PRESIDENTIAL COUNCIL OF THE PKK (KURDISTAN WORKERS PARTY)

URGENT ACTION PLAN FOR PEACE AND DEMOCRATISATION

The most fundamental problem in the Middle East and in Turkey in this century is the unresolved Kurdish problem. This unsolved problem is not only delaying the solution of other problems in the area, but is also deepening them further. Most serious of all, the unsolved Kurdish problem is preventing the development of democracy in the Middle East and in Turkey.

It is widely known that the majority of the Kurds live within the borders of Turkey. As such, Turkey is the place where the Kurdish problem has to be solved. However, Turkey has failed to solve this problem democratically.
Kurdish uprisings to obtain the denied national and cultural rights have also failed to bring about a solution. Even though the national democratic movement of our party -described as the latest Kurdish uprising by some- did not bring a clear-cut solution, it laid the basis for a solution. It is now clear through experience both for the Kurds and for Turkey that a
reasonable and realistic solution has to be within the existing borders and achieved by democratic means. The history of relations between both people provides ample proof of this.

In the light of this reality and to give a chance for a political solution, our party stopped the war, pulled its forces out of the borders of Turkey into a legitimate defence position and sent two peace groups to Turkey to express our commitment to peace. Our 7th Extraordinary Congress prepared a Peace Project that would eliminate the likelihood of clashes and facilitate
a democratic solution and distributed it to all relevant powers. If this document that our Congress presented to the public is examined carefully, it will be seen that it is primarily a project for democratising Turkey.
This demonstrates that the solution of the Kurdish problem and Turkey's democratisation are as inextricably linked as flesh and bone. As such, the ideological and political approach that our party adopts to solve this problem is also within this perspective.

Ever since its Extraordinary Congress, our party has abided by the principles it put forth in its Peace Project and has spent all of its efforts to fulfil these principles. Despite instigations of various circles and provocative actions against us, our party has stuck to its 9 October position set out by our party leadership on 1 September1998. Being aware that the struggle for peace and democratisation is not easier than waging war, we know that the process requires consistency and decisiveness The
complexity of the problem, its multiple dimensions, and the deeply rooted historical factors that obstruct a solution, have all necessitated that our party adopt a multi-dimensional struggle for a democratic solution. With the conviction that a democratic solution is sure to prevail, our party has stuck by its constructive approach to carry out its political strategy,
even though powers that are interested in the Kurdish problem - most notably Turkey- have not themselves taken any encouraging steps.

Our peace and democracy project is understood best and owned mostly by the Kurdish people. With the historical consciousness and political instincts gained from actively participating in the national democratic struggle, our people grasped early on that a democratic political solution is what will win them freedom and has a better chance of success. On these foundations
and in the light of the new strategy of our party, our people have been striving to develop a democratic solution. The high level of participation and enthusiasm demonstrated during the Newroz celebrations that took place shortly after the PKK's 7th Extraordinary Congress are an expression of this. Fervently believing in its democratic revolutionary power and the
Turkish people's growing democratic experience, the Kurds have not wavered from their commitment to a peaceful, democratic approach, even though the Turkish State has not jettisoned its denial policies of Kurdish identity inherited from the past. With great enthusiasm, the Kurdish people have demonstrated that they will participate in all steps that the PKK takes and will struggle against those forces that want to frustrate the new strategy -as was the case in the past- even at a time when the oppressive and obstructive approaches emanating from chauvinism and the narrow approaches originating from primitive nationalism strive to shake people's belief in the new strategy. Aware that a democratic peaceful solution is possible, primarily through democratic will and actions of the people, the Kurds have made a significant contribution -through their democratic actions- to the creation of a climate conducive to a solution.

Not only the Kurds living in Turkey, but also those based abroad and those living in other parts of Kurdistan, have demonstrated whenever possible that they support the PKK's strategy for a democratic and political solution. The participation in large numbers of Kurds from across Europe to the Democracy and Freedom Festival and the loud expression of loyalty to Chairman APO indicate a resolve to struggle for a democratic political
solution.

