Interview with Emine Ayna

An interview with Emine Ayna, Co-Chair of pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), recently appeared at Kurdistan-Post. Emine Ayna talks about the past two years, the oppression on Kurds and the recent operations against DTP politicians and party members:

[...]

There was a positive atmosphere about the Kurdish question recently. Both sides had their hopes up but then the environment completely changed. Do you think this was a trick or someone disturbed the environment? You, as a party [DTP], play an active role. What do you think happened? Is there still hope for a solution?

People don't change overnight. It's not like the Prime Minister and the President [of Turkey], while they were in denial yesterday, have changed overnight and said "okay let's accept it today". This is not about the Prime Minister and the President either. This is about the system. Conditions dictate solutions and they will have to solve it [the Kurdish issue]. They [the President and the Prime Minister] have their own policies based on being in charge. Their policies are their own vision and they won't change unless challenged.

TWO YEARS

Kurds have demonstrated strong opposition to denial and destruction policies [of the state]. We have been through two years during which it was said that DTP was finished and but DTP came out [of the local elections] stronger and made its demands clearer; two years during which DTP said "No, we don't want individual liberties [related to Kurdish language and culture] we are a people and it's our right to have collective liberties"; two years during which DTP said "No, we don't want private training in our native tongue, we want education in our native tongue" and filled the streets and set up blackboards in the streets [for symbolic lectures in Kurdish]; two years during which DTP said "while the war is going on we cannot celebrate festivities" and showed ownership of Newroz struggle; two years during which 13 people were killed [by state security forces] during demonstrations. During these two years armed clashes such as Zap and Oramar took place.

THE STRUGGLE WHICH MADE THE PRESIDENT SAY THAT WORD

During a time with external and internal forces on its side, Turkey has been trying to crush the Kurdish demands, Kurds filled the streets. In 22 July [2007] elections [general] DTP doubled it's votes. This is the struggle that made the President say those words.

SELF CRITICISM

We stalled when the President and the Prime Minister said "The Kurdish question is a serious one and good developments will happen". We have to self-criticise here. We entered the phase of let's wait and see what the government will do since there were talks about a solution. I am talking about slowing down, not stopping. This period of stalling slowed us down a little. If we had continued our struggle more decisively after those words were said, we would have given them the opportunity to continue on to the next step and we would have caused a betterment. Using past tense doesn't mean this opportunity has passed. Conflict-avoidance period is in effect until 15 July [2009] and the work is progressing. We have our council meeting coming up soon. We will come up with a plane before 15 July.

Will you have an active plan?

Of course we will have an active plan. We are not calling this phase as conflict-free period. There is a decleration and will from one side. We are aiming for this phase to evolve into conflict-free phase. We will come up with a plan in this direction until 15 July [2009]. Those who are in charge, who have power to oppress, don't easily change into defenders of the oppressed. The oppressed struggle for this and make the oppressors into defenders of rights of the oppressed.

The positive environment has changed all of a sudden and got tense and nationalistic expressions began increasing on both sides. What do you think about this? Have the high hopes been replaced by pessimism?

We still have hope. We were hopeful before the President said anything. Because as we have been saying the solution to this problem won't come out of expectations from others, but the solution will develop out of this people's power.

CHANGE OF CONSTITUTION

This struggle will continue as long as the constitution remains unchanged, the war continues, and Kurdish people's rights and liberties are not part of the system. One can't talk about solution unless the constitution changes completely and unless the militaristic mentality changes. If the President said something like this it would give us hope in the sense that he was saying something different than yesterday. It's wrong to be hopeful by expecting something from the state.

The fascist state is targeting key figures in the party in response to DTP's success in the 2009 local elections. AKP and CHP, despite all the support from the state (heck even the soldiers and the police were working for the AKP and other state parties such as CHP and MHP). We read on...

DTP has achieved a successful trend in the last local elections [March 2009]. Then your party was targeted. How did this situation affect your activities?

55 party members from the central management were arrested. Wouldn't that slow us down? All 13 members of the local management council were arrested. That means we have to establish a new local management council and start from scratch. That's why we have postponed our party's Local Managements' Conference indefinitely.

Don't such attacks increase mass support for DTP?

It increases the solidarity. But none of our friends has backed off because of such attacks. These are not our very first friends who have been arrasted. Kurds have been in legal politics since 1991. During this time, the city managers were killed, central council members were killed, parliamentarians were attacked, parliamentarians were imprisoned for ten years, party members were imprisoned many times and these people have been banned from participating in politics. None of these attacks created an effect such as party members backing out.

