Rishi: Removing PKK from "terror list" will bring peace

 Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palma was assassinated on February 28, 1986. He lost his life instantly at the scene and his wife was also slightly injured.

 The chief of intelligence in Stockholm, Hans Holmer, immediately blamed the PKK, and with this pretext launched a campaign of persecution against the Kurds.  As a result, the Kurds were subjected to killing, arrest and repression, and they proceeded to "criminalize" the PKK at the international level as well.  Many politicians described this reality as an international conspiracy, while writer and researcher Shoresh Rishi also said that the international scheme was deep and far-reaching.

After this incident, what was called the "Düsseldorf case" was opened in Germany, in which many leaders of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, including the leader Abdullah Ocalan, were prosecuted.  The leaders of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, Duran Kalkan and Ali Haydar Kaytan, were also imprisoned for many years.

 In 1993 Germany imposed a ban on the PKK for the first time, with Germany playing the main role against the PKK and the Kurdish people.  France, America, Israel and England followed suit, and the name of the PKK was illegally designated on the European Union's terrorist list.

 This inequity continued for 34 years, when a Swedish court ruled that the PKK was not responsible for Olof assassination.  But they stole from the Kurds for 34 years, during which they were subjected to great injustice before the world.  No one has yet compensater the Kurds and the Kurdistan Freedom Movement.  On the contrary, even after the truth is revealed, the PKK is still unfairly on the "terror list".

 Writer and researcher Shorsh Rishi answered our agency's questions about the murder of Olof Palma, and the damage done to the Kurdish people and the Kurdistan Freedom MoPalmat.

You did a lot of research on the incident, and you wrote a book called Palma, the PKK and the Gladio, what were the goals of Palma's murder?

 There were two main motives in this murder;  The first: international powers wanted to get rid of Palma, and secondly, they wanted to strike the Kurdistan freedom movement's progress.  They wanted to kill two birds with one stone.  Unfortunately, it has succeeded to some extent.  Why was Palma targeted?  Palma followed many international policies.  For example, he organized a large march in Sweden for Vietnam in 1968, and as a result, the United States cut ties with Sweden.  In 1968, Palma came out against the Russian occupation of Czechoslovakia.  In 1975 he visited Cuba.  As all the United States of America and NATO consider Cuba a terrorist state and its Prime Minister (Fidel Castro) a terrorist.  For the first time, a European prime minister visited Cuba.  The Franco regime in Spain called Olof Palma the devil.

 He also had an approach to the Kurdish cause.  Four European countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands) submitted a complaint against Turkey to the Council of Europe.  They said that Turkey is violating the human rights of the Kurdish people.  In this regard, he attracted the attention of some countries.

 In South Africa, the apartheid regime exercised a great deal of oppression against blacks.  Palma acted against this as well, organizing several countries and holding several meetings to impose an arms embargo on South Africa.

In 1983, for the first time, Palma received in Stockholm a person considered a terrorist in the eyes of the United States of America, Yasser Arafat.  Palma had a view on the disarmament of the world.  He was working against chemical weapons and heavy conventional weapons.  He worked on organizing India, Greece and other non-aligned countries that were not members of NATO and the Warsaw Pact, and sought to sensitize public opinion against these two alliances to pressure them to use the money spent on weapons for the sake of humanity.  He used harsh rhetoric against major powers such as the United States and Russia.  The powers that wanted to put the world under their domination wanted to get rid of Palma.  That is why he was targeted.

 * Why were the Kurds and the Kurdish Liberation Movement targeted?

 These countries rearranging the Middle East according to their whims, especially the United States, were dissatisfied with the freedom movement.  They were alarmed when the freedom movement began to organize.  A 1979 CIA report states;  An organization based in southeastern Turkey representing the Kurds has emerged, and they seem to be a powerful organization with great potential.  They did not want a new Cuba in the Middle East or a regime that would endanger their interests.  That is why the Kurds were targeted.

 That is, Palma's assassination was the result of long-running plans...

