I am able to draw many comparisons between the Sumerian clergy - the inventors of this logic – and the scientific mentality of our day. My belief is that both represent the same civilisation.
Abdullah ÖCALAN
A- An Introduction to the Problematic of Methodology and Truth
Method, as a concept, refers to the shortest possible path, habit or conscious approach utilised in arriving at a predetermined target, or targets. A method is found, if and when a path is deemed to be the most shortcut route in satisfying the predetermined target. The method is successful when it has been tried and is judged to be fruitful. It is vital for those concerned that this process of approval be a long and rigorous one.
When we try and comprehend the depths of history, we see that the first method utilised in understanding mentalities and phenomena is the mythological approach. Mythology, in the narrow sense, is a method; a method in decoding reality. Behind mythology is an understanding of the universe. Mythology’s tendency in taking nature to be a live organism full of spirits is today taken to be somewhat childish. However, when we consider modern science’s current condition we can see that this tendency – and the method deployed – is not as off the mark as previously thought. On the contrary, methods that have thought of nature as lifeless, inanimate and lacking in dynamism are comparatively devoid of meaning.
In connection to life, the mythological approach is definitely environmentally friendly, distant from fatalism and determinism, and is consequently open to freedom. This seemingly naturalist understanding of life had, in its time, ardently accompanied communities into the era of the major religions. Mythologies containing sacredness, legends and epics were the Neolithic era’s fundamental mentality of life. The apparent contradiction between myths and the objective world, however, does not mean that meaningful analyses cannot be construed. It is by all means possible to make substantial commentaries on myths, packed with coherent meaning. In fact, without such commentaries only a limited conception of history can be achieved. Mythology, as a fundamental method, is a vital apparatus in the conceiving of human groupings that have – for the longest period of time – made use of mythical explanation. The scientific method – which is attentively presented as the opposite of the mythological method – has been proven to have occupied itself with the construction of its very own myths.
Preceding religions draped in dogma, and their scientific continuatives claiming to work on universally absolute laws, have seamlessly attempted to discredit the mythological method. It is time for this to be reversed, and thus the mythological method’s eminence be restored. Mythologies, as relatives of utopic thought, are an indispensable form of humankind’s spectrum of meaning and mentality. To exclude utopia and mythology from the human mind is like confiscating water from the body. It should be further understood that, the riches of the human mind – the aggregation of all animate minds – cannot be reduced to a mere mathematically literate analytical organism. This is incongruent with life itself. Just as millions of animate minds are unknowable to mathematics, their aggregation, the human mind, cannot be condemned to mere numeric. Moreover, the very invention of mathematics by the Sumerians was for the calculation of surplus products on the surge at the time. In our day, human logic has almost completely been reduced to function like a calculator. So then, how are we supposed to apprehend the minds of millions of living organisms, the movements of sub-atomic particles or immeasurable astronomic phenomena? It is abundantly clear that mathematics does not contain the ability to make sense of both the universe’s micro and macro domains. At the very least, we must remain susceptible to new methods of meaning so that we do not preliminarily drown ourselves in dogmas.
Animate intuitions cannot be underestimated. All things animate are encoded in these intuitions. It cannot be said that these intuitions are independent of the universe’s micro and macro domains. Instead, what seems closer to the truth is that these intuitions are a fundamental feature of the universe. It is for this reason that the mythological method cannot be deemed worthless in attempts to comprehend the universe. The mythological method may be as valuable, if not more valuable, as the scientific method in contributing to an understanding of the universe.
The transition from the mythological approach to the dogmatic religious approach is a significant phase. This transition is closely linked to the fact that it occupies the mental arena that partnered the hierarchical transition of society. Exploitative and hierarchical social relations require unquestionable dogmas. The ascertaining of dogmas with taboo values such as sacredness, God’s word or immunity are in correlation with the purpose of hiding and/or justifying the hierarchical and exploitative organisation of society and the class interests of the elite strata. Where there is a rigid set of absolute judgements, there is no doubt extensive exploitation and tyranny.
After the mythological era, the religious era constitutes the second longest timeframe of human history. It could be paralleled with written history, or just before or just after. What needs to be contextualised is why religious dogma was a requirement. It is fairly explicit that this approach was a purposefully adopted method. The aim of life and the path to reality, as promoted by religious methodology, can only be fulfilled through the appropriation of – and consequently to live by – the sacred word of an external holiness, existing beyond societal and worldly realms. To avert from the sacred word would result in drudgery and slavery while alive, and then burning in hell in the afterlife. This is the era in which masked gods were constructed. It is easily construable that this constructed god was a synonym for the despot of the time, practicing command and relentless exploitation over society. The extravagant masking of these gods is closely linked to the efforts of distortion applied to the human mind. The very fact that the first despots claimed to be god-kings seems to efficiently prove this point. The subsequent application of the despot’s word as legislation, and the presentation of these words as absolute truths is a widespread feature deployed throughout history. As suppression and exploitation deepened, the dogmatic religious method was made to become the dominant path taken by the human mind; to be more precise, it was to be a constructed social reality. The people’s compliance to the god masked despots’ suffocating enslaving rule was ensured through the application of this method.
The most important aspect of the religious method as a mental habit was its ability to justify the acceptance of enslavement by the masses and to install a rigid fatalism in the mass psyche. Great barbarous wars motivated by deeper exploitation were made possible as a result of this method: To live by the sacred word, in abeyance to god’s command! Without a doubt, this method ensures a major convenience for the administrating elite. Simply put, a herd-shepherd dialectic was formed. Slavery was to be presented as a necessary stage of social development; or a static, inanimate understanding of nature was to make it possible to freeze social reality in order to maintain the status quo. A very passive and objectified understanding of nature and society, coupled with a ruling strata presented as the divine creator of all things was forcibly shown to be the dialectic of life. It will not be an exaggeration to say that this was the mentality and method used in governing the people of the middle ages and in antiquity.
The dogmatic method’s most erroneous aspect is rather than the adoption of an animate, self-evolving view of nature, it forcibly insisted on a passive, objectified view of nature in need of a peremptory to determine its future. The most important impact this then has on society is a natural acceptance of its very pacification and an Internalisation of a herd-like administration. This excessively subjective ancient method was to peak in the Middle Ages. The objective world was taken to be incomprehensible, thus deemed non-existent. The world was reduced to a mere temporary station, where eternal and perpetual ideals were the only acceptable way of life. Those who had a good grasp of the existing dogmas and clichés were recognised as scholars and rewarded with the highest titles. This anti-mythological mode of thought has subsequently shaped the course of history, and therefore, is primarily responsible for the currently captive and bridled way of life.
A positive aspect of the religious method is its impact on the development of ethics in society. At this stage, and under the influence of this method, the notions of good and bad have come under significant scrutiny and as a result have been inflexibly categorised in accordance with absolute judgements. The fundamental perception behind this method is its realisation of the flexibility of the human mind, and therefore, its openness to remoulding. This characteristic of the mind, as opposed to other living organisms, is the fundamental basis of ethical development.
Without an application of ethics, socialisation or administration is out of the question. An ethical method is indispensible for the becoming of, and the administration of society. Without dwelling into the pros and cons of ethics, the indispensability of this development for societal comprehension must be clarified. Undoubtedly, ethics is a metaphysical phenomenon, but this in no way makes ethics non-existent or any less significant. We will not be exaggerating too much by saying that metaphysical ethics has the upper hand on the ethics of the mythological period. To think of human sociality without ethics, is enough to bring about the end of the human species along with its ecological environment, just as the dinosaurs did by not leaving themselves a single weed to chew on. Indeed it is due to an ethical demolition that environmental problems have come to such a disastrous threshold.
The dogmatic method is not only evident in the major religions; this method weighs heavily in on classical Greek thought too. The dialectical method, not to mention an objective approach, is seriously lacking in Greek classical thought. The supremacy of Aristotle’s and Plato’s idealism had become a strong foundation for religious dogmatism in the Middle Ages. Plato’s recognition as the greatest philosopher of idealism, or even its creator, had made him a favourite of the prophetical tradition.
