Abdullah Ocalan's Life is Under Threat

The Turkish state is daily applying new humiliating penalties on AbdullahOcalan. We have learnt that before the 20-day cell punishment, which amounts to isolation within isolation, Ocalan earlier suffered the same punishment but for one week. Ocalan, after only being able to meet with his lawyers for the firsttime in months, expressed concern that his life was in danger, as he was being threatened and had received death threat letters.

The Kurdish people view Ocalan as their champion of peace and freedom, but such actions and threats are being perpetrated before the eyes of the world. These measures against Ocalan are quite contrary to all international law and agreements, but the EU andother Western states remain silent and make no response, so we are prompted to ask if they are complicit in these practices? With each passing day, the Kurdish people believe this to be the case. The Turkish state launched an intensified attack on the Kurdish people immediately after it was given a date for the start of accession negotiations with the EU. Not content with releasing the culprits of the 9 November Semdinli incidents, although they were caught redhanded, and they were military officers, it has started violent militarycampaigns throughout Kurdistan.

Following a short period on from the visits to Turkey of US and EU officials, during press conferences and in the meetings ofthe State Security Council there was talk of all-out struggle. Immediately the offensive was stepped up. During 1990s after having gained the support of theWestern powers, the Turkish state ratcheted up the war against the Kurdish people. As a result more than three million Kurds were forcibly displaced, four thousand villages were razed to the ground, thousands were tortured, thousands more were arrested and tens of thousands killed.

So we ask this question, if a similar decision is once again adopted, is a repetition of this period not likely? At least all the evidence indicates that Mr. Ocalan's life is in real danger given the harsh measures imposed on him. We call on all sides to actresponsibly; we call on Turkey to end the recklessly dangerous policies that it is adopting and we call for a political solution to the Kurdish question. An immediate answer must be given to these calls of the Kurdish people for democracy, peace and a political solution. The Kurdish people see an attack on their leader Mr. Ocalan as an attack on themselves.

Kurdistan National Congress
19-01-2006

See also:

• Semdinli fog fails to clear despite judicial process (The New Anatolian)
• Is it the Bird Flu or Turk State Repression that kills the Kurds? (Kurdish Media)