PKK Executive Karayılan: Turkey Would Attack Any Way, Ditches or Not

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Murat Karayılan, member of the executive board of Peoples’  Democratic Party (PKK) has responded to the questions of Yeni Özgür Politika (New Free Politics) weekly??   

In the interview, Karayılan has expressed that the Turkish military do not come face to face with the guerilla and actually fight against the people in the regions where curfew has been declared.

Stating “If they continue and push the army further, this means adding fuel to the flames and we would then take new decisions”, Karayılan has expressed the solution suggestion as follows:

“The solution is primarily to free leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan)* and according to the Kurdish people the right to autonomy. We can only accept such a solution and can never and ever accept other forms of solution”.

AKP’s intention

• At the moment, there is an extensive attack of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) against our people in Northern Kurdistan. And their only intention is not to close the ditches and maintain public order like frequently presented by the State of AKP.

• Today there are chaos and armed conflicts in the Middle East. A sort of Third World War is taking place in the region which international and local forces are involved in. This process constitutes the collapse of the region system established by the Treaty of Lausanne. The international and local forces we have mentioned are taking their sides in the new formation of the region in order to use their influence and gain advantage in compliance with their interests. In this process, the struggle of the Kurds for freedom turns out to have reached an important level.

• The intention of these extermination activities is to maintain the system of ‘Kurds without status and identity’ when the region is redesigned in the future.

• Pay attention, AKP is not only in the position of attacking the Kurdish people in Northern Kurdistan but also in process of attacking on the diplomatic field against the revolution in Rojava. This constitutes a change of policy.

• This is the scope of the incidents meaning, also when there were no ditches to be closed, the attacks would still have been launched. Indeed, there used to be no ditches when they broke the cease fire and started the attacks. Yet invalidated the solution process, said “There is no Kurdish question” and have launched the current process.

Ditches

• Against the fascist oppression imposed by AKP’s police on the Kurdish people, the Kurdish youth has developed the ditches as a tool to defend themselves in 2014. So, the ditches are a self developed measure to hinder police vehicles from arriving in the neighbourhood and to prevent arrests and tortures, as they had no other option.

• Yet then leader Apo has stepped in which led to discussions lasting three to four months and then dropped automatically. However, with the wave of attacks on July 24, the youth had to hold on to the ditches once again. The attacks of July 24 has targeted the guerillas and the youth in the province as well. But the guerillas are on the mountains and can defend themselves, which they have already shown. But the only solution for the youth was to dig ditches. This is how the issue of ditches had occurred and progressed.

The claim “they piled up weapons during the solution process”

To the question “It is being said that you have taken advantage of the solution process and piled up weapons in these provinces, is this true?” Karayılan has responded as follows:

• These are all lies. There is no period in which weapons have been transported to the provinces by our side for such a resistance. Nevertheless, gradually people who had resisted unarmed at the beginning, have become obliged to arm through their own means. Of course the nature and quality of getting armed and organized was based on the character of the attacks exactly.

• The official troops and teams of People’s Defence Forces (HPG) have not hit town. There is no such decision.

• Yet if the oppression proceeds, then HPG may step in, because the Turkish military has already stepped in. Hulusi Akar used to say: “What are tanks doing in the province, it is not appropriate.” Then why are there now tanks in Cizre, Sur and Silopi? This means that there has been a fundamental change meaning that the military coop mechanisms have operated and everything has changed.

Does Democratic Autonomy mean Turkey being divided?

• Democratic Autonomy formulation has been developed by leader Apo and it is the formulation of living together in Turkey and not division. Besides, Democratic Autonomy system is demanded for Turkey as a whole and declining this would also mean refusing the unity. If you say “We do not acknowledge Democratic Autonomy or such, you will have to abandon your language, culture and everything and are condemned to live under my oppression and will surrender” then this is no longer possible.

If the military moves further

• If they push the army further and slaughter, this means adding fuel to the flames and then we would take new decisions. This war spreads more, deepens and the Turkish state loses at the end of the day. (HK/DG)

*Abdullah Öcalan is the imprisoned leader of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).