ERNK Press Releases

[kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu]

Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu
From: Kurdistan Committee of Canada <kcc at magi.com>
Subject: ERNK Press Releases

Turkey Celebrated Its Defeat In Silopi!
The Talk About Withdrawing Is A Ploy!

     The occupation of South Kurdistan by Turkish troops that began
on March 19, 1995 is continuing. But Turkey's Prime Minister, Tansu
Ciller, was in the border town of Silopi today to greet the troops.
She was accompanied by a group of her blood-sucking generals. The
event was, as usual, portrayed as a success. It was meant to
mislead both the local and the foreign press. It was a comedy:
Turkey celebrated a fictitious "victory".
     The occupation of South Kurdistan continues, notwithstanding
these media-directed manoeuvres. Although the Turkish army has
withdrawn its forces from a number of strategic locations, its
occupation goes on. According to Mustafa Karasu, a commander of the
People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK), the Turkish retreat
is another word for defeat and he stated that the Turkish troops
have suffered greatly, having had more than 1,000 casualties.
     In the course of this occupation, Turkish troops destroyed a
number of Kurdish villages. Many civilian Kurds were taken into
custody, some were killed, and some have been tortured to death. As
Saddam had done a few years earlier, the retreating army is also
mining the Kurdish landscape so as to deny a life of peace for the
Kurds.

National Liberation Front of Kurdistan (ERNK) - European Section
May 1, 1995


The Blood Merchants Are Behind It

(Mr. Ali Garzan, the European representative of the National
Liberation Front of Kurdistan (ERNK), in a statement faxed to our
office, denied any links with the arson attack in Kucuk Cesmece,
Istanbul. The following is his statement.)

     The arson attack in Kucuk Cesmece, Istanbul, which culminated
in the death of three people and the destruction of the Nazlim
Boutique, has nothing to do with our organization. Neither our
militants nor our functionaries had anything to do with this event.
     We think the incident could be the work of the forces
associated with the Turkish state. The press has done a disservice
in its reporting of this incident by jumping on the state bandwagon
and stating that we, PKK operatives, have done the deed. In so
doing, they have sided with the government to incite the people to
view the PKK as an alien enemy force. In the Turkish press, there
are references to a few slogans apparently expressed by the
arsonists. Let us put the event in perspective: these slogans do
not belong to us.
     We feel it is incumbent on us to let the Turkish people and
the press know that we sense a ploy in this incident. Those who are
perpetrating these acts have a goal in mind and that is to pit the
Turkish people against the Kurdish people. It behooves us not to
come to these provocations. These are the same people who committed
acts of murder in Gazi Mahellesi and Umraniye in March.
     We consider the victims of this act as our people. We extend
our condolences to their families. We urge the public to be aware
of these acts. We ask that they not become tools of these remotely-
controlled events. Events such as these only benefit the blood
merchants and their authors who believe in military solutions. They
service the cause of fascism and chauvinism.

National Liberation Front of Kurdistan (ERNK) - European Section
May 6, 1995