Öcalan sends message to the DTK Congress

ANF – AMED 06.09.2014 14:00:14 – Democratic Society Congress (DTK) has met today in Amed (Diyarbakir) to hold its 7th congress under the slogan “We are building the democratic nation and free life”. The two days congress is taking place at the Kayapinar Sports Complex.

The Congress is being attended by 501 delegates who were elected in local branches by the votes of over 100 thousand Kurdish people in total. In addition to the delegates, many journalist, academicians, intellectuals and artists from Rojava, the Federal Kurdistan Region and Turkey are also present.

Among those attending the 7th congress of the DTK are HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) co-president Selahattin Demirtaş, DBP (Party of Democratic Regions, formerly BDP) co-chairs Kamuran Yüksek and Emine Ayna, DTK co-chairs Aysel Tuğluk and Ahmet Türk, HDP deputies, IHD (Human Rights Association) president Öztürk Tandoğan, KESK president Lami Özgen, PYD(Democratic Union Party) co-chair Asya Abdullah, former EU MP Feleknas Uca and representatives of the Yezidi Federation of Europe.

During the two days congress, the DTK is expected to be turned into a new form of assembly pursuing the process of building a democratic nation based on democratic autonomy. The congress began with the opening speech of DTK Assembly member Osman Özçelik and continued with the reading of a message Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan has sent addressing the congress, both in Kurdish and Turkish.

Öcalan pointed out that the current historic process conceives the victory of Democratic Nation against Nation State, and the victory of the Free Society organizing and ruling itself against statist impositions. The Kurdish leader remarked that the land and people of Kurdistan, which has suffered the bloodiest attacks in history, are today being targeted by the powers of capitalist modernity and the trigger gangs they bring forward. He continued by laying emphasis on the importance of “the fact that the only way to deal with this savage repression is to build a Free Society formed by free individuals and grounded on political and moral organisation”.

Addressing to those attending the Congress, Öcalan said they, as representatives of the Kurdistan territory, were responsible for manifesting the entire region and the world the need to be creative in building a revolutionist autonomous administration that will go beyond the statist mindset and presents a democratic resolution mechanism serving the society and will also eliminate the social repression in not only Kurdistan but everywhere.

The first speech at the congress was held by DTK co-chair Aysel Tuğluk who put emphasis on the importance of the ongoing process of resolution for the Kurdish question, remarking that Kurds demanded the recognition of their right to form a democratic society. Tuğluk underlined that they will be following political and democratic methods in line with the resolution process initiated by the Kurdish leader, and make an all-out effort to advance it. “It will not be only Kurds who will attain rights once the process is finalized. Other peoples and Turks will perhaps attain much more”, she added.

Speaking after, DTK co-chair Ahmet Türk drew attention to the attacks of ISIS gangs and the resistance of Kurdish forces in South Kurdistan, and called on all Kurdish political organisations and politicians to ensure the formation of Kurdish unity to defeat the plans of those targeting the Kurdish people. Türk congratulated HPG, YPJ and YPG ighters for not leaving the Yezidi people alone in the face of the attacks and massacres they faced. Following two days of discussions on the structural transformation of DTK, the new co-chairs will be elected on Sunday as well as new commissions. The DTK, an umbrella organisation of Kurds in North Kurdistan, aims for a democratic and political solution of the Kurdish problem and has functioned as a constitutive assembly since being established in 2007.