From Abdullah Öcalan, euronews:  The struggle I initiated against our collective desperation, ignorance and slavery was aiming to form a consciousness, mentality and spirit albeit all challenges.

Today, I see that this scream came to a certain point.

Our fight was never against a particular race, religion, sect or group, and it can never be.

Our fight was always against oppression, ignorance, injustice, lack of development and all sorts of pressures.

Today though, we are waking up to a new Turkey, Middle East and future. . . .

A door is opening from a process of armed resistance to a process of democratic politics.

A new process emphasizing on political, social and economic aspect is starting, a new mentality on democratic rights, freedoms and equality is developing.

We have sacrificed decades for this people, we have suffered great consequences. But all the sacrifice and struggle did not go unwasted. Kurdish people regained their true self-identity.

We have come to a point where we say “let the arms silence, opinions and politics speak”. The ignorant modernist paradigm has been deconstructed. The blood is dripping from this geography, regardless of Turkish, Kurdish, Laz, Circassian origin.

I, myself, am declaring in the witnessing of millions of people that a new era is beginning, arms are silencing, politics are gaining momentum. It is time for our [PKK] armed entities to withdraw from the [Turkish] border.

I strongly believe that whoever opens their heart to me, whoever believes in our struggle, will certainly consider the sensitivity of the ongoing process.

This is not an end, this is a beginning. It is not the end of our struggle, it is the start of a new sort of struggle. . . .

To people of Turkey;

Turkish people who know ancient Anatolia as Turkey should know that their coexistence with Kurdish people dates back to a historical agreement of fraternity and solidarity under the flag of Islam.

In the real sense, this spirit of solidarity does not and must not contain conquest, denial, forced assimilation and annihilation.

The politics of oppression, annihilation and assimilation represent the effort of an isolated elitist government that deny the existing history and fraternity agreement.

I am inviting everyone to build the democratic modernity together, as two prominent strategic powers of Middle East, departing from our culture and civilization to emancipate ourselves from the vicious cycle of cruelty which looks obvious to contradict our history and fraternity agreement.

It is time not for opposition, conflict or contempt towards each other, it is time for cooperation, unity, embracing and mutual blessing.

Abdullah Öcalan, İmralı Prison, March 21, 2013.  Source and translation: BDP Press Office, Turkey.  (photo: IMC TV)

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