Can the goal be to make DTP ineffective by arresting its effective staff rather than closing the party?

Such tactics slow our progress down. There are a lot of individuals to replace those arrested but those arrested had a few years of experience. The new people do not have that experience and this slows us down. Slowing us down is a tactic and they [the state] are doing this.

Will you have any measures against this?

Kurdish political movement has always valued political training and we value it now as well. This may not be an activity carrying a school's name but we have efforts on this subject. Of course, experience gained in practice is not given in schools but with education and training individuals can be prepared up to an extent.

It seems Turkey didn't arrest enough DTP members as the arrests are continuing to date... It seems Turkey will run out of prison space soon.

Another thing that differentiates DTP from other parties in Turkey is it's approach to women:

You are a Kurdish woman. There are problems in Kurdish society, honour killings and marriage by force, to name a few. What does your party do against such issues?

What distinguishes our party from others is that it backs genuine autonomous organization of women. We work to organize women rather than trying to get their votes. It is not only about only organizing women as DTP members but organizing women as freedom should be in their ideals. Problems such as domestic violence, honour killings, and marriage by force are not the type of problems that can be solved by a political party educating women. Solution to these problems can only develop with women's struggle to become free and independent. In places where the Kurdish movement has deep roots, one can see that the process of women's independence has been wide spread and improving and women's resistance to traditions has been growing.

[...]

Women are seen as equal participants. Not as objects, not as "tools" for conformance to any superior power but as humans. Simple as that.

In solidarity with DTP!

Turkish-Arab Alliance

Surprise, surprise to brothers and sisters in Kurdistan-Iraq. Turkey and are Iraqi central government are at work hard to make sure Kurds cannot rise their heads. How delightful it is to be surrounded by brothers some of whom are "progressive democracy" in the region. Read the article titled "A Troubled Pipeline" that just appeared in Newsweek. Here is an excerpt from the article:

[...]

The deal quickly drew criticism from Baghdad and Ankara, which have actively sought to block Kurdistan's oil ambitions over fears that independent energy revenue could help bolster the region's bid for political autonomy. Earlier this month the Iraqi government vetoed the Kurds' Nabucco arrangement, saying that the Kurdish regional government could not strike its own energy deals without violating Iraq's Constitution. Baghdad offered to supply Europe from another field instead—one not under Kurdish control—but it couldn't promise gas until 2014 at the earliest. Oil has long been a source of simmering tensions between the Kurds and the central Iraqi government, which has also moved to bring border controls in the Kurdish region under Baghdad's authority.

Turkey, too, has expressed its unhappiness over the Nabucco deal. Rather than allowing Iraqi Kurds to enrich themselves with gas money—which would likely bolster their de facto independence from Baghdad—Turkey prefers to bank on the chance that its ally Azerbaijan will be able to produce enough gas to fill the pipe.

[...]

Êdî bese.

Interview with DTP parliamentarian Sebahat Tuncel

Ms. Sebahat Tuncel's interview with Kurdish Herald. You can read the full version here.

Kurdish Herald: How would you characterize the reaction of the Turkish government and military to the DTP’s recent successes in the March 2009 Turkish municipal elections?

Sebahat Tuncel: The [Turkish] state employed all its branch and organs with the expectation of defeating DTP in the Kurdish region in the March 2009 elections. Different groups, such as soldiers, governors, even some members of the other Turkish parties, worked with the Justice and Development Party (AKP) aiming to meet this expectation. All of these actors worked very hard against DTP. For instance, they gave free food, donated laundry machines, and gave money to people. It was important for the AKP to win the Kurdish provinces. If they succeeded, the Turkish government could tell everyone (inside Turkey and throughout the world) that AKP represents the Kurds, and the Kurds do not have the problems and grievances that DTP always brings to the table.

Of course, the reaction of the government and the military to the results of the elections has been, indeed, negative. State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek, stated that the results demonstrated that the DTP has “pushed to the border of Armenia.” Chief of General Staff Ilker Basbug said that “the votes that DTP received should be read correctly.” The AKP, similarly, claimed that DTP got the victory by using violence against people. So, generally, we witnessed intolerance of the DTP’s success from the [Turkish] state.

[...]

Kurdish Herald: What is the status of recent court cases pending against you and other DTP parliamentarians? Who is behind allegations against you and your colleagues? And to what extent do these court cases interfere with your work as a parliamentarian?

