Kurdish leader faces death penalty in Turkey
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Abdullah Ocalan (48), `Apo', is the leader and founder of the PKK.
His political aim is the independence of Kurdistan, but soon enough
he realised that self-determination would be a very difficult issue
because it will affect at least five countries - Turkey, Syria,
Iran, Iraq and Azerbaijan - that have Kurdish people living within
their borders. At the beginning of
the 90s, Ocalan and the PKK called on the government of Ankara to
negotiate, but every effort from the Kurds was considered by the
Turkish administration as a sign of weakness.
Ocalan was arrested last November in Rome when he arrived from Russia
after his application for political asylum was refused. After being
released by the Italian authorities, Ocalan fled the country at the
beginning of this year. The plane carrying him was refused landing
permission by the Dutch authorities and then it was directed towards
Greece, where he spent some time until two weeks ago, when his
presence was detected in the Greek embassy in Nairobi.
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Hundreds of Kurdish refugees occupied diplomatic missions around the
world this week in protest at the detention of the leader of the
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, by the Turkish secret
services in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Kurdish protesters stormed Greek embassies in the Netherlands,
Sweden, Belgium, Germany, Russia, France, Britain, Austria and
Switzerland.
Other groups occupied the UN headquarters in Geneva and a UN mission
in Yerevan, Armenia. Several Kurdish people set themselves on fire as
a way to express their protest against the detention of the most
representative figure of the Kurdish cause. Latest reports say that
one of them has died as result of his injuries.
The role of the Greek authorities in Ocalan's detention by the
Turkish is not clear, but a spokesperson from the PKK pointed out
that two days before his arrest Ocalan had expressed concerns in
relation to his safety and about the possibility of the Greeks
handing him over to the Turkish government.
Now, Ocalan will face the death penalty for his leadership of the
armed struggle against the Turkish State. He has been charged with
terrorism. The definition of terrorism is so broad under Turkish
legislation that it includes almost all Kurdish opposition or
reference to the Kurdish Nation. The lawyers sent to represent Ocalan
were sent back by the Turkish authorities.
Ocalan arrived in Turkey early on Tuesday morning. The Turkish prime
minister Bulent Ecevit announced his detention as the result of an
operation by the Turkish Secret Services and the army, ignoring some
reports that pointed out the involvement of the US CIA or the Israeli
Mossad. Ecevit said that Ocalan ``will have to pay for what he has
done and what he made people do''. The current civil conflict has
caused 30,000 deaths and the Turkish government considers Ocalan as
the main person responsible for those deaths.
Kurdish Parliament to meet in the Basque Country
The Basque Autonomous parliament has passed a motion that will allow
the 63 members of the Kurdish parliament-in-exile to meet in the
Basque Country. The vote was passed with the support of the
nationalist parties (PNV, EA, HB) and the left-wing coalition IU and
was opposed by the Socialist party and the Popular Party. The Spanish
government has warned that they will use all resources available to
prevent the entry of the Kurdish delegation to the Basque Country.
The Spanish state makes huge profits from the sale of arms to the
Turkish state, without taking into account the human rights abuses of
Turkey, most of them carried out against the Kurdish population.
ne McCluskey is a member of Kurdistan Solidarity Ireland, a group
that has organised the visit to the country of some of the leading
members of the Kurdish Parliament on the Exile.
Phoblacht.- What is the situation for Kurdish people in Turkey?
A. The situation is very bad for the Kurdish people in Turkey and
continues to deteriorate... No Kurdish opposition is allowed to
exist, neither moderate, nor radical. The main Kurdish Democracy
Party has been prosecuted and at this moment most of its leaders are
under arrest. Also, Amnesty International recently brought forward
the case of the prosecution of human rights defenders in Turkey -
that is the Turkish human rights association that has highlighted
cases of prosecution, torture and discrimination against the Kurds
and they have been put under arrest.
Ten of them are due to go to trial next month, so there is no
possibility for any Kurdish opposition to exist in Turkey. There is
no democracy, there is no right to broadcast or publish in their own
language.
AP.- What has been the reaction of the international community?
A.- I think Turkey is crucial for the West, for the West's interest
in the region. So Turkey is allowed to be anti-democratic because the
West relies on Turkey to maintain its interest in security in the
region.
AP.- What is the situation of the Kurdish opposition in Turkey?
A.- The People's Democracy Party is the successor of the Democracy
Party. The Kurdish response to prosecution has always been to
recreate a new party as soon as one is banned and this has been the
latest manifestation of that.
The People's Democracy would be considered a moderate party, but a
party that insists on its right to say that it is a Kurdish party and
represents Kurdish people. In the last elections they won a
considerable majority in the Kurdish region, but because it did not
achieve 10% of the national vote, they were not allowed to have any
parliamentarians. So, at the moment 47 leaders of this party have
been imprisoned and they have been charged with treason and
threatening the security of the state. In Turkey it is very easy to
charge somebody with treason. Making a statement such as `I am
Kurdish' or `Kurdistan exists' is considered treason in Turkey.
AP.- Leila Zana is a Kurdish woman member of the Turkish parliament
and she was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment because she wanted to
use the Kurdish language in the parliament. Zana was a 1995 Nobel
Peace Prize nominee. What is her situation now?
A.- In 1994, [a number of] MPs, members of the Democracy Party, were
imprisoned and given 17 year sentences for treason and this was
basically for insisting on speaking Kurdish or claiming there was a
Kurdish problem within Turkey. Six MPs fled and are in exile in
Europe and they form part of the Parliament-in-Exile. Leila Zana was
nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, she achieved the Sajarov Peace
Prize last year. The Turkish government have offered to reduce her
sentence if she renounces her Kurdish claims, but she refuses to do
that. She will not accept any compromise on the Kurdish issue and she
remains in prison.
AP.- When was the Parliament in the exile formed?
A.- It was formed in 1995. It was set up in the Hague, in Holland as
a way to respond to the Kurdish persecution in Turkey and the lack of
recognition of the Kurdish Problem in the western media. They had
elections the following year. It represents a broad spectrum of
groups within the Kurdish resistance movement, some of whom have
connections with the PKK. Most are lawyers and human rights
activists.
AP.- The Kurdish Parliament has met before in different European
countries, and this year they have been granted permission by the
Basque autonomous government to meet in the Basque Autonomous
Parliament building. What is your opinion of the attitude of the
Spanish Administration to the meeting?
A.- I think it is indicative of the Spanish government's attitude to
the Basque region. I think they see this as a threat which comes not
just from the Kurds, but from the Basques and they will be probably
under pressure from Turkey and Turkey's allies to suppress this
meeting. But obviously, the democratic forces in the Basque Country
have insisted on being allowed to hold this meeting there and I think
it is very important that the meeting goes ahead. It is very
important that progressive and democratic regimes insist on the right
of the Kurds to represent themselves, to hold meetings and present
their case internationally.
The Turkish parliament have promoted internationally that the Kurds
are terrorists... When the German government criticised Turkey's
Kurdish policy, Turkey threatened to stop buying arms from Germany.
And Germany soon after declared the Kurdish flag illegal and said
that many of the Kurdish groups in Germany were terrorist groups.
This claim of terrorism is one that has become meaningless because
anybody who present any resistance to the Turkish government is
considered a terrorist. I want also to point out that the Turkish
armed forces pension fund has recently opened a bank account in
Ireland, and this is seen as acceptable now in Ireland, as part of
Ireland's Celtic Tiger, as part of Ireland economic expansion. I
think it is unacceptable to put economic interest before human
rights.
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/aprn.gif)