The PKK always wanted to continue the historically shared life with the people of Turkey within a democratic country. One of the key reasons for stopping the war was to unify with people of Turkey for whom we felt responsibility from the very beginning. To achieve such a goal, the PKK has always made it an important part of its political programme to wage a struggle for democracy together with the people of Turkey and expressed
this at every opportunity. However, the war atmosphere has made the realisation of this important goal difficult. Stopping the war and developing the democracy project are important steps to bridge this gap and to create the conditions for struggling together with the forces of democracy in Turkey. Thus, obstacles that prevented the expression of mass democratic sentiments are removed, enabling them to participate effectively
in the struggle for democracy.

It has become obvious during the past year that the democratic process that Chairman APO started in his legal defence on Imrali Island is accepted by the people of Turkey, especially by the workers. Turkish society became more relaxed with the ending of the war. The society took this process as an opportunity to embark on solving its important problems, especially the
Kurdish problem. Turkish society prefers to stick to developing democracy, with the exception of those circles that profited much economically and politically from the war and those that benefited from the economic and political system put in place during the cold war period. To some degree, the society started to discuss the Kurdish and other issues that had been covered up. In a striking way, these issues became the agenda of the people of Turkey.

However, one cannot say that this positive atmosphere has been used properly by the political circles and by organised democratic forces, even though the desire for democratic transformation has become a strong desire among the people of Turkey. The demand for democratisation has been voiced
strongly enough, but steps such as organising and mobilising democratic coalitions around a programme necessary for the realisation of this demand are lacking. Sadly, the belief that the state should perform these tasks still has not been overcome, the state that is basically undemocratic and is itself in need of democratic change and transformation.

It seems that some Kurdish circles and intellectuals also have not understood or do not want to understand the new process that was started by the PKK. They viewed the problems from a simplistic and narrow nationalistic perspective and have adopted the role of disseminating doubt among the people. These groups who believe that everything would simply be handed down by the state and foreign powers, have faith in neither democratic policies or the role of the people.They pay too much attention
to the attitude of the state and criticise the new strategy. Instead of helping the people to organise and mobilise for a political solution, they have set themselves up as an obstacle.

As to the political parties in Southern Kurdistan, instead of helping the democratic peace project initiated by the PKK, they have done all in their powers to eliminate the PKK, obeying the demands of the international conspirators and the demands of Turkey. The PUK's latest actions and elimination efforts of the PKK are the most obvious examples of this.

The prime intermediary of our Peace Project is, naturally, the Turkish State which has been fighting against our guerrilla forces for the last 15 years. Our party believes that the 75 year-old denial policy of the Turkish State in regards to Kurdish question has not only failed to solve the problem, but also harmed the state. It is obvious also from the prevailing conditions that favour a democratic solution, that the war the PKK waged,
redressed the balance in Turkish-Kurdish relations and has enabled a more realistic view of history.

Concluding that the 15 year long war made the resolution of the problem both possible and inevitable -for Kurds and Turkey alike- our party stopped the war and initiated the process for a democratic and political solution.
The painful lessons of Turkey's political history over several decades of economic, political and social developments mean that in the 21st Century democratic change and transformation are inevitable. At the present stage, it is impossible for the state to absolve itself from this need for change and transformation. Our party also recognised this need for change in Turkey and to open up the prospect for a democratic resolution of the problem, we stopped the war. With the Peace and Democracy project sought to resolve the problem politically.

For this reason, the Peace Project that we presented at the conclusion of our 7th Congress, was prepared with a view to clear the way for solutions to the current problems of the Turkish society and state as a whole.
Consequently, we made sure that the project was formulated in a framework that could be taken up by the Turkish State for democratization and solving the Kurdish question. It is unfortunate that the Turkish State from the very beginning ignored this project. During this period too, the state
exhibited its classic denial approach, by totally ignoring the Kurdish question and Kurdish people. Instead of opening channels for solving the problem democratically which would have taken into consideration the will of democratic forces in Turkey, the state strived to close all venues for a democratic solution by suppressing every democratic initiative. The most innocent actions by the Mothers for Peace were blocked and HADEP's peaceful and democratic activities have faced constant restrictions and repression.
Specifically, wartime restrictions in Kurdistan are mostly still in force. Even though a partial but noticeable softening is being felt, the State took no serious steps toward democratisation and solving the Kurdish question.

The softening atmosphere that our party created by stopping the war and the realistic and pragmatic approach of our Peace Project was not taken advantage of. Thus, Turkey squandered precious time doing nothing.

