Life has become a political struggle, one that ties the individual to his people, because our people suffer and because we want to end their suffering. The individual or collective Kurdish response as could be expected has been both violent and non-violent. In different parts of Turkish Kurdistan, year in and year out, the Kurds of both sexes and all ages have risen in arms to let the Turks know that they are Kurds and that they are not going to accept assimilation, to be Turks. In Diyarbakir, in Dersim, in Kocgiri and in various other parts of Kurdistan , they have participated in uprisings and invariably they were silenced with violence. The Kurdish masses together with their leaders were crushed or exiled.
Today is no different.
The fight is still for freedom, for liberty, for basic human rights as 20th century citizens of this world. Turkish Kurdistan is in turmoil today. Some of us are engaged with a nonviolent political struggle to redeem a people, to have it join the family of nations on an equality basis. Others among us have resorted to armed struggle, losing hope with the slow pace of reforms to validate a nation. My hope is that, I make you privy to both struggles and have you side with the democratic forces and help us expedite the work of nonviolence.