.
     Faced with this, the Kurdish people, who demand to decide
freely on their own future, are confronted with a question of
their own vital interest - to stay alive or to be wiped out.
     The Kurdish people under the leadership of the PKK will take
whatever steps are necessary to resist destruction and to defend
their existence.
     Kurdistan and the whole of Turkey are caught up in this all-
out war. In 1993 the war will intensify to an unimaginable
extent. This is inevitable for several reasons.
     War is the only means by which we can liberate ourselves
from this bloody dictatorship which intends our total
destruction. Several European countries have made proposals aimed
at bringing about a ceasefire and a political solution. The PKK
welcomes these proposals. In spite of this the Turkish state has
rejected all proposals and maintains that military repression is
the only solution.
     For all the reasons set out, the PKK will consider any means
of legitimate self-defence of our people, whom the Turkish state
wants to destroy. The PKK has decided that this year all means
will be used to hit those economic targets that enrich the
Turkish state.
     We know that the tourist economy in particular provides the
finance for a great proportion of the war against the people of
Kurdistan, and so the tourist infrastructure is high on the list
of economic targets.
     We have plans for actions against all parts of the tourist
economy in the regions of the Aegean, the Mediterranean and the
sea of Marmara, and in Kurdistan. This includes tourist areas,
hotels, beaches and other facilities.
     We must make it quite clear that the lives of persons from
all over the world, and especially the greater numbers who come
from Europe to visit Turkey as tourists, will be in danger.
     The Turkish government, and some travel agents, will promote
an active propaganda campaign to hide the facts and deny that
there is any danger. We can be sure that Turkish travel agencies
will put their own economic interests before everything else.
     However, we want to warn people from Europe and the rest of
the world who intend to visit Turkey that a brutal war is going
on which directly endangers them.
     After these warnings, the PKK accepts no responsibility for
the damage caused by actions against tourist targets, bombing
raids, arson and so on. Nor will it accept responsibility for
loss of life as a result of these activities."

February 22, 1993

Workers' Party Of Kurdistan (PKK) - Middle East representative

4. Kurdistan Information Centre Press Statement

     The head offices of the Kurdish paper Yeni Ulke (New Land)
in Istanbul were raided today by 15-20 Turkish special police
armed with machine guns. The police searched the premises and
abused the workers, calling them terrorists. The new editor,
Cedil Sener, has been detained. No reason has been given for his
arrest.
     Yesterday 4 journalists were arrested as they were leaving
the Yeni Ulke office at about 7 pm. They were Imran Kolayci,
Muslum Yucel, Seval Sabanoglu, and the editor of Kurdish
newspaper Welat, Masar Gunbat. They were released earlier today.
     In a telephone conversation with Yeni Ulke, they said that
this was a continuation of the "internal operations" which the
Turkish state has been waging against the Kurdish people in
Kurdistan and democratic institutions in Turkey. It is also a
continuation of the campaign against newspaper coverage which
speaks out about the policies of the Turkish state. 12
journalists died in 1992, killed by "persons unknown".
     Yeni Ulke's foreign editor Kadir Ogman is missing and has
not been heard of for the last two days. Staff at the paper are
greatly concerned for his safety.
     There was a total city shutdown in Diyarbakir today in
protest against continued army and state repression in the area.
Shops and schools were shut and no-one appeared on the streets.
The call for the day of action was made by the ARGK (People's
Liberation Army of Kurdistan).
     Students held illegal demonstrations in support of the day
of action in the afternoon.

February 10/1993

Kurdistan Information Centre

5) Kurdistan Information Centre Press Statement

Another Journalist Killed In Turkey

     Kemal Kilic, the Urfa correspondent of the Ozgur Gundem
(Free Agenda) daily newspaper, which recently temporarily
suspended publication after a systematic campaign by the security
forces to hinder distribution, was shot dead yesterday evening
(February 18/93) while on his way home to his village.
     Kemal Kilic left the Ozgur Gundem office in Urfa city centre
at 5:30 pm and boarded a bus going to Akcakale. He alighted at
the junction leading to his village of Kulunce. After he had been
walking for a while a white Renault car containing 4 persons
reportedly tried to abkuct Kilic. After a struggle he tried to
run off in the direction of his village but he was killed by two
shots to the head. The attackers got back in the vehicle and
drove off. The duty public prosecutor said the murder was by
unknown persons.
     On January 18, 1993, Kemal Kilic had been arrested for
making a statement accusing the Urfa governate and police
headquarters of ignoring the obstruction of distribution of Ozgur
Gundem. Since then he had again been detained by police for 15
hours.
     Kemal Kilic was born in Kulunce village, Urfa, in 1964. He
began his career as a journalist with Yeni Ulke in 1990. He was
also a member of the management committee of Urfa Human Rights
Organisation.

