Bawer Dersim, one of the commanders of the People's Defense Center, commented on the tense situation in Southern Kurdistan in a special broadcast on Medya Haber TV on Thursday evening.

"All our people must be aware that a concept of annihilation against our movement is on the agenda," Dersim said, adding, "We know that the forces in Bashur [Southern Kurdistan] have also been convinced against us."

According to the guerrilla commander, the fact that the KDP is open to this policy and behaves "more royally than the king" is very worrying. Dersim calls on the KDP to take a national stance and reiterates that the PKK is ready for dialogue. However, the KDP is running away from this, he said. South Kurdistan’s ruling party KDP escalates the situation by repeatedly resorting to provocations and blaming the PKK for this, he notes.

Bawer Dersim is convinced that an inner-Kurdish war would only serve the Turkish state. He warns against false calculations and says: "No one should assume that the PKK can be forced to surrender."

We publish a short excerpt from Bawer Dersim's analysis:

For several days, there has been a tense situation caused by various forces set in motion by the KDP. It is obvious that this tension is harming our people both in Bashur and in the other parts of Kurdistan. The achievements of the Kurdish people, which have been won at great sacrifice, are in great danger. The decisive factor for this tension, which is preparing the ground for an armed conflict, is the changed policy of the KDP. We as a movement are not responsible for this. Neither the leadership of our movement nor the guerrillas want such a conflict. We are behaving very prudently in order to avoid armed conflict and not to endanger the national achievements of the Kurdish people. This fact is being distorted at the instigation of the KDP in the media close to it, and our movement is being blamed for the tension.

From "White Turkishness" to Turkish-Islamic Synthesis

All our people must be aware that a concept of annihilation against our movement is on the agenda. The forces that want to carry out a Kurdish genocide consider the PKK as the biggest obstacle to this. That is why they have decided to wipe out the PKK altogether. What the Turkish state failed to accomplish in the first quarter of the 20th century is now meant to be completed by taking advantage of the conflict situation in the region: A Kurdish genocide. The destruction wrought by the ideas of white Turkishness in the Kemalist regime after World War I is well known. Crimes have been committed against our people in Koçgirî, Amed, Agirî, Zîlan and Dersim. The Kurdish people’s existence was meant to be eliminated by genocide, and its remnants were to be integrated into the newly created Turkish nation-state system. There was great resistance to this, yet this action led to great suffering.

After these massacres, the Turkish state stiffened on the erroneous assumption that the Kurdish question had been resolved. It assumed that it had sufficiently assimilated the survivors and made them part of the Turkish ruling system. However, with the emergence of the PKK, a revival took place at the national level that swept the Middle East and shook the existing balances. The Turkish state and other forces felt seriously disturbed by this. The development of the PKK caused concern and was perceived as a threat to its existence. Against this, a new concept came into play. The clique of "white Turkishness" from the 1920s was followed by the understanding of a "green Turkishness," which organized itself as a new war regime and wanted to bring the unfinished Kurdish genocide to a conclusion within the framework of a Turkish-Islamic synthesis.

For this, the fascist AKP and MHP are attacking in a very cruel form. They want to profit from the chaotic conditions created in the Third World War and revive the "Misak-i Milli" [National Pact] enthusiasm of their neo-Ottoman dreams. The Kurdish question is meant to be solved by wiping it from the face of the earth. The fascist bosses of this regime say in this regard, "There is no Kurdish question, there is only a terror problem that we will eliminate."

In short, the Turkish state has gone on a cruel attack not only in Bakur [Northern Kurdistan] but in all parts of Kurdistan to destroy the Kurdish gains, which it considers an obstacle to its own future. Turkey is being encouraged by various international forces to destroy the PKK, and is receiving political and military support to do so.

The Kurdish foothold in the Turkish extermination campaign

Within this annihilation plan, there is also a need for a Kurdish foothold. Without inner-Kurdish betrayal, this plot cannot be successfully implemented. Because this is known, Kurdish collaborators are wanted to be instrumentalized for this game. There is no doubt that there is a Kurdish foothold in the plot against our movement. The fact that various forces have been moving in Bashur over the past two years has increased our doubts. The developments of this year and the increasing attacks on our movement, the siege and the increased special war propaganda against us testify to the correctness of our doubts.

We know that some forces from Bashur have been convinced to act against our movement. Above all, it is worrying that the KDP is open to this policy and behaves more royally than the king. This will cause great harm to our people and their achievements. Whether it is the entire KDP or only a faction within the KDP is involved in the plot, we do not know. We hope that the KDP will not fall into a historical error and will not take a place in the enemy ranks against our movement. That would be a great mistake and a great injustice to our people. It would mean that the achievements of our people would be annihilated.