The prophetic traditions of the three major religions are well stabilised constituent versions of the dogmatic method. In Buddha, Zoroaster, Confucius and Socrates ethics peaks. Especially in the philosophy of Zoroaster, the duality of good and bad is mirrored by the duality of light and dark. On behalf of humanity, these wise men have introduced higher levels of morality.
The ‘scientific method’ has played a significant role in capitalism becoming a world system. In this approach, led by Descartes, Roger Bacon and Francis Bacon, a clear cut distinction between subject and object is carefully made. In the dogmatic method of the Middle Ages there was not much room for a distinction between subject and object.
The Renaissance led rise of Western Europe, through the Reformation in Christianity and the Enlightenment in philosophy, had opened a new era under the imagery of subjectivity and objectivity. The subjectivity of humanity and the objectivity of the world become the two main factors of life. The dogmatic method, the word of God, along with ethics critically loses significance. To be more precise, the covered kings and the masked gods of the old are replaced by the naked kings and the unmasked gods of the new. The capitalistic mode of exploitation is the main motivator of this transition. The increasing exploitation fuelled by the drive of profit requires the transformation of societal perception through a restructuring of the dimensions of thought. This requirement and necessity is the driving force behind the new ‘scientific method’. Humanity and nature is facing a new era of deepened exploitation and abuse. The societal conscience that was unwilling to accept such abuse was about to undergo reconstruction in parallel with the newly formed dimensions of thought. It is for this reason that ‘method’, as the fundamental route to righteousness, was about to gain a significant functionality. It is well documented that Descartes, in order for a deep transformation, dwells into a major illness of scepticism and eventually seeks asylum in the judgement “I think, therefore I am”. It is also well known that Roger and Francis Bacon work really hard on ‘objectivism’. Descartes opens the door to the individual’s ability to think independently, while the Bacons clear the path for the individual to dispose of the ‘object’ as he wishes.
The concept of ‘objectivism’ in the scientific method is in need of profound reanalysis. Excluding analytic thought, the objectification of the animate and inanimate world, including the human body, plays a significant role in the capitalist exploitation and domination of society and nature. Without the deepening and justification of the segregation between subject and object, the mental transformation required as a basis of modern thought could not have been achieved.
While analytic thought is justified as the subject, object is the material element on which all sorts of speculative efforts can be made upon; in other words, represents ‘objectivity’. Great struggles have been given for the sake of this distinction. The struggle between the church and science should not be seen as one of righteousness. The underlying current is a major social struggle. In a sense, on the one side you have the morally sensitive old society, as opposed to the new naked capitalism wishing to rid itself of the ethical burden on its shoulders. In all honesty, The church and science are not the main units of this quarrel either. More generally, it is a quarrel between the historically consistent social values that hinder exploitation and deem it to be sin, against the new capitalist project wishing to remove the ethical bonds of society in order to make it susceptible to exploitation and tyranny. The ‘objective approach’ is the key concept of this project.
Under the ‘objective’ conceptualisation of ‘analytical thought’ no value is free from going under the surgical knife. It is not only human labour, but all animate and inanimate organisms that can be proprietary, and therefore, disposable to the full extent. They can be subjected to all sorts of research and examination and then, accordingly exploited. Apart from distinguished subjects, everything can be mechanised, and so mercilessly exploited and dictated upon. The subjectification of the individual as opposed to the objectified community, citizenship and the nation-state – in other words the unmasked gods – are ‘new inventions’ that are able to create havoc and make life unbearable through the organisation of genocides and the destruction of the environment. The old ‘Leviathan’ has become rabid; it seems as if there is not a single object it is unwilling to suppress or break into pieces. It should be well understood that to perceive of the objective approach as an innocent concept of the scientific method does not only lead to credulous digressions, but also to great disasters and even bigger massacres then that of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages. It must be clearly stated that the objective approach is in no way an innocent scientific term.
Until the ‘scientific method’ itself is not perceived as a tool for the classified division of society, the dysfunctional and bankrupt state of sociology cannot be explained. I must openly state that, the ‘objective scientific method’ is also the underlying reason behind the bankruptcy of the onetime assertive ‘scientific socialism’.
The fact that scientific socialism’s – and all its derivatives – constructed long term social systems were all abolished from within, and the rapidity of the transformation from state capitalism to private capitalism, both grew out of the systemic adoption of the ‘scientific method’ and the notion of ‘objectification’. Otherwise, no one can doubt for a single second the integrity of those who struggled for socialism with great belief and effort.
Scientific structures that attribute a central role to the subject-object distinction are very passionate for their own independence. So much so that they claim to be over and above society’s values. Maybe the greatest deviation in the name of science is hidden in this claim. it may be right to say that that the integration and unification of science and the system of rule in the capitalist era, is incomparable to that of any other previous era. From its methodology to its contents, the world of science is the system’s biggest constructive power, its protective force and its justifier. The scientific method of the capitalist era – and all sciences deriving from it – is the actual provider and pathfinder of the profitable machine along with great wars, crises, suffering, starvation, unemployment, environmental meltdown and population instabilities that come with it. The saying “knowledge is power” is none other than a proud confession of this truth.
Maybe some will say “what is wrong with this?” These types of judgements, draped in innocence, are nothing other than the system’s outspoken natural defence mechanism.
If in our day capitalist modernity is crying out with signs of unsustainability from every parameter of the system, the biggest responsible party for this is the ‘scientific method’ it relies upon. Therefore, it is of vital importance for a criticism of the system to initially be developed against the method the system is founded upon and the ‘scientific disciplines’ deriving from it. A fundamental weakness of all criticisms of the system, including the socialist criticism, is that they too have adopted the very method used in the creation and sustenance of the system. An anti-system movement aiming to criticise a social reality that has been founded upon a specific method, no matter how hard it is criticised using the same method, will eventually be faced with the same fate. It is well known that a used road will always pass through the same villages and towns. This has been the fate of all anti-system movements, including scientific socialism.
I pay specific attention in taking the societal character of the subject-object distinction to be a central concept of my evaluations. This is because these innocent looking concepts are the ontological reasons behind the unsustainability of modernity. Contrary to popular belief, these are not nominal concepts, and they also have nothing to do with scientific development. They possess fixed misconceptions on the understandings of nature and subjectivity, no less than that of the dogmatic method of the Middle Ages. The frank distinction between subjectivity and objectivity has suffocated the ability to comprehend the meaning of life and has taken human life into a more backward state than that of the Middle Ages. The dogmatic method’s efforts in suffocating and depriving human life of freedom, has been taken over by capitalist modernity’s efforts in smashing social life to pieces on intellectual grounds provided by the distinction of subjectivity and objectivity. A deep segregation is being constructed in all areas of life. As a result of the crystallisation of the whole applied by the so called ‘scientific disciplines’, the biggest value lost is the integral and indivisible entirety of societal time and space. There is no bigger tragedy than the exclusion of time and space from societal life, hence the ‘jamming of life’ experienced in our day. We are faced with the worst of fates. Societal cancer is not an allegoric approach; it is a most meaningful systems analysis.
I am not proposing a new method. This however, does not mean I am proposing to get rid of methodology. I am well aware of human tendencies, not to mention the animate and inanimate nature’s accordance to certain laws and methodical movements. I highly value means and methods. But I am also aware of the fact, and therefore must clearly state, that the insistence on deterministic aspects of methods and laws have greatly hindered developments and denied freedoms. I do not believe in the existence of a lawless universe lacking in method. However, I also do not believe that the universe is based on a mathematic equation as the mechanism of Descartes seems to suggest. I have deep suspicions regarding mathematic logic and nomothetic laws. I am able to draw many comparisons between the Sumerian clergy – the inventors of this logic – and the scientific mentality of our day. My belief is that both represent the same civilisation.