19 February 1993 (News from KURD-HA News Agency)

6. Kurdistan Information Centre Press Statement

Turkish State Terror Continues Unabated

     On February 9/1993, a shopkeeper, Kenan Ozgen, was killed by
contraguerrillas at about 8:30 am, walking from his home to his
shop in Diyarbakir. A single Takarof cartridge was found near the
body. The killers got away without any police interference. Kenan
Ozgen was 29 years old, married, and a well respected Kurdish
patriot and member of the community.
     Also on February 9, a bus was stopped by two people posing
as passengers on the road between Cizre and Nusaybin. After
getting into the coach, they pulled out pistols and machine guns
and took all the valuables of the passengers, who were forced
into the road. Another two armed men were at the side of the
road. They shot and killed the coach driver, Ismail, and set the
coach on fire. They escaped in a white Renault Toros car.
     Eyewitnesses claim that the gangsters were well-known
members of the special counter-insurgency unit.
     On February 5/1993 two young men, Mehmet Aksoy (19) and M.
Faith Aydin were killed by Turkish troops in the town of
Kiziltepe in Mardin province. The Turkish authorities claimed
they were PKK/ARGK guerrillas to legitimise the deaths.
     On January 30/1993, 4,000 Turkish troops surrounded Girmeli
village near Nusaybin, in Mardin province, for 48 Hours. 4 houses
were burnt. 3 anti-tank mines were placed under the house of Cuci
Kaplan and the house blown up. Mr Cuci Kaplan made the following
statement:

"About 4,000 soldiers came to the village. They started searching
the houses in the village. The military told me that I had an
underground shelter under my house, and they were going to search
the house. During that time they laid 3 anti-tank mines. They
forced us to leave the house, but they kept my son M. Emin Kaplan
indoors. We argued with them, until finally they let him come out
as well. We wanted to remove some of our belongings. We were
refused access to the house. The house was blown up, and four
houses in the street were destroyed. The military also took 9.5
million Turkish lira. There are 24 of us in the family, including
the grandchildren, and we are now living on the other villagers.
My son Mehmet Kaplan is in a coma after being beaten by the
military. He has been unable to eat since the beating. My other
son Naif has a broken arm after a beating and my son Mehmet Serif
was detained. We haven't heard anything since. This state claims
to be democratic and to respect human rights, and that everyone
living in it is equal. I want to say that these claims are not
true in the least. I would call on the international community
and public not to keep silent over these atrocities."

February 10/1993

Kurdistan Information Centre

7. Kurdistan Information Centre Press Statement

Turkish Population Control In Kurdistan

     According to a report headed "Birth Control" on the front
page of the Turkish daily "Hurriyet" 23/2/93, a meeting of the
Co-ordination Council of the State of Emergency Region (ie. north
Kurdistan) last week decided to "speed up population planning".
     The view was expressed that "the population balance of the
country had been upset".
     Villages that are not "easily controllable and may become
targets or bases for the PKK will be centralised" (ie. small
villages, seen as inaccessible to the State, will be emptied and
the population distributed amongst larger settlements, a policy
similar to that employed by Saddam Hussein in south Kurdistan in
the late eighties). Children of primary school age will be sent
to new boarding schools "so that they are not deprived of
eduction." A policy of removing Kurdish children from their
families and sending them to Turkish speaking schools as part of
the process of assimilation began in the forties and fifties.
This method of assimilation was also widely used on Christian
children under the Ottoman Empire.
     It was stated that while "population control" activities had
been successful in other regions of Turkey, in the south-east the
rise in population was continuing. This rise "had a negative
influence and made it impossible to improve services in health,
education and sport and culture and led to a serious rise in
unemployment in the region."
     Further details of plans to reduce the population have yet
to be revealed, but it is clear that Turkey is continuing its
policy of forced assimilation of the Kurdish people and is not
afraid to use the emotive term "population control".
     The National Security Council took up the matter at their
meeting earlier in the week.
     Other measures discussed at the meeting included the
building of a new large secure prison in Diyarbakir "since all
existing prisons in the region under emergency law are full", and
to build a second State Security Court to cope with the volume of
political cases.
     A road along the Turkey-Iran border will also be built to
provide security for military border posts.

