Kurdish News A Monthly Publication Of The Kurdistan Committee Of Canada Number 18 - July 1995 Index: 1) 200,000 Demonstrate In Bonn, Germany 2) Tax On Immigration Denounced 3) Attempted Assasination Of Pro-Kurdish Activist 4) Balance Sheet For The Month Of May 5) Nationalism And The Kurdish National Liberation Movement 6) PKK 5th Party Congress 1) 200,000 Demonstrate In Bonn, Germany On Saturday, June 17, supporters of the Kurdish national liberation movement organized the biggest demonstration ever in support of a political solution to the dirty war in Kurdistan. The march was held in Bonn, Germany and 200,000 people took part. There were ERNK flags and huge pictures of Abdullah Ocalan everywhere (despite being banned in Germany) as people chanted "Biji PKK!" and "Long Live International Solidarity!". In addition to Kurdish groups in Europe, the demonstration was also supported by various progressive and socialist organizations, and even some European MPs joined in. The demonstration was a clear sign to the world that Turkey must be called upon to stop its dirty war against the Kurdish people. Also, any political solution to this question must involve representatives of the Kurdish liberation movement. In the words of one German police official: "The PKK cannot be stopped." 2) Tax On Immigration Denounced Not everyone was outside celebrating on Saturday, July 1, Canada Day. In Toronto, close to 300 people protested against the federal government's new head tax on immigrants and refugees. The plan, created by Immigration Minister Sergio Marchi, calls for all new refugees and immigrants to pay a tax of $975 to the Canadian government. The Toronto Coalition Against Racism (TCAR) says the plan is racist and claims that dozens of refugee families have been forcibly split up since the plan went into effect in February. "People are being affected tremendously and we're hearing of a lot of cases of people struggling to find the money to pay that," said Deena Ladd of TCAR. Regi Bavid, 23, said it would be impossible for her family in Sri Lanka to join her in Canada. "My house was bombed and my father lost his job. I would like to be with my family, but it's totally difficult." Bavid, who came to Canada a year ago, said she misses her family but knows she can't afford to pay the tax. Canada is one of the few countries in the world which has imposed a grossly unfair head tax on refugees and immigrants. For example, how could a family of five people fleeing Turkish state terrorism in Kurdistan come up the necessary $5000 to seek refuge in Canada? We agree with the TCAR protestors: "Tax big business, not immigrants! Shame on Canada!" 3) Attempted Assassination Of Pro-Kurdish Activist Nafiz Bostanci On December 29, 1994 at about 10:00 PM, a young Turkish refugee, Ali Ozturk, was shot through his back and seriously wounded while walking out of an East London greengrocers shop. The Turkish state is held directly responsible for this attack. The actual target is believed to have been Nafiz Bostanci, a respected and prominent Turkish community leader in London who has campaigned all his life for Kurdish and trade union rights in Turkey. Bostanci, a political refugee from Sapanca near Istanbul, helped found the Halkevi Kurdish and Turkish Community Centre in Stoke Newington, North London. In Turkey he had been a member of the banned Turkish trade union organization DISK and was jailed and tortured for his union activities in the early 1980s, accused of being a member of the Turkish Communist Party, and stripped of his nationality. He escaped to England 12 years ago. He appeared in 1988 on the BBC2 programme "Open Space" to protest about civil rights abuses in Turkey and the torture of political prisoners. Bostanci had been warned by British police two months earlier that he was a probable assassination target because of his involvement in the Kurdish cause. He is convinced that the threat comes from MIT (the Turkish intelligence agency) which has recently dispatched 160 agents to Western European countries to disrupt pro-Kurdish campaigns and fund-raising movements. He has good reason for believing this. Bostanci had recently been approached directly by a Turkish-Cypriot man who admitted to having been offered 25,000 and a kilo of heroin to kill him, but had refused. Later another two men were found to carry out the shooting. This information was passed on to police, who offered protection which Bostanci declined: "l continue my normal life" he said, because to stop any of his activities would be to offer a victory to his enemies. Source: Kurdistan Information Centre, London 4) Press Release - June 8, 1995 The following figures from the ARGK for the civil war in Kurdistan were faxed to us from the Comite du Kurdistan in Brussels. The War In Kurdistan: Balance Sheet For The Month Of May In the month of May, our forces engaged the enemy forces 303 times. Of these encounters, the enemy fell into our traps 94 times; we attacked them at 41 different places; we fought in close encounters 51 times; in 30 different places, our suicide teams targeted enemy installations; 18 times we penetrated enemy lines; 19 times we subjected them to artillery fire; we have committed acts of sabotage; we set up roadblocks 17 times; and the enemy stepped on mines 30 times. We know the results of 171 of these encounters. The enemy losses for this period total 550 persons. Of these losses, 7 were officers, 446 were soldiers, 59 were mercenaries, and 38 were members of the contra-guerrilla. In addition, 141 enemy forces were injured. The loss of enemy equipment was as follows: 1 helicopter, 2 armoured vehicles, 19 military vehicles, and 16 non-military vehicles. In addition, 1 helicopter, 1 tank, 2 armoured vehicles, and 19 military vehicles have