freedom for ocalan - peace in kurdistan

International Initiative
Freedom for Ocalan – Peace in Kurdistan
P.O. Box 100511, D-50445 Koeln
E-Mail: info@freedom-for-ocalan.com
Url: www.freedom-for-ocalan.com

Cologne, 13 February 2003

INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVE BRIEFINGS:
War or peace - it's up to Turkey!

It's four years that Abdullah Ocalan was abducted!
Kurdish leader for 12 weeks completely isolated from the world!
KADEK declares defensive war!

On February 15, 1999 Abdullah Ocalan, president of the PKK was abducted from Kenya to Turkey after an odyssey between Damascus, Moscow, Athens, Rome, and Amsterdam that lasted several weeks - and that formed the criminal final of a pirate act that grossly violated international law and was staged with the help of CIA, MIT, and Mossad. This was also a declaration of bankruptcy for the state of law in Europe. None of the governments wanted to hear Ocalan's message that the Kurdish question had to be resolved by democratic means - just as though Europe was not affected. He was not even permitted to defend his case before an international tribunal. Since these governments feared that their complicity with their NATO ally and its extermination machinery against the Kurds over many decades might become widely known they handed Ocalan over to Turkey.

February 15, 1999 was also the beginning of a political process which seemed not to be possible until then. All fears that this pirate act might escalate the Turkish-Kurdish conflict proved unsubstantiated owing to Abdullah Ocalan's renewed peace offer. Armed struggle was discontinued and the armed forces were withdrawn on territory outside Turkey. All this was accompanied by the commitment to a peaceful solution of the Kurdish question by political means only.
Thus an easing of tension was brought about.

This détente is fading away. At a time when international public opinion is barely aware of it the Turkish-Kurdish conflict is heading towards further escalation. This development is most apparent in the argument over prison conditions for Abdullah Ocalan. For more than two months Mr. Ocalan's lawyers were unable to obtain any impartial information on their client's situation. Using rather threadbare arguments the authorities consistently prevented them from seeing him. The Kurdish leader's health and even his life would appear to be in danger.
The Kurds are extremely worried by this turn of events. Furthermore, the numbers of clashes between the Turkish military and Kurdish defence forces in the Southeast have increased yet again. Several people have already lost their lives.
The current atmosphere would seem to favour Turkey. In the shadow of a possible war in Iraq an escalation of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict would currently call forth only minor responses. Turkey's participation in a campaign over Iraq seems certain. Little by little the country is stepping up its military presence in South-Kurdistan (Northern-Iraq). Continued occupation of this area by Turkey cannot be excluded, and does not exactly conflict with US plans for a new political order in this region. As a regional power by the grace of the United States, Turkey might be able to control potential Kurdish efforts towards autonomy. Mosul and Kirkuk could be secured.

Meanwhile, KADEK hasmade it clear that it will not simply stand by and watch the escalating Turkish attacks but rather regards them as a declaration of war which had to be answered appropriately. The organisation points to its legitimate right of self-defence under these circumstances. The consequences of a new war cannot be predicted.

There is a widespread fallacy, particularly prevalent in Germany, that the end of the war saw a resolution of the biggest problems. The willingness of the Kurds to talk is being misinterpreted as weakness and therefore it is not deemed necessary to take any action. Thus an excellent opportunity for a peaceful resolution of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict is being lost. The consequences of this inaction could also become apparent in Europe in a variety of ways.
So far the window of opportunity has not yet closed, but in the long run, ignorance and inattentiveness will not be helpful in safeguarding European interests.

The U.S. is resolved to establish a new order in the Middle East. The imminent war in Iraq, therefore, will only be a starting-point for a process in the course of which also the Kurdish question will be put on the table by some means or other. There is still the widespread view that the Kurdish problem was limited to the Kurdish regional autonomy in South-Kurdistan (North-Iraq). However, a realistic solution of the Kurdish question has to comprise the democratisation of the ultrareactionary feudal regimes in the Middle East. If the war in Turkey restarted, however, this would become impossible for many years and might even lead to additional destabilisation of the region.

Once again the Kurdish card is to be played in the higher interest of external powers. And it is just in this way that a real democratisation is blocked. The policy of divide and rule has become the system here that secures the resources over and under ground for the access of the world market. The longer this system is maintained the more increases the danger of it backfiring some day. This became most painfully clear on September 11, 2001. Therefore, these concepts need to be revised in order to ensure lasting stability and safety.

The European community of states could overcome its present weakness with a view to a common foreign policy by means of a constructive stance towards the Kurdish question. Perspectively, an international Kurdistan conference remains the objective. Meanwhile it has become clear that the mere reliance upon the effectiveness of the Copenhagen criteria for the democratisation process in Turkey on the part of the Europeans has been insufficient in the face of such extraordinary requirements as are needed here. Only a distinctly more active part will bring about a turnaround in the long run.
On the other hand there is the opportunity for a short term intervention in the aggravating conflict about the solitary confinement of the Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan. As a candidate for EU membership Turkey must observe the European Convention on Human Rights.
If the conditions of detention were improved and an impartial monitoring by international organisations were implemented the conflict could be eased notably. Turkey must at last put its promises into practice and improve the human rights situation.

However, it is also clear that Abdullah Ocalan has remained a leading figure for the majority of the Kurdish community even after his imprisonment. He is omnipresent in the Kurdish mind. The past four years have shown the important part he plays when he initiated the struggle for a peaceful solution of the conflict. It is safe to assume that a solution of the Kurdish question in Turkey will be closely connected to the future fate of the Kurdish leader.
War or peace - it's up to Turkey. The European community of states must exercise its influence on Turkey to follow a road towards understanding and reconciliation with its citizens. Even if demands for Abdullah Ocalan's release do not appear to be realistic presently they must be continued for reasons of a common political sense of reality.

Freedom for Ocalan ! Peace in Kurdistan ! Stop the Solitary Confinement!