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The national question is not a phantasm of capitalist modernity. Nevertheless it was capitalist modernity which imposed the national question on society. The nation replaced the religious community. However, the transition to a national society needs the overcoming of capitalist modernity if the nation is not to remain the disguise for repressive monopolies. As negative as the over-emphasis of the national category in the Middle East is, as severe would be the consequences of neglecting the collective national aspect. Therefore the method in handling the issue should not be ideological but scientific and not nation-statist but based on the concept of the democratic nation and democratic communalism. Theseconcepts are the fundamental elements of democratic modernity. Over the past two centuries nationalism and the tendency towards nation-states have been fuelled in Middle Eastern societies. National issues have not been solved but rather have been aggravated in all areas of society. Instead of cultivating productive competition, capital has enforced internal and external wars in the name of the nation-state. The theory of communalism would be an alternative to capitalism. In the framework of democratic nations, which do not strive for power monopolies, it may lead to peace in a region which has only been the field of gory wars and genocides. In this context we can speak of four majority nations: Arabs, Persians, Turks, and Kurds. I do not wish to divide nations into majority or minority as I do not find this to be appropriate. But due to demographic considerations I shall speak of majority nations. In the same context we may also use the term minority nations.
1. There are more than twenty Arab nation-states which divide the Arab community and damage their societies by wars. This is one of the main factors responsible for the alienation of cultural values and the apparent hopelessness of the Arab national question. These nation-states have not even been able to form a cross-national economic community. They are the main reason of the problematic situation of the Arab nation. A religiously motivated tribal nationalism together with a sexist patriarchal society pervades all areas of society resulting in distinct conservatism and slavish obedience. Nobody believes that the Arabs will be able to find an Arab national solution to their internal and cross-national problems. However, democratisation and a communalist approach might provide such a solution. Their weakness towards Israel, which the Arab nation-states regard as a competitor, is not only the result of international support to Israel by hegemonic powers. Rather, it is the result of strong internal democratic and communal institutions within Israel. Over the last century, the society of the Arab nation has been weakened by radical nationalism and Islamism. Yet, if they are able to unite communal socialism, which they are not strangers to, with an understanding of a democratic nation, then they may be able to find themselves a secure, long-term solution.
2. The Turks and Turkmens form another influential nation. They share a similar understanding of power and ideology with the Arabs. They are strict nation-statists and have a profound religious and racial nationalism engraved in them. From a sociological point of view, the Turks and Turkmens are quite different. The relations between Turkmen and Turkish aristocracy resemble the tensed relations between Bedouins and Arab aristocracy. They form a stratum whose interests are compatible with democracy and communalism. Their national problems are quite complex. The power strive of the nation-state, distinct nationalism and a sexist patriarchal society prevail and create a very conservative society. The family is regarded as the smallest unit of the state. Both individuals and institutions have taken in these aspects. Turkish and Turkmen communities struggle for power. Other ethnic groups are subjected to a distinct policy of subjugation. The centralist power structures of the Turkish nation-state and the rigid official ideology have prevented a solution to the Kurdish question until today. Society is made to believe that there is no alternative to the state. There is no balance between the individual and the state. Obedience is regarded as the greatest virtue. In contrast to this, the theory of democratic modernity offers an adequate approach to all national communities in solving their national problems. A community based project of a democratic Turkish confederation would both strengthen its internal unity and create the conditions for a peaceful coexistence with its neighbours. Borders have lost there former meaning when it comes to social unity. In spite of geographic boundaries today’s modern communication tools allow for a virtual unity between individuals and communities wherever they are. A democratic confederation of the Turkish national communities could be a contribution to world peace and the system of democratic modernity.
3. The Kurdish national society is very complex. Worldwide, the Kurds are the biggest nation without a state of their own. They have been settling in their present settlement areas since the Neolithic Age. Agriculture and stock breeding as well as their readiness to defend themselves using the geographic advantages of their mountainous homeland helped the Kurds to survive as a native people. The Kurdish national question rises from the fact that they have been denied their right to nationhood. Others tried to assimilate them, annihilate them, and in the end flatly denied their existence. Not having a state of their own has advantages and disadvantages. The excrescences of state-based civilisations have only been taken in to a limited extent. This can be a benefit in the realisation of alternative social concepts that go beyond capitalist modernity. Their settlement area is divided by the national borders of four states and lies in a geo-strategically important region, thus providing the Kurds a strategic advantage. The Kurds do not have the chance to form a national society through the use of state-power. Although there is a Kurdish political entity today in Iraqi-Kurdistan, it is not a nation-state but rather a parastatal entity. Kurdistan had also been home to Armenian and Aramaic minorities before these fell victims to genocides. There are also smaller groups of Arabs and Turks. Even today there are many different religions and faiths living side by side there. Also there are rudiments of clan and tribal culture while almost no presence of urban culture there. All these properties are a blessing for new democratic political formations. Communal cooperatives in farming and also in the water economy and the energy sector offer themselves as ideal ways of production. The situation is also favourable for the development of an ethical political society. Even the patriarchal ideology is less deeply rooted here than in the neighbouring societies. This is beneficial for the establishment of a democratic society where women’s freedom and equality are to form one of the main pillars. It also offers the conditions for the creation of a democratic environment-friendly nation in line with the paradigm of democratic modernity. The construction of a democratic nation based on multi-national identities is the ideal solution when faced with the cul-de-sac that is the nation-state. The emerging entity could become a blueprint for the entire Middle East and expand dynamically into neighbouring countries. Convincing the neighbouring nations of this model shall change the fate of the Middle East and shall reinforce the chance of democratic modernity to create an alternative. In this sense, the freedom of the Kurds and the democratisation of their society would be synonymous with the freedom of the whole region and its societies.
4. The Persian or Iranian nation’s contemporary problems can be found in the interventions of historical civilisations and capitalist modernity. Although their original identity comes from Zoroastrian and Mithraic tradition, these have been annulled by a derivative of Islam. Manichaeism,which emerged as a synthesis of Judaism, Christianity, Mohammedanism andGreek philosophy, was not able to prevail against the ideology of the official civilisation, Islam. Hence it has converted the Islamic tradition into Shi’ah denomination and adopted it to be its latest civilisational ideology. Presently there are efforts made to modernise itself by passing the elements of capitalist modernity through its Shi’ah filter. Iranian society is multi-ethnic and multi-religious and blessed with a rich culture. All the national and religious identities of the Middle East can be found there. This diversity is in strong contrast to the hegemonic claim of the theocracy, which cultivates a subtle religious nationalism and the ruling class does not shrink back from anti-modernist propaganda whenever it serves their interests. Revolutionary and democratic tendencies have been integrated by the traditional civilisation. A despotic regime skilfully governs the country. The negative effects of American and European sanctions are not negligible here. Despite strong centralist efforts in Iran, from the grass-roots already some kind of federalism exists. When elements of democratic civilisation and federalist elements including Azeris, Kurds, Baluchis, Arabs, and Turkmens intersect, the project of a “Democratic Confederation of Iran” can emerge and become attractive. Women’s movements and communal traditions will play a special role here.
5. The Armenian national question contains one of the greatest tragedies that the progress of capitalist modernity has brought about in the Middle East. The Armenians are an ancient people. They shared much of their settlement area with the Kurds. While the Kurds lived primarily on agriculture and animal husbandry the Armenians engaged in arts and crafts. Just like the Kurds, the Armenians cultivated a tradition of self-defence. Apart from some short episodes the Armenians never successfully founded a state. They rely on Christian culture which gives them their identity and their faith in salvation. Because of their religion they often suffered repression at the hands of the Muslim majority. Hence, the emerging nationalism bore fruit with the Armenian bourgeoisie. Soon there were differences with the Turkish nationalists, eventually ending in the genocide of the Armenians by the Turks. Apart from the Jews, the Armenians are the second-largest people who live primarily in the Diaspora. The foundation of an Armenian state in the west of Azerbaijan, however, did not solve the Armenian national question. The consequences of the genocide can hardly be put into words. The search for the lost country defines their national psyche and is at the heart of the Armenian question. The issue is aggravated by the fact that these areas have been settled into by other people since then. Any concepts based on a nation-state cannot offer a solution. There is neither a homogenous population structure there nor any clear borders as is required by capitalist modernity. Confederate structures could be an alternative for the Armenians. The foundation of a democratic Armenian nation in line with the paradigm of democratic modernity promises the Armenians an opportunity to reinvent themselves. It could enable them to return to their historical homeland in the cultural plurality of the Middle East. In the event that they renew themselves under the Armenian democratic nation not only shall they continue to play their historical role within Middle Eastern culture, but shall also find the right path to liberation.