been seriously damaged. In the course of the month, 23 relatives of mercenaries, 28 suspected enemy collaborators, 4 civil servants acting as collaborators, 1 enemy agent, and 1 correspondent have been apprehended. Some of these have been released; no decision has been reached in the other cases as of yet. A considerable amount of enemy goods have also been confiscated. These are: 37 machine guns, 5 MG-3s, 40 hand grenades, 5 cluster bombs, 1 mortar, 40 mortar rockets, 3 B-7 rockets, 2 Karnas guns, 2 walkie talkies, 2 mine detectors, 6 binoculars, 4,933 rounds of ammunition, 14 tents, and 20 backpacks. In addition, we have the custody of one dead Turkish solider. The enemy has, as usual, increased its air attacks on civilians. It has undertaken 49 operations, bombing Kurdish villages from the air 9 times. As a result, 26 villages have been destroyed and 27 villagers have been killed. Our losses stand at 99 fighters killed in action. Of these, 32 died in Botan, 17 in Zagros, 4 in Mardin, 15 in Amed, 6 in Garzan, 10 in Dersim, 12 in Erzurum, and 2 in Serhat region. In addition, 4 of our fighters were captured by the enemy because of their injuries. The figure for our injured fighters stands at 36. People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK) 5) Nationalism And The Kurdish National Liberation Movement Written by the Kurdistan Information Bureau, Germany Translated by the Kurdistan Committee of Canada There has been an intense discussion recently concerning nationalism in the Kurdish liberation movement in general and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in particular. Even leftist publications like 'Konkret', 'Radikal', and the daily newspaper 'Junge Welt' have printed articles over the last few months about nationalism in the PKK, in which they have accused the PKK of being "nationalist", "dictatorial", "populist", "anti-democratic", and so on. These accusations against the Kurdish liberation movement are nothing new. Without getting into the background of these accusations for the moment, we would like to point out that these criticisms which are being brought forward against the Kurdish liberation movement by left-wing German magazines and newspapers contain the exact same sweeping generalizations which are used against us by the bourgeois Western press and the Turkish state media. This text of ours is designed to show how these critiques of the Kurdish national liberation movement are very superficial. The content of these criticisms and the manner in which they are levied against the PKK make it clear that the authors of these critiques really know very little about the movement and its publications. Of course, it should be noted that almost all PKK/ERNK publications are either in Turkish or Kurdish. The only materials in German are 'Kurdistan Report' and the 'Kurdistan Rundbrief', which certainly isn't much at all. Perhaps it would be very significant if more publications of the Kurdish national liberation movement were translated into German and published, for example the books by PKK General Secretary Abdullah Ocalan on a variety of different themes. We are sure that this would clear up several questions. The PKK Is A Socialist Movement! How often must the question be asked, is the PKK a nationalist movement? This point is raised because the PKK sees itself as a national liberation movement and it expresses this in its publications. But what does the PKK mean when it speaks of a "nation"? How does the German left deal with this concept? We would like to examine these questions from different perspectives. First, it should be stated that the concept of "nation" now carries with it a great deal of negative connotations, especially within the German left, because of historical experiences with Nazi Germany. These assumptions are not necessarily false, considering the racist-fascist ideology of the Nazis, for whom the German nation was the embodiment of the highest race to whom all other nations must subject themselves. Therefore, the "nation" in Nazi Germany implied reactionary nationalism. Reactionary nationalism, as a form of bourgeois ideology, arises from the historical position of the role of the imperialist bourgeoisie. It expresses itself as national arrogance, in other words by misunderstanding and despising other nations and glorifying one's own nation and the imperialist society which is represented in national form. In this sense, bourgeois nationalism bases itself on capitalist production relationships on the one hand, namely the exploitation of that nation's own masses, especially the working class, and on the exploitation of the nations of the so-called Third World on the other. Bourgeois nationalism, as it is represented today in European states, expresses its reactionary nature most clearly in the exploitation of the "South", in other words the nations of Africa, Latin America, and Asia. By exploiting other nations (cheap sources of labour, raw materials, etc.) the bourgeoisie in Europe can afford to keep the standard of living of its working class relatively high as well while at the same time creating a strong middle class. That how the monopoly owners who make up just 2% of the population are able to maintain their status in the society. A socialist national consciousness must be distinguished from reactionary nationalism, particularly the extreme form which was practiced in Nazi Germany. The Kurdish national liberation movement uses the term "nation" to represent a people with a shared language, culture, history, and territory. In this sense the term is closely tied to social relations and must be looked at in its historical context, in contrast to bourgeois concepts of "nation", in which the nation is separated from the social relations and is not judged