Arnljot Ask, a member of the International Department of the Norwegian Red Party (Norway) spoke to ANF as a signatory of the call promoted by International Justice for the Kurds, to remove the PKK from the list of ‘terrorist organizations’.

Arnljot Ask, who defined the PKK as a liberation organization fighting for the legitimate rights of an oppressed nation, said that he is in favour of a democratic peaceful solution, but because of the Turkish state's repression policy, the organisation has to resort to legitimate defense. Ask said that "since the beginning of the 1990s, the PKK has been trying to resolve their disagreements with the oppressive Turkish state through political agreements. Its leaders have been in prison for more than 20 years, and together with calling short ceasefires, the PKK has been forced to continue armed struggle to defend itself."

The PKK is bound by the Geneva Conventions

Reminding that the PKK acts in accordance with the international law on armed conflicts, referring to the Geneva Conventions, Ask said that the PKK's inclusion in the lists of "terrorist organizations" was a decision taken by the US and the EU as a result of Turkey's pressures. Reiterating that the PKK is not on the ‘list of terrorist organisations’ of the United Nations, because it adheres to the Geneva Conventions, Arnljot Ask said: "It is not in the lists in Norway and most of the UN member states."

The PKK should be delisted to achieve peace

Ask, who is also a member of the Norwegian National Board of the Solidarity Committee with Kurdistan, underlined that the PKK should be removed from these lists of ‘terrorist organisations’ in order to resolve the Kurdish issue through democratic and peaceful methods, and added: "The removal of the PKK from these lists is not only in the interests of the Kurds, but also of the European peoples. Starting political negotiations for a just peace agreement will be in the interest of the peoples of Turkey, the Middle East and Europe."