Sebahat Tuncel: Cases attempting to close the DTP continue. It is like the Sword of Damocles on our neck – the Turkish state has continuously been trying to suppress us by using these cases.

There are currently about 380 cases in Turkey calling for the revoking of immunity of MPs. Of these cases, 286 are against DTP MPs. The cases against the others are mostly based on charges for corruption, bribery, or even murder, while for us the cases are based only on the expression of our political ideas. These cases have deepened the Kurdish problem and have revealed the double standard and unjust manipulation in the interpretation of the Turkish law when it comes to Kurdish rights.

Kurdish Herald: What role is the DTP currently playing in the organization of a pan-Kurdish conference in Erbil, and what would its aims be?

Sebahat Tuncel: There has been a long discussion over this conference in Turkey, with a plan to disqualify the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) from the conference. Nevertheless, the March 2009 elections dismissed such plans. We hoped that that this conference would highlight the unity of the Kurds and call for a project for the freedom and democratization of the countries where Kurds live.

At this moment, it seems that the conference has been delayed. However, we think that this conference should take a place and many Kurds from the four parts should attend it. It is exciting to have this first Kurdish conference. With this conference we can send a message to the world as a united Kurdish people.

[...]

Kurdish Herald: What are your views on Turkey’s European Union accession efforts? Do you believe that the current government is focused on achieving EU membership?

Sebahat Tuncel: We, the DTP, are a determined supporter of the European Union membership process of Turkey because social and political reforms and changes in Turkey have not occurred easily and the implementation of reforms for the membership of the EU may help bring about positive change in Turkey. As it is known, Turkey is still administrated by a military coup Constitution. For instance, there is a law, the Law of Struggle Against Terror and it has been affecting the lives of all the Kurds, young and old alike. With the membership of the EU, this law can be reformed. Today, there are many Kurdish children are standing trial, facing a possible 25 year prison sentence, because they threw stones at Turkish police. There are almost 3,000 children who are standing trial for such accusations.

[...]

I have this feeling that the Turkish state doesn't want to come to terms with the reality... Denial is addictive, isn't it?

I am the one in charge, I do whatever I want!

The real head of the state, chief of general staff İlker Başbuğ recently visited the USA. The president and prime ministers of Turkey were just starting to send positive messages about peace, Gen. Başbuğ reminded them who is the man in charge. In response to PKK's ceasefire extension, the general said he doesn't care who says what, he is determined to seek, find, and destroy the PKK fighters. Right after the supreme general spoke, Prime Minister Erdoğan made a 180 turn and said "the PKK should lay down arms unconditionally" and ignored DTP's meeting request.

The government and it's politicians are used to being told by the generals what they should do and how they should act. The generals rule. Prime Minister Erdoğan was interrogated by Gen. Başbuğ back in 2004. This wasn't the only time the generals obedience-trained Erdoğan. Similarly, in 2006 Erdoğan was told by the supreme generals exactly how he should be acting and what he should be doing.

Here is the partial translation of Gen. Başbuğ's interview:

[...]
It is mentioned that based on PKK's ceasefire, the weapons must be silenced. There are also some that say TSK should stop the operations. For example, when TSK units come across PKK elements can TSK pretend they haven't seen them [PKK Guerillas]?

Nobody should give us advice on this matter. Neither I will stop nor will I wait for terrorists to come. On the contrary, I will go, seek, find, and destroy [The PKK]. [...]

[...]

Murat Karayılan's words were discussed a lot. What do you think?

I don't care. A terrotist and his words cannot define the process in Turkey. We are not going to take his [Murat Karayılan's] words into account. We focus on our work to finish terrorism.

[...]

Message to Barzani

Can there be an operation jointly conducted with Barzani and Talabani forces against PKK in North Iraq [South Kurdistan]? What do you say about North Iraq's oil flowing through Turkey?

If they are really friends and they want this organization to finish for their own safety as well they should be the first to conduct operations. Capacity of Kerkûk-Yumurtalık pipeline must be increased. In addition there can be a gas pipeline running in parallel to this pipeline.

The supreme general was in the USA, he was given his game plan. He is happy, the gun salesmen are happy. Everyone will get fatter on Kurdish blood.