February 24/1993

Kurdistan Information Centre

8. 202 Prisoners Of War And A German Journalist Wounded By
Soldiers In The Diyarbakir Prison In Turkish-Occupied Kurdistan

     The Kurdish Press-agency Kurd-ha reported on Feb. 12 that on
Feb. 4 and Feb. 9 in the prison from Diyarbakir, 202 Kurdish
prisoners of war were injured by soldiers. Amongst them are 69
heavily injured. The german journalist Stephan Waldberg, who is
detained in this prison, was also heavily wounded. In the Dutch
press there was no information about this "incident". There
apeared only a short message in the "NRC" (a so-called quality
paper here) that because of recent escapes from prisoners, recent
incidents in the prison from Diyarbakir (without mentioning the
number of wounded) Turkey applied for a subdidy from the EC from
78 million dollars for making their prisons more secure.(!) If
there's a need we have a list of 139 names of prioners who are
wounded.

Newsdesk Amsterdam

From igcnewsdesk at igc.apc.org  Mon Mar 29 20:12:50 1993
From: igcnewsdesk at igc.apc.org (igcnewsdesk at igc.apc.org)
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1993 11:12:50 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Kurdistan Info Package #1
Message-ID: <APC.1.0.54efc6c4.332@igc.apc.org>

From: <igcnewsdesk>
Subject: Kurdistan Info Package #1

Kurdistan Information Package #1, February/March 1993

Arm The Spirit is an autonomist/anti-imperialist organization
that disseminates information on liberation struggles throughout
the world. We have previously posted information about the
Kurdish liberation struggle in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan in
various Internet newsgroups and ftp sites, but we are now
numbering and dating these packages as can be seen above.
Previous info packages are still available from the E-mail
address at the end of this file.

Index:

1) "May Too Much Blood Not Be Spilt" - Interview with ARGK
Commander Osman Ocalan
2) Patriotic Women's Association Of Kurdistan (UK)
3) PKK Statement
4) Police Raid On Kurdish Newspaper Yeni Ulke
5) Another Journalist Killed In Turkey
6) Turkish State Terror Continues Unabated
7) Turkish Population Control In Kurdistan
8) Kurdish POW's Wounded In Diyarbakir Prison

1. "May Too Much Blood Not Be Spilt"

An interview by the Turkish daily "Hurriyet" with Osman Ocalan,
member of the Central Committee of the PKK and commander of the
Zile camp, December 21-22/1992

     Hurriyet went to the PKK's new camp in northern Iraq and
spoke to Osman Ocalan. The PKK's Zile camp is situated near the
Iranian border. In the evenings the Iranians carry out
bombardments from the other side of the mountains.
     The PKK members say, "Iran wants to let us know it is here."
     Ocalan said their struggle continued but that "our 
preference is for the war to be concluded without the spilling of
too much blood." PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan's brother Osman
Ocalan frequently stressed the point that they were opposed to
the oppressive policies of the Turkish state, not the Turkish
people and that they wanted fraternity with the Turkish people.
He said that they would fight against the state for as long as it
persisted in its policy of annihilation. He said, "At the
beginning of our struggle, Turkish comrades like Haki Karer and
Kemal Pir played a central role."
     According to Ocalan, the Turkish state had, by constantly
vilifying Apo, made him even more important in the eyes of the
Kurdish people. In other words "Turkey created him..."

Hurriyet: In Mehmet Ali Birand's "32nd Day" (a monthly current
affairs programme on Show TV, a private TV channel - KR) you said
that during the Turkish military operations you hadn't suffered a
serious blow and that you had maintained your manpower and
firepower and were continuing a normal life in the camps. After
that you told Ozgur Gundem that your involvement in a frontal war
was a mistake. We want to ask frankly, did you suffer a blow
during the military operations or not? What is your balance sheet
in terms of camps, manpower and weapons lost during these
operations?

