by Hamma Mirwaisi and Alison Buckley
March 8, 2013
In 1962, when Nelson Mandela was given a life sentence for his attempts to free his country from oppression, few thought he would become the President of South Africa after twenty-seven years of imprisonment. When Dr Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, who would have dared to hope that a black man would one day be President of the United States? Similarly, in today’s Middle East, the possibility of a Kurdish guerrilla leader ever becoming the President of say, Iraq, also seems remote, but not impossible.
Abdullah Öcalan
However, potential changes in the political leadership of nearby Turkey are much more likely. Apart from the proposition that current Turkish President Abdullah Gül is prepared to co-operate with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s long held Presidential ambitions by switching jobs with him, political pundits and voters would do well to consider Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan as the most likely Prime Ministerial candidate to bring Turkey true peace.
Left field answers are needed to solve the range of problems in the Middle East. The previously troublesome relations between the Turks and the Kurds of Turkey could be vastly improved by the election of Abdullah Öcalan to the position of Prime Minister of this divided nation.
A brief survey of Ocalan’s personal and political history, including his participation in the struggle to unite Kurdish people within the Turkish, Iranian, Iraqi and Syrian territories of their Ancient Median ancestors, explains the recent recognition by middle power Turkey of his considerable influence and value as a potential peace maker and promoter of stability in the region.
As a child of poor parents Abdullah Ocalan was born in Omerli, a village in the Halfeti-District, Province of Urfa, in the Kurdish Southeast of Turkey in 1949. Leaving his village after secondary school, he studied Political Sciences at the University of Ankara. He successfully completed his studies and entered the civil service in Diyarbakir.
Rejecting the unacceptable treatment of the Kurdish people, who were denied the right to live their own identity and culture by the Turkish state, Abdullah Ocalan became an active member of the Democratic Cultural Associations of the East, an organization supporting the Kurdish people’s demands. After the military coup in 1971 he progressively investigated the Kurdish question.
In 1978 the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, was founded with Ocalan as party leader, a post he retains until today. Besides numerous works on culture and the general situation of his people, Mr. Ocalan has explored subjects like philosophy, matters of faith, gender and environmental issues in plenty of lectures and books.
In response to continuing persecution, the Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK launched an armed struggle against the Turkish central government in 1984. Their aim was to exercise the right of the Kurdish people to self-determination. During this war approximately 40,000 people lost their lives.
When Israeli commandos raided Nairobi fourteen years ago, Kurdish leader Ocalan was ‘coincidentally’ tracked down to Kenya and captured by the Israeli Mossad in a spy drama worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster movie.
The six travelers arriving at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport looked like any other tourists on safari. They were casually dressed and carried huge jungle green backpacks.
Nothing betrayed the fact that this party of five men and a woman were Mossad agents whose mission in the country would thrust Kenya into the international spotlight, expose its close ties to Israeli security services and cause a diplomatic row that saw then Foreign Affairs minister Bonaya Godana order all Kenyan embassies closed for a day.
The Israelis came to town 14 years ago last month because of the presence in Nairobi of Abdullah ‘Apo’ Ocalan, at the time one of the world’s most wanted men.
Turkey’s secret services with US and Israeli co-operation kidnapped Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan and returned him to Turkey to be humiliated on a TV show and then sentenced to death, which was later, commuted to life imprisonment.
Today, in a significant turnaround, Turkey is negotiating with imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan to bring peace for the Kurds in Turkey.
The success of these efforts depends substantially on the willingness of the people of Turkey to acknowledge the historical and cultural origins of the Kurdish people living amongst them and to respect their deep connections to the roots of their Aryan civilization.
The large numbers of extremist Turks in the ‘Gray Wolf’ organization would be well advised to avoid a clash with the Kurdish Kangal, the giant shepherd dog who prefers peace to war, but will not allow his flock to be mauled by wild beasts. Wolves that are tamed become intelligent and co-operative companions for humans, protecting the pack from attacks and ensuring its survival. Turkish leaders could learn valuable lessons from the animal world.
One way of justly sharing the resources traditionally owned by the Airyanem Vaejah people in the Aryan Lands from Pakistan to Turkey and from Kurdistan to the countries of the former Soviet Union is the establishment of a Middle Eastern Economic Union. This proposed solution would allow each ethnic or national group such as Turks, Kurds, Persians and others to have their own independent country within an economic union similar to the EU of Europe. Considering the ongoing threats to the integrity of the European Economic Union, the establishment of a Middle Eastern counterpart may well be the solution to the persistent global financial crisis, creating another economic power house to shore up endemic weaknesses.
