Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 18:59:48 GMTFrom May 1-15, 1996, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) held its 4th National Conference. During the conference, important political and military decisions were reached in order to facilitate the struggle.
The first PKK national conference was held in 1981, the second in 1982, the third in 1994, and now the fourth has been held, following a series of individual conferences in the various regions of the struggle, especially in the war regions of Kurdistan itself.
The final session of the 4th National Conference of the PKK was organized following months of preparation during the winter months, as well as a series of regional meetings and conferences. Delegates were present from the various regions of the struggle, including the Kurdish provinces of Botan, Garzan, Amed, Serhat, Dersim, Erzurum, as well as South Kurdistan, Europe, and other areas. The President of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, sent a comprehensive political report to the 15-day conference. In this report, he analyzed the current political situation, the status of the leadership, the party, and the army, the ideological-political development of the PKK, the situation in the liberated territories, as well as other themes.
In a written message sent to the conference, the President of the PKK stated the following:
"Everyone has by now become accustomed to the congresses, conferences, and other gatherings organized by our party. These are no longer classic examples of congresses or conferences. Rather, we are in a constant state of being in Congress. For us, every day is the Congress! Most recently, this 4th National Conference can be seen as the result of the past two years of our work.
"What work was this? We began with the ideological content of the PKK and progressed through military and cultural developments, and these have been very significant developments. These have been solidified in important solutions and decisions. We have spoken of the most important day-to-day tasks which confront us. What are these? The vanguard role of the PKK, the character of militants of the PKK.
"Who are militants of the PKK? What are their special traits? How must they recognize and fulfill their role? I think that the unique character of our militants has reached an unprecedented level of strength and determination. Now the PKK has reached a level where it can no longer be turned back or stopped."
Throughout the entire conference, the significance of the vanguard role of Asia and the Middle East in the developing struggle against the militarist policies of the imperialist-capitalist system under the name of the "New World Order," as well as the increasing importance of the PKK in opposition to these counter-revolutionary attacks, were analyzed.
In the report which PKK President Abdullah Ocalan prepared for the conference, the following was stated concerning developments in the Middle East and the present formation of blocs: "We have reached a phase today where the international reality and the reality of Kurdistan influence one another, where politicization and the necessity of a solution can be felt. The system of real-existing socialism has collapsed, and the capitalist-imperialist system, which proclaimed a "New World Order", has developed into dead-end problems and contradictions rather than a clarity of fronts. This has sharpened the formation of blocs; that is the international reality."
In his political report, PKK President Abdullah Ocalan describes the role of the PKK in the Middle East and in this new formation of blocs as follows: "In this new phase of bloc formation, the PKK will remain strong in consciousness and position, so that it can react to unforeseen developments in a way that can make them useful. The revolution in Kurdistan will advance just as swiftly and play just as important a role as the dawning revolution of all humanity."
The conference pointed to the significant roles played in the Middle East and the Caucasus by countries such as Russia, China, Iran, and Syria. It was stated that Russia is standing firm against attacks from the West and has concluded a new partnership with China, which amounts to an Asiatic union. It was stressed that this Asiatic union could develop into a union of states which could play an important role as a line of defense against imperialist-capitalist attacks.
It was also stated that within this structure, regional unions have been created to ward off imperialist attacks in the Middle East, and that these unions, under the leadership of Syria and Iran, could prove quite significant. All Arabs and Iran stand together against the regional partnership of Turkey and Israel.
Throughout the entire conference, analyses were made as to what role the revolution in Kurdistan can play within these developments in the Middle East and Asia and what significance these building of blocs has for it.
During the 15-day 4th National Conference of the PKK, it was stressed that there are important tasks to be carried out at the present time. It was stated that the strategy of the PKK is in a constant state of development, and that there are no problems with the strategy, rather that day-to-day tactics need to be developed, and that it's necessary to expand the revolutionary tactics of struggle in South Kurdistan, that the emphasis on the revolution in South Kurdistan is of great significance at both the international and national level, and that all military, political, and economic goals in South Kurdistan must be fulfilled.
It was stressed that the revolution in South Kurdistan plays an important role within the bloc formations of the Middle East, because South Kurdistan is such a strategic region for Kurdish unions with Iran as well as the Arab states. It was declared that this revolution is important for the democratization of Iraq as well as for the creation of a new union which strives for the equality and freedom of all peoples, and that this is very significant and offers the possibility of acting as a positive influence over Iran and the Arab states.
The negative role of Turkey in this respect was analyzed, namely the fact that Turkey can rely on NATO forces to back her up, and that although this negative role has largely been made to fail, there still has not been a complete victory in this field and that one of the most significant tasks for the coming phase is to achieve this victory.
The 4th National Conference of the PKK concluded that the chance is now at hand to carry the revolution into Turkey, that a phase has broken out where the Turkish people are no longer able to live without revolution, and that the ultimate success of the revolution in Kurdistan also depends upon a successful revolution in Turkey. The Turkish Special War is experiencing a great defeat, and not even the new pact between Turkey and Israel can save it.
The conference stressed that the revolution in Kurdistan has reached international dimensions, and that a solution without the PKK is nothing more than an empty illusion. "To be a Kurd without the PKK is just as impossible as democracy without the PKK or politics without the PKK; this is not only true for Kurdistan, but also for Turkey and the neighboring countries as well; in all parts of Kurdistan, politics are developing under the influence of the PKK."
During the PKK conference, important military and political decisions were reached. These include: centralizing the activities of the political front with respect to the specific conditions of the region, separating these from the military activities, and the carrying out of political activities under general points of reference; the realization of people's democracy in Botan-Behdinan and the creation of red power; expanding the preparations for the National Congress and the activities of the Parliament into South Kurdistan; developing organs of administration and models for liberated territories; the realization of these in concrete plans and projects.
Translated by Arm The Spirit from Kurdistan Rundbrief #13/96;
Original source: Ozgur Politika, June 10, 1996)
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