The Turkish State has not given up its old policies based on exterminating the PKK, even though our party has taken a very reasonable approach and has studiously avoided any provocative actions. While our party is ready to answer positively each step that Turkey might take in the direction of peace and democratisation, with a contrary attitude, Turkey continues to
see even the existence of our party as a threat.

As stated earlier, our military forces have now adopted a peace and democratisation mission and have positioned themselves in accordance with this framework. The elimination of the PKK can only strengthen the hands of those who oppose democracy and believe there is no need for democracy or for solving the Kurdish question. It is inconceivable that peace and democracy can be achieved while the Kurdish question is not solved. For these reasons, the key function of our armed forces is explained as a peace force. To regard our military forces as a threat is to yearn for policies that generate stagnation and conflict. Our party does not want the repetition of stagnation, but to reach a reasonable solution. Our party sees its mission as the facilitator of a democratic solution especially in the Middle East and in Turkey and strives for this.

With its Peace Project prepared at its 7th Extraordinary Congress, the PKK aimed to start a process of debate to solve the issue. The parties and circles that are interested in the problem might find our project inadequate or incomplete. This is to be expected. However, those who believe our project inadequate should come up with their own alternative
peace and democracy proposals. There has been no positive initiative by all these forces, Turkey included.

From our point of view, the thing to take note of was the content of the European Union Accession Partnership Document and the specific facts and ideas that discussions on its contents generated. That is because this document forced Europe and Turkey to reveal their true thoughts about democratisation and the Kurdish issue. It appears that Europe and Turkey
have adopted a policy of simply passing the issue without mentioning Kurdish identity by name. Turkey insists on an approach to democratisation that does not acknowledge the Kurdish identity. The European Union, on the other hand, is giving up its values and principles to approve this Turkish
stand. It is obvious that this would amount to sanctioning the denial of the existence and elimination of the Kurds as was the case in the 20th Century. We must spell out clearly that Kurdish people would not only consider such a document illegitimate, but they would see it as a justification for embarking on a struggle that would include the EU as well.

Turkish officials blatantly declare that democratisation process would depend on PKK's attitude. Our party favours democratisation of Turkey and solving the Kurdish question peacefully. If Turkey makes some progress towards accepting the Kurdish identity and recognises the natural right of
the Kurds with legal guarantees, our party is ready to take the necessary steps in all areas - including our armed forces- that are expected of us.

The international forces interested in the Middle East and the Kurds have not played a constructive role at all. In addition, they have tried to eliminate the PKK and still insist on the international conspiracy despite the fact that our party has been so constructive in solving the problem.
Thus, it became clear again that they are using the Kurdish issue only as a tool to maintain their economic and political interests.

Even though the steps we took were not reciprocated, our efforts for peace and democracy made progress towards a solution of the Kurdish issue. An opening and revival emerged in the social dynamics of democratisation while the political powers have resisted the course of history with their notoriously negative attitudes. The majority of the people of Turkey,
especially the workers, have wanted democratisation. These popular feelings find expression higher up in the attitudes of the President and the Chief of the Supreme Court. Such demands are the vital lifeblood of any society. There is no doubt that even at the higher levels, these are voices of a much larger but still silent constituency. The indication of whether democracy will take roots is not the resistance of those at the top, but
rather by the clamour from those forces that are bedrock of democracy. If this mood can be taken as a measure of progress for democracy, one can say that the probability of success for has increased. Democractic renewal and solving the Kurdish question have become the unavoidable choices for Turkey. The intellectual foundations of the expected democracy are
gradually deepening. From the point of view of the people of Turkey, recognising Kurdish identity and granting the national democratic rights of Kurds are no longer a problem.

The key issues on Turkey's agenda are democratisation and the Kurdish question whose resolution is essential for the success of the former.
Although the process involves hardships and much pain, it cannot be reversed. The democratic advance in Turkey and the sheer size of the forces of democracy involving the Kurds, will prevent contrary developments from unravelling Turkey's equilibrium and pulling it back in time. Moreover, with the exception of a small minority, every sector in Turkey wants
democracy. It is inevitable that differences of opinion and selfish
interests would gradually melt away due to the nature and principles of democracy. The real issue is how deeply this democratisation is going to be implemented

Our party highlights positive developments while struggling against negative ones and considers the following steps to be the necessary and important priorities:

* The health and living conditions of our Chairman Abdullah Ocalan should be taken as the guarantee of the peace process. Our Chairman, out of concern for the future of peoples, developed the peace proposal and prevented the intensification of the war between the Turkish and Kurdish people which the dangerous scenarios of the international plotters demanded.

