Rift in PKK leadership, Apo vs. Sakik

     Sakik charges that Ocalan is purchasing real estate in Europe, not commanding his forces in the field...
     Ocalan hits back, saying Sakik has failed to launch attacks on the Turkish army, should be exterminated

Jan 15, 98

By Ilnur Cevik / Turkish Daily News

Ankara - The rift between the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader, Abdullah Ocalan, and one of his leading field
commanders, Semdin Sakik, reached new proportions when the two traded insults, and Ocalan, also known as Apo,
threatened to "exterminate" his top militant.

Apo and Sakik have been quarrelling for some time over the way the PKK leader has been running the terrorist group. Some
other PKK officials in Europe have also sided with Sakik because they feel Apo is trying to command his forces "by remote
control."

Ocalan's wife, Kesire, a lawyer identified as Huseyin Yildirim, who was formerly a PKK member and Selim Curukkaya, who
has often criticized Apo, are members of a fringe group that feels the PKK leader is harming the Kurdish movement.

Ocalan has accused Sakik of failing to launch terrorist raids in Turkey and thus undermining his leadership.

Sakik, in a wireless communication intercepted by Turkish security and given to the Turkish Daily News, told his PKK
comrades in the field that Ocalan has forgotten the Kurdish cause and is busy buying himself real estate in Europe.

Sakik, in the wireless address to his militants, said: "For years, Ocalan has been toying with us. He has not even once used a
weapon. But he thinks he is the soul reason for our existence. Apo is buying houses and land for himself in Europe. Like fascist
leaders, he is preparing a future for himself. He bought a house in Bern. He bought a house in Cologne. He bought land. He did
all this with the money collected from our people. Apo did all this, and then he turns to us and accuses us of being opportunist,
lazy, and inactive. He says 1998 will be a year when the PKK will make new headway. Yet, we see the PKK is growing
smaller. How can we make any headway under these circumstances? Who would listen to us? They say Europe will exert
pressure on Turkey in the Kurdish cause. Will Turkey listen to