A seasoned problem solver with and open mind, as Prime Minister of Turkey Abdullah Öcalan is ably suited to negotiate and lead the discussion and development of such a vision for the future. He promotes the proposal in the interests of peace and stability, but whether the other major regional players such as the US, EU, Israel, and Russia will be prepared to examine its feasibility and inestimable benefits in the face of the present suffering, destruction and hopelessness currently besetting the Middle East is yet to be seen. However emerging economic powers such as India and China might well be inclined to welcome its potential for economic expansion and partnerships.
Now a potential Prime Minister, Abdullah Öcalan started his political life with a small group determined to fight for justice in Turkey and now he has millions of followers in the region. An enduring organizer and motivator of those willing to work indefinitely for peace and stability, like other modern political trailblazers he has survived war, incarceration, and violent opposition to emerge as one of the Middle East’s foremost champions of human rights, democracy, and the peaceful resolution of the multiple conflicts plaguing the region.
Note: In an effort to examine the origins of the Kurdish conflict with Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel, and the Arab-Persian conflict, we have launched a series of historical novels to develop better understanding between the Aryan and other peoples now living in the Middle East. The first, Vashti, Queen of the Ancient Medes provides insights into the life of this little known and oft maligned Queen, whilst throwing significant light on the true historical place of the subject of the second novel, Esther, Mystery Queen of the Medes, well known for her role in the establishment of the Jewish Purim festival. These ancient tales of personal power ploys, harems, conspiracies and inter-imperial power machinations reveal unique insights into an almost forgotten but rich continuous culture paralleling the most influential of past and present civilizations.
By Hamma Mirwaisi and Alison Buckley
Hamma Mirwaisi and Alison Buckley are authors of the historical novels Vashti Queen of the Ancient Medes (Kurds) and Esther Mystery Queen of the Medes (Kurds). They are working to revive the ancient “Airyanem Civilization” record in this series of books, and are calling for the establishment of an “Economic Union” for the Middle East to solve some of the problems among the population of that part of the world.View all Articles
31 Responses to Could a Kurdish PM of Turkey lead the Movement to redraw the Boundaries of the Middle East?
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Hamma Mirwaisi Reply
March 8, 2013 at 8:41 pm
Query Letter Esther
Queen Esther and Purim of Jewish people
What a difference a hundred years can make!
A new novel, exposing startling historical bloopers reveals Queen Esther, initially a Jewish captive to King Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon, wasn’t known by that name at all during her reign. In an extraordinary stroke of fate the Queen of Purim escaped the tyrannical megalomania of the Persian King Xerxes, when she was taken captive in 597 BCE, eighty-eight years before he was born.
Simple revelations sitting for years under historian’s noses indicate that prior to being involuntarily committed to his harem, the orphaned Hadassah married the volatile but easily manipulated King Ahasuerus (Astyages) Shahan Shah of the Medes, son of Median Empire builder King Cyaxares and already husband of Queen Vashti, whom he sacked unceremoniously when the personal between them became political. Queen Esther’s real name was Esteraka of the Medes.
Now before all you serious ancient history buffs hang your heads in shame, wring your hands in despair, or even cloak your protests in some protective bronze armour inscribed with myriads of historical documents, take a minute to consider some easily understood, readily available evidence to support these claims.
For centuries scholars of the Old Testament where the story of Esther originates failed to link it to events in the complimentary book of Daniel. Having unquestioningly accepted the ancient Persian and Jewish stories that removed Queen Vashti from historical records and replaced her with an Esther who would have been old enough to be King Xerxes’ great grandmother, they ignored Ahasuerus’ paternity of Darius the Mede, who was born in 601BCE, and the unmistakable implication that his first wife Vashti was Darius’ mother. With Ahasuerus’ (Astyages) reign commencing in 585 BCE, Vashti and Esther (Esteraka of the Medes) were undoubtedly his two wives of the book of Esther, set in the period 597-574 BCE.
Was this glaring chronological error deliberately fabricated for underdetermined reasons or was it just a succinct myth characterising a finely tuned romantic story involving a captive girl and a Middle Eastern Shah whose empire dominated the then known world? Alternatively could it have been an attempt to cover the machinations between the era’s empires and their enemies’ attempts to establish political strongholds in a then and still heavily contested region?
Hamma Mirwaisi and Alison Buckley began to unravel the answers to these questions in Vashti Queen of the Ancient Medes, the first of their historical novels in the Airyanem Civilisation series. The sequel, Esther Mystery Queen of the Medes peels way the layers of fanciful assumptions about the Purim hero to tell her story candidly, within its actual historical context, leaving discerning readers with more than a suspicion about its connections to present circumstances in the Middle East.