according to its historical creation and development. That's why the Kurdish national liberation movement places such an emphasis on the history of Kurdish people and society in its publications. According to the publications of the Kurdish national liberation movement, the Kurdish people are exploited as a nation. In his book 'Kurdish Reality Since The 19th Century And The PKK Movement', which was published by Agri-Verlag in Cologne in January 1994, PKK General Secretary Abdullah Ocalan states the following: "Due to the increasing influence of the monopolies in the capitalist economy in the 1970s, the economic exploitation of Kurdistan was accelerated, because it is well known that one of the most significant characteristics of monopolies is their tendency to expand outwards. Turkish monopoly owners were aware of the fact that they could not compete with imperialist monopolies abroad, which is why they decided to utilize Kurdistan as an area for exploitation. They wanted to exploit the country so as to get out of their economic crisis. In the same way as imperialist countries solve their crises by exploiting so-called Third World countries, Turkish monopolies tried to solve their crisis through the exploitation of the Turkish working class on the one hand and of Kurdistan on the other. Since capitalism had not previously been introduced into Kurdistan and since the Kurdish people were denied any economic, democratic, or national rights, it was easy for the Turkish monopolies to serve their own interests and colonize the country. Agriculture and grazing became oriented towards the interests of the Turkish monopolies and the exploitation of natural resources was intensified." The Kurdish national liberation movement found the Kurdish society in the 1970s in a strongly feudalistic phase. As the analysis cited above shows, capital did intrude into Kurdistan after 1970, yet this did not alter the social relations, which were already based on exploitation. In Kurdistan, Kurdish feudal lords collaborated with Turkish capitalists. These people acted as the Turkish state's strongest supporters in Kurdistan. In the PKK's 'Manifesto', published in 1978, the following is written: "What's more, the Kurdish feudal lords welcomed these developments, since the limited exploitation offered to them under a feudal system was not sufficient, therefore they gladly collaborated with foreign (Turkish) capitalists in order to increase their share of the exploitation." The Kurdish national liberation movement considers Kurdish feudal lords to be important targets for attack because of their collaboration with Turkish capitalists which makes them important pillars of the Turkish state in Kurdistan. Both of the above quotations make it clear that the Kurdish national liberation movement uses dialectical materialism in order to analyze Kurdish society and history. This fact alone excludes an understanding of nationalism in the sense of bourgeois nationalism. It should also been made perfectly clear that the PKK is fighting for the national liberation of the Kurdish people and is striving towards a socialist society in which people live together in equality. It should also be noted that, in comparison to other left-wing Turkish and Kurdish organizations, most workers and peasants are organized in the PKK. The Kurdish liberation movement also makes use of the phrase "patriotism" on many occasions. For the Kurds, "patriotism" means recognizing their national identity and resisting exploitation and repression. This can in no way be compared to German patriotism, which, again, is connected to bourgeois nationalism. Patriotism in Kurdistan is a result of the fact that the Kurdish people, ever since the beginning of the liberation struggle, have consistently denied their identity as a distinct people due to the Turkish state's policy of assimilation and denial and they have failed to recognize that they are exploited and repressed as a people. Recognizing one's national identity in Kurdistan doesn't just mean recognizing a national characteristic but also recognizing the fact of exploitation, hence a class characteristic. Because of this, Kurdish patriotism entails both of these characteristics. The fact that other peoples, such as Turks, Armenians, Assyrians, and others, have fought and continue to fight in the ranks of the PKK makes it clear that the Kurdish liberation movement is in no way comparable to a bourgeois nationalist movement. Women In The National Liberation Struggle Now we would like to comment on an article entitled "Kurdistan: What Chances Exist For The National Liberation Struggle?" which was published in the 12/94 edition of 'Radikal'. A part of this article was also printed in the 21 December 1994 edition of the leftist daily paper 'Junge Welt'. One passage quoted a statement from the Patriotic Women's Association of Kurdistan (YJWK) concerning the situation of Kurdish women in Germany: "The women here (in Germany) have quickly learned that it's not acceptable for a man to hit a woman, otherwise the police will do something about it. After the women have quickly learned this, they use that as an opportunity to act as they wish. But this leads to the degeneration of these women. Their free environment is often misused. Chaos in the family grows worse. And if the woman has to work at a job as well, the situation grows even worse. The women do everything possible to achieve their so- called equal rights without ever trying to see clearly if their conduct is right or wrong. Naturally this ends in tragedy. But the situation is much different for families with close ties to their country, Kurdistan, and who recognize that their own liberation is tied to the liberation of their homeland. These families, who work together