6. In modern times the Christian Arameans (Assyrians) also suffered the fate of the Armenians. They too are one of the oldest people in the Middle East. They shared a settlement area with the Kurds but also with other people. Like the Armenians they suffered from the repression of the Muslim majority, paving the way for European-style nationalism among the Aramean bourgeoisie. Eventually the Arameans too fell victim to genocide at the hands of the Turks under the leadership of the fascist Committee of Unity and Progress. The collaborationist Kurds lent a helping hand in this genocide. The question of Aramean national society has its roots in civilisation but has also become complicated with Christianity and the ideologies of modernity. For a solution there is a need for a radical transformation of the Arameans. Their real salvation may be to break away from the mentality of classical civilisation and capitalist modernity and instead embrace democratic civilisation and renew their rich cultural memory as an element of democratic modernity in order to re-construct themselves as the “Aramean Democratic Nation”.
7. The history of the Jewish people also gives expression to the overall problematic cultural history of the Middle East. The history of expulsion, pogroms and genocide amounts to balancing the accounts of civilisations. The Jewish community has taken up the influences of the old Sumerian and Egyptian cultures as well as those of regional tribal cultures. It has contributed a lot to the culture of the Middle East. Like the Arameans they fell victim to the extreme developments of modernity. Against this background, intellectuals of Jewish descent developed a complex point of view towards these issues. However, this is nowhere near enough. For a solution of the problems as they exist today a renewed appropriation of the history of the Middle East is needed on a democratic basis. The Israeli nation-state is at war since its foundation. The slogan is: an eye for an eye. Fire cannot be fought by fire, though. Even if Israel enjoys relative security thanks to its international support, this is not a sustainable solution. Nothing will be permanently safe as long as capitalist modernity has not been overcome. The Palestine conflict makes it clear that the nation-state paradigm is not helpful for a solution. There has been much blood-shed; what remains is the difficult legacy of seemingly irresolvable problems. The Israel-Palestine example shows the complete failure of capitalist modernity and the nation-state. The Jews belong to the culture bearers of the Middle East. Denial of their right to existence is an attack on the Middle East. Their transformation into a democratic nation just as for Armenians and Arameans would make their participation in a democratic confederation of the Middle East easier. The project of an “East-Aegean Democratic Confederation” would be a positive start. Strict and exclusive national and religious identities may evolve into flexible and open identities under this project. Israel may also evolve into a more acceptable open democratic nation. Undoubtedly though, its neighbours must also go through such a transformation. Tensions and armed conflicts in the Middle East make a transformation of the paradigm of modernity seem inevitable. Without it a solution to the difficult social problems and national questions is impossible. Democratic modernity offers an alternative to the system that is unable to resolve problems.
8. The annihilation of Hellenic culture in Anatolia is a loss that cannot be compensated. The ethnic cleansing arranged by the Turkish and Greek nation-states in the first quarter of the last century has left its mark. No state has the right to drive people from their ancestral cultural region. Nevertheless, nation-states have shown their inhuman approach towards such issues again and again. The attacks on the Hellenic, Jewish, Aramean and Armenian cultures were exacerbated while Islam spread through-out the Middle East. This, in turn, contributed to the decline of Middle-Eastern Civilisation. Islamic culture has never been able to fill the emerging void. In the 19th century when capitalist modernity advanced into the Middle East it found a cultural desert created by self-inflicted cultural erosion. Cultural diversity also strengthens the defence mechanism of a society. Monocultures are less robust. Hence, the conquest of the Middle East has not been difficult. The project of a homogeneous nation as propagated by the nation-states furthered their cultural decline.
9. The Caucasian ethnic groups also have social problems which are not insignificant. Again and again they have migrated into the Middle East and stimulated its cultures. They have unquestionably contributed to its cultural wealth. The arrival of modernity almost made these minority cultures disappear. They too, would find their adequate place in a confederate structure.
Finally, let me state again that the fundamental problems of the Middle East are deeply rooted in class-based civilisation. They have exacerbated with the global crisis of capitalist modernity. This modernity and its claim to dominance cannot offer any solutions nor a long-term perspective for the Middle-East region. The future is democratic confederalism.
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On Thursday 5 December 2013, The Guardian published an editorial article on the occasion of Nelson Mandela’s death. The article included a significant(!) comparison between Mandela and some other names like Jawaharlal Nehru, Aung Sang Suu Kyi, and me. As long as they approach the issue with a hegemon’s mindset, the potentates will certainly continue to make such comparisons among those figures wining the affection of their peoples. However, any comparison has its own inner problems.
The time of the struggles, varying geographic and political conditions and even the characteristic differences between the figures will render such comparisons problematic. First of all, for me, being remembered together with a leader for whom all the world shed tears shows the extent to which our struggle line has taken universal dimensions. It also demonstrates the fact that our case couldn’t be explained as a struggle only against an unjust treatment.
Writing on the capabilities of a leader with exemplary methodsof struggle and negotiation just after his death needs some more pondering on the history and politics of risk-takers, in order to get a better understanding of the conditions of those who haven’t been afraid of struggling in the front line throughout history.
There are clear-cut differences between the front-line strugglers and deskbound analysts. The greatest difference is to witness the death of your comrades and your people, live the experience moment to moment, and do right and wrong. Restricting the esteem and dignity of such an important leader with ‘the prison’ is a beleaguered approach which holds in contempt the self-realized political struggle of a people with over 40 million population voluntarily approving this leader as the representation of their own will. How objective and just would it be to turn a blind eye on the national identity the Kurdish people have achieved after a 40-year-long freedom struggle, and on our peace efforts for a democratic solution to the Kurdish question.
Comparing me with Nelson Mandela in your article, you had referred to me as “feared and worshiped”. Here, not only can I see more easily the writer’s desire to be the state chronicle of a history which tramples on the world’s oppressed, but also I discern the codes of the purposive enmity harbored against both of the compared figures, whose only resource for facing the enslaving, massacre and denial policies are their own self-belief.
It is too evident to need proof that a person who has spent the last 14 years of his life in a prison-island alone and under solitary confinement can be a “source of fear” only for those who have put him into chains. The chains speak for themselves ….
In reply to those who, instead of analyzing the fear spread by the hegemons, are busy giving advice and teaching lessons to those struggling against these hegemons, I should say, in all modesty, that Dear Madiba and me have more parallels than contrasts.
Everybody knows that the ordeal succeeded in facing the Apartheid regime was an accomplishment of not only the South African people, but at the same time of the leader in whom they had unsuspectedly confided their fate. No matter their numbers, the many ludicrous comments made on Mandela’s credibility come from the quarters which adopt a remote and trivial approach to the ‘struggle of the oppressed’ rather than making a close and reasonable analysis.
The self-organization processes of the communities subjected to suppression and discrimination would differ from the common practices, especially when they begin to make a true analysis of the notion of capitalist modernity. Traditionally, the organizational options of ‘the book’ are already known. But time proceeds forward and circumstances change, in company with historical determinism. Changing conditions will bring about changes in the behavior and attitude of individuals and organizations, either captive or free. When it comes to the PKK, instead of bringing about pragmatic progress, these changes have led to the political and ethical progress for a movement which has transformed itself on the basis of the struggle for democratic modernity and the developing direct democracy examples in
the world.
The 12 september 1980 fascist coup followed by many organized coups against our community as well as the international conspiracy act against me and our movement share one thing in common with other interferences in other struggles of the oppressed; and that is the silence of the international community in the face of these interventions. Despite the progress in the international democratic standards in the 21st century, due to the state propaganda characteristic of the international conspiracy, the dehumanization of the struggling leaders held captive still continues, based on poor intellectual standards.