The sequel is expected to soon be complete at 80,000 words.
a Reply
March 8, 2013 at 10:50 pm
Sivas kangal breed is not Kurdish, it is a Turkish dog breed. WTF?
clafete Reply
March 9, 2013 at 12:01 am
funny article..A baby killer ocalan as PM.WTF
Hamma Mirwaisi Reply
March 9, 2013 at 12:11 am
Kurdish Kangal vs.African Cheetah
The dog has been there with Kurds for over 6000 years and Turks came from Altic (Mongols) land after Islamic Arab Empire destroyed our country which is less than 1400 years.
Temir Reply
March 11, 2013 at 6:37 pm
Which country?
T Reply
March 15, 2013 at 5:47 am
Interesting…
I do not see any reference to Kurds on this Kangal Dog Wikipedia page?!?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangal_Dog
Please let me ask Temir’s question again: Which country did you say Kangal was coming from 6000 years ago?
Please also note that the man you are talking about is a jailed leader of a terrorist organisation, acknowledged legally by US and EU. Comparing him to Mandela or Martin Luther King and wishing him to be the PM of Turkey is simply absurd and completely out of touch with reality!!
Gumus Reply
March 15, 2013 at 12:36 pm
These are the people of feudal origin. They are the neo-slaves of Kurdish landlords also known as PKK followers. They are just the extension of PKK who earn their income by means of smuggling (drugs, cigarettes, weapons, etc.). Thus, they gain money and support the PKK. They simply do this. Those Kurdish people who hate PKK (and the people shown in the video you have shared) are more than these terrorist extensions. And there is not so much Kurdish people of Turkey origin as 25%. You should be the journalist of reality. Just search for the right information independently. This is just a new game to show them as victims but nothing else. And these people started killing our people with Kurds and then thousands of our soldiers and civils. Ocalan has recently said “Say yes to the new Constitution, or I will start a people’s fight!” And you say this will be a PM, not a terrorist or a dictator. Could you imagine Laden as your President?!! And that’s the same for us.
SAS Reply
March 9, 2013 at 7:38 am
Turkey has been privileged to have three Prime Ministers of Kurdish heritage – Ismet Inonu, Bulent Ecevit and Turgut Ozal, all of whom made a big contribution to the nation’s development.
No country, on the other hand, deserves a terrorist Prime Minister.
Hatice Reply
March 9, 2013 at 12:47 pm
A jailed leader of a terrorist organisation (as defined by Turkey, EU and USA) that cost the lives of 40,000 people for PM???? What kind of an article is this? how can you compare Ocalan to Mandela or Martin Luther King? Terrorism is a cowardly act of killing innocent people in order to bring public’s attention to their cause. And whatever the cause, whether right or wrong, killing of innocent people can never be justified. What a terrible article.
Attaturk Reply
March 10, 2013 at 3:15 am
Turkey is a triple cross country now ,to the neighbor and the Arab as well. Two tongues on country
Wally Sarkeesian Reply
March 11, 2013 at 5:40 am
Hello Mr. Mirwaisi,
It was nice to read about Mr. Abdullah Ocalan life story and straggle for independent Kurdistan in your article, yet I am amaze about your establishment of an “Economic Union” because instate of working to create free independent Kurdistan in Turkey which is were 80% of Kurds are however, your convoluted Economic Union is nothing but to keep the Kurds under Turkish YOKE for another 500 years, your “Economic Union” is nothing short of Ottoman empire which is the goal of Turkish PM The Snake oil salesman and Gulen movement, it amaze me how soon people do forgot the past.. In-fat all the so called pace process is nothing but slow whit massacre like boiling frog of Kurdish people.
Last January I was invited by Kurdish youth festival in San Diego CA. I happily participated for three days meet some great young Kurdish boys and girls’ for sure economic union was never the topic getting of the Turkish YOKE was.
Thank you
Wally
Lola Reply
March 11, 2013 at 7:42 am
Such self serving, disgustingly disrespectful, a piece of garbage this article is. Not only it tries to insult the Turkish nation, but it also gives credit to a murderer who kidnapped teenage boys from their homes to train to become terrorists, who also had his own harem, made millions from drug and arms dealings, ordered and caused the deaths of more than 30 thousand people; it also insults Mandela and Martin Luther King. That is the problem with the Kurds, they can’t pick a better leader than him which seems what they believe they deserve. They are blinded with outside support they are getting now. However, all nations who rely on others have never made it in the free world as a nation. Ocalan will be lucky if he sees a day in the free world. And, Kurds have nothing but enemies all around them who are all stronger than the Kurds…and wait till the civil war takes over Iraq!
