KCK said the Tevgera Azadî offices were shut down through Turkish state pressure. “PUK’s emergence on the stage of history and Mam Jalal’s political path are the direction that should be taken today as well,” said the KCK and called on the PUK to give up their approach.

KCK Executive Council Co-Presidency stated that, at a time when unity and democratic relations among Kurds are needed the most, closing the Tevgera Azadî offices in Southern Kurdistan against political ethics and the law is unacceptable for the Kurdish people and their politicians. KCK said: “A Kurdish movement acting legally and democratically being subjected to such approaches is reminiscent of the practices of anti-Kurdish genocidal colonialists. In this sense, this decision made in the name of the Bashure Kurdistan government is clearly unacceptable for our people and the democratic public.”

TURKISH STATE BLACKMAIL LEADING TO THE SHUT DOWN

KCK stressed that the shut down of the Tevgera Azadi offices was done in the name of the Regional government, but the act itself was on PUK territory: “This decision has nothing to do with the law. It has nothing to do with politics of Kurdistan or Iraq even. Everybody knows that the Turkish state has pressured and blackmailed the KDP and PUK administrations, who were led to make this decision. Such approaches strip Kurdish politics of a will and subjugate all to foreign powers. Kurdish politics’ greatest weakness has become that politicians engage in politics under pressure from foreign powers instead of deriving strength from national unity and inter-Kurdish democracy.”

The KCK statement continued with the following:

MAM JALAL’S PATH IS THE RIGHT ONE FOR THE PUK

“Taking stands against other Kurdish political parties and groups under pressure from foreign powers must end in Kurdish politics. If Kurdish politics don’t fix this weakness, nobody can become a force to reckon with or fight the obstacles they encounter. Kurdish politics can resolve issues when the strength comes from the people and when Kurdish political forces have a democratic accord. Policies and practices geared towards creating short term interests instead of national interests and long term politics will always create disappointment. Bowing to foreign pressure and engaging in a negative approach against other Kurdish political forces first goes against patriotism. In this sense, negative approaches to the Tevgera Azadi will have no other result than the weakening of the PUK’s reputation. In this sense, PUK withdrawing from policies and relationships that brought them to existence and gave them that reputation will not serve the PUK well to begin with.

PUK’s emergence on the stage of history and Mam Jalal’s political path are the direction that should be taken today as well. If they are to not contradict their raison d’etre and the values and relationships that led them to where they are, they should take this into consideration. Otherwise, they would be giving up their historic distinctive edge, and that would hurt the PUK the most. They will have acted in a way demanded by the Turkish state, which is an enemy to not just Northern Kurds but all Kurds everywhere. That would be acting outside the bounds of their raison d’etre and Mam Jalal’s sensibilities.

HURTING ALL KURDS

If the PUK bows down to demands by the Turkish state, which leads the way in animosity against Kurds, they won’t see the end of it. The Turkish state, with its blackmailing character, would want to pit Kurds against each other and weaken them. It is very well known that the Turkish state has utilized this policy in the past, and still does today. We have seen the Turkish state’s animosity against Kurds in Bakur (North), Rojava (West) and Bashur (South) Kurdistan in the clearest way possible. In this sense, bowing down to such an anti-Kurdish force’s demands would create outcomes that hurt not just the PUK but the whole of the Kurdish people.

What the PUK needs to do is to take a stand against attacks by the Turkish state or any other force against Kurdish political parties or Kurdish gains. This is what will make the PUK into a force to reckon with, and this is what will keep them standing. It has been unfortunate that the PUK has taken on such an approach against the Tevgera Azadi, while they should have taken a clear stand against the US decision against the 3 Kurdish political leaders. All Kurdistan democratic political institutions, intellectuals and our people as a whole need to object to these practices against the Tevgera Azadi. As a movement that has always approached the PUK amicably, and wanted the PUK to be within Kurdish politics in unity, we are calling on the PUK to give up this approach, and to take a political stance equal to the true sources of power that ushered their emergence on the stage of history.”