How odd it is that a credible newspaper in Britain has not noticed the recent democratization progresses that we have made in Mesopotamia. As far as the approach is concerned, I hope it to be only ‘odd’, not more. Looking at the general approach of the article, what I see is not only the “oddness”; rather, every line is a dead giveaway to a hierarchic and ‘from above’ viewpoint.
Here, those opposing peace are accusing us of starting negotiations, are dehumanizing me in the eyes of the new generations and defaming our movement which has adopted peace and settlement as its main principle. They are running and organized activity to blacken the reputation of our efforts for democratic modernity. How odd it is that racist notions and old propaganda rhetoric which have even lost their reputation in Turkey are still being repeatedly
covered in the international press.
The only topic to be discussed after Mandel’s demise should be the Apartheid, a regime which history would remember only with shame. Nobody would keep a memoir of Apartheid and its leaders; nobody would shed tears for them; whereas Mandela has become a shining star for the peoples of Africa. Our historical mission is to ensure the ever brilliance of this star for the peoples of the Middle East. The friendship developed on the basis of principled and political integrity between the peoples’ movements and particularly our movement, relies on the changing dynamics and the horizontal nature of their policies. To believe that these laws of goodwill and friendship have been developed on the basis of fear can only be explained by having no knowledge about the metamorphosis eras the Kurdish political movement has undergone and failing to observe its democratic inner reflections of the peaceful and negotiating perspective of this movement.
Likewise, negotiation and struggle are both important processes in determining the future of peoples’ movements and those leading these processes are figures winning the confidence of the peoples, not ‘feared’ ones. If not so, it wouldn’t be possible for these movements to be represented both in the parliamentary system and the local politics , as it wouldn’t have been possible to succeed in the years-long armed struggle.
My recommendation to the editorial board of The Guardian is to do more research and analysis on the role of the women in our political movement and the resulting transformative effects. Then, they would certainly encounter such an infinite experience so as to take off their colonialist hat, though ashamedly.
Abdullah Ocalan
The Prison Island of Imrali
- Details
History has demonstrated that whenever the Kurdish people reach an awareness of their national democratic identity, they become the target of ruthless attacks and massacres. Thus, in December 1978, defenceless Kurdish children were the target of fascist contras in the Maraş massacre. At Roboski the massacre was carried out by a savage war apparatus. When we launched the process of resolution we wished to confront all the painful incidents in our recent and distant past, in addition to developing democracy and freedom.
This quest for justice is so important that it could be the beginning of a confrontation with past sorrows in our history,"The state and government should not fear the consequences of this confrontation and abandon its attitude of obstruction. Only last week the European Court of Human Rights condemned Turkey for the massacres of Kuşkonar and Koçağlı, which for years the authorities blamed the PKK for. As long as the state persists in its denial international public opinion and the peoples of Turkey will continue to see it as the perpetrator of massacres. Therefore, justice regarding this massacre could make a significant contribution to the search for peace.
We are aware that this quest for justice is social, not individual. We must also realise its historical importance. Our people will not abandon the families of Roboski. The government should commence its confronting of realities as part of the process in Roboski. The women of Roboski who have taken possession of the cause of our slaughtered sons have monumental significance for peace. I once again send my condolences to the people of Roboski.
ABDULLAH ÖCALAN
28.12.2013
- Details
My health is closely linked to our social reality. Look at the state the Turkish society is in now! The situation of the University youth, the way they have been depoliticised can be seen. The left is in shatters and can't come together. They used MHP to finish off the left. As for CHP nothing shall become of them. They still can not even understand Mustafa Kemal. In Turkey the only oppositional dynamic left is the Kurds but they can not sufficiently and as required do what is needed and hence are not influential. This is really what puts my health in difficulty. For the past 12 years I have made such analyses, I make proposals for a solution but we are unable to make a real headway. Of course I also have physical problems, especially in relation to my breathing. It never seems to end. I am in some way able to handle it. But the real issue that puts me in difficulty is the fact that societal problems are not resolved and that the societal reality is not understood.
I am trying to follow up the Hizbullah issue. How can this happen, how can they do this to Diyarbakır! How could the ones from Diyarbakır permit this to happen? They set these killers, murderers, those who monstrously murder free – they dug up people's bodies and some were found in bags – and there are celebrations held to that end! All this is taking place in Diyarbakır. Diyarbakır saw thousands of its children fall. They savagely butchered many of our youth there. I fail to understand, how this can at all happen in Diyarbakır. You have 80% of the votes in Diyarbakır then how can this happen? The people of Diyarbakır are patriotic and aware but it must be that they are not getting organized, then there is a problem in leading them!
It is not a coincidence that they were set free in such a manner, they may be preparing for something. They are not ordinary criminals. They can not let these murderers go as if they are ordinary criminals. If there are such people amongst our people who have committed savage acts they should not set them free either. The incident of Konca Kuriş are still fresh in our memories, everyone knows how they killed the woman. I think she had some feminist thoughts as well. In fact they meant to kill all the women in the personage of savagely killed Konca Kuriş.
I wrote often about the woman's issue, everyone is aware of how I approach the issue. I left a significant weight to this issue in my defences as well. The woman's issue is the source of all issues. The resolution of woman's freedom in general would mean that a solution has been found for the general society's freedom struggle. When I talk about woman I do not say this in a sexist way. I read the book of an American author, a female author, I agree with all the points she makes. She is quite objective. She makes a distinction between biologic feminism and cultural feminism. And of course there is also the political dimension. It is really important that woman takes her place in political struggle. This is where woman's struggle gains a lot more importance. A liberated woman, but not alone, should also involve man and fight against the male dominated mentality and power together. There is a need to end this rape culture which has continued for thousands of years. One should overcome the rape culture in order to be able to create the liberated woman. I don't want to be misunderstood, I am not against marriage but uneven marriages as well as those that are done under male dominated conditions only lead to the consumption of one another. Indeed the femininity and masculinity of today is a given understanding. Woman is being exploited for thousands of years in accordance with this created identity. She is unable to get a retribution for her labour. For example this Hizbullah and similar religious understandings are shutting off the woman and isolating them from the society. Leave the turban aside for a while, they are shutting her off in a burka. They are covered form head to toe, one can not even see their faces. This can not be an understanding of freedom? Can putting the woman into such a form be passed off as liberation? There is no such thing in real Islam, their mentality has nothing to do with Islam either.
The other day an interesting news took my attention. I think this happens in a village of Mardin. In a Mardin village men are flying in women from Morocco to be their brides and as a second wife. Some of these women apparently know a few languages, there are those who are teachers. They come to become a second wife to men who already have a few wifes and eleven or twelve children. An interesting situation, they were talking about around seventy to eighty marriages as such. Morocco is under the influence of the Arabs but there is also a Jewish domination there. And all this maybe according to a plan. They may be using women in this way. In this manner Zionism is trying something out in Mardin. Previously also in Urfa, if I am not wrong the former mayor of Harran remarried although he had four other wives and his fifth was a woman from Ankara. Later this woman became an MP from the AKP list. This is another example of how woman is used. It is also said that Israelis have thousands of hectares of land in Urfa. If one remembers they had given Israeli firms the job to clean mined fields. They settled in Palestine in a similar manner and then established their own state. The Arabic states kept silent. I would like to especially underline something so that I am not misunderstood I am not anti-Semitic. The Jewish people, just as all the other peoples, have the right to live in peace in the Middle East. Of course they can come and buy land in the region as well but they should do this openly. They should not have ill intentions and a secret agenda. Similarly we have no problems with the Arabic people; we have many Arab friends. I don't want to be understood wrong, I lived in Damascus for years but Arabic states for example the Saudi capital supports Israel and hence they keep quiet.
