Botan Gulan/JINHA

NEWS CENTER - Besê Erzincan, of the coordinating body of the KJK (Kurdistan Communities of Women), says it is pointless to discuss the PKK laying down weapons when there is no justice mechanism in place in Turkey.

"Those in power never approach a solution; they are trying to turn negotiations into annihilation," said Besê, commenting on the calls from various quarters in Turkey for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to lay down arms. She noted that the points raised by PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan would determine the future of the Middle East. She said that his position was one that could lead to a resolution to the Kurdish question.

"There has been an alternative system and viewpoint to capitalist modernity emerging from İmralı," said Besê, referring to the island prison where Öcalan is being held in a state of isolation. She said that this standpoint was the source of the AKP's "rage." Since the June 7 elections in Turkey, said Besê, there has been increasing talk of the PKK laying down arms.

"When there's no justice present, debates about laying down arms are really pointless," said Besê. "There have been no rights officially granted to Kurds and they're saying lay down arms. When the Kurds' language isn't even officially recognized, when there's no legal protection, this kind of debate just leads to further armament. The Turkish state has not taken a single step towards a solution. To expect us to give something in return for this is wrong. It's not just PKK militants; the people won't accept this, either."

Besê also commented on the recent attacks on nature in Kurdistan through the construction of dams that displace villages and the forest fires allowed to burn. "By building hydroelectric plants and dams, they are trying to change the geography, to empty out villages and to depopulate Kurdistan," she said. She stressed the need for an ecologic movement and said the KJK was committed to defending nature.

Commenting on the third anniversary of the Rojava revolution, Besê noted that the revolution represented a continuation of women's leading role in the PKK's armed struggle since the 1990s. Now, Rojava women have built a new system, she said. "What's effective is not just the resistance in military positions, but the organizing developing from the grassroots of society and the construction efforts, the basis of the revolution," she said. "This struggle has become a source of light for all humanity."

(fk/cm)