Message From PKK President, Abdulla

[kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu]

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>
Subject: Message From PKK President, Abdullah Ocalan

Message From PKK President, Abdullah Ocalan, To The Peace
Festival In Diyarbakir

September 1, 1997

(We document a statement by Abdullah Ocalan for the planned but
forbidden Peace Festival in Diyarbakir which was part of the
activities concerning the 'Musa Anter Peace Train'.)

To the people of Kurdistan,

     On this occasion, International Anti-War Day, September 1st, I
would like to extend my greetings to you. We believe that through
our struggle, we have displayed our respect and loyalty to you, a
people which has suffered centuries of oppression, particularly
during the dirty war of the last few years.
     We need peace even more than we need bread and water, for
our bread depends on peace. Those who have imposed a hellish
regime on our people have condemned Diyarbakir - Amida, one of
the most ancient of cities - to an unprecedented hunger. You are
well aware that this hunger is a direct consequence of the dirty
war. The centuries-old oppression, denial, and assimilation are
today confronting us as a disastrous hunger. Our entire people is
suffering, both those in the South and the North.
     Our struggle was launched to put a stop to this. Never
forget that without national honor and a national liberation
movement there would be no bread at all. You can see this is the
case. Your sole response to hunger should be to achieve a better
understanding of the national liberation movement, to organize
within this framework, and, if necessary, to fight to achieve an
honorable peace. We did not wage this struggle simply to make a
sacrifice under unbelievably harsh conditions, but initially to
preserve our identity and prevent it from disappearing, and now in
order to get nearer to freedom.
     It can be said that for the first moment we have reached the
time when an honorable peace is imminent. An honorable peace is
possible by means of an honorable national liberation struggle.
We have waged such a national liberation struggle and brought the
concept of national peace and living equally and freely with
other peoples to the light of day. But unfortunately even a
'Peace Train' has been deemed too much for you. The celebrations
on September 1st, International Anti-War Day, which progressive
humanity had chosen to embrace you, have been forbidden.
     Those who are waging the dirty war fear peace, they fear our
campaign for peace. So who is in favor of war, who insists on
war? This September 1st proves who the warmonger is. To prove this
conclusively you must attend the rallies and confront the enemies
of peace. Our only demands are that your identity is accepted,
that your national democratic demands are accepted, and that the
unilaterally imposed war be halted. We are exercising our sacred
right to resist. You know very well that without the right to
resist neither our identity will be recognized nor will we be
able to protect our dignity. Consequently you must understand the
importance of this national liberation movement and fulfil your
duties accordingly. If you do not do this, we face being wiped
from the pages of history as a nation.
     As you know, our most esteemed people, Musa Anter, Vedat
Aydin, and thousands of others have been murdered. They were the
honor of our people, they defended its dignity, its identity, and
its freedom. But they were not tolerated. They were unarmed, but
for their thoughts and their courageous hearts. You must
understand them well and you must definitely have a response. On
this occasion I reiterate, and all progressive humanity and
our friends must know that we would all like to be in Diyarbakir
with the Peace Train to declare the triumph of peace. But they
will not give up this opportunity. What rights can those who fear
the Peace Train grant our people? Millions of tourists go to
Turkey. Of course they have the right to enjoy themselves, but
why are a small group of prominent people, who want to make
public the fact that our people are suffering tremendous
oppression, prevented from traveling? The German government
allows millions of tourists to travel, why does it ban a train
carrying a few distinguished people? We understand this banning
mentality in Turkey, but in Germany, in Europe? Europeans should
ponder this, and understand how such bans affect our people, not
only in Turkey but also in their own countries. The European
governments are partners in crime as far as this banning mentality
is concerned. Perhaps they consider their support for Turkey
insufficient. But surely the European governments could have
permitted this Peace Train to reach Turkey's borders. Since they
have not done this, it is now quite clear from their prohibitive
mentality that they are responsible for the dirty war being waged
against our people.
     I hope that European intellectuals will have observed that
this is strikingly clear, and will have cause to ask questions of
their governments and much to do for peace. You Europeans have
realized that you were mistaken in declaring the PKK to be
terrorists. The PKK has never made preconditions for peace; it
has simply stated: "We will accept whatever is proposed." We
have always said that all we wanted was that the cease-fire
be bilateral and that our people's national identity and national
demands be recognized. The PKK is prepared to declare a
cease-fire, but as you can see Turkey is not only opposed to a
cease-fire and consequently to peace, they also ban you, who have no
connection whatsoever to the war or the PKK. This presumably has
demonstrated to you the extent of the bans, oppression,
and war weighing down on our people.
     On this occasion, you, our friends from various countries,
will have the opportunity to acquaint yourselves with our people
and their demands for democracy and freedom, to learn about their
struggles, and offer your support and solidarity as never before.
There is no better way to show your support for peace than to
come to Diyarbakir and speak out for peace. To do anything else
would be hypocrisy and disrespectful to our people.
     To do this would be the best response to International
Anti-War Day, to honor the memory of millions who have given
their lives for peace. Of course, I am not accusing you of the
warfare transported to Kurdistan by various governments, but
European technology and European political and economic support
is translated into the bombs and bullets that rain down on
Diyarbakir and Kurdistan, is translated into hunger. I hope you
have witnessed this and that your consciences have been awakened.
     I emphasize once again to our people and to our esteemed
friends that we would have very much liked to have been involved
in this peace process, to solve our people's serious problems
through political dialogue. Until we succeed in achieving this we
will continue to fight. There is no other way. The alternative is
fascism, racism, chauvinism, massacre, and hunger. If those
responsible for this continue on this path they will not only
find themselves in crisis, they will be finished. You may be sure
of that.
     We have demonstrated this by achieving the impossible and we
believe, with the strength and confidence of having come this
far, that we will soon achieve an honorable peace and our
people's national democratic demands, and equality and freedom
for all peoples. We believe that to have reached this stage today
is itself a great victory. Our history has entrusted us
with the task of achieving peace for the whole region and for all
of humanity, not just for our own people. Our struggle is an
honorable war against the defiling of humanity.
     I am more than ever convinced that we will achieve victory
and I wish you every success in your struggles. Once again I extend
my greetings and good wishes.

Abdullah Ocalan,
President, Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)

(Source: Kurdistan Information Center, Amsterdam)

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Arm The Spirit is an autonomist/anti-imperialist information
collective based in Toronto, Canada. Our focus includes a wide 
variety of material, including political prisoners, national 
liberation struggles, armed communist resistance, anti-fascism, 
the fight against patriarchy, and more. We regularly publish our 
writings, research, and translation materials on our listserv
called ATS-L. For more information, contact:

Arm The Spirit
P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A
Toronto, Ontario
M5W 1P7 Canada

E-mail: ats at etext.org
WWW: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats
ATS-L Archives: http://burn.ucsd.edu/archives/ats-l
MRTA Solidarity Page: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats/mrta.htm
ATS Archive: http://www.etext.org/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 ++++ stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal ++++
   ++++ if you agree copy these lines to your sig ++++
     ++++ see http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/spg-l/sigaction.htm ++++