Osman Ocalan: For both sides to suffer losses is the
characteristic of war. Our losses were 150, as many again wounded
and some loss of equipment. It may be a point of discussion
whether or not this situation is a serious blow for us. We
consider even these losses to be too high. In our statement to
Ozgur Gundem, when we said, "A frontal type of war was not the
kind of warfare we should have chosen, our main method should
have been guerrilla warfare", it should not be implied that we
came off worst in the engagements. What we meant was that if we
had implemented a guerrilla form of warfare we could have
inflicted a heavy defeat on the Turkish army and the Kurdistan
Front alliance. Let me emphasize another point. To suffer losses
in a war does not mean to suffer a heavy blow. In the first place
the alliance was unable to achieve its aim. They wanted to
destroy our forces on the north-south frontier. In this they were
without doubt unsuccessful. Both the Turkish army and the
Kurdistan Front forces suffered a loss of morale and courage.

Recently both you and your older brother Abdullah Ocalan have
been giving interviews to the local and foreign press. Previously
you preferred to stay underground. Do these efforts to get onto
the agenda of public opinion stem from a wish to be legalised? If
this is the case how do you see this being realized?

     The question is not phrased correctly in that as far back as
1988 we have had contacts with the press. This has happened
according to the development of the struggle. In 1988 our
struggle achieved a mass dimension. In connection with this our
movement wished to influence public opinion. From 1988 to 1991 we
had a frequent, close dialogue with the press, both Turkish and
foreign. However, the provocative attitude of the Turkish press,
particulary its war-mongering approach, led to us freezing our
relations with it. So it was not a case of us distancing
ourselves from public opinion. This question should be directed
to the Turkish press. It is trying to prevent the development of
fraternity between the Kurdish and Turkish peoples. It incites
war unilaterally. Therefore the statements we have made, mainly
to the foreign press, have nothing to do with our wish to be
legalised.
     We have never chosen war, it was a necessity that imposed
itself on us. The Turkish state's refusal to recognise the
fundamental human, democratic, political and national rights for
the Kurdish people left us with no option than to choose and
develop the armed struggle. It should be understood that if the
opportunity had existed for political activity we wouldn't have
opted for war. We would have preferred political struggle.
However, Turkey's anti-democratic character, its oppressive
measures and denial of the issue of Kurdistan and its efforts to
destroy the national identity of the Kurdish people left us with
no alternative. Today too, we have to continue the armed struggle
as the Turkish state does not acknowledge any opportunity for the
Kurdish people to gain their fundamental human and national
rights through political struggle. Whenever the Turkish state
shows respect for a political solution and shows that it is ready
for that, then we will prefer the political struggle to the armed
struggle.

Recently a group of journalists that wanted to interview you were
not accepted into your camp. You turned them away. What was the
reason for that?

     Those 27 journalists were sent by the state. It was a
response of the General Staff to the 32nd Day programme. They
wanted to neutralize the effect of that programme. Thus it was
organised with the Kurdistan Front. It was an imposition, that is
why we rejected it. The press is inciting the people and the
army. This is not in the interests of either the Turkish or
Kurdish peoples. But with the 32nd Day programme if the press
cleans up its act then perhaps we'll be able to have better
contacts with the media.

Under what conditions would you accept a ceasefire?

     War costs human life and material damage and military
spending in Kurdistan is the most important factor in Turkey's
high inflation rate. The longer the war goes on the lower the
people's standard of living will get. The great loss of life
cause by the conflict and the other factors mean that we would
prefer an alternative. If the Turkish state would abandon its
policy of denial of the Kurdish people and its efforts to destroy
them, and instead accept the principle of the fraternal co-
existence of the Turkish and Kurdish people and look for a
political solution, then a ceasefire and subsequently a political
solution would be possible.

What is the position of relations between you and the peshmerga
forces. The Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq say you are
prisoners, whereas you say that you are not. What is the real
situation?

