Barzani Meets PUK Delegation, Agreement on Electricity Issue

July 14, 2002 

Mesopotamia News Agency report from Frankfurt

KADEK General Chairmanship Council Member Murat Karayilan has stated that, in the event that a resolution of the Kurdish issue and the Copenhagen Criteria are accepted as fundamental, the group will offer its support to Ismail Cem, who will lead the new [political] formation. 

Freedom and Democracy Party of Kurdistan (KADEK) General Chairmanship Council Member Murat Karayilan, who participated by telephone on the "Rojev" program on Medya TV the evening before last, made statements regarding the most recent developments in Turkey, as well as regarding likely developments in Iraq and Southern Kurdistan. In his remarks, Karayilan declared that, in the event of both the resolution of the Kurdish issue and the Copenhagen Criteria being accepted as fundamental, the group will offer its support, for the sake of democratization, to Ismail Cem, who has resigned from both his party and his position as Foreign Minister. 

Karayilan said that the failure to resolve the Kurdish question has placed great pressure on the government, and that the real blockage has been experienced among nationalist circles; he also stated that "The political turmoil in Turkey has come about as a result of the inability to bring about a democratic transformation." Stating that the impasse in the Kurdish question has been the determining factor in things coming to this point, Karayilan said that the government, through its policies of annihilation and denial, has prepared its own end. Stressing that an early election would be an opportunity for the development of a common will among the forces of democracy, Karayilan said that "The demands for change coming from both international forces and the domestic democratic forces are united on this point." 

"Common will must be developed" 

Karayilan, stating that the MHP and the DSP have encountered an impasse on the basis of nationalism, pointed out that Cem's initiative had developed as a liberal understanding of politics in opposition to this, and said that "If Cem and his colleagues take the resolution of the Kurdish issue and the Copenhagen Criteria as fundamental, then we will offer them every sort of assistance based on KADEK's principle of democratization." Stressing that the interim process applied during the 57th government has reached its endpoint, Karayilan said that Turkey must choose between democracy and a policy of annihilation. Chairmanship Council Member Karayilan, pointing out that certain circles in Turkey such Ciller are still pushing for war, declared that his group has sufficient strength to defend itself if there should be insistence on a policy of annihilation. Stressing that the democracy front has also been gaining in strength, and that an election will provide an opportunity for the formation of a common will on the democratic front, Karayilan said that "The Kurdish people as well must make preparations to represent its own will in the Assembly, on the basis of partnership with other forces." 

"Let plots be abandoned!" 

KADEK General Chairmanship Council Member Murat Karayilan also made statements regarding likely developments in Iraq and Southern Kurdistan. Reminding his listeners that the United States is engaged in making practical preparations vis-à-vis Iraq, Karayilan spoke as follows: "Turkey, in particular, wants to develop the war via the Kurdish forces. Turkey is working to develop a plot just like that of the year 2000. It is working to drag the Kurdish forces in the region into this. Ciller's speech was directed toward this. They want to carry out an annihilation effort aimed against all Kurds, and particularly against KADEK. They want to weaken the Kurdish forces in the region. They want to foment conflict between KADEK and certain other forces. There is the situation of the PUK. The PUK has made preparations to enter into cooperation with Turkey; it has not yet made its decision, but there are preparations for this.

" Declaring that his group is ready to do everything possible so that the Kurds gain autonomy at an international level in the South, Karayilan made reference to the efforts of the PUK and continued as follows: "You are preparing assassinations aimed against members of the Council. Why are you distributing the leaflets that Turkey has prepared? Why are you putting pressure on the villagers in an effort to use them against us? We don't want a civil war. We are open to dialogue. Every day Turkish military officers arrive and carry out reconnaissance against us and track us; what does this have to do with the interests of the Kurds? These things are a plot. Our people in Southern Kurdistan should be aware that we want friendship. We made an agreement, two of the articles of which dealt with friendship, but the PUK did not adhere to this, and instead attempted assassination operations against us. We are once again making our appeal: We want friendship; let us have a common strategy, and let our people of the South be alert to these sorts of developments."