People’s Defence Center (HPG) Commander Murat Karayılan spoke to Erdal Er from Mednuçe on the upcoming elections and other developments. Karayılan emphasized that they will not use violence especially until after the elections, despite the military’s daily activities in rural parts of northern Kurdistan. Karayılan stated that they would use force for solely self-defense purposes but will not retaliate or initiate violence until after the elections.

MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE TURKISH ARMY CONTINUE

Lets begin with the military operations, are they still going on? What is the situation?

Yes, the Turkish Army made significant moves in order to break our truce and they still do. These include the construction of military posts, roads and dams as well as directly confronting guerillas in and/or near areas under guerilla control.

Have there been any cases of armed fighting?

If it were not for the great care and sensitivity of our forces, numerous such cases could have taken place so far. I recently contacted our forces within Turkey personally, exchanged information and made the necessary warnings.

Are the guerillas avoiding armed fighting?

In a sensitive and alert way, the guerillas employ various tactics to avoid armed confrontation. One way is to do warning shots that are not intended for killing so that advancing enemy soldiers retreat. Another method is maneuvering so that soldiers’ provocative attempts to find guerillas end in vain. We are the only side that is sensitive enough to work towards the maintenance of this truce.

THERE WILL NOT BE ANY THREATS FROM OUR PART

Turkish military claims that our guerillas use their guns to force civilians to vote for the HDP, and uses these accusations as an excuse to carry out operations. These are all lies, our general position and perspective aim to avoid armed confrontation at all times. As the public knows, the guerilla acts responsibly and was in its usual position during conflict in Tendürek, Diyadin. Apparently, there was an event organized for the next day. Around 3am, the Turkish army deployed soldiers in areas where our guerilla were already stationed. That is how the incident took place there, and there was nothing out of the ordinary from our part. Our forces are in their usual positions and there will not be any threats coming from us.

Does the army want to fight with you?

I am not saying that all members of the army want war, we can see that this is not the case when we observe the pressures they receive from above. I mean there may be some in the military that are trying to resume armed conflict, but there are also some soldiers that do not want to fight. I am not trying to portray ourselves as the only peaceful force but we should also admit that the military is making an effort to create conflict.

What is happening in Uludere?

Turkish soldiers moved into a hill that is 300 meters away from our forces two days ago and has been shooting at us since then. What would happen if we fired back? The conflict would expand over the border and lead way to greater confrontation. Unlike us, Turkish military leadership in Dağlıca, Şemdinli, Mardin, Ağrı and Amed want to resume armed conflict and have employed strategies that are similar to those in Uludere.

What is AKP’s response to all these?

Since its election, AKP government has approached the issue as part of an election strategy instead of addressing it in a serious manner that would bring an everlasting peace. Truces have been key for the AKP to convince the society that they are improving Turkey, promoting peace and development, and disarming the PKK.

Which methods were used in this deception?

There have been many cases of communication with our Leadership in İmralı, directly or indirectly. In order to manipulate public opinion and make people believe that AKP is the only party to fix the problems of this country, AKP has always prioritized truce and stability during election campaigns. AKP has even passed authoritarian laws after the Newroz of 2013 in order to gain total political control. The authority to carry out operations was transferred from the army to the governors, and the AKP’s goal here was to ensure stability before each election.

What about now?

As the June elections were approaching, our Leadership wanted to evaluate the AKP’s perspective on the issue. For the negotiations to deepen, our Leadership highlighted the establishment of an Observers’ Committee and a Truth Reconciliation Commission. The 10 points of negotiation were made public through the joint Dolmabahçe statement. The PKK even declared that it would assemble a new congress to reevaluate the armed aspect of its resistance, if the two sides were able to reach a middle ground on the aforementioned 10 points. AKP administrators including Erdoğan initially agreed to these demands in order to maintain peace before the June elections. After the negotiation table was set up, however, they backed out because do not have the mental dedication required for a peace process. Their perspective over the past 2-3 months is a clear indication of the AKP’s tactical approach.

What went wrong?

