--- Mathias
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Statement From PKK Central Committee Member Nizamettin Tas On The Deportation Of Abdullah Ocalan
The following statement from Nizamettin Tas, member of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) Central Committee and General Command of the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK), was broadcast on MED-TV on February 16, 1999:
Chairman Apo is presently in the hands of the fascist Turkish state, a criminal state which knows no laws. The life of chairman Apo is in great danger. The Turkish state has been waging a genocidal war against the Kurdish people for years. It is unlikely that Turkey will allow the leading figure of the Kurdish people to remain alive. Europe played a role in the fact that chairman Apo is now in the hands of the Turkish state. If Europe wishes to end its dirty role and stop smearing its hands with the blood of the Kurdish people, then it must exert pressure on the fascist Turkish state and take immediate measures to secure the safety of our party chairman. If an accident happens orf something negative takes place, then certainly those countries which are responsible and which played a role in this situation will be held responsible. Therefore, we demand primarily Europe but also the USA to take immediate and effective steps to protect the life of chairman Apo. We also appeal to the progressive public opinion. All democratic and progressive groups should, without delay, send observer delegations to Turkey with the aim of protecting the life of chairman Apo. They must continue their efforts ceaselessly and all organizations and institutions should be mobilized on this basis. At this critical time, in which our people are waging a struggle for their survival, this is what we expect from progressive humanity! Our people must also wage a resistance and we expect the struggle to continue without interruption. That is a call from our party's leadership. Our people in Europe must not wage a struggle based on spontaneous reactions, rather in a continuing and decisive manner towards victory. At the moment, the most important task is to protect the life of our chairman Apo. All forces of resistance must join in this, the struggle must be waged on this basis. We know that our people are extremely angry at the moment, but we call on them to keep calm and to agitate with a healthy human understanding. Not to act with rage, but in a manner which makes a lasting struggle possible. There must not be any self-immolations. Demonstrations, rallies, and occupations must have as their goal the protection of the life of chairman Apo. If anything must be burned, let it not be ourselves, rather the target must be our enemy. Our patriotic people in Europe in particular must stop their self-immolations. That is an order from chairman Apo. We also have a call for the Kurdish people in Turkey. The Kurdish people in Turkey must rise up and develop points of resistance in a manner which does honor to Apo. Our patriotic masses in Europe should not sway from democratic measures and must not become the instruments of enemy provocations. The Kurdish people in Turkey, however, must develop all forms of struggle without delay. The instructions from chairman Apo call on the Kurdish people to act self-consciously. Our party's directive as well states that our people must organize in a self-conscious manner and on this basis orient themselves against the enemy. The Kurdish people in Turkey, the Kurdish youths, and the people and youths in South Kurdistan should follow this directive and turn the urgency of this order into action. All means of struggle must be employed against the fascist Turkish state. That is our legitimate right. Every Kurdish person must be self-consciously aware of how they can bring about an explosion in the heart of the enemy, of how the enemy, not themselves, can be burned, and in this way not abandon the victory to the fascist Turkish state. Our party has made a determined conclusion on this basis and has set its sights on the 6th Party Congress. This struggle will not end. The PKK has grown to millions through chairman Apo. It is an undying spirit which will never surrender to the enemy. The PKK has proven this in the past. We must now show this living spirit, determined for victory, by means of our struggle. Each one of us must become an Apo, and in this spirit of Apo we must explode in the brain of the enemy. That is our call to all the youths of Kurdistan. You must act self-consciously and utilize all the methods of the struggle. You must not break off your contacts with the guerrilla. And just as the martyrs exploded in the hearts of every enemy of the Kurdish people, you, too, must be mobilized and join the heroic ranks of the ARGK guerrilla forces. This is the only way you can link yourselves to our chairman and do him honor. This struggle will now be continued on the basis of changed conditions. We expect our people to trust the PKK and to link themselves to it even stronger than before. The PKK will never surrender, the PKK will never abandon the struggle. This war will continue until our final victory. Our entire people, more than ever before, must struggle behind the determined flag of the PKK. That is our call to the people. According to this, people must act and follow the instructions issued by the party's central organs. There must not be any individualist activity. The people should act in an organized manner. If they do, then we can do honor to chairman Apo. That is the basis of our call.