Mike Thompson Reply
March 11, 2013 at 10:04 pm
Salah ad din, who unified Arabs to resist The Crusaders, was Kurdish.
Kurdistan was an influential entity for years, until the collapse of the Ottoman empire in 1918. The new occupiers of Middle East, Britain, France with the influence of the USA, carved up their own spheres of influence.
The current borders of all Middle East countries were defined by the British, French and the USA in a way that suited their own interests. The existence of Kurdistan was ignored the borders showing that part of the Middle East as being part of Iraq, Syria and Turkey.
If I were a Kurd, I`d be somewhat miffed that the West had wiped my homeland off the face of the map, If I were an Iraqi I would be miffed that part of my land was taken to create Kuwait, and if I were a Palestinian I would be miffed that my land as taken to create Israel.
In fact if I were an Arab I would not trust the West as far as I could throw them, whoops! silly me the Arabs don`t trust the West, and why should they?
kurdishKangal Reply
March 12, 2013 at 2:37 am
Comments of turkish people are somewhat stupid-racist….
Hatice Reply
March 12, 2013 at 7:24 am
I am Turkish and all I’ve said is writing an article that suggests a jailed terrorist for prime minister of a country that they are trying to divide is wrong. Why are you calling us all stupid???? It’s because of people like you, who generalise a nation and call them names create racism. You are a hypocrite.
Gumus Reply
March 15, 2013 at 1:11 pm
It’s said so by all terrorist-minded people… There is nothing something Kurdish Kangal but there are vampires who rape the women and kill the babies. And these women and babies are mostly Kurdish. And you know that!!!
Hamma Mirwaisi Reply
March 13, 2013 at 10:14 pm
After 30 Years… Will the Turkish Government and PKK Find Peace?
Burcu Reply
March 15, 2013 at 5:37 am
To the writer of this artical: you just don’t know what you’re talking about. You can’t feel what we’ve been through without being a Turk. Abdullah Ocalan is a killer and even if they establish Kurdish land, they will all be ruled by imperialist countries (such as US and UK) or be killed by the same countires. Abdullah Ocalan is a killer not hero, so stop showing him like a hero!!!
Wally Sarkeesian Reply
March 15, 2013 at 6:16 am
Turkey Speaking of Killing Hammmm..
1.5 Million Armenians
750,000 Assyrians
hundred of thousands of Kurd and Arabs
for 400 year occupied and terrorized three continent.. and currently occupied Anatolia the land of Armenians, Greek, Kurd, Assyrians and so on..
The Kurd should demand country not pace.. the pace is another Turkish scam..
Wally
JT Reply
March 15, 2013 at 7:02 am
Breaking News! Turkey has occupied Anatolia!!
You are funny.
PS: What is pace????
PPS: Where is Wally??
Alper Reply
March 15, 2013 at 6:16 am
First of all, his name is not Abdullah Öcalan, it’s Artin Agopyan. Second, he is Armenian not Kurdish. There were thousands of Armenians that hid themselves as Kurds during the Armenian exile during Ottoman’s last years. PKK is set, and led by the Armenians, supported by the emperialist countries. Turks didn’t invade Kurds’ country like the white man did to the Africans. Mandela and Agopyan have NOTHING in common. This article is a joke. Get your facts right, before typing a bunch of bull.
Alper Reply
March 15, 2013 at 6:20 am
++ Artin Agopyan does not speak a word of Kurdish. Kurds are only used as pawn to break up Turkiye into little countries. It’s difficult to manipulate the government of a big country, but easy to manipulate that of a small one. America does this all over the world. Look at Yugoslavia, look at Czechoslovakia, Soviet Union, and all others that broke up into two or more smaller countries. It’s a very simple tactic, but people are always stupid enough to be fooled by religion or racist politics.
Hatice Reply
March 15, 2013 at 6:53 am
Completely agree! I feel sorry for people who take these things at face value. Western countries are the main reason why so many countries are at war, in history and today. America doctored a civil war in Central America and formed a new country called Panama because they wanted to build the Panama canal. Look what they’ve done in Iraq today, the coup in Iran in the 80s was also engineered by America. I am a firm believer that CIA is one of the biggest terrorist organisation in the world. Though I do believe Kurds have been ill treated in Turkey for decades, they are not fighting their own war, they are being used as puppets of the West and Iran and Syria. Don’t forget that Italy, Greece, Russia all housed Ocalan for years before America allowed him to be captured in Kenya based on death penalty being abolished, which was dutifully followed by the Turkish parliament of course.