with Kurdish associations and who strive to maintain their identity, culture, and language, don't have such problems. They have come to realize that liberation is only possible in a liberated country. This is true for the liberation of women as well." The German authors of the critique then state the following: "It's clear from this that no matter what the circumstances are -- even here in Germany -- that national identity counts for more than the actual social situation." He or she is therefore trying to assert that the Kurdish liberation struggles places more emphasis on national concerns than on the social situation. This assertion is inherently contradictory because the social situation of the Kurdish woman as well as the Kurdish man is directly linked to their national exploitation and oppression. The national exploitation and oppression of Kurdish society in the primary reason for the exploitation and oppression of Kurdish women. And in the regressive and feudalistic Kurdish society, the woman is oppressed by the man and so she must suffer from a double oppression. Therefore, the Kurdish national liberation movement has made the liberation of Kurdish women one of its priorities. As the problems in the countries of the so-called Third World show, a society's standard of living depends greatly on the education of women because women can exert more control over the birth rate and care better for the education of children, since caring for children is one of the roles assigned to women in today's society. Men, of course, carry just as much responsibility in all of this, but the woman's role is much more important. Therefore, a necessary prerequisite for an equal coexistence of women and men is that they must carry equal responsibilities. It is also clear that the liberation of women is not just the task of Kurdish women, but rather it is also the concern of Kurdish men. European viewpoints have turned the liberation of women into a "woman's question", something which men play no role in. This is a typically bourgeois way of approaching the problem. It is unrealistic to strive towards an equal society if the men and women can't work together towards this goal. But how is it possible to create a Kurdish society where the women and men can live together in equality? This is a question to which there has not yet been an universally valid answer. The Kurdish national liberation movement has dealt with this issue on both a theoretical as well as a practical level and analyzed the results. From this came the decision to organize the women involved in the armed struggle into a women's army. The accusations made against the PKK in the 'Radikal' article can be refuted by the fact that the Kurdish liberation movement is the only movement in the Middle East which has taken practical steps to achieve an equal status for women in social life. Women today can assume leadership positions within the liberation movement. In this way, women have influence over social developments. That's why there have been such dramatic changes in Kurdish society within just a short period of time. Today, Kurdish men can't just hit women at will or rule over them like kings. In any case, they have to answer to the authority of the Kurdish liberation movement. These developments have also led to women going to join the guerrilla in order to fight for their freedom and equality. The quotation from the YJWK representatives concerning the situation of Kurdish women in Germany must be seen against this background. But the quotation is trying to make a further point, namely that women in Western bourgeois societies have a false notion of equality. The first part of the quotation is trying to emphasize the point that women in the Western world have become "degenerated" to the level of consumer items, and the second part states that women in the Kurdish liberation struggle are fighting for the national liberation of the society and, therefore, for women's liberation as well. It's not possible for us to discuss the women's issue in detail in this article, otherwise we'd become overwhelmed. But the publications of the Kurdish national liberation movement deal extensively with this theme from a variety of perspectives. Many questions are dealt with, for example: What is love? What function does the family have in the society? What should the relationship between men and women look like in the Kurdish liberation struggle, or in the future Kurdish society? Certainly the answers to such questions are also relevant to people in the West. The PKK's Vision Of Socialism As we stated above, the PKK is a socialist movement. Now the question arises as to what the Kurdish national liberation movement defines socialism to be. This question is significant, particularly since we are living in a period directly following the collapse of real-existing socialism. We would like to stress the evaluation of PKK General Secretary Abdullah Ocalan, who wrote an article entitled "The Ideological- Political Questions Of Socialism And The Solutions Which The PKK Would Bring About" in the November 1994 edition of the magazine 'Serxwebun'. In reference to the development of consciousness in individuals, religion, and morality, the General Secretary of the PKK writes the following: "There are important stages in the development of consciousness. I would like to briefly discuss this. At the beginning, human consciousness was very underdeveloped and displayed primitive, regressive thought. This was expressed in the form of witchcraft, magic, and religion. Both magic and religious tendencies are the beginning stages of consciousness. Religion is a form of consciousness, but it's a very underdeveloped stage of rational discipline, as we know today. But religion has always existed