Not after a separate state, says PKK leader
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Hasan Cemal - Milliyet
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 07, 2009 00:00
KANDIL, N. Iraq -The [outlawed] Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, is no longer seeking a separate state, but wants equal rights for Kurds in a united Turkey, its acting leader has said.
"The PKK is in a better position now. In the past, it wanted an independent Kurdish state, but that is not the case any longer," acting PKK leader Murat Karayılan said from the group’s base in the Kandil mountain range in northern Iraq. "We want to live in the Republic of Turkey as equal and free citizens."
Added Karayılan: "We now say ’Democratic Autonomous Kurdistan.’ By autonomous, we don’t mean a federation. This leaves no need for redrawing borders and maintains or the unitary nature of the state. The local administrative law should be changed and local administrations empowered."
He said around 17,000 extra judicial murders have been committed against Kurds and there is an ongoing denial policy. He said the PKK has also engaged in some improper acts and that is why a community-outreach project is needed, in which both sides have to forgive each other. He also called for a new constitution.
"Our desire is that Kurds should be able to live their culture freely," said Karayılan, who added that a Kurdish conference like one held recently in northern Iraq could help lay the groundwork for a future solution.
Lack of political will has left little resemblance between the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of today and the Erdoğan of 2005, said Karayılan, referring to remarks the prime minister made during a speech that year in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır. "The Kurdish problem is our problem too," Erdoğan said. "The state too has committed mistakes on this subject and they will be rectified." Karayılan said no trace of that sentiment is left today.
"I can’t be optimistic," he said. "There is no political will in regard to the Kurdish problem. This is a serious problem. Today even the generals are speaking differently, but where is the political will? Where is the prime minister who said those words in 2005? Where is the Erdoğan who, when he was Istanbul mayor in 1994, prepared a Kurdish report and presented it to the leader of his party?" said Karayılan.
According to Karayılan, the PKK has changed and today uses armed conflict only for legitimate defensive purposes. "We are not the PKK of 10 years ago," he said. "We do not engage in armed conflict using the classic methods. We use armed conflict within the limits of legitimate defense. For the last four years we have been in a limited war."
The PKK took up arms in 1984 in a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives. Turkey, the United States and the European Union list the PKK as a terrorist organization.
Added Karayılan: "We now say ’Democratic Autonomous Kurdistan.’ By autonomous, we don’t mean a federation. This leaves no need for redrawing borders and maintains or the unitary nature of the state. The local administrative law should be changed and local administrations empowered."
He said around 17,000 extra judicial murders have been committed against Kurds and there is an ongoing denial policy. He said the PKK has also engaged in some improper acts and that is why a community-outreach project is needed, in which both sides have to forgive each other. He also called for a new constitution.
"Our desire is that Kurds should be able to live their culture freely," said Karayılan, who added that a Kurdish conference like one held recently in northern Iraq could help lay the groundwork for a future solution.
Lack of political will has left little resemblance between the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of today and the Erdoğan of 2005, said Karayılan, referring to remarks the prime minister made during a speech that year in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır. "The Kurdish problem is our problem too," Erdoğan said. "The state too has committed mistakes on this subject and they will be rectified." Karayılan said no trace of that sentiment is left today.
"I can’t be optimistic," he said. "There is no political will in regard to the Kurdish problem. This is a serious problem. Today even the generals are speaking differently, but where is the political will? Where is the prime minister who said those words in 2005? Where is the Erdoğan who, when he was Istanbul mayor in 1994, prepared a Kurdish report and presented it to the leader of his party?" said Karayılan.
According to Karayılan, the PKK has changed and today uses armed conflict only for legitimate defensive purposes. "We are not the PKK of 10 years ago," he said. "We do not engage in armed conflict using the classic methods. We use armed conflict within the limits of legitimate defense. For the last four years we have been in a limited war."
The PKK took up arms in 1984 in a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives. Turkey, the United States and the European Union list the PKK as a terrorist organization.