Wally Sarkeesian Reply
March 17, 2013 at 11:04 pm
It’s difficult to manipulate the government of a big country: Really look at the following Turkish Ottoman Empire:
1- The Turks infiltrated the muslims Arabs the largest civilization in the world and Hijack the Islam and used as tools not only they went on concurring three continent but they come back and destroyed and occupied the Arabs for 400 Years. Today’s Arab suffering is all because of the Turks..
2- WW1 the Turks infiltrated the Germans drag them to the middle east sold the Arabs to Germans let to defeat of Germans
3- 1920 this time they sold the Arabs to British so that they the Turk can keep the Anatolia that let to defeat the British.
4- 1950 the Turk successfully played the Commonest card Turn USA against USSR and today military industrial complex started since then. They called (Cuban missile crises) which should have been called Turkish missile crises which is Turkey manipulated Americans to put missile in Turkey against USSR.
5- When USSR claps the Turk went into panic they the Turk successfully played Islam Card Turn the Islam against America and send their Imam to take over USA charter Public schools indoctrinating American children’s.
6- Take look at Turkish GDP before 9/11 in 2001 it was less than $200B today is $1.2T where that money is coming? So who was the number on beneficiary of 9/11? And have look at US financial situation $17 Trillion in death..
7- The only people who will destroy USA will be Turks.
The past is the present
Gumus Reply
March 15, 2013 at 12:07 pm
Oh! Really! Do you know what’s real??? And you think that we do not know Ocalan is an Armenian, Erdogan is a Georgian, and Gul is also an Armenian.If you want to know how a Turkish man will behave, just read Atatürk, or you may start with reading all the Turkish history. As just a little hint, I recommend to listen what Napoleon says. No, no do not go that far away. Just ask your Defense Secretary. We have never and ever behaved and will never behave rude to anyone. But if you really want to walk with the above names, just go on, and equalize your brain with Erdogan and your activities with Ocalan… We keep on seeing the big picture, while you are taking your time with small agendas… Lloyd George warned us a hundred years ago. We are really living in happiness and peace without the above three. If you want to see the reality someday, we will be glad to show you how a united and fused nation we all…
Gumus Reply
March 15, 2013 at 12:53 pm
And you say “Turkey brought him to be humiliated on a TV show.” Do you know what the soldier said when he welcomed Ocalan on the door to the plane. “Welcome to your country!!!” and “How are you?” These are the first things said to Ocalan. If you want to see that video, I will send you with English captions.
yahya sezai tezel Reply
March 16, 2013 at 5:35 am
The discipline of “international relations” is dangerous. The scholar is supposed to “understand” and “explain” the world, not to change it. He/she may change his/her hat to that of a politician and suggest what needs to be done. However, many intelligence agencies of “powers” use propagandists wearing the cloak of a scholar” to pursue their states’ policies to change the scene. The above article is nonsensical. It rest on lack of understanding of Turkey’s history and society in Turkey as now. I hope the lack of relevance results only from the ignorance of the author and not from the authors wishful thinking. Retired professor of economics, Ph. D. (Cantab).
Çanakkale Şehitleri Reply
March 17, 2013 at 8:42 pm
Abdullah Öcalan (apo) is an international terrorist..! If you want a govermant for kurdish people, you can give them a graund from US or Canada or Israel.
Terrorist PM Reply
March 17, 2013 at 9:06 pm
An internationally recognized terrorist as their PM is exactly what the sister-raping Kurds deserve.
Ferdun Demir Reply
March 18, 2013 at 9:33 am
“Now a potential Prime Minister, Abdullah Öcalan.”
What an assinine proposition! A terrorist with the lives of 40,000 innocent people including women and children, a potential prime minister?
In Turkey Ocalan is known as a “baby killer,” and will remain so forever.
Sightsound123 Reply
March 18, 2013 at 8:01 pm
In a white racist driven country such as United States, Martin Luther King was killed in order to avoid dealing with President Martin Luther King a few years down the road. Turkey is much more humane in that respect that She did not hang Abdullah Ocalan. He is nothing but a puppet of the West. I would like to know what America would do with an Ocalan type terrorist when he starts bombing public places in the U.S. in order to free all the occupied territories of Mexico, being Texas, New Mexico, Arizona California and Colorado. Would America make him the President?