.Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basm Özeti
KADEK breaks off peace process
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Turkish Daily News by Serdar Alyamac February 20, 2003
With the approaching of American military action against Iraq, the United States and its war allies, particularly
England and ~srael, ha~e gone on top alert to protect themselves against terror offensive attacks. Turkey, a NATO
and U.S" ally, IS also a h~ely country to be targeted by these attacks, besides her bloody problem with the Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) [Its name was changed to Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK)] for the
past two decades.' , ,
The first signs of a probable rise of KADEK activities came with clashes in Southeastern Turkey last month. Antiwar
demonstrations included KAD,EK supporters that shouted slogans pro- Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of
KADEK, and caused unrest. These activities of KADEK may increase day-by-day in this chaotic atmosphere, caused
by the looming US-led waron Iraq.
KADEK determined its new line as carrying out democratic serhildans (public uprisings) and a war of legal defense
together in its written statement released recently. They also stressed that the time previously given to the
Turkish government to take steps to solve the Kurdish question, to lift the isolation, to put an end to repression
and to decla're' a general amnesty ended on Februiuy 15, calling this'time a period administered with unilateral
sacrifices. KADEK also sees public uprising as a main instrument in its "war of legal defense".
Following this statement released by KADEK leaders and demonstrations of its supporters, slipped into the antiwar
protests in all parts of Turkey( it is unavoidable to say that unrest will rise in Turkeyagain.
In KADEK's statement, it is claimed that international cooperation was set up'against Kurds with increasing pressure
on KADEK by Iran and Syria. The most substantial indicator of a cornered KADEK is that their activities will
cover the entire region -- including Iran, Syria and Iraq too.
In this so-called low-intensity war between the Turkish Armed Forces and PKK in the Southeastern Turkey, in
which nearly 36,000 people have been killed, Southeastern Turkey, and Turkey as a whole, will be a scene of
unrest triggered by activities of a KADEK pushed into a northern Iraq dominated byan undeclared Kurdish
Federation formed by the Kurdistan' Democracy Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan(PUK). The
Kurdish groups in northern Iraq assumed an indefinite attitude changing to current conditions against PKK's settlement
in their region.
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The current discontent of Kurdish groups, which come to an agreement with each other to set up a Kurdish federation
that is undeclared, on PKK's existence in northern Iraq and Turkish Armed Forces"cross into northern Iraq
because of anxiety of ,a US-led war on Iraq may legalize the current situation of the Kurdish federation in the
Kurdish enclave in Iraq and push KADEK to panic. '
Following the call of Ocalan for armed members of the PKK to leave their guns and get out of Turkey, ending its
armed campaign to seek peaceful resolution to the Kurdish question, PKK activists holed up in the mountainous
terrain of northern Iraq. '
The PKK wanted to renew its image and reviewed its strategy by changing its name to KADEK and reviewing its
armed sections in order to carry their struggle to the political arena by taking the support of some European countries.
However, Turkey's efforts' to exhaust PKK's existence and activities in both Turkey and in some European
countries marred its plans. KADEK, which lost its leader and put to sleep its armed militants for four years in the
mountains of northern Iraq to propel the question into the international arena, was cornered.
KADEK use the situation of Abdullah Ocalan in Imrali prison and unimplemented human rights reforms related
to the Kurdish question to stir its separative activities in Turkey. They claim Ocalan was not well-treated in prison
and legislated human rights reforms related to the Kurdish question remained unimplemented.
The power balances in the region are being reshaped. Kurdish groups in northern Iraqwant KADEK to be excluded
from the region, The Turkish armyalso aimsto extinguish the existence of KADEK in northern Iraq by crossing
neighboring Iraq.
In this frame, KADEK will use the unimplemented human rights reforms related to the Kurdish question and
Ocalan's situation in prison to incite the Kurdish people to uprise in the major cities of Turkey. Admittedly, Turkey'
has made remarkable reforms onhuman rights in the last year.
However, these reforms, including Kurdish broadcastjng and Kurdish language education, were suspended due
to the looming the U.S.-led war on Iraq. It is a foregone conclusion that Turkey will domestically have to overpower
separatist activities of KADF:K and try to break the impasse it has landed in.
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