TURKEY'S DIRTY WAR AGAINST THE KURDS

The German media hardly says much about Turkish state's terrorist acts on Kurds due to heavy trade between the two countries. The following article has made its way to Spiegel Online. You can read the full text here:

'We Used to Murder People at Night When the Soldiers Weren't Around'

By Daniel Steinvorth in Istanbul

When members of the special Turkish police unit Jitem arrived at night, Kurdish inhabitants of southeast Turkey knew there would be another disappearance. Investigators are now looking into the activities of this allegedly disbanded secretive organization from the 1990s -- and the 'death wells' where its victims were hidden.

[...]

Shot 'Like an Animal'

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, thousands of civil rights activists, politicians and businesspeople suspected of having ties with the PKK were kidnapped and murdered. No one knows their exact number, and it was only in rare cases that the victims were even identified. Many corpses were dumped into wells; others were doused in acid and thrown into fields. The horror of the sight was meant to serve as a deterrent. But the majority disappeared without a trace and are still listed as missing.

One of the missing is the Kurdish construction worker Ramazan Solmaz. His wife Piroze last saw him on January 15, 1993. "He was on his way to work when they caught him," she says. "That's all I know. There are no traces, no clues. I'd just like to know where his body is. I just want to bury him." Piroze and a friend have put their faith in Cizre's bar association. "My husband, Selahattin, was shot in broad daylight in 1998 right on the street," say her friend, who is wearing a pitch-black version of the traditional Kurdish gown. "Just like that. Like an animal."

At the time, the women didn't even think about filing a criminal complaint. In Cizre, confronting those in power had its consequences. The powerful included not only the soldiers and the people from Jitem, but also members of the radical-Islamic Turkish Hezbollah, a militant Kurdish organization unrelated to the Lebanese Hezbollah. The war between the Turkish army and the PKK raged in the mountains surrounding Cizre. But in the city itself, it was this group that held power over life and death. A brutal leader of this clan named Kamil Atak once let himself be nominated to become mayor. As local politicians will tell you, the former shepherd used to take pleasure in "feeding" his captives to his Hezbollah fighters.

Spreading Fear and Anxiety

Even after the state of emergency was lifted in 2002, Atak remained under the protection of state security forces. Just over two months ago, on March 23, police arrested Atak as part of a nationwide operation after he garnered the attention of investigators working on the "Ergenekon" case. Soon after Atak's arrest, authorities also arrested Cemal Temizöz, a colonel in the military police, who also sowed fear and anxiety among the inhabitants of Cizre.

[...]

Jitem's Bestial Interrogation Methods

For the top brass in Turkey's military forces, the issue of Jitem remains taboo. The government continues to deny its existence. According to the semiofficial version, at least, the organization served as something like a "counterguerrilla" force against the PKK that completed its mission long ago and has since been disbanded. The last fact seems to have been confirmed by former Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, when he claimed in a television interview that Jitem "no longer" existed.

By far the most comprehensive reports of Jitem's activities can be found in the memoirs of the organization's former agents. One of them is Abdülkadir Aygan, who now lives in Sweden. Aygan tells a shocking tale of having first been a member of the PKK before being recruited to work for Jitem. "We used to murder people at night during the long hours when the soldiers weren't around," Aygan says, describing Jitem's activities. "Many of the people we captured had been indicted by a court or the gendarmes," he adds. "But many of them had also been denounced by their completely normal fellow citizens. No one survived an interrogation by Jitem people."

[...]

Seeking Certainty and Closure

In the end, all the searching and inquiries of Ergül's brothers had been in vain. But after Aygan's confession, they did succeed in figuring out where Ergül had been dumped, where fishermen later hid his body and where his unidentified corpse had been buried in an anonymous grave not far from the lake. "Now we're waiting for the results of a DNA test," says Ergül's brother Ata. "Then we will finally have some certainty."

This is a sign of progress -- but there are also contradictory signals coming out of Turkey. For the first time, the country seems prepared to come to terms with its recent past. But even though light is now being thrown on the dirty war waged during that period, the war between the Turkish military and the PKK continues to rage. In military terms, the separatist movement has been significantly weakened, and its leader, Abdullah Öcalan, has been in prison for years. But it is still capable of launching deadly bomb attacks, such as the one in late April, when a remotely denoted bomb threw a military vehicle into the air, killing nine Turkish soldiers.

The government avoids talks with the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), which has channels of communication with the PKK. Instead, in recent weeks, the government has preferred to impose order high-handedly by arresting more than 200 DT politicians.

One would think after all these came out the Turkish state would try to solve the Kurdish problem in a fair and just way. Alas, that's not the case.