     The war on the borders between north and south set things
out clearly. The KDP and PUK are not forces that act of their own
free will. They act according to the initiative of the Turkish
state and various western powers, chiefly the U.S. This is why
the conflict began. The policies followed subsequently are also
on this basis.
     Turkey wants the Kurdistan Front to approach things in this
way whereas we have a different perspective. We are working
within a framework in which to prevent the Kurdish people being
pitted one against the other, we will not use south Kurdistan as
a base to launch attacks on Turkey. In other words we no longer
want to use the south as a base area for the armed struggle in
the north. This is the essence of the problem. So we have changed
the disposition of our forces on the border. We have moved one
part of those forces to what we call the border of south-east
Kurdistan, to Zile camp, here. We are in our own country. Amongst
our own people and in our own country there is no question of
being prisoners. Time will show this more clearly.

What is the PKK's political and military position at the moment?
Was it your aim to end up in the cramped camp in northern Iraq?

     The claim that we are stranded in a camp is put out by those
opposed to us. They often make claims that even they do not
believe. In the last 4 years they have claimed many times that
"the PKK is cornered", "the PKK is finished", etc. These claims
reflect their intentions not reality. In fact we are not stranded
here, we are amongst our people more than ever before and in a
position to make our contribution to our liberation struggle.

In most western countries you are being labelled as "terrorist".
Increasingly a thick line is being drawn between the Kurdish
people and the PKK. This being the case, you still expect results
from the armed struggle?

     When we began the armed struggle the West, like the Turkish
state, didn't accept the reality of the Kurds and Kurdistan let
alone offer any support. The socialist block which existed at
that time also showed no interest in the Kurdish people. We
developed our struggle, step by step. We are not concerned as to
whether the West is positive or negative about us. From the very
beginning we have been self-reliant. We believe that the strength
of our people will be able to realise its liberation and we are
waging our struggle on this basis.

What will happen in 1993, what will the PKK's position be?

     The Turkish state will be on the retreat, both militarily
and politically. In 1993 the state will lose all its authority in
the rural areas and suffer a weakening of its authority in the
towns.
     Finally I would like to say that war will never bring a
solution for the Turkish state. History will not repeat itself.
We would prefer to find a political solution without more
bloodshed. If the state insists on war then our people will
intensify the struggle under the leadership of our party.

(From Kurdistan Report #13 - February/March 1993)


2. Patriotic Women's Association Of Kurdistan (UK)

     The Kurds who number about 30 million are the largest ethnic
group in the world denied recognition as a nation and deprived of
a territorial state. Instead, as a result of western diplomacy
after the First World War, their territory was divided and
colonised by Turkey, Iran Iraq, and Syria. Defying this division
and oppression, the Kurds have fought consistently for their
national self-determination and unity. This historic aim is to
reclaim their heritage and preserve their identity by abolishing
their arbitrary frontiers, throwing off their foreign shackles
and establishing an independent Kurdistan. To achieve this
historic task the Kurdish people have embarked on a national
liberation struggle led by the PKK-ERNK and ARGK.
     Women play an important and indispensable role in every
aspect of this struggle for national and social liberation,
establishing their equality both in the political and military
fields by their skill and courage. Today, 40% of the PKK
guerrilla armed wing (ARGK) are young women.

YJWK

     Women are also in the forefront of popular demonstrations,
hungerstrikes and every other form of protest. The Patriotic
Women's Association of Kurdistan (YJWK) was formed in 1987 to
educate Kurdish women about their rights, raise their political
consciousness, eradicate illiteracy and ignorance about Kurdish
history and Turkish oppression and equip women for the tasks of a
people's war as well as the political and social responsibilities
imposed by a liberated society with will inevitably follow.
     The YJWK strives for nothing less than the full and
voluntary participation of Kurdish women in the struggle for a
free Kurdistan, for the maximum utilisation of all the talent,
courage, perception and organisational prowess of Kurdish women
in the cause of national and social liberation. Above all this
means an undeviating struggle to combat the pernicious influence
of the reactionary semi-feudal tribal society with its heavy
emphasis on the patriarchal family and the social inferiority and
oppression of women.
     The YJWK has branches in most European countries as well as
in Kurdistan. The UK branch was set up in 1991 and is supported
by the majority of Kurdish women in Britain.

Aims and Objectives

- Organise Kurdish women in the UK in support of the national
liberation struggle and encourage their active involvement in
this struggle;

- Fight every form of oppressive discrimination and division and
semi-feudal tribal customs of traditional Kurdish society;

- Eliminate all discrimination against Kurdish women and secure
social, political and economic equality;

- Encourage interest among women's groups in the UK in the
history and culture of Kurdistan and the role of women in Kurdish
society.