and it always will. The same is true for witchcraft and magic. The causes of these phenomena are closely linked to the existence of humanity. Can a human being be explained in an entirely rational manner? Can all of his or her actions be based on reason? These are philosophical questions. There are several theories concerning all of this and they all develop on a scientific foundation. But it seems unrealistic to suppose that dreams, dogma, and religion will one day all disappear. These are part of human nature. Human nature requires us to make space for dreams, dogma, and religious values, as well as for ethics and morality. If a certain type of moral code is not developed then it's not possible for humanity to develop further or exist any longer. The crisis of socialism is likewise connected to morality. The fact that real-existing socialism failed to deal with questions of religion and morality was the major cause of its collapse." This evaluation makes it clear that Ocalan has deeply examined questions of socialism, in particular how they relate to human psychology. According to Ocalan, people can't simply be made to conform to a dogmatic scheme. He makes it clear that certain peculiar aspects of humanity, for example dreams and religious values, can't simply be abolished. According to Ocalan, the contemporary socialist movement must seriously concern itself with these issues and find a solution. In the same article, Ocalan writes: "Along with the general scientific ideology, which developed in the time of capitalism, there is also the socialist ideology. To separate this form of socialism from the other kinds, it should be referred to as scientific socialism. Why scientific? The 19th century was the age of science and there was not a single field which science did not affect. This development also had an impact on the social sciences as well. Socialism, therefore, is an expression of social sciences. That's why it should be called scientific socialism, or, in other words, that's why socialism is scientific. Socialism considers itself to be the most scientific ideology ever. There are several reasons for this, the main reason being that it is closely linked to the working class. The ruling classes are forced to lie and to distort reality, but the working class has to be realistic, that is, scientific. The working class has no reason to lie so as to exploit people. That's why the working class has an inclination towards science. (...) People naturally seek Utopias. But Utopias don't come about on their own. That's why it's not possible to conceive of socialism without conceiving of a Utopia. In the end, all ideologies are Utopias and socialism needs to be such a Utopia as well. Real-existing socialism tried to overcome this, it sought to create socialism without a Utopia, without practicing morality, and therefore it collapsed." Ocalan clearly distances his brand of socialism from real-existing socialism, as it was practiced in the Soviet Union, for example. The General Secretary of the PKK advocates scientific socialism, one which deals with all questions facing humanity, including morality, science, culture, the question of women, democracy, protecting the environment, and so on. According to Ocalan, this is the only way scientific socialism can provide an alternative to the capitalist system. In any case, according to the General Secretary of the PKK, scientific socialism is a Utopia which we can all strive to create. (Translated from Agitare Bene #75, March 1995) 6) PKK Holds 5th Party Congress In Kurdistan The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) held its 5th Party Congress from January 8-27, 1995 in liberated Kurdish territory. A total of 317 delegates participated in the Congress, 231 having the right to speak and vote and 86 of them only having the right to speak. During three weeks of intense work, basic problems pertaining to the world and to Kurdistan were analyzed. Women also played a very major role in the 5th Congress. There were 63 women delegates present. The following are some of the many resolutions passed during the 5th Congress: PKK 5th Party Congress Resolution On Political Dialogue Today, our national liberation struggle, in so far as it has become a large and decisive organizational, military, and political power with respect to the masses, is a problem, not just for Turkey, but for all countries in the Middle and Near East and it also greatly concerns other states in the rest of the world. At this point in time, the people of Kurdistan and their leadership are a force which can no longer be denied. No power can have any success in denying the existence of Kurdistan; the PKK will play a decisive role in the solution of the Kurdistan problem. For this reason, every search for a solution to the Kurdistan problem and all wishes to come into contact with the PKK are positive developments. Those forces which demand stability in the Near East and Kurdistan all send delegations to solve the problem, direct or indirect missions, and thereby have some influence on the situation. For this reason, in the coming period, those who wish to seek a solution to the Kurdistan problem, not merely idealistic hopes but rather practical initiatives, will most likely seek to come into contact with the PKK. The PKK, a fighting force which is struggling for independence for its country and freedom for its people, is prepared to accept proposals for dialogue from states and institutions, on the condition that these are based on the ideals of the equality, independence, and solidarity of peoples and don't contradict the line of our party. Today, just like yesterday, the PKK is ready for any dialogue which recognizes the freedom of our nation and people. This was made clear by the cease-fire