Executive Council member of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), Sabri Ok spoke to Stêrk TV regarding Turkey’s anti-PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) discourse that Turkish leaders uses on explaining the ongoing air-and-ground campaign in Iraqi Kurdistan and the real agenda of Turkey behind this discourse.
Sabri Ok shared his view that Turkey uses the PKK as an excuse to further establish its military control over the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and more widely in Iraq in general.
“Was there the PKK during the Ottomans’ times or when the Republic of Turkey was established or when the Mousul-Kirkuk issue arose? They [Turkey] have always sought to settle in South [Bashur] Kurdistan. They have a history full of attempts in that regard. They now have around 60-70 bases there. What does it mean? It means, the South is occupied,” he said.
“Just like yesterday, today the Turkish state is pursuing to occupy and maintain their presence in South Kurdistan.”
Defining Turkey’s discourse against the PKK as a “demagogy”, Sabri Ok warned international public about the hidden agenda of Turkey.
“There is a demagogy. For example, Turkey says, ‘We are against the PKK’. But this is how the occupiers always speak. On the other hand, they come in South Kurdistan and say that they are friends of the Kurds. Do our people not see that? No one would believe that. It’s all lies and demagogy,” he said.
He also shared criticisms of the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP’s) attitude towards Turkey’s cross-border operation. “Why does not one of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) administrators speak up?” he asked and added: “It is true that Mr. Masoud said once, ‘I have forbidden the war of Kurds with the Kurd’. That was a good stance, but the practice is not like this.”
Sabri Ok also stated that all reactions against Turkey’s campaign in Iraqi Kurdistan is of great value, but he urged everyone to take action in this regard rather than just sharing comments and speeches.
“Some people show an attitude, this is valuable. Many parties and institutions take a stance. These are also all vaulable too, but now is the time to pass beyond the phase of simply speaking. Our people need to stand up and show their stance.”
The main agenda of the Kurdish people for the current time being should be achieving national unity of all the Kurds, according to Ok.
“All peoples around the world built their future only after they achieved their unity. A unity of the Kurdish people is actually an enormous and sacred dream,” he said.
International powers, he further added, “have always intervened in this. This conflict had reached to a certain level. This is a great pain and a great shame for the Kurdish people and politicians. Stability and status in any part of Kurdistan is not wanted. A democratic and free Kurdistan is not wanted by many powers.”