Activities

- Organise maximum support for women prisoners of war, political
prisoners in prisons in all parts of Kurdistan and Turkey, for
Kurdish women on hunger strikes and any other campaigns
organised;

- Promote understanding and organise support and solidarity among
women in Britain for the national liberation struggle of
Kurdistan and the struggle of Kurdish women for women's rights;

- Forge close links with women's groups in the UK including women
from other national liberation movements, trade unions, human
rights and other progressive organisations;

- Hold regular meetings and seminars and organise and participate
in cultural functions in the UK:

- Organise special functions jointly with women's groups in the
UK;

- Publish booklets, statements etc. publicising the Kurdish
struggle, Kurdish history and culture from all parts of Kurdistan
and the struggle of women in Kurdish society;

- Encourage active support and solidarity among Kurdish women for
the struggle of women, workers and trade unionists in the UK by
participating in meetings, conferences, demonstrations, pickets,
etc;

- Expose and fight all violations of democratic and human rights
and all forms of racism and discrimination against the Kurdish
people, in particular of Kurdish women, in Britain;

- Organise regular events on March 8 - International Women's Day.


For Information Contact:

Patriotic Women's Association of Kurdistan
11 Portland Gardens
London N41 1HU
Tel O81-880 1759

Kurdistan Solidarity Committee
44 Ainger Road
London NW3 3AT
Tel: 071-58 5892

3. Press Statement To World Public Opinion

Statement given to KURD-HA newsagency, Germany, by the Workers'
Party of Kurdistan (PKK) - Middle East representative

The PKK Has Decided To Undertake General Action Against The
Tourist Economy In Turkey.

     The Kurdish people are fighting for their freedom under the
leadership of the PKK. Before the eyes of the whole world the
Turkish regime is waging a dirty war against the Kurdish people.
In this barbaric war the regime has not shrunk from any inhuman,
illegal act. Throughout its history the Turkish state has brought
nothing to its own people and neighbouring peoples but murder,
torture, oppression and pain. Any demand the Kurdish people make
for respect for human rights, or for the most everyday rights and
freedoms is bloodily crushed. Thousands of civilians are locked
up in jail, denied any right to human dignity. Whole cities are
burned down and villages bombed with no consideration for the
lives of women and children. Every day innocent people are killed
by the contra guerrilla, or Hizbi-contra (government-backed
counter insurgency force).
     At this moment when the Kurdish people have never been
closer to achieving their freedom, the Turkish state could so
easily bring them to total destruction. A dictatorship which has
initiated such inhumane measures thinks nothing of taking
advantage of the world-wide silence on the suffering of the Kurds
to impose its policy in the most barbaric way.
     Faced with this, the Kurdish people, who demand to decide
freely on their own future, are confronted with a question of
their own vital interest - to stay alive or to be wiped out.
     The Kurdish people under the leadership of the PKK will take
whatever steps are necessary to resist destruction and to defend
their existence.
     Kurdistan and the whole of Turkey are caught up in this all-
out war. In 1993 the war will intensify to an unimaginable
extent. This is inevitable for several reasons.
     War is the only means by which we can liberate ourselves
from this bloody dictatorship which intends our total
destruction. Several European countries have made proposals aimed
at bringing about a ceasefire and a political solution. The PKK
welcomes these proposals. In spite of this the Turkish state has
rejected all proposals and maintains that military repression is
the only solution.
     For all the reasons set out, the PKK will consider any means
of legitimate self-defence of our people, whom the Turkish state
wants to destroy. The PKK has decided that this year all means
will be used to hit those economic targets that enrich the
Turkish state.
     We know that the tourist economy in particular provides the
finance for a great proportion of the war against the people of
Kurdistan, and so the tourist infrastructure is high on the list
of economic targets.
     We have plans for actions against all parts of the tourist
economy in the regions of the Aegean, the Mediterranean and the
sea of Marmara, and in Kurdistan. This includes tourist areas,
hotels, beaches and other facilities.
     We must make it quite clear that the lives of persons from
all over the world, and especially the greater numbers who come
from Europe to visit Turkey as tourists, will be in danger.
     The Turkish government, and some travel agents, will promote
an active propaganda campaign to hide the facts and deny that
there is any danger. We can be sure that Turkish travel agencies
will put their own economic interests before everything else.
     However, we want to warn people from Europe and the rest of
the world who intend to visit Turkey that a brutal war is going
on which directly endangers them.
     After these warnings, the PKK accepts no responsibility for
the damage caused by actions against tourist targets, bombing
raids, arson and so on. Nor will it accept responsibility for
loss of life as a result of these activities."

