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Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka ęape-Rivisła Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

Kani Yilmaz condemns Kongra-GeCs orders to execute break-away-members

KurdishMedia August 30, 2004

London: Kani Yilmaz, a prominent partidpant in the formative Patriotic Democracy Party responded to the execution order pro-nounced against him and the dissenting break-away group by the PKK/KADEK/Kongra-Gel.

In a candid exchange by telephone with KurdishMedia.com, Kani Yilmaz stated that even as Kongra-Gel is publidy calling for the crea-tion of a so-called 'Turkish Democratic Republic" simultaneously it has this week issued an order to execute their own people who have given 20-30 years of their lives to the oiganisation in seeking positi-ve changes in Kurdistan and equal relations between Kurds and the democratic world.

Yilmaz said that before breaking away from Kongra Gel, he and others in the group had exhausted every avenue struggling to trans-form the party into a contemporary and dvilised democratic organi-sation.

"Finally, it was impossible. We were left with no option other than to break away in order to seek to resolve the Kurdish issue in north Kurdistan without accepting savagery and war. Yilmaz reiterated that, "a number of issues arose in recent years that needed to be addressed and that we struggled to overcome the difficulties and obstacles posed but incalcitrant elements in the organisation allowed for no resolution in practice."

Yilmaz addressed the most important issues the break-away group had disputed with Kongra-Gel. Conceming the naturę of the oigani-sation, Yilmaz said, "We insisted on transforming the organisation into a patriotic one that should build positive relationships with other Kurdistani forces and intellectuals, in particular the PUK and KDP, for the mutual benefit of the Kurdish issue.

The New Linę' which was every day forcing Kemalism down our throats, was forcing us to take the wrong path and left the organisation without vision and true objectives. It also deprived the Kurds of their just political aims."

As for the human rights violations committed against individuals in the organisation, Yilmaz said they had insisted on fundamental and stringent reforms in the organisation:

"Humań rights violations were a fact of life in the disdplinary procedurę of the organisation. Just before we broke away, we demanded a formal investigation into several cases. For example, why 'Nasir' was arrested by the PKK and who gave the orders for his arrest, for a report into "Gulan s" murder by the investigatory committee to be produced and acted upon and for an end to be put to the practice of torturę such as in the death of 'Faik' from little south Kurdistan (Syrian Kurdistan). We demanded an end to torturę inside the organisation and for the culture of fear and reprisals to be saying that individuals should have the right to leave or join the organisation without fear of persecution and choose to do so of their own free will and for the lawful safeguard of their security of life."

"In a single word, it is savagery," he said. Yilmaz elaborated on the process by which members of the organisation were systematically destroyed through so-called "self-cridcism" and being hauled up before a platform and publicly robbed of their individuality and humanity.

The dissenting group had insisted that this be changed." Yilmaz, a long time Kurdish political figurę, is personally keen to build a constructive relationship with the democratic world and said that an isolated organisation cannot be successful in today's globalisation. As to the execution order pronounced against them by Kongra-Gel, Yilmaz said:

"At his meeting with his lawyers on 25 August 2004, Ocalan demo-nised us as traitors and destroyers. This is the standard way in which the organisation provides the foundations for individuals to be eli-minated. During a broadcast by Roj TV that same Wednesday eve-ning, a statement was madę in which we were called traitors and destroyers and our execution order effectively given.

Roj TV and Ozgur Politika newspaper must remember that media organisations broadcasting from and publishing in democratic coun-tries [including Denmark and Germany] cannot incite bloodshed and violence."

"In the so-called 'meeting notes' between Abdullah Ocalan and his lawyers, the execution orders against us are effectively ratified. Those who have so lightly taken this decision to execute us have done so without any serious concem for the consequences and this is not being accountable to the Kurdish issue." Yilmaz challenged the leading members of Kongra-Gel responsible for the culture of war and the brutality exhibited inside the organisation.

He called upon civil and democratic intemational forces and organisations to safeguard human rights and take notę of Kongra-Gel s threat to have them executed. He also noted that he and his fellow in the break-away group had obtained the news of the death warrant against them "via Zubeyir Aydars European showpiece, from those in the mountains and from those assigned the task of carrying out the killings." *

"I invite Zubeyir Aydar, Murat Karayilan, Cemil Bayik, Duran Kalkan, Ali Haydar Kaytan and Mustafa Karasu to think again about their decision and review the consequences."

On the issue of Kurdistan, Kani Yilmaz invited the Kurdistan-wide democratic and civil forces to form a united platform: "Democratic Kurdish forces should form a unified platform via constructive debatę, such as has already been encouraged by the debate around our