Foundation of Turkish Veterans Condemns KDP Support for PKK
Barzani: "We respect PKK. We get on well with each other."
The Turkish Times - The public support that Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) has extended to the terrorist Kurdish organization PKK has been condemned by the Foundation of the Turkish Veterans.

PKK (or KADEK under its newly assumed name) is on the U.S. State Department's list of "international terror organizations" for the last ten years. Its leader Abdullah Ocalan has been captured by Turkish special teams in 1999 as he was leaving the Greek Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, with a Greek-Cypriot passport in his pocket. The terror campaign in Turkey that the PKK chieftain has conducted from the safety of Syrian capital Damascus has caused the death of 35,000 Turkish citizens between 1984 and 1999.

In reply to the question "How is your relations with the PKK?" asked by the correspondent of the German weekly "Die Zeit" (September 5, 2002) the KDP leader Mesut Barzani said, "We respect the PKK. We do not meddle with each other's affairs. We get on well with each other."

Turkish-American sources pointed out to the irony that KDP is one of the groups in Northern Iraq that the Bush Administration is planning to rely on in its fight against international terrorism while KDP pays its "respects" and gives support to one of the bloodiest terror organizations in the world, the PKK.

In a recent press statement, the Foundation of the Turkish Veterans said "on behalf of the millions who suffered from terrorism, we protest the declarations made by Mesut Barzani." "Due to the terrorist activities of the PKK (its new name is KADEK) which takes place in the EU and US list of terrorist organizations, tens of thousands people have lost their lives (most of them were Kurds), thousands have been crippled and the country suffered from material loss of millions of Dollars. More than five thousand PKK-KADEK terrorists, accommodating in the organization camps in N.IRAQ pose a potential threat against the public orders of the European and Middle Eastern countries," said Selim Esen, the Chairman of the Foundation.

Contradiction with former KDP statements

"Some quotations from KDP leadership regarding the PKK, display samples of inconsistency resulting from the political concerns of the KDP," Mr. Esen continued. "The KDP leader Barzani, blaming the PKK as a terrorist organization, said 'the only thing the PKK does is to lay mines on the roads, to blow up the schools and the mosques, and kill the civilians.'" (Radio Free Europe, September 20, 2000)

"The PKK of Ocalan, seeks the death of the girls and kids of the Kurdish people. The PKK raiding the villages kills the civilians and evacuates the villages where it has shed blood. The PKK terrorism has destroyed the Kurds." (Xabat Newspaper, the weekly official publication of the KDP, May 26, 2000)

"In a declaration issued by the Political Bureau of the KDP: 'The PKK targets the Kurdish people. A murderous group (PKK) caused thousands of Kurds to be wounded or killed, and hundreds of village houses to be ruined. The long and suffering experiences we have had with the PKK, prevents us from believing in its promises, especially the ones regarding that they would stop the attacks.'" (El Zaman Newspaper, September 7, 1999)

"The decisions of the EU Council, mentioned in a declaration it issued on December 27, 2001, bearing the title of "Joint Attitude in Struggle Against Terrorism", reflected the common will of the EU countries. In the above-mentioned declaration, it says "All kinds of support given to the terrorists and the terrorist organizations is crime, the money and assets of those who directly or indirectly involve in or give support to their activities will be frozen and those individuals will be deprived of the right to benefit from any funds, all measures will be taken to prevent their recruitment and arms procurement activities, and mutual help and cooperation among the countries will be improved" , " Esen continued.

"The international public opinion is expecting the EU to execute what is included in the declaration "Joint Attitude in Struggle Against Terrorism" against the KDP leader Mesut BarzaniI who gives an obvious support to the PKK taking place in the EU list of terrorist organizations."

"On behalf of the ones who suffered from terrorism, we believe that the world public opinion, primarily the US and the European countries would not keep silent against "those who respect terrorists(!)" ," said Foundation Chairman Selim Esen.

The Foundation of the Turkish Veterans can be reached from www.gaziler.org.tr