Ertugrul Ozkok: A handbook for crossing from Turkey to Kandil Mountain in N. Iraq
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hurriyet reporter Sebati Karakurt, after going to Kandil Mountain in northern Iraq, was stoppd and questioned by police. One of the questions they first asked him was "how did you get there?" The police were searching out secret plans, dark contacts on the part of Karakurt. Here is exactly what Karakurt said:
"After crossing over the border, I got into a taxi, and I said 'take me to Kandil Mountain.' And then the taxi took me there."
No one believed his explanation that day.
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Right now in front of me sits a March 1, 2007 edition of an American publication. The publication's name is "The New York Review of Books." Three of the pages in this publication are devoted to the Kurds. The writer's name is Christopher de Bellaigue, and there is something about him that catches my eye: just like Hurriyet reporter Sebati Karakurt, he too went directly to Kandil Mountain, by taxi no less. So, that's how it works on the other side of the border. One of the reasons I am explaining all this "intelligence information" is for those who are supporting the conspiracy theories in this matter, not wanting to believe it could be that simple to get to Kandil.
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As far as I am concerned, the article in the New York Review of Books contains some interesting observations. For example, he makes some correct diagnoses when it comes to Ocalan's personality. He talks about how the young female terrorists staying up on Kandil Mountain read Ocalan's books, and see him almost as a great philosopher. Although the author also does clarify that, aside from a few sparkling sentences, there is not much in these books. One of the titles of Ocalan's most recent "works" is "The Democratic Ecological Paradigm." The word "paradigm" was of course made fashionable in the 1980s by Thomas Kuhn. So I guess Ocalan found out about this word in the end, if only 25 years late. Ocalan has followed in the footsteps of leaders like Stalin and Mao in terms of relaying on his views on everything to his followers. As for Bellaigue, he thinks differently. He says "The things written in these books are no different than what you might find in any Greenpeace Party brochure."
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Some of the most interesting observations in the article have to do with Ocalan's stance as compared to that of the Turkish government over the past years. Ocalan, says the writer, defends "the principles of Ataturk and the Republic" in the face of Prime Minister Erdogan. He even hints at Ocalan having links with the so-called "deep state," asserting that Ocalan has given up on his demands for independence and federal status.
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There are also some thought-provoking figures provided in this article. Bellaigue writes that the Kurdish region in northern Iraq is tied to Turkey in an economic sense. At the same time, he relates some statistics provided by the Diyarbakir Trade Chambers: Exports from Turkey to this region in food and construction materials have reached the level of 5 billion dollars. This is critical information in terms of our policies with regards to this region. In short, I will say this: The details provided in this publication were detailed and incredibly objective. It would do much good for our intelligence agents, foreign ministry officials, and politicians to try and read this.