10,000 Kurdish POWs on hungerstrike

[ozgurluk at xs4all.nl]

10,000 Kurdish POWs on hunger strike

The Turkish State, denying the most fundamental rights and legitimate
demands of the Kurds, has intensified its all-out war and psychological
warfare against our people. Today Turkey's campaign of annihilation has
reached horrendous proportions. 

As the comprehensive military operations backed by heavy artillery have
failed the Turkish state has stepped up its psychological warfare. This
psychological terror based on lies, demagogy, false accusations which is
aimed to paralyse, confuse, demoralise and pacify people is intensified
daily.

The latest slanders and lies can be attributed to the PKK defector Semdin
Sakik, who constantly violated the PKK/ARGK regulations and was
subsequently demoted and now turned informer for the Turkish state. There
are two main aims of this campaign of slander; one is to create confusion
in people's minds by distorting the reality, secondly to gain the support
of the public by intimidating and persecuting of Kurdish progressive
individuals and/or organisations, and to destroy the gains of the Kurdish
movement both in the country and abroad.

The main target of this slander campaigns is our national leader, Abdullah
Ocalan. Of course this is not a coincidence! Our leader speaks and fights
for the Kurdish people. The Turkish state believes that if it could strike
a blow to the tongue, the heart and the brain of our people then it will
win both militarily and politically. Turkey is using a wretched defector in
this plan. It makes him to "sing" the scenarios which it has planned to put
into operation. To give him credibility they call him the "number two man"
of the PKK. 

We will certainly not remain silent about these campaigns of lies and their
plan to paralyse us. The Kurdish people have responded to the war of
extermination and show their determination during the Newroz celebrations. 
We shoul particularly remember two of our comrades Selma and Fikri [the two
POWs who burnt themselves in Canakkale Prison in March 1998].

We, the POWs numbering 10,000, will start a hunger strike on 2 May for
three days to show our determination and total support  for the struggle
and the leadership of the PKK, and as a protest against the latest campaign
of lies and war of extermination. 

We call on our peoples, and progressive forces to take effective actions
against Turkey's dirty war. No dirty scenarios and treachery can stop our
march to freedom under the leadership of the PKK.

On behalf of the all PKK POWs
Sabri Ok, M Can Yuce and Muzaffer Ayata
1 May 1998

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Kurdistan Informatie Centrum Nederland
Postbus 58092 1040 HB Amsterdam
tel: 020-681 01 01  fax: 020-488 82 82
e-mail: kicadam at xs4all.nl
url KIC: http://www.xs4all.nl/~kicadam/index.html
url 'Kurdistan: http://www.xs4all.nl/~kicadam/colofon.htm
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