I think the things I said in relation to self-defence has been understood wrongly. I can not understand our politicians either. They also do not understand me. They can not do what is necessary at the right time and place. They do not know how to do politics. Because they can not do politics as required of them I am in difficulty here. They are not good at politics. Look at how they released these killers, savages. One can not predict what they shall be up to. On the other hand they are establishing a 50 thousand manned private army. Who and for what are they doing this. They say they do it because of “Terror”, for military operations and that they will get money for each military operation they participate in. Who will they do the military operations against? What they call “terror” is simply the Kurds, the Kurdish people. They shall fight with the Kurdish people. They shall apparently will be all sent to the region! Why would they establish such an army? On the one hand they say that they would like to resolve the issue through dialogue but on the other hand they are making such preparations. Those from Hizbullah are released. I do not understand can't our politicians see all this, why don't they ask, when and with whom this army shall fight with? They shall war with our people. In the case that such a thing happens then the Kurdish people shall take up self-defence and shall have the right to legitimate defence. And then when I talk about self-defence it is understood wrong. It is enshrined in international law and in the constitution. The right to legitimate defence is a constitutional right. Why do I insist on the establishment of City Councils. Legitimate defence is the ability to understand the dangers and to protect ones self in accordance. The Congress and the Amed Council should gather and discuss legitimate defence. The members of Hizbullah are released, a private army is being established, there are massacres committed since the beginning of the republic, the cultural genocide continues and on top of it all religious organizations are rapidly spreading in the region. They are talking about around ten thousand imams to be send to the region and to top it all there are religious communities. One should think about all this in its entirety. The Congress and Amed city council should gather and discuss all this. This is what I mean by legitimate defence. One should gather together and discuss the issues and be aware of the dangers. When required our people are demonstrating but why are they so silent when these murderers are released. Why aren't they organizing meetings and demonstrations? Everything should not be expected of me, do I have to remind you of everything. They should think of it themselves. On the one hand the state and on the other the organization expects everything of me. And me in turn find it difficult to breath here. This is what puts my health in danger. I had said it before, all section of Diyarbakir can come and take their place within the City Council and discuss everything freely. One can talk to these members of Hizbullah get in touch with them; if they have given a self-criticism and they shall not continue with their old ways, if they have learn their lesson from their mistakes and if they shall express themselves legally then they could also be called upon and they can then represent themselves both in the Council and in the Congress. But if they shall continue in their former manners then self-defence shall come into play and they shall not have room in Diyarbakir for themselves. Similarly the industry chambers and other circles should take their place within the Congress and Council. They should participate in the discussions and taking of decisions. They can not just bid for contracts from the state and take money.
I would like to say a few things in relation to democratic autonomy, since it is also not understood well. Although I insist that our solution model is not a statist solution model . We are not aiming a state. Either some columnists do not understand me or they distort it intentionally. I have a different perspective. I view the history of society and state separately. The system that we proclaim is a model of democratic society it is not a state model and it rests upon the society being organized. Ever since there is hierarchy and state emerging within the society there has also been the existence of the civil society organizations in parallel and against it. Both, that is state-power and civil society have been in conflict to date. I at times call those against state-power the political and moral society or at times democratic society. I sometimes call the system we propose as Democratic autonomy and at times Democratic Confederalism. Contrary to what some think it does not aim for a federative structure. We are concerned with the society's democratic organization and democratic administration. I have talked about these in detail in my defences. In the 20th and 21st centuries the power and state structures have been realized in the form of nation-states. It has passed through various phases until it has reached the form nation-state. But all the phases are linked to one another. If you scratch the surface of nation-state structures you shall find the theocratic state of the Middle Ages beneath it. In a similar manner beneath that, one shall find the slave-owning state of the antiquity. Fundamentally there is really not much of a difference between the nation-state system of today and that of the past state structures. As always the case, there is a dominant class, power and state and on the other hand there are the masses of people exploited. The slave of the past is now the paid slave. Today many people work like a wage earning slaves, indeed some are even worse off as they can not find employment at all. Unemployment is the worst situation of all. Therefore our proposal for a solution can not be centred around the state or power. Because these do not solve but generate problems. Hence in our system the dynamic and resisting structures since the beginning of time are fundamental. Our aim is to strengthen the democratic society.
If my defences are read it is more detailed there. Because our approach is totally different they can not understand it. Because they do not think outside the boundaries of classical approaches they can not envisage that there can be a different model. They are far behind, they do not read our paradigm nor they do not study it. For years now we say that our paradigm has changed and that a new nation-state can not be the solution to the problem.
The left in Turkey was crushed and marginalized by using the nationalism of the MHP. This is why it is in the state that it is in. At present they are attempting the same thing with the Kurdish movement using political Islam against it. One should determine this and act in accordance. This is quite clear. The fact that the Hizbullah members were released, the imam cadres that number in their thousands, the religious communities in the region, the establishment of private armies are all intentional policies to finish off the Kurdish movement by using political Islam against it and are all interrelated. One should ask where the money that backs Hizbullah comes from?
The former classical colonial methods are no longer used, global finance is now ruling the whole world and re-designing it. I believe it was an English saying, of post I. World War; “There is no longer a need to occupy a country using military might and other classical methods. There is now a need find other ways to do that”. This is what global finance is doing today. Turkey in this context is a country that is exploited the most in the world. Is the international capital investing in Turkey in vain? They say that production has increased in Turkey, this is not realistic. The main components of those things produced comes from outside Turkey and then it is only assembled in Turkey and then sent abroad again. Indeed the real profit is made by the international capital. The workers in Turkey are working for survival and there are millions who can not even find work. Similarly there is the HES which are built in the region and which are supported by the international capital. They both seize the land of the citizens in return for modest prices and then make them economically dependent. As a result they gain enormous economic profits. Fertile land is left under dams and can no longer be used. This also allows agriculture to disappear and result in unemployment in return. The damns that are built with such a huge expenditure are then left in an unusable state in about fifteen to twenty years because they are filled with soil. The real damage is due to environmental massacre that is done. There is the Illisu dam as well as the dams that are tired to be built in Dersim and the other regions. The nature and history are being destroyed, the valleys are being destroyed. Our region Halfeti and similar fertile land were all left under water. The beautiful Black Sea shores and its nature is also being destroyed and left under water. The Mediterranean shores are also being left at the disposal of certain holders of capital in the name of tourism. There are no longer many beaches left. For example Antalya. Those well off people from around the world go there to entertain themselves. But the natives of that region work like slaves and only for their own survival. The people who live in Turkey are not able to benefit from these blessings. For example the situation of Sarıkeçililer is quite clear; they can no longer find any meadows and winter quarters to live in nor can they find fields to feed their animals. They call all these things done in Antalya investment in the name of tourism. But tourism can not be considered a tool of investment and development. All these can be given as examples to the damages of capitalist modernity. Capitalist modernity tries to disguise all these with four methods; nationalism, sexism, religionism and scienticism and hence enslave peoples. Nationalism is a method used by global finance and we shall not fall into this trap. This is why we are against nationalism and have no place for nationalism in our paradigm. In the same manner the other method used is sexism. For many thousands of years the woman is being imprisoned at home and exploited. We reject this as well. Similarly religionism is another method being used, it is used against us in the region. AKP is using it very well. As I have said they have nothing to do with real Islam, these are policies implemented in accordance with the interests of global capital. Scienticism on the other hand is used to disguise them all. Their secularism is only in words. Have a look at how religious affairs is clinging tightly to state in Turkey. The state is using religion through religious affairs according to its political interests.
I shall make one more important evaluation. This is a historical as well as a self-critical analyses. To date it was claimed that gladios JITEM like structures within the state was being eliminated with the Ergenekon trials. I also thought along similar lines. But this is not entirely true. I continuously think on this topic. I discussed it with our friends in here as well the other day. Why is it that we have not noticed it until now? This is the reason why I say self-criticism. I think it maybe mentioned in Hanefi Avcı's book. He was also apparently supportive of me being talked to in order to find a solution and he was proposing this and now he is imprisoned and is being tried for Ergenekon. Similarly in the past there are those who met with me with the intention to solve the issue are also being tried for being a member of Ergenekon. Indeed there are some who are being tried for being a member Ergenekon are supportive of finding a solution. But the real sections of Gladio who does not want a solution is left out and they are still free and AKP has cooperated with them. They are eliminating those people who wanted a solution by relating them with exposed people like Veli Küçük who are obscure, murderers and are pro military coups. In the past there were similar events for example Cem Ersever -he was himself the founder of JITEM, he lead the way for thousands of extraordinary killings- but later when they said that the issue can not be resolved through these means they were eliminated. At times people may learn from the mistakes that they make. Under today's conditions AKP is the one that is against a solution and has co-operated with the Gladio and Ergenekon members who are still free. But is eliminating those who are pro-solution by relating them with Ergenekon. The efforts of AKP to establish a private army and to release Hizbullah members can not be thought independently.
