Kurdistan parliament in exile II

[kurdeng at aps.nl]

From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl
Subject: Kurdistan parliament in exile II
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KURDISTAN PARLIAMENT IN EXILE

page 16-18
          Founding Bylaws

          Statute Number 1
          Adoption date: April 13, 1995


          Article 1 - Introduction

     I want to welcome you and greet you to the opening day of the
Kurdistan Parliament in Exile. I also want to acknowledge you, our esteemed
guests, by name: the friends of our people, the members of the Press, the
patriots of Kurdistan and my elected fellow colleagues.

    The Kurds are an ancient people. They have lived on their ancestral
lands, Kurdistan, throughout history. In all noteworthy regional
developments, they have play- ed a major role. They have been instrumental
in the making of the empires, principalities, states and civilizations.

     Kurdistan, a land mass that measures some 550 thousand kilometer
squares in size, is well endowed with natural riches and in that sense
constitutes one of the wealthiest sta- tes in the Middle East. These
resources coupled with the historical silk road that passed through the
Kurdish lands have made the area a prize for the invading forces in the
cour- se of history. The onslaught of the barbarians have prevented the
Kurds to unite socially, culturally, and politically. Ruled by others,
Kurdistan, has been divided by different masters. In 1923, at Lausanne, it
was divided into four parts. In 1639, with the treaty of Kasr'i-Sirin, the
Ottomans and the Safevis divided the land between themselves. There are
some 40 million Kurds in the world. All have been denied the most basic
human rights. Some have sought refuge beyond the borders of Kurdistan. Of
the total population of the Kurds, half live within the "political" borders
of Turkey proper.

          The Peoples of Kurdistan and the Religious Congregations

     In addition to the Kurds, there are the Assyrians and the Armenians
living in Kurdistan. They too have suffered in the hands of the invading
forces. Subjected to the policies of divide and rule, the peoples of
Kurdistan have, at times, fought one another and forced one another to
migrate from the common homeland. These factors have kept the population of
the Assyrian and the Armenian peoples low. Today, in Kurdistan, they con-
stitute a figure of some 10 % of the total population. The peoples who live
in Kurdistan have differing faiths, various religions and a few
denominations. A vast majority of the believers are Muslims. This diversity
of the beliefs has enabled the occupiers of Kurdistan to pit one group of
believers against the other to their mutual detriment.

          The Kurds, Neighboring Peoples and the Concept of Democracy

     The peoples who live on the periphery of the Kurds, the Turks, the
Arabs and the Persians are not free. Nor are they immune from the effects
of the oppressive rules and wars that their governments have unleashed on
the Kurds. These peoples can enjoy democratic rights and freedoms only
after the peoples of Kurdistan secure their liberty and end their status as
subject peoples.

     For these reasons, a democratic solution to the problem, necessitates
the institutionalization of the democratic establishments in the
countries in which the Kurds live. In other words, the national liberation
movement that is unfolding in Kurdistan is the guarantor of the democracy
in the Middle East. That is notwithstanding the appellation that our
adversaries use for our movement that it is "a terrorist movement."

     The Struggle for Nationhood and Freedom in Kurdistan

     Ahmede Xane was the first Kurd to think of the Kurds and Kurdistan in
terms of a nation-state towards the end of the 17th century. The struggle
of the Kurds to own their own country and to live in liberty began in early
19th century. Today, some two centuries later, the uprisings still continue
and they will continue until we secure our freedom.
     It is a sad fact of history that, to date, none of the Kurdish
uprisings have reached their desired end. Whenever the Kurds rose to take
part in the struggle for freedom, they were murdered mercilessly. Millions
of their relations were massacred; more were forced to migrate from their
ancestral lands against their will.
     When these massacres and forced migrations took place, the world
looked on. The West had interests in Kurdistan and in the Middle East. This
became evident with the limited status that was given to the Kurds with
the treaty of Sevres in 1920 which promised self-determination for the
Kurds. 3 years later at Lausanne that status too was set aside because
it conflicted with the interests of the parties that were involved. Today
it looks likef not much has changed. Again, there is barbarity inflicted
on the Kurds. Again the world looks on. As if this were not enough, some
of the major countries even support Turkey with economic, military and
political support. One can only conclude that they want this carnage to
continue.

     Northwest Kurdistan

     When the foundations of the Turkish republic were laid the support of
the peoples of Kurdistan was sought and received by the Turkish leader
Kemal Ataturk and his friends with the promise that the new comity would
accord partnership and freedom to the Kurds. The promise was as quickly
forgotten. An occupation force moved into Kurdistan to kill the spirit of
freedom. An undeclared war raged between the years of 1921 and 1938. Then
a policy of denying the very existence of the Kurds was adopted. An
intensive educational programme to assimilate the Kurds with a view of
annihilating them was meticulously implemented. When the Kurds asked for
rights, thousands of them were crushed; and many more were exiled.
     The Kurdish opposition that never died began to blossom in 1970 and
engaged in a struggle for rights for the Kurds. The national liberation
struggles that were unfolding all over the world in those years also raised
the hopes of the Kurds. The Turkish state, on the other hand used force to
crush the networking that was taking place among the Kurds. In a few
regions, the government declared state of emergencies. Then, beginning in
1980, a military coup took over, declaring an all out war on the Kurds.
Thousands of Kurds found themselves behind bars. Hundreds of them died of
torture in custody. But nothing stopped the national struggle and it grew
by leaps and bounds. Today, the people of Kurdistan have matured: they
have their own polifical, military economic and cultural institutions.
Never before in their history have they been this close to unity and a
sense of liberty.
Years of abuse have forced over 10 million Kurds to flee their homes to
seek refuge in western Turkish cities, various European countries, in the
Commonwealth of Independent States and places as far away as America and
Australia. The abuse has taken the forms of arbitrary detention, torture
and outright killings. The rural Kurdistan has been pounded mercilessly:
villages destroyed, mountains bombed, pastures mined, forests set on fire,
and sometimes, some regions completely blocked to the local inhabitants. It
is this deliberate policy that has brought about economic stagnation to the
area and forced the Kurds to chart journeys abroad.
democratic rights and freedoms only after the peoples of Kurdistan secure
their liberty and end their status as subject peoples.
     For these reasons, a democratic solution to the problem, necessitates
the institutionalization of the democratic establishments in the
countries in which the Kurds live. In other words, the national liberation
movement that is unfolding in Kurdistan is the guarantor of the democracy
in the Middle East. That is notwithstanding the appellation that our
adversaries use for our movement that it is "a terrorist movement."

