Rendezvous with the PKK
Following the double bomb attack in Istanbul at the weekend, the spotlight
has turned on the Kurdish rebel group, the PKK. The BBC's Clive Myrie tells
how he recently travelled to northern Iraq to put allegations of terrorism
to the group's leader.
We set off early in the morning, unsure exactly where we would end up -
though we knew we were heading towards the Qandil Mountains of northern
Iraq.
It is classic bandit country and home to one of the world's most durable
guerrilla groups - the Kurdish separatist PKK.
We were told not to bring any TV equipment. As you can imagine, this is not
what a TV correspondent and crew want to hear.
"Don't worry, they will provide everything," my contact kept telling me.
The PKK were taking no chances, after the assassination of one tribal leader
in Afghanistan with an explosive device placed inside a TV camera back in
2001.
To get to the PKK you have to cross Kurdish Regional Government or KRG
checkpoints - we kept a low profile in the back of the car as we drove
through.
It's possible we will start a campaign of attacks against economic
and military targets in Turkish cities
Murat Karyilan
Leader of the PKK
Eventually we reached land controlled by the outlawed PKK, a good four hours
into our journey.
A little later a white pick-up truck pulled up behind us all of a sudden and
motioned for us to pull over.
Inside was a PKK fighter, who after a few words with our driver in Kurdish,
got back in his vehicle and drove off.
We followed, climbing ever higher into the Qandils with barely a couple of
feet between us and a sheer drop hundreds of feet down into the valley.
The road was bumpy, the heat was stifling, I was getting fed up.
A few minutes later we stopped in a tiny village - I am not allowed to
reveal its name - and soon another white pick-up truck arrived with rebel
fighters in grey uniforms, armed with AK-47 rifles.
It was the first vehicle of a convoy containing the car of the leader of the
PKK - Murat Karyilan.
'Struggling for rights'
The scene was like something out of 1960s South America. There were men and
women all around in this green lush village wearing army fatigues, with
Kalashnikov rifles slung over shoulders or propped against walls.
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
The BBC's Clive Myrie talks to PKK leader Murat Karayilan
The image of Che Guevara graced the wooden butt of one AK. There were
vegetable patches and clearly an area where chickens were killed and plucked
for dinner.
There was a small building at the end of a clearing which was an impromptu
television studio, with lights and pictures on the walls of the founder of
the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, now serving a life sentence for terrorism offences
in solitary confinement in Turkey.
They gave us lunch and then, under the shade of a walnut tree swaying in a
light breeze, the PKK also gave us what we came for - an exclusive interview
with the leader of the guerrilla group.
Murat Karyilan looks like a kindly old uncle, as he sips tea in front of me.
In his late 50s now, he is a 30-year veteran of the campaign for Kurdish
rights in Turkey, and leader of the PKK since Ocalan's capture back in 1999.
He is dressed in army fatigues, exuding the quiet confidence of a man secure
in the knowledge that what he is doing is right.
But how can that be? How can anyone justify killing others to further one's
political aims? I press home the fact that no-one can justify murder,
whatever the cause.
"No," he says, "what they are doing is unjust."
"We are struggling for our rights... for Kurdish freedom, we have no other
way to defend ourselves against the might of Turkey."
Second-class citizens
The European Union and United States say the PKK is a terrorist group.
It has launched attacks not only on Turkish troops in the south-east of the
country, but on civilians in Turkey's major cities and tourist resorts. More
than 30,000 people have been killed since it took up arms in 1984.
But Murat Karyilan says it is the Turkish authorities who are the true
aggressors.
"The Turkish military attack our people - the Kurds - inside the country,
killing and torturing... This is a war.
"Yes, it is true sometimes we make mistakes - and we are sorry... but our
policy is not to attack civilians."
For many in Turkey that is rubbish, and the double bomb attack in Istanbul
on Sunday is proof.
The PKK has denied any involvement in that attack.
There is little doubt Turkey's Kurdish population has for a long time been
treated as second class.
There have been improvements since 2000, but their language still is not
taught in schools, and Kurdish programming on TV is restricted to one hour a
week.
The PKK says Kurdish culture and heritage is being denied and Kurdish
activists are routinely harassed and beaten.
Warning to Turkey
But the Turks say they will never countenance any loss of land or
sovereignty, and so successive prime ministers have tried to crush the PKK.
Earlier this year thousands of troops, backed by fighter jets, crossed into
northern Iraq, pinpointing PKK bases.
But Washington feared that a prolonged Turkish campaign might destabilise
the one part of the country that has been relatively peaceful since the fall
of Saddam Hussein. The incursion lasted just seven days.
Murat Karyilan saw the swift withdrawal as a victory for his fighters and he
issued a warning to Ankara.
"It's possible we will start a campaign of attacks against economic and
military targets in Turkish cities," he told me, "if their soldiers continue
to attack us... we are prepared to do this."
The Turkish authorities say the coffins bearing the victims of Sunday's
Istanbul bombs are proof that such a campaign has already begun.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/7530713.stm
Published: 2008/07/29 10:38:33 GMT
C BBC MMVIII
(F)AIR USE NOTICE: All original content and/or articles and graphics in this
message are copyrighted, unless specifically noted otherwise. All rights to
these copyrighted items are reserved. Articles and graphics have been placed
within for educational and discussion purposes only, in compliance with
"Fair Use" criteria established in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.
The principle of "Fair Use" was established as law by Section 107 of The
Copyright Act of 1976. "Fair Use" legally eliminates the need to obtain
permission or pay royalties for the use of previously copyrighted materials
if the purposes of display include "criticism, comment, news reporting,
teaching, scholarship, and research." Section 107 establishes four criteria
for determining whether the use of a work in any particular case qualifies
as a "fair use". A work used does not necessarily have to satisfy all four
criteria to qualify as an instance of "fair use". Rather, "fair use" is
determined by the overall extent to which the cited work does or does not
substantially satisfy the criteria in their totality. If you wish to use
copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you
must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to:
<http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml>
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
THIS DOCUMENT MAY CONTAIN COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL. COPYING AND DISSEMINATION IS
PROHIBITED WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNERS.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
--------------------------
Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL
PROTECTED]
--------------------------
Brooks Isoldi, editor
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.intellnet.org
Post message: [email protected]
Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
*** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has
not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of
The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT
YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of
intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods,
techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other
intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes
only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material
as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use
this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,'
you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