February 22, 1993

Workers' Party Of Kurdistan (PKK) - Middle East representative

4. Kurdistan Information Centre Press Statement

     The head offices of the Kurdish paper Yeni Ulke (New Land)
in Istanbul were raided today by 15-20 Turkish special police
armed with machine guns. The police searched the premises and
abused the workers, calling them terrorists. The new editor,
Cedil Sener, has been detained. No reason has been given for his
arrest.
     Yesterday 4 journalists were arrested as they were leaving
the Yeni Ulke office at about 7 pm. They were Imran Kolayci,
Muslum Yucel, Seval Sabanoglu, and the editor of Kurdish
newspaper Welat, Masar Gunbat. They were released earlier today.
     In a telephone conversation with Yeni Ulke, they said that
this was a continuation of the "internal operations" which the
Turkish state has been waging against the Kurdish people in
Kurdistan and democratic institutions in Turkey. It is also a
continuation of the campaign against newspaper coverage which
speaks out about the policies of the Turkish state. 12
journalists died in 1992, killed by "persons unknown".
     Yeni Ulke's foreign editor Kadir Ogman is missing and has
not been heard of for the last two days. Staff at the paper are
greatly concerned for his safety.
     There was a total city shutdown in Diyarbakir today in
protest against continued army and state repression in the area.
Shops and schools were shut and no-one appeared on the streets.
The call for the day of action was made by the ARGK (People's
Liberation Army of Kurdistan).
     Students held illegal demonstrations in support of the day
of action in the afternoon.

February 10/1993

Kurdistan Information Centre

5) Kurdistan Information Centre Press Statement

Another Journalist Killed In Turkey

     Kemal Kilic, the Urfa correspondent of the Ozgur Gundem
(Free Agenda) daily newspaper, which recently temporarily
suspended publication after a systematic campaign by the security
forces to hinder distribution, was shot dead yesterday evening
(February 18/93) while on his way home to his village.
     Kemal Kilic left the Ozgur Gundem office in Urfa city centre
at 5:30 pm and boarded a bus going to Akcakale. He alighted at
the junction leading to his village of Kulunce. After he had been
walking for a while a white Renault car containing 4 persons
reportedly tried to abkuct Kilic. After a struggle he tried to
run off in the direction of his village but he was killed by two
shots to the head. The attackers got back in the vehicle and
drove off. The duty public prosecutor said the murder was by
unknown persons.
     On January 18, 1993, Kemal Kilic had been arrested for
making a statement accusing the Urfa governate and police
headquarters of ignoring the obstruction of distribution of Ozgur
Gundem. Since then he had again been detained by police for 15
hours.
     Kemal Kilic was born in Kulunce village, Urfa, in 1964. He
began his career as a journalist with Yeni Ulke in 1990. He was
also a member of the management committee of Urfa Human Rights
Organisation.

19 February 1993 (News from KURD-HA News Agency)

6. Kurdistan Information Centre Press Statement

Turkish State Terror Continues Unabated

     On February 9/1993, a shopkeeper, Kenan Ozgen, was killed by
contraguerrillas at about 8:30 am, walking from his home to his
shop in Diyarbakir. A single Takarof cartridge was found near the
body. The killers got away without any police interference. Kenan
Ozgen was 29 years old, married, and a well respected Kurdish
patriot and member of the community.
     Also on February 9, a bus was stopped by two people posing
as passengers on the road between Cizre and Nusaybin. After
getting into the coach, they pulled out pistols and machine guns
and took all the valuables of the passengers, who were forced
into the road. Another two armed men were at the side of the
road. They shot and killed the coach driver, Ismail, and set the
coach on fire. They escaped in a white Renault Toros car.
     Eyewitnesses claim that the gangsters were well-known
members of the special counter-insurgency unit.
     On February 5/1993 two young men, Mehmet Aksoy (19) and M.
Faith Aydin were killed by Turkish troops in the town of
Kiziltepe in Mardin province. The Turkish authorities claimed
they were PKK/ARGK guerrillas to legitimise the deaths.
     On January 30/1993, 4,000 Turkish troops surrounded Girmeli
village near Nusaybin, in Mardin province, for 48 Hours. 4 houses
were burnt. 3 anti-tank mines were placed under the house of Cuci
Kaplan and the house blown up. Mr Cuci Kaplan made the following
statement:

"About 4,000 soldiers came to the village. They started searching
the houses in the village. The military told me that I had an
underground shelter under my house, and they were going to search
the house. During that time they laid 3 anti-tank mines. They
forced us to leave the house, but they kept my son M. Emin Kaplan
indoors. We argued with them, until finally they let him come out
as well. We wanted to remove some of our belongings. We were
refused access to the house. The house was blown up, and four
houses in the street were destroyed. The military also took 9.5
million Turkish lira. There are 24 of us in the family, including
the grandchildren, and we are now living on the other villagers.
My son Mehmet Kaplan is in a coma after being beaten by the
military. He has been unable to eat since the beating. My other
son Naif has a broken arm after a beating and my son Mehmet Serif
was detained. We haven't heard anything since. This state claims
to be democratic and to respect human rights, and that everyone
living in it is equal. I want to say that these claims are not
true in the least. I would call on the international community
and public not to keep silent over these atrocities."

February 10/1993

Kurdistan Information Centre

7. Kurdistan Information Centre Press Statement

Turkish Population Control In Kurdistan

     According to a report headed "Birth Control" on the front
page of the Turkish daily "Hurriyet" 23/2/93, a meeting of the
Co-ordination Council of the State of Emergency Region (ie. north
Kurdistan) last week decided to "speed up population planning".
     The view was expressed that "the population balance of the
country had been upset".
     Villages that are not "easily controllable and may become
targets or bases for the PKK will be centralised" (ie. small
villages, seen as inaccessible to the State, will be emptied and
the population distributed amongst larger settlements, a policy
similar to that employed by Saddam Hussein in south Kurdistan in
the late eighties). Children of primary school age will be sent
to new boarding schools "so that they are not deprived of
eduction." A policy of removing Kurdish children from their
families and sending them to Turkish speaking schools as part of
the process of assimilation began in the forties and fifties.
This method of assimilation was also widely used on Christian
children under the Ottoman Empire.
     It was stated that while "population control" activities had
been successful in other regions of Turkey, in the south-east the
rise in population was continuing. This rise "had a negative
influence and made it impossible to improve services in health,
education and sport and culture and led to a serious rise in
unemployment in the region."
     Further details of plans to reduce the population have yet
to be revealed, but it is clear that Turkey is continuing its
policy of forced assimilation of the Kurdish people and is not
afraid to use the emotive term "population control".
     The National Security Council took up the matter at their
meeting earlier in the week.
     Other measures discussed at the meeting included the
building of a new large secure prison in Diyarbakir "since all
existing prisons in the region under emergency law are full", and
to build a second State Security Court to cope with the volume of
political cases.
     A road along the Turkey-Iran border will also be built to
provide security for military border posts.

February 24/1993

Kurdistan Information Centre

8. 202 Prisoners Of War And A German Journalist Wounded By
Soldiers In The Diyarbakir Prison In Turkish-Occupied Kurdistan

     The Kurdish Press-agency Kurd-ha reported on Feb. 12 that on
Feb. 4 and Feb. 9 in the prison from Diyarbakir, 202 Kurdish
prisoners of war were injured by soldiers. Amongst them are 69
heavily injured. The german journalist Stephan Waldberg, who is
detained in this prison, was also heavily wounded. In the Dutch
press there was no information about this "incident". There
apeared only a short message in the "NRC" (a so-called quality
paper here) that because of recent escapes from prisoners, recent
incidents in the prison from Diyarbakir (without mentioning the
number of wounded) Turkey applied for a subdidy from the EC from
78 million dollars for making their prisons more secure.(!) If
there's a need we have a list of 139 names of prioners who are
wounded.

Newsdesk Amsterdam