Legitimate defence is a natural, legal and constitutional right. It is even enshrined in the present constitution. One should gather in the Congress and Council and discuss the issue in great detail and then declare the desire to make benefit of their constitutional right. In addition the separation of individual and collective rights is not the right thing to do. Should the Kurds not defend themselves in the face of attacks against themselves? Can anyone think in such a way? Of course they shall defend themselves, this is the most natural and legal thing to do.
There are letters from prisons. I send my greetings to all our friends in prisons.
I extend my greetings to our people in Çınar and Urfa. The work done in Urfa should be sped up. They should establish the City Councils and neighbourhood assemblies. They should not be late in establishing them, they should work seriously.
A child from Yüksekova with the name of Beritan Baban has sent a new year card written in Kurdish. I thank her. In the personage of Beritan I send my special greetings and affection to all the children in Yüksekova and Hakkari and I wish them a happy new year.
07 January 2011
Abdullah Ocalan
- Details
There is much discussion on Özal's death in the papers. Apparently his brother Korkut says “I have no doubt that my brother was killed, he has been killed without a doubt”. He never spoke this way, he is probably speaking more at ease since he is older and near death now; hence he speaks without fear and at ease. I had initially made this analysis. Özal was killed the day they would have met me. I was the first to say that he was killed. That period was a period of conspiracies. The murder of Özal was a conspiracy against the solution of the Kurdish issue and against us. What we experience today is quite similar to the conspiracy of the 1925s. The conspiracy of 1925 is of utmost importance. It must be understood well. The Kurds were eliminated with the 1925 conspiracy. Mustafa Kemal was then began to be besieged, he was confined to Çankaya and was rendered symbolic but ineffective. In a way he was isolated like I am here. While he was ill in bed he is informed that Ismet Inönü is dead and he leaves his children inheritance. He has been isolated to that extend. Özal was killed. Mustafa Kemal's death prior to the II. World War is also questionable. Because someone like Mustafa Kemal would have been quite decisive within the balance of powers in the II. World War. This is why there was no room for him there and then! Just as Ecevit was carried off to death before America intervened in Iraq. At the time, all these activities of besieging him was London based.
At the time there were five generals who had survived the War of Independence, they were called the “quintet generals”. Apart from one of them all were eliminated. For example Kazim Karabekir was a very skilful commander, he was eliminated. All the other generals like Rauf Orbay, Rıfat Bele and Ali Fuat Cebesoy were all eliminated. This was an important siege.
There were many important conspiracies against us as well; there are four different periods of conspiracy. The First Conspiracy Period is the one experienced with the murder of Özal: Özal was courageous in his approach to the Kurdish issue. He said “I must most definitely resolve this issue”. His son Ahmet Özal gives clear information on this topic. He says “my father wanted to resolve this issue once and for all”. At the time they besieged Özal and eliminated all those that were pro-solution to the Kurdish issue. Many army officers such as Eşref Bitlis, Bahtiyar Aydın and their likes were killed and eliminated just because they were perceived to be pro-solution. Talabani probably knows some important details on this topic. Talabani used to say that “we think alike with Eşref Bitlis when it comes to a resolution”. Talabani had told me this in 1993. At the time there were some intellectuals like Uğur Mumcu who were also eliminated and killed.
The Second Period of Conspiracy: was during the year 1997 and 1998. At the time Erbakan was more sincere and was closer to solving the issue. Erbakan was more honest when compared to Kurtulmuş. Kurtulmuş, just like others say “we are ready for any solution that leaves Öcalan out”. This sentence alone shows where he is devoted to. In any case they have dissolved and shall not regain their strength. Erbakan also had a sincere and honest side to him just like Özal. He had established contact with us as well. During the 97-98 period both the civilian and the military side had gotten in touch with us. But the gladio was too powerful. I read in one of the articles in Taraf newspaper; It inquired “Who sabotaged this period?”. It is the right question to ask. At the time although a resolution could have been reached the conspiracy instead was put into motion.
The Third Conspiracy Period: It was tried between 2003-2004. Fragmentation of the Kurds was the new styl of conspiring. They were not successful at the time either.
We know face the Fourth Conspiracy Period. I am now clear about the status of Erdoğan. I can now say what I think with more ease. If the incident in Hakkari is for sure an action by the contras and has nothing to do with the organization then this points to a few things.
We may call all the periods of conspiracies before this government the Black Conspiracy Periods. But the conspiracy period of today is Green Conspiracy Period. are diverge from one another. During the black conspiracy periods there was unrestricted authority given to Jitem, contras and those who confess; they were given the authority to kill anyone and anywhere they liked. For example they killedMusa Anter on the street, and many others in broad day light in Diyarbakir and other cities as well. This authority was given to them directly by the state. At the time the Turkish Gladio was run by the highest authority. Orders were given by Tansu Çiller and Doğan Güreş. All the killings would be reported to them. It is not a coincidence that after Özal's death their team became quite powerful. At the time the Turkish Gladio could kill anyone it desired and saw to be an obstacle, Özal's murder is an example to this. Just as in Italy, the Italian Gladio had killed its own prime minister. This prime minister that they killed was someone who did not act within the known boundaries; he was about to establish an alliance with the communists. This is why they killed him. But later the Turkish Gladio or contra or Ergenekon became independent of the one at the top; and determined its own course. When Karadayi said 'we do not belong to them” that is what he meant. There was an assassination attempt at Kıvrıkoğlu in Cyprus; the bullet skimmed off him and hit a colonel behind him. At the time Çevik Bir and his team were quite powerful in the Gladio. Most things were determined by them. Indeed Çevik Bir's name is mentioned as the person responsible for this assassination attempt in the Ergenekon case file.
During this conspiracy period murders and extraordinary killings like before won't be seen. The incident in Hakkari was a bit different. I shall talk about it later. Murders such as these would have been the job of Gladio before. Gladio was given full authority to kill. However during this green conspiracy period there is no Gladio-contra in the old way of doing things. During this period they shall not kill one by one on the street . The new way is that Erdogan knows of everything that happens. Without the knowledge of Erdoğan no one has the authority to kill. The incidence in Hakkari is a response to the killing of an imam there. The 10 guerillas being killed there is coordinated by Ankara, they came from Ankara to implement the operation. Both the killing of 10 guerillas and the explosion in Hakkari is a response to the killing of that imam. It is Ankara who has given the direct orders; a special team sent from Ankara goes there and plants the bomb and then leaves. This is quite clear to me now. I reached this conclusion from Erdogan's remarks in relation to that imam incidence.
This green conspiracy is Washington based. It is run from Washington. When I say this it should not just be thought as being Fethullah Gülen. The role of Fethullah Gülen in this is quite elementary one should not exaggerate it. There are those who are more important. The media too talked about it; some Turkish pilots fought in Afghanistan for Taliban. These kind of relations are quite intertwined and have different dimensions. Hanefi Avcı talks about the imams and the way they are organized in his book. He says that there are units of imams and one responsible for each unit. He is aware of such organizations that is why he makes such statement. I call all these new organizations as green conspirac or green contra. They are organized all around.
