KurdistanObserver.com

WORDS FROM THE KURDS:
According to Sahin Ayaz:
‘The PKK is the Kurds' only obstacle'
NURSUN EREL
The New Anatolian/ANKARA  Aug 20, 2005
 

'I don't expect success for Leyla Zana's new affiliation because Zana surrendered her will to someone else'

Sahin Ayaz was born in Tatvan. He was a member of various Kurdish associations as a student and just before he started university, he was detained in Tatvan by military prosecutors. The military court sentenced him to 11 years in prison on charges of acting against the indivisibility of the Turkish Republic. In 1991 he was released through an amnesty from the Turgut Ozal government. Recently he's made controversial TV programs on the Kurdish issue, is a member of the Rights and Freedoms Party (HAKPAR) and founder of various Kurdish solidarity associations. According to Ayaz, the biggest obstacle to Kurdish rights is the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Below is our interview with him:

TNA: So, right after the 1980 coup you were detained, and the military prosecutor's charge was acting against the indivisibility of the republic?

AYAZ: I was a member of Rizgari (famous Kurdish solidarity association), and we never dealt with arms, we never took part in any kind of clashes, but we were charged as a criminal organization and sentenced for many years. I was in prison for 11 years until the Ozal amnesty.

TNA: Do the effects of those years in prison still linger?

AYAZ: I was tortured many times, so I lost eyesight in both eyes, but after an operation now I can see with one eye. In those years, torture was a very common thing in the prisons, deaths were quite common every day. They were awful places.

Not as easy as before

TNA: Didn't you ever think of suing the government?

AYAZ: No.

TNA: After you were released, how did things go?

AYAZ: For a while I stayed in Tatvan, but I faced pressure from various circles, so I came to Ankara. In 1994 I joined efforts to establish the Democracy Party (DEP) and HAKPAR. I founded some Kurdish solidarity associations. Even though the public prosecutor started an investigation into banning HAKPAR, I believe this won't be as easy to do as it was before. In fact the government system can't stomach any activity which breaks the mold.

TNA: Your TV programs enjoyed very high ratings, and were controversial among intellectuals. Were they banned?

AYAZ: No, after 43 programs we stopped. But this fall we'll start them again. Personally I firmly reject violence wherever it comes from. During the program, as a Kurd I was very open and tried to express my ideas on the issue. I said that during the 80 years of the Turkish Republic all the Kurdish revolts stemmed from the rejection of Kurdish identity. So the prosecutor launched an investigation claiming that I had praised the Kurdish revolts.

TNA: What do you think of the recent atmosphere? There are several initiatives to establish Kurdish parties, but do you think things will be ready before the next elections?

AYAZ: Frankly no, because most of them are efforts only. In a way this is our fault. We couldn't unite. Many Kurdish intellectuals preferred to go back to their homes instead of joining collective efforts. Now there is a new spirit, a new movement, and we must come together for effective new organizations.

TNA: What about the amnesty expectations of Kurdish groups who are still in the mountains or in prison?

AYAZ: They just defend only one person, they ask amnesty only for him, PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. This makes me mad. If we think that we're seeking peace for our entire people, we can't single just one person out.

PKK is the biggest obstacle

TNA: To most Turks, the word PKK or Ocalan brings to mind 40,000 deaths, thousands of losses and similarly awful things. What do they mean to you?

AYAZ: We must distinguish two things. One is the number of deaths. Most of the 40,000 deaths were of the Kurds themselves. Their houses were burned down, and they were forced to leave their towns and villages. They are victims of the war. So this is the reality behind this number. But when we talk about the PKK, we see them in two different lights. They started their fight for the social and democratic rights of Kurds, but then the movement became an obstacle for the Kurds themselves. The existence of the PKK only helps the arms smugglers and heroin smugglers and the people who see bloodshed as a solution.

TNA: And Abdullah Ocalan?

AYAZ: Worldwide it is a rule that, if the origin of someone is unclear, he can't become a leader. Now he is trying to survive in a timid, manipulated, dictatorial mood. He was not a Kurd, and he never served the cause of Kurds. He has strange relations with strange circles. He served the Syrian secret service; he compromised with the regime of the late Hafez al-Assad. In fact it was his own choice to be given back to Turkey.

TNA: Can we say that the Kurds no longer look on Ocalan and the PKK with sympathy?

AYAZ: We have enormous wounds. Thousands of young Kurds, university students, left their schools and went to the mountains to fight. But most of them were killed. We lost almost two Kurdish generations and most of these were the most intellectual ones. For the last three months I traveled various Kurdish towns and villages, even the cities where Kurds predominate. I talk to them, they have their own critical standards now. If they were called once again by the PKK to go to the mountains, they wouldn't do this easily.

There are no projects

TNA: How do you see the aftermath of Erdogan's speech last week in Diyarbakir?

AYAZ: Well it seems like they don't actually have any plans or projects (beyond the speech). We heard the same things from Turgut Ozal and Mesut Yilmaz. But the basic need isn't words here, we're looking for concrete projects. In fact when he spoke in Diyarbakir, Erdogan emphasized one flag, one people, one state. This was a special message to the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).

TNA: How do you see the TSK? Do you think they're the only establishment opposed to these rights?

AYAZ: In my opinion, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) are much more against such rights, they are more conservative than the TSK. In my opinion they're trying to influence the TSK to avoid the democratization process. Especially the recent heads of the TSK were so much more democratic and liberal than their predecessors. So this time was an enormous chance for the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party.

TNA: So what are your main expectations from the government at this point?

AYAZ: More democracy, more transparency. All barriers standing in the way of individual and mass organizational rights must be eliminated. Kurds must be allowed to identify and express themselves freely. They must be able to be educated in Kurdish. A federative system would be very useful for applying all these rights. We believe that such a change will not bring separation; on the contrary it will reunite us.

TNA: What are the best international examples of such a system?

AYAZ: If you look at the Basque or Iraqi or Bulgarian models, they are all good examples. But instead of looking for examples abroad, why don't you recall the Ottoman system? For years, Kurds were allowed to live under their federal governments.

TNA: What do you think about recent developments? Do you think the Democratic People's Party (DEHAP) merging into another group, the movement of Leyla Zana and her colleagues will bring success?

AYAZ: I can't expect any success for Leyla Zana because she surrendered her will to someone else.