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

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basln Özeti
Kongra Gel engulfed by troubles
•
agaIn
12 June 2004
KurdishMedia.com - By Lorin Hevidar
The History
For many people who watched Abdullah Ocalan's defence from the island of Imrali live on Turkish televisions,
their initial relief at seeing their leader alive was later replaced by a deep disappointment at his refusal to
defend the Kurdish struggle for liberation. More than five years have passed since that fateful day and it seems
that the PKK (now Kongra Gel) has done little in terms of pushing the movement forward. The Kurdish struggle
of the North has taken a heavy beating and rather than seeing a transformation of the struggle politically and
diplomatically, we are witnessing its captivity along with its most influentialleader.
Only recently have we begun to see the visible signs of the problems that were sure to follow when PKK decided
to follow the orders of their imprisoned leader. The PKK (and Kongra Gel) have consistently viewed" Apo" as
a free soul whose body may be captive but whose thoughts are untainted by the harsh conditions of solitary
confinement. Indeed, at times, he is described not as flesh and bones but rather the stuff of myth and legend.
While this has given morale for the rank and file of the PKK, it has also given a near superhuman quality to the
statements that Abdullah Ocalan has regularly made from his prison cell in the last five years. They are
followed scrupulously and defended with the utmost severity. All of the strategic changes that the PKK has
made in the last five years in order to transform itself to its present form, Kongra Gel, has been the result of the
suggestions - nay, the directives -- of one man. The Turkish state, on the other hand, has been all too willing to
give free reign to the weekly interviews of Ocalan with his la~ers, the latter acting as messengers to deliver the
directives meant for the Kurds. .
The Kurds of the North were enamoured by the idea that a "democratic republic" could be achieved between
the Kurds and the Turks. They were convinced that Abdullah Ocalan was negotiating with Turkish officials and
that Kurdish rights would soon be on the way. Judging by Ocalan's own admission, there were indeed
discussions in prison between Ocalan and Turkishmilitary officials, but it is now apparent that it was in no
waya dialogue meant to solve the Kurdish problem. The Kongra Gel admitted this much when they recently
resumed the armed struggle ostensibly based on the premise that the Turkish state had not made significant
reforms affecting the Kurds. What was the real purpose of these discussions?
The Present
Until recently, only a handful of highest-ranking officials of PKK, KADEK, or Kongra Gel dared to
question publicly the leadership provided by the imprisoned Abdullah Ocalan. As Kurdish Media
reported on May 16, 2004, Mizgin Sen, Kongra-Gel Vice President, Party of Free Women (PJA) President,
and the Former PKK Europe spokesperson became the first woman to voice her disapproval publicly and
cite her loss of faith in Ocalan as a reason for her resignation from the party. The response to her
resignation demonstrates why only a few others before her had the courage to defend their views. Since
her letter of resignation, there has been no news of the whereabouts of Mizgin Sen and it is reported by
Rizgari Online (www.rizgari.org) that she has been arrested by the Kongra Gel. The reaction of Abdullah
Ocalan to Ms. Sen's resignation is disconcerting and suggests that Ms. Sen may be in danger of ill
treatment. In his May 12 interview notes, Ocalan warns that "Mizgin cannot leave in this way ... They must
.be put in a position where they cannot harm us." And on May 19, Ocalan is very strict that a suicide order
- must be implemented by those highofficials_ w_horun away from the party, or who betray the values of the
party. Ocalan explains that they must be given a gun to commit suicide like under the orders of the Roman
.general Patus. The question of Mizgin Sen's whereabouts remains unanswered to this day.
Readers of Kurdish Media may remember that before Mizgin Sen, a whole group of Kongra Gel officials,
led by Vice Presidents Osman Ocalan and Nizamettin Tas, had split from the party. Outsiders had little by
way of information in order to judge the reas~m for their split, except to assume that there was a power
struggle between the Kongra Gel leadership council. Abdullah Ocalan responded to the split by urging
Osman Ocalan and his group to return to the KongraGel and assuring them protection while on the other
hand heavily criticizing Cemil Bayik, Riza Altun, Duran Kalkan, and others. Recently, Zubeyir Aydar, the
current Kongra Gel president, confirmed rumours in an interview with Ozgur Politika on June 7 that
Osman Ocalan and Nizamettin Tas had left the Kongra Gel- once again. In this week's interview, the
la~ers inform Abdullah Ocalan that his brother Osman Ocalan (aka Ferhat) as well as Nizamettin Tas
(aka Botan) were among other recently married officials who left the Kongra Gel and were now in the
PUK-controlled region. The lawyers give some insight as to the root of the problems: "They are against the
policy of Turkification. In his evaluations, Ferhat also finds the coalition made with the Turkish leftist
36