| Submitted by Tsiatsan on Saturday, October 24 2009 |
Kurdish Info - As is accepted by all, we are experiencing historical moments. The arrival of the Peace and Democracy Groups and their release was greeted with great enthusiasm. The people, especially in Northern Kurdistan, poured out into the streets. The preparations and interest shown to the groups on their passage was a site to behold. Following the journey from Silopi, Cizre, Nisebin, Qoser and Çýnar, the group arrived in Amed amidst scenes of great joy and affection. There was one soul and one will in Amed. Thousands of souls cried ‘Peace’ in one voice. There was a flood of more than two hundred thousand people in the area.The peace emissaries entered the area with the song ‘gerilla hatin’ (the guerrilla have come) of recently deceased Ermeni musician and friend of the Kurds Aram Tigran and the slogan ‘welcome to Amed.’ The area was filled with Öcalan posters, red, green, yellow lighting and colours.
The arrival of the peace envoy was celebrated with bomb fires. Songs about the PKK and Öcalan were constantly sung. The arrival of the groups from Maxmur and Qandil on stage, wearing white shawls (representing peace), sent the crowd into ecstasy.
Mehmet Şerif Gençdağ, a member of the Qandil group, made a speech in Kurdish on behalf his peace group. He began the speech with a poem about the resistance of Amed. Then continued by saying that they had come following the appeal from their Leader Abdullah Öcalan, to create a resolution to the Kurdish issue, and to open the blocked path for an honourable peace and democratic politics. Gençdağ also said that they had come to ensure a permanent peace between the Kurdish and Turkish Peoples.
Following this Gençdağ indicated that the only desire of the Kurdish people, who had marched with them from Southern Kurdistan to Northern Kurdistan, was peace. Gençdağ thanked everyone who had supported them. Saluting the resistance and struggle of the Kurdish people he said, ‘‘you have given your message, we would like to go arm in arm with the Turkish people and create a greater Turkey.’’ Gençdağ asked that their arrival not be distorted and article 221 not be made a point of discussion. He said, ‘‘we are peace emissaries. We have come following an appeal from our leader. This message should be read well.’’ Gençdağ briefly conveyed his message in the Zazaki dialect and ended his speech.
Following Gençdağ, the spokesman of the Maxmur peace group, Nurettin Turgut made a speech and saluted the people’s uprising. He said they had come voluntarily, for peace, freedom and a resolution. And that they had in no way shown submission. Turgut also said he had brought the good will of twelve thousand Maxmur residents.
Next on stage was DTP co-chair Ahmet Türk. Türk began by saying that the struggle of the Kurds was to create a democratic Turkey. Emphasising that they wanted freedom, fraternity and peace, Türk criticised those who were concocting scenarios in order to prevent this. He said that they wanted a strong respectable democratic understanding to develop and advocated the fraternity of all Middle Eastern peoples.
