Stop Combat Preparations Urge Kurdish
The call comes a few days after suspension by KADEK of the unilateral truce they declared following the arrest of leader Abdullah Ocalan in Kenyan capital of Nairobi, in 1999.
The KADEK stating that unilateral truce has born no positive impact for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question, has on 1 September declared that they suspend the decision to lay down arms.
"We do not want to live through another war," said the leaders. "We want to help heal the wounds of the war." They also warned that illegal groups within the state would always take over control at times of armed conflict.
"We know that such circles never give up efforts to spark up new clashes," the leaders said, expressing their opposition to war, arms and resort to arms.
"Those who insist on war and armed conflict between the Turks and Kurds inflict the biggest harm to these peoples," said the IHD leaders. They also pointed to the fact that human rights violations in eastern and southeastern Turkey has increased in recent months.
Combat preparations
The IHD leaders said that the number of attacks against civilians had increased in the provinces of Bingol, Hakkari, Sirnak and Batman. They said that the increase in the number of military operations in rural areas sparks doubts whether these were aimed at preparing the ground for future combat. The IHD leaders listed their concerns and suggestions:
* The fact that there are 3,000 special forces in the region as announced by Behcet Oktay, Special Operations chief, and that an additional 400 were recently deployed in the area, raises some serious questions.
* The officials should explain to the public why special forces are needed in the region. They should also say why the public is being exposed to images that remind the clashes.
* A regional police station ordered the evacuation of the highland pastures in the regions of Kemerli Cesme, Ali Bogazi, Kocoglu and Hozat, justifying the order that special operations would be held in those areas. Does this imply that there is a return to the policy of evacuating villages, which has already led to some 3.5 million people abandon their native villages.
* Such combat preparations and actions that disturb the regional people should be immediately stopped.
* We believe that the unilateral cease-fire declared by the PKK, or Kurdistan Workers' Party, four years ago should lead to a lasting peace in the country. We call on especially the government, and the civilian and military leaders to embrace a sensible and logical approach to the problem, instead of embracing a policy of conflict and war.
Demands for peace
The IHD leaders, who called on the government and KADEK to declare a cease-fire and maintain a lasting peace, listed their demands and suggestions:
* The partial amnesty should be lifted . A non-discriminatory--general--political amnesty should go into effect.
* Villagers should be allowed to return to their homes they were forced to evacuate. Their losses should be compensated.
* The system of hiring village guards to fight the rebels is one of the obstacles to peace. This system should be lifted.
* Land mines and other explosives in the area lead to the injury or death of mainly women and children. The area should immediately be cleared of land mines and other explosives.
* A commission of "truth finding" should be formed to investigate the violations of the last 15 years. The commission should be made up of members of the parliament and non-governmental organizations.
* Those responsible of thousands of unresolved murders should be brought to justice.
* Turkey's laws and regulations should be thoroughly amended and be based on the constitution to guarantee basic human rights and freedoms.
* The military and civilian bureaucracy should accept the fact that there are differences in this country, that different people speak different languages and have different cultures. They should accept that respecting these differences is a humane must.
Here is the list of the IHD leaders who signed this statement: Reyhan Yalcindag, IHD deputy head ; Hanefi Isik, regional representative; Selahattin Demirtas , Diyarbakir branch head; Gulay Koca, Sanliurfa branch head; Sevim Yetkiner , Mus branch head; Saadet Becerikli, Batman branch head; Huseyin Cangir , Mardin branch head; Vetha Aydin, Siirt branch head; Bekir Gurbuz , Adiyaman branch head; Vehap Ertan, Van branch head; Cafer Demir , Elazig branch head; Ridvan Kizgin, Bingol branch head; Dogan Karaoglan , Malatya branch head; Nayif Kayacan, Hakkari branch head; and Kadir Tuzun, Gaziantep branch head . (BB/EA/EK)