     The Struggle for Nationhood and Freedom in Kurdistan

     Ahmede Xane was the first Kurd to think of the Kurds and Kurdistan in
terms of a nation-state towards the end of the 17th century. The struggle
of the Kurds to own their own country and to live in liberty began in early
19th century. Today, some two centuries later, the uprisings still continue
and they will continue until we secure our freedom.
     It is a sad fact of history that, to date, none of the Kurdish
uprisings have reached their desired end. Whenever the Kurds rose to take
part in the struggle for freedom, they were murdered mercilessly. Millions
of their relations were massacred; more were forced to migrate from their
ancestral lands against their will.
     When these massacres and forced migrations took place, the world
looked on. The West had interests in Kurdistan and in the Middle East. This
became evident with the limited status that was given to the Kurds with
the treaty of Sevres in 1920 which promised self-determination for the
Kurds. 3 years later at Lausanne that status too was set aside because
it conflicted with the interests of the parties that were involved. Today
it looks likef not much has changed. Again, there is barbarity inflicted
on the Kurds. Again the world looks on. As if this were not enough, some
of the major countries even support Turkey with economic, military and
political support. One can only conclude that they want this carnage to
continue.

     Northwest Kurdistan

     When the foundations of the Turkish republic were laid the support of
the peoples of Kurdistan was sought and received by the Turkish leader
Kemal Ataturk and his friends with the promise that the new comity would
accord partnership and freedom to the Kurds. The promise was as quickly
forgotten. An occupation force moved into Kurdistan to kill the spirit of
freedom. An undeclared war raged between the years of 1921 and 1938. Then
a policy of denying the very existence of the Kurds was adopted. An
intensive educational programme to assimilate the Kurds with a view of
annihilating them was meticulously implemented. When the Kurds asked for
rights, thousands of them were crushed; and many more were exiled.
     The Kurdish opposition that never died began to blossom in 1970 and
engaged in a struggle for rights for the Kurds. The national liberation
struggles that were unfolding all over the world in those years also raised
the hopes of the Kurds. The Turkish state, on the other hand used force to
crush the networking that was taking place among the Kurds. In a few
regions, the government declared state of emergencies. Then, beginning in
1980, a military coup took over, declaring an all out war on the Kurds.
Thousands of Kurds found themselves behind bars. Hundreds of them died of
torture in custody. But nothing stopped the national struggle and it grew
by leaps and bounds. Today, the people of Kurdistan have matured: they
have their own polifical, military economic and cultural institutions.
Never before in their history have they been this close to unity and a
sense of liberty.
Years of abuse have forced over 10 million Kurds to flee their homes to
seek refuge in western Turkish cities, various European countries, in the
Commonwealth of Independent States and places as far away as America and
Australia. The abuse has taken the forms of arbitrary detention, torture
and outright killings. The rural Kurdistan has been pounded mercilessly:
villages destroyed, mountains bombed, pastures mined, forests set on fire,
and sometimes, some regions completely blocked to the local inhabitants. It
is this deliberate policy that has brought about economic stagnation to the
area and forced the Kurds to chart journeys abroad.
 The Kurds who have sought refuge abroad are facing social, political and
cultural problems. They support the Kurdish national liberation struggle
and would like to go back-home, to Kurdistan. Although, they have a number
of institutions that serve them and represent them, they feel the need for
a larger institution to address the issues that confront them. It goes
without saying that the absence of freedom in Kurdistan has not allowed the
Kurds to establish their parliament. But the demands of the people have
necessitated, since 1992, the need for such a body, even it is in exile. A
step in that direction was taken in Southern Kurdistan. The time has come
for a similar step in Northern Kurdistan.
 The Kurds are not allowed to network; nor are they allowed to express
themselves freely: both activities are forbidden by law. This being the
case, it is absurd to expect the Kurdis representation at the national
assemblies in the countries in which they live.
 If, sometimes, some Kurds managed to voice the concerns of their Kurdish
constituents, they were as quickly silenced. The ordeal that became the
life of the Kurdish members of the parliament is of public record and
well known to the members of this audience. The Kurdish MPs, the members of
HEP through DEP have been murdered, imprisoned and forced to seek refuge
abroad. The members of the last group are now among us. They have taken
part in the formation of this parliament.
 Like all peoples, the peoples of Kurdistan too have the natural right to
determine their own destinies and they need to do so through a
parliamentary institution that symbolizes unity. These are the facts that
have brought about the formation of the Kurdistan Parliament in Exile.