Erdoğan’s intervention halted the process. Why? Everybody knows about Erdoğan’s private polls. He has been trying to rule Turkey through these polls, and realized that public opinion was not favoring AKP recently. Polls show that the future is less promising for AKP and the peace process did not attract enough votes so far. This is also because of another project our Leadership has been developing in conjunction with the peace process.

OUR LEADER WANTED TO ENSURE MARGINALIZED GROUPS’ PARTICIPATION IN THE PARLIAMENT

What is this project?

The HDP aims to bring together different marginalized groups such as the Turkish left, Kurds, Ezidis, Assyrians, Armenians and Circassians. The HDP’s decision to run in the upcoming elections as a party reflects the party’s will to surpass the 10 percent election threshold, carry marginalized groups to the parliament, and accelerate Turkey’s democratization process. Turkey’s main problem is its authoritarian system. HDP’s project is of vital importance here because they realized that we will surpass the election threshold and challenge Erdoğan’s political agenda: “one nation, one state, one flag, one language, one culture, and one religious denomination.”

HDP’S ELECTION SUCCESS THREATENS PROJECTS OF AKP AND ERDOĞAN

The prospect of an HDP success in the elections has created a paradox for AKP because it will prevent Erdoğan from carrying out his authoritarian projects. For AKP to be successful on June 7, HDP would have to stay below the 10 percent electoral threshold.

The requirement of surpassing the electoral threshold was created by the military during the fascist dictatorship of September 12. People are talking about AKP’s acts of financial robbery, but the party also steals votes and democratic representation. They formed their strategy around the goal of pushing HDP below the electoral threshold.

ERDOĞAN STOPPED THE PROCESS AND WANTS LIMITED ARMED CONFRONTATION

Is armed conflict part of this plan?

When he realized that his plans were bound to fail, he reversed his pretentious politics favoring truce and stability before the election. This reversal happened soon after this year’s Newroz when Erdoğan said that there is no Kurdish issue and the Observers’ Committee was unnecessary. Ruling out the democratic content of the Dolmabahçe joint declaration, Erdoğan said that there are no “negotiating actors” and the acceptance of the PKK as an actor would undermine the unity of Turkey. How can we trust him? The Kurdish issue is the most crucial problem in recent Turkish history and they want to stop the peace process altogether! Instead, they want to create an atmosphere of limited armed conflict. This is not a plan of total violence but of calculated attacks aimed at increasing tensions right before the election.

AKP WANTS TURKISH SOLDIERS TO DIE SO THAT IT STOPS THE INCREASING SUPPORT FOR HDP

How could this plan be beneficial for them?

If some soldiers die in combat, regular Turkish citizens leaning towards HDP may end up not voting for it. AKP wants Turkish soldiers to die so that it stops the increasing support for HDP. AKP also made it difficult for HDP to campaign across Turkish cities through organized mob attacks. They think that it will be more difficult for HDP to campaign in regions such as the Black Sea and the Aegean when soldiers die.They want to take advantage of soldier deaths and this is a dirty and disgusting policy. It is despicable to take advantage of loss of human life. They also believe that they will improve their prestige and receive nationalist votes from MHP if they convince the society that they are best equipped to fight against the PKK. Overall, AKP policies are dirty and election-centered.

Do you think these are merely election tactics? Are there any problems with regards to AKP and Erdoğan perspective on the Kurdish issue?

Erdoğan said some things that cannot be evaluated as election tactics; he made several fundamental statements and even implied breaking away from the negotiations. For example, who ended the historic events of October 6-7 in order to bring stability into the negotiations? It was Leader Apo. AKP now isolates and attacks Leader Apo instead of praising and praying for him. Leader Apo may have saved AKP but he is also aware of the party’s policies and deceptions.

Out of the deep respect he has for Turkish society, Leader Apo prevented the emergence of major confrontations recently. This has been the case for quite sometime but the AKP government insists on the status quo. Such AKP policies are not mere election tactics but major obstacles blocking the negotiation path. Thankfully, our Leadership’s peace-building strategy aims to permanently resolve social issues in Turkey and has kept the truce and the negotiations alive.