Yes, correct.  These reports, which were included in CIA documents, were read by many parties.  The agencies I have been in contact with have also seen those reports.  Swedish intelligence also read the report in 1980. Swedish intelligence is in contact with them, of course.  When Olof Palma became prime minister of Sweden, he saw that their intelligence agency did not listen to the government.  That is, there is another state within the state.  Palma wanted to put intelligence under government control but he failed.  Palma wanted to cut their intelligence ties with the CIA.  Those who were in contact with US intelligence sought, through Turkish intelligence reports, to portray the Kurdish movement as terrorist in the media.  These attempts were not made through the Swedish intelligence only, but also under pressure from the American intelligence agency, in order to add the Kurdistan Freedom Movement to the "terror list".  That is why a Swedish newspaper gave an interview to Huseyin Yildirim, and they cut out parts of that interview and used them to their advantage.  Turkey and Germany prepared a false report and submitted it to the government.  The government was also powerless and got into trouble.  A democratic prime minister like Palma, who respects human rights and complains about Turkey in the European Council, was forced to declare the PKK a "terrorist organization" in December 1984. The intelligence chief himself said that if Palma declared the PKK a "terrorist", Germany and the other countries will do the same.  Sweden was the first to designate the PKK as a "terrorist".  Olof Palma is the first to include the PKK in the list.  Then Germany and the European Union.  The plan was international, deep and extensive.  It lasted from the 1980s until Palma's assassination and continued after.

 What damage did this incident cause to the Kurdish people and the PKK?

Until last year, there was no support in the world for the escalating struggle of the Kurdish people becausr it was looking at the PKK or the representative of the Kurdish people a different view.  In the eyes of the world, Palma was seen as a dove of peace.  And if an organization kills or harms this pigeon, it will lead to the demise of sympathy and support for that organization and they succeeded. For 30 years, the legitimate Kurdish struggle has lost global sympathy and support and suffered a lot because of it.  4,000 Kurdish villages were evacuated, thousands of Kurds were killed in the streets, the Kurdish organization was harassed in every way, and the expected international support was not delivered.  The Kurdish issue remained limited in scope and unresolved for a long time.  The reason is that sympathy with the Kurds declined with Palma's assassination, suffering a major blow.  But the Kurds have continued their struggle against it to this day.

 After many years this fact was announced.  Why did the investigation take so long?

 The investigations lasted nearly 30 years.  Institutions related to this matter, such as journalists and researchers, were saying that this was a hoax, and had nothing to do with the Kurds and the accused.  Everyone knows who carried out this assassination and distorted the image of the Kurds.  The Swedish people were pressuring the court and the investigation committee in particular to stop spending money on this case, which will not result in any result in the end.  They are behind the issue, but Sweden does not have the power to reveal it.  And if it takes the risk and reveals the issue, it will suffer greatly as a country, knowing that those behind the matter are the CIA and its allies in Sweden and abroad.  Therefore, they preferred to put a point at the end of the line and end the topic.  In June, prosecutors formally announced that they would stop completing the investigation.  Prosecutor General Christer Peterson also said that the PKK is an organization fighting for the rights of the Kurdish people, and has nothing to do with Palma's assassination.

 How do you assess the reality of keeping the PKK on the "terror list" until now, despite the fact that the truth has emerged?

This list is not based on factual grounds.  It is a political and ideological decision.  This decision was drafted by the countries surrounding NATO.  This fact was also seen in the Palma incident in which the image of the Kurds was distorted.  Even in a country like Sweden where children's rights are protected, 6-year-olds have their hands tied and brought to court, and Kurdish homes are surrounded by armored cars.  The Kurds have been criminalized among the people, and they are forbidden to go out.  Because the major countries that wanted to design the Middle East were afraid of ideology and people's capabilities for their interests.  So they keep it on the list.  Keeping him on this list is unfair, it is a political decision.  It is wrong behavior and it must be corrected.  I think it will be corrected.  It was confirmed in the Palma incident that the PKK is not a terrorist organization.  A Belgian court also ruled that the PKK is not a terrorist organization and that the PKK's case is not a terrorist case.  I think that in the near future it will be removed from the list.

 Do you have any appeal to remove the PKK from the list?

 Undoubtedly, this list needs to be modified.  The PKK is fighting for the Kurdish people.  It is an organization that respects all international laws.  It makes no sense to keep him on the terrorist list.  The Kurds and non-Kurds want the PKK removed from the list.  From South Africa to England and Central Asia, everyone is against this list.  I call on the European Union and the United States to correct this list.  When this list is corrected, there will undoubtedly be a Turkish-Kurdish peace.  If there is peace the war will end.  This is in the interest of all mankind.  Everyone must fulfill their responsibilities to correct this list.  The stigma inflicted on the Kurds must be removed and cleaned, which is possible through an international effort.  The Kurdistan Workers' Party is an organization that fights for the rights of the Kurdish people.  Never in the world has such a pure movement appeared.  So you should receive support.

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