* Death penalty, a form of cruel and degrading punishment, should be abolished and basic changes in the legal system should be carried out. These are essential for democratisation.

* To stabilise the peace and to correct what occurred in the past, a general amnesty that would include political prisoners, the guerrilla forces and those convicted of crimes of thought should be declared. This is a necessary step towards democratisation. The amnesty has become one of the
key concerns of not just Kurds and the Turks but of all democratic public opinion.

*To lay down the arms, which would be an important step for making the peace atmosphere permanent, the political and military authorities should respond with projects that would promote a solution and peace; carry out the necessary legal reforms and activate the relevant mechanisms.

*To allow those [Kurds] who were forced to abandon their villages during the 15 year war to come back; design projects that would incorporate Kurdish cultural, economic and social needs to rebuild the destroyed villages; put a stop to plans for centralised hamlets called Koy-Kents which are unacceptable to villagers and discourage villagers' return.

*Anti-Terror Laws and laws that criminalise free thought and expression prevent democratisation and should be abolished.

*The Emergency Region Laws (OHAL) should be lifted in all provinces. They are a remnant of the war era, keep society in a state of tension and anxiety and prevent the normalisation necessary for peace and democracy.

*Restrictions that prevent the Kurds, one of the oldest peoples of the Middle East who with their rich culture have enriched the cultures of the neighbouring peoples, from using their mother language in education, broadcasting (radio and TV) and press should be lifted.

*Obstacles that prevent the development and dissemination of Kurdish culture should be removed. These rights [language and culture] must be considered as fundamental, collective rights.

*New election laws -that would enable the representation of the will of all people and the hallmark of a democratic regime- should be legislated and enacted.

*Given that real peace and democracy will be realised when people's democratic aspirations manifest themselves freely, restrictions on democratic peaceful activities and actions should be lifted. This would strengthen civic culture and organisation and channel people's struggle within the bounds of non-violence.

*To draft a democratic constitution which would open the way to developments in all areas of society, discussions on a democratic constitution should be encouraged with the participation of all layers of society and a campaign to draft a democratic constitution should be initiated.

*Organise conferences in all provinces of Turkey, including those in Kurdistan, to enable democratisation and solutions to the Kurdish issue to be debated, to be followed by a general conference that would consider the outcome of these provincial conferences, to uncover the principles and perspectives that would guide a future Turkey.

*In preparing to join the EU, Turkey should accept the Copenhagen criteria and develop its democracy; it should not remain a spectator to democracy but rather become a role model

*Kurdish identity and rights should be clearly spelled out and accepted in the Accession Partnership Document for entering the EU. Otherwise, Kurdish people will not recognise this as a legitimate document.

*Prison conditions that have remained a problem for years and harmed Turkeyís image, should be improved in such a way as to satisfy the cultural, social and health needs of the inmates. Practices that condemn inmates to isolation to destroy their will and damage their personality should be abandoned.

*In all bases, our armed forces are positioned in a way to contribute to the advancement of peace and democracy. Our party strives to contribute to peace and democracy not just in Turkey, but in the Middle East as a whole. Despite such peaceful policies, seeing our guerrilla forces as a threat, Turkey continues to provoke the Kurdish parties in the Southern Kurdistan in various ways to eliminate our forces.This Turkish policy causes clashes but also brings the danger of spreading the clashes into its own borders. Therefore, Turkey should give up this provocative policy that threatens the peaceful atmosphere and opportunity since we halted the war.

*Almost all of our armed forces have been pulled out of Turkey. However, due to the obstacles during the withdrawal and due to problems we face in stationing our forces outside the borders of Turkey, a very small number of them have remained. These, like our forces stationed elsewhere, are taken out of action and attack positions and put into legitimate, defensive positions. The Turkish army, on the other hand, is continuing its war operations as if nothing has changed. These operations must stop. They
leade to the repression of our people, obstruct the peace process and increase the likelihood of unwanted events.

Our party believes that the peace and democracy process will speed up once the necessary steps are taken to solve the urgent problems. While presenting the current Peace Project, we would like to repeat that we are as committed as ever to the contents of the Peace Project that was prepared by our 7th Extraordinary Congress and stress that it also constitutes a
framework for a lasting peace.

To carry out the Urgent Peace Project as a mechanism for the promotion of peace and democracy that are of strategic importance for our party, important tasks are awaiting our party and the related forces. To achieve these:

Our party prepares and implements concrete projects to achieve the aims contained in our current Peace Project. It transmits needed proposals to proper authorities.

Our party responds to each positive step and initiative for peace and democracy with an even more positive step and fulfils its responsibilities.

Our party actively supports democratic activities and efforts undertaken until a permanent peace is established.

Our party is determined to stick to the legitimate defence strategy and avoids all provocations not to hurt the peace and democracy process. And, in the same vein, we invite the Turkish State to reciprocate.

Our party is ready to start a dialogue and through consensus formulate the tasks that need to be carried out in order to eliminate the threat of violence and resolve the issue of our armed forces. In this respect, it urges the inspection and supervision of international mechanisms.

Our party invites the Kurdish people to assert their democratic political rights and take an active role in all peaceful and democratic activities to establish a just and democratic peace and to guarantee freedom and all of its national democratic values. This will be the fruits of the pains suffered during the 15 year war.

Our party invites the Turkish people: to establish the democracy they so richly deserve with the brotherly Kurdish people; to turn their yearning for peace and democracy into reality through active mobilisation which has not been possible for years; to play an active role in transforming the republic into a democratic republic and heal the wounds of war with a permanent peace.

Our party calls on all Kurdish national democratic forces (such as
political parties, individuals and institutions) to respond to the National Peace and Democracy Project that we put forward to promote peace and democracy among the Kurds and to the peace and democratic solution extended to Turkey; to fulfill their duties and actively support our efforts for the long term interests of our peoples.

Our party, believing that peace will be best achieved through the dynamics of democracy in Turkey, encourages and supports:

Meetings held among all democratic parties, unions and civic organisations to draw up a programme for peace.

The building of a peace and democracy movement around a programme that could embrace all democratic forces; extension of this movement to all provinces, regions and other settlements learning from the experiences of the Democracy Platforms that have played a key role in this regard.

Stepping up actions to demand those rights - including our demands - that would promote peace and democracy with the full recognition that putting forward the democratic political will of the people is the key factor to advance peace and democracy.

Alliances and joint actions with the participation of the HADEP and other Kurdish national democratic institutions and the democratic forces of Turkey in understanding their importance in the struggle for democracy.

Our party expects HADEP, ODP, CHP and other left-leaning parties to build an alliance for democracy and actually lead the process of democratisation; if at all possible, they should include especially ANAP and other liberal and democratic Islamic parties in this alliance and do whatever necessary including forming coalitions during elections; our party sees it as a historic duty and responsibility to transform the republic into a democratic republic.

Our party calls on all relevant state agencies and democratic forces (political parties, non-governmental organisations, the media and influential senior figures) in Turkey to make constructive and positive contributions to th epeace process.

Our party calls on all states in the region to actively support the Peace Project along with our Democratic Middle Eastern Federation project. This will contribute towards enduring peace, democracy and stability based on region's own conditions and enable a level of development in the Middle East that does justice to its history.

Our party also calls on every state in the region to adopt policies that foster the democratic will and power of the people. On this basis we ask all relevant powers to contribute to the mplementation of the Peace Project in Turkey.

Our party calls on the European Union to remove the ambiguity it has displayed towards the recognition and expression of the identity and culture of the millions of Kurds living in Turkey. As such, in its negotiations on Turkey's membership, we call on the European Union to stick to its criteria and standards of judgment to solve the Kurdish problem -which remains the key problem of democratisation in Turkey- peacefully and legally.

The democratisation process in Turkey, a country expected to play a leading role in the development of democracy in the region and elsewhere, is of interest to all international powers. Therefore, our party invites the international powers, public opinion, NGOs -and above all- the EU to encourage and actively support the peace, democracy and economic development process that is based on Turkey's internal dynamics.

PRESIDENTIAL COUNCIL OF THE PKK
4 November 2000.