announced in March 1993, and by the letter from our party's General Secretary in November 1994 concerning a political solution to the Kurdistan problem, which was sent to the appropriate persons and institutions and which again stressed the demands made at the Brussels Conference. But the Turkish Republic responded to all of these requests with more war; Turkey has shown that it seeks to solve the Kurdistan problem through destruction and ignorance. Despite everything, our party has maintained its aim of continuing the armed struggle until our freedom is secured, but we do not exclude non-violent methods or means of solution. In light of this, our 5th Congress has decided: 1. To empower the party presidents and the central committee to respond to all political requests for dialogue and to work to bring about political negotiations; 2. To empower the party presidents and the central committee to name representatives or to form delegations which can carry out political requests for dialogue or engage in political negotiations; 3. That all political requests for dialogue and all negotiations must be acknowledged and considered by the party presidents. PKK 5th Party Congress Resolution On The Function Of Internationalism Some of the social developments which have come into being through the influence of human development -- those which are universally accepted as being turning points in the history of civilization (such as Christianity, Islam, or the French Revolution) -- possess the character of internationalism, even if not in a universal form. Even the leaders who organized these developments came up with ideological- organizational forms and forms of struggle in order to bring this international spirit closer to home and closer to all of humanity. The new class of the proletariat -- through the consciousness of all of human history which came about as a result of the development of fundamental experiences and authority -- has attempted via scientific socialism, which arose from the ripe social system of humanity, to solve the problem of comprehensive human representation, bearing in the mind the realization of its organizational line through the three forms of internationalism which had developed throughout the course of the history of the workers' movement from the 19th century to the October Revolution. Both the problems and helplessness experienced today show that it is urgent that answers be found to questions like how socialism can come to power or develop to an international level. The lessons learned from the praxis of real-existing socialism can help us to solve these problems. In this sense, Kurdistan is a prime candidate for internationalism, considering its division into four parts, its relations to other peoples in the region, even if these are fundamentally false, and many other questions of living together. The reality of Kurdish national liberation has made scientific socialism the guiding ideology of the PKK. In today's world, which assumes that socialism is dead while at the same time an increasingly rabid imperialism is on the rise, the PKK, by effectively arguing in favor of socialism and by spreading socialist ideals to the people of the region, is the vanguard of the global socialist movement, even though the party hasn't yet come to power. While the advance of the revolutionary struggle in Kurdistan is a necessary prerequisite of internationalist duties, while at the same time aiding in the development of socialism, bearing in mind the present situation, history demands that we offer solidarity. This solidarity will advance the revolution in Kurdistan, while at the same time helping us to fulfil our socialist duties. In our present situation, the main problem we face is building a central organization for humanity, one which can prevent the splintering of the workers and other oppressed peoples by the exploiters and oppressors. For the founding and functioning of a new International, it is important to pay attention the social and historical characteristics which are specific to different continents, regions, and countries, in addition to concluding which fundamental problems must be solved. In light of this, the 5th Congress has decided to: 1. Represent the revolutionary spirit of scientific socialism, to defend it against all attacks, to carry out all activities according to it, and to represent it in all international platforms so as to help socialism to become a potent political force; 2. Take the necessary steps to found a Revolutionary Socialist International and to assume the leadership of this movement; 3. Not limit the problem to the Revolutionary Socialist International: a) While working together on the basis of regional, continental, and national differences is necessary, we will also cooperate with environmental organizations, humanistic movements, and radical-religious associations in order to carry out global actions which will have international influence and which will counteract anti-progressive tendencies and their effects; b) Against the background of the human dimension of our national liberation and its contribution to humanity, we are calling out to all independent-democratic and socialist forces which wish to support our revolution and the socialist cause and we will make the mountains of our country available to them; c) We will cultivate relations with revolutionary-democratic forces in our region, forge new relations, and offer mutual support and assistance, not simply seek to further our own goals. Kurdish News is published by: Kurdistan Committee of Canada 2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203 Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9 tel: (613) 733-9634 fax: (613) 733-0090 email: kcc@magi.com http://infoweb.magi.com/~kcc