The latest international diplomacy and all this work to eliminate the organization allows me to reach this conclusion; Those who have interests in Turkey, that is some powers are not ready to resolve this issue. If there would have been a solution reached then they would have been caught without any preparation. This is because they have hundreds of years of interest in the Kurdish issue and its past. This conspiracy was prepared against the Kurds since the 1920s. In the case of a resolution all their plans would have been destroyed and hence they are not ready for a solution. The centre for this international conspiracy is Paris, Berlin, Moscow and many other places. But of course utmost of all it is run from Washington. They may tighten the siege; they will probably shut down Roj TV. Why are they supporting the AKP so much now: Europe did not really accept the AKP previously. But they now do. And it is because they accept it that they are trying to take some concessions and bargain. In return for these bargaining and concessions they are deciding on the fate of the Kurds. Kurds should not fear. Their alliance is not eternal. This alliance shall fall apart. Kurds should continue on with their own work. Their diplomacy games shall not give any results either. As can be seen Israel is uncomfortable with the cooperation between Turkey-Syria and Iran. And as a result has withdrawn from its alliance with Turkey. The USA is also uncomfortable with this situation.
There maybe those who wished to prepare elimination plans through using me. But I did not act as they wished hence they could not realize any of these conspiracies or eliminations plans. I am not sitting idle here. Some say that the fight in here is a huge struggle. But the Kurdish intellectual is pitiable, they do not understand what is going on. They can not understand the row here.
The line of Kıvrıkoğlu and Ecevit were more independent when compared to the others. They therefore tried to prevent some of the tricks. Of course they may have accepted some things in return for me being handed over to Turkey but they did not want to comply with everything. They later carried Ecevit to death. In 2005 when the prime minister went to Diyarbakır and said “Kurdish issue is my problem and I shall solve it” Turkish Gladio was about to kill him like Ecevit but they managed to make an agreement. During the term of AKP there were four different plans of military coup similar to that of Balyoz. Later though prime minister and the Gladio agreed on certain guidelines. They took a decision to administer together. However after the Erdogan-Bush meeting there was a decision to eliminate the Turkish Gladio-Ergenekon that was out of control. But during the very the same meeting they agreed to some important deals in the international arena. During the Erdoğan-Bush meeting they believed that Erdogan would eliminate the Kurds hence they withdrew coup plans similar to Balyoz and they began the elimination period of Ergenekon. Now during the green conspiracy period nothing that is out-of-control can be realized. A new greed contra has stepped in. This is a new style of contras. If the Dörtyol incident can be clarified then Erdogan's relationship with this new styled contra can be exposed.
I would like to say the following in relation to gender issues during the Fourth Conspiracy Period or green conspiracy period. There is a gender dimension of this period. During this period the self-defence of woman is of more importance. I am not approaching the issue from the dimension of honour. But I am talking about them protecting themselves in terms of thought, their sole and physically. Erdogan did not just tell the women to “bear three children” out of the blue. The Mayor of Rize was telling everyone to marry Kurdish girls. These are not out of naïvety. Tayyip Erdogan is aware of what he is saying. The things Tayyip Erdoğan could not express during his term are expressed now by this mayor. All these are a part of a certain plan or conspiracy. As far as I heard a girl of age 12 or 13 meets a man from Rize as she goes from Agri to Rize pick hazelnuts. This is being portrayed as great “love” in the media. What kind of a love is this! What's the love of a 12 or 13 year old girl! She goes there to work, to pick hazelnuts and does this under terrible conditions. She is in needs financial support and in order to live under better conditions she is driven to this relationship. The family approves of this. The man on the other hand is although in no need of such a relationship, that is although there are many well educated girls in their region opts for this girl!This is really not a normal marriage or love; it is slavery, it is slave like treatment. He will take the girl and make her work like a slave and use her. I use the definition of “the Aggrieved from Ağrı”. I believe such marriages are common in Ağrı. It is also wide-spread in Ağrı and Muş. This also is partially true for Urfa and Diyarbakır. For example there was an accident the other day as they were taking a girl from Urfa to the Black Sea region to be married there but there was an accident in Malatya on their way there. This is a deliberate policy of the green conspiracy period. In this way the Kurdish girls are taken and through their families a relationship is established. Another example is that of the family of Kepoğlu in Diyarbakir; one of their girls were also married off to a man from the Black Sea region. This family has a total population of 13 thousand people. This is one of their ways of achieving cultural genocide. You should not be made to believe that these are normal marriages with the Kurdish girls, it is done with an intent to enslave them and use them at their services. In fact the girls from their own region are more educated then the Kurdish girls and are closer to their own mental set but Kurdish girls are chosen deliberately! If one thousand Kurdish girls are given away to Black Sea region and to Kayseri that would mean establishing some contact with a thousand Kurdish family. This gives a chance to snatch these families from their own society and put them under their own control. There are many examples to this: A girl secured a first place in something and she was given a house as a present. There was much propaganda done around that. There was a girl who was raped in Mardin. She was at first raped but she later told the court that “I continue to now do it for money”. The judge reduced the sentences on the grounds that there was consent.
A book on her life I think should be written; not just that issue but on such issues there should be some focus. In Batman too there are some rapes. In boarding schools too such incidents are wide-spread and are planned. One should be quite careful. There are thousands of similar examples to be counted. There is the incident experienced in Siirt. They rape children then kill them. If in a society the women has been subjected to cultural genocide then that society is exhausted. Nothing will come of that society. If in a society a child is raped and if hundreds of people are a part of this then that society is done with.
But what are the women's associations doing? Half of them serve the system. These institutions should educate and raise the awareness of the girls. Women's institutions should establish a congress. And this congress should have a permanent executive body. They should really work day and night. They should really deal with these issues in Batman, Siirt, Mardin and other issues I have mentioned. Our efforts in relation to these areas must be implemented.
All these are a result of the policies of this period. Indeed the Kurds are in the claws of cultural genocide. I am proposing the following; Free Partner Theorem. This is the concept I use. I had talked about it in my defence. I do not curse or condemn all marriages. However a marriage must be consistent when it comes to freedom. If a marriage is quite consistent in this regard then it is of meaning. My call to the Kurds are that they should give importance to their daughters education, they should protect their children. They should open educational centres for their children. Kurdish people are under the clasp of a big genocide plan. I have named my new defence “Kurds under the clasp of Cultural Genocide”.
I, in fact, I was withdrawing myself a while ago as well. But they came to me in 2006 and asked me for help to make peace. I then called for a cease-fire in 2006 to give peace a chance. I now understand it better that it was an elimination plan back then. There should be a research done in relation to that period. Ever since then I am making an immense effort for peace.
There is 15 days left to 31 October. I shall wait until the end of the month. If they do not come with an intent to resolve the issue then no matter what the consequence I shall not deal in the matter any more. I will not be tricked, if they shall not come to me on the basis of a solution then I shan't make any announcements. If they approach me with a resolution then I shall tell them my views. But in short let me say the following: As I said before I shall repeat my view about the “two protocols”. The first being the security protocol and the second being the democratic rights protocol where the constitution is also included. I had dealt with the issue of these two protocol in a letter I had formerly written. I have not as yet received replies to the letters I wrote both to the state and Kandil. We shall wait until 31 October but after that I shall not be available. I shall step aside. And it shall be up to KCK to steer developments. KCK shall take its own decisions. A “medium intensity warfare” is at our door steps. They may strengthen their position of self-defence. This maybe done in cooperation with the people.
Yesterday, the permission for a cross-border operation has been given by the Assembly. There was a secret sitting of the Assembly; how secretive can it be after such a decision.
The NGOs in Diyarbakır and the region are not really aware of the genocidal policies of the state and the government. When the state begins the implement its genocidal policies it shall not differentiate between the Kurds, they shall all be subjected to it. Some may approach the matter in terms of individual benefits or a couple of holdings but they should be aware if there is an attack they shall also be targeted. If there is nothing at all they can do they can at least be neutral. If the NGOs of the region have a proposal for a solution then they should bring it to me and if I do not accept it then they can say so. But if they do not have a formula for a solution then they should at least not be an insturment of these cultural genocide policies of the state. This is not a matter of voting for a particular party or to say yes or no in the referendum.
One should be careful about the imams. They should be approached appropriately. There should be democratic imams who take on duty in the mosques of the region. Democratic organizations, unions and others must play their roles in other democratic issues.
Kurds should be careful of their children. Those from Ağrı should take care of their children. I send my special greetings to our people in Ağrı.
I extend my greetings to our people in Diyarbakır, Van and Muş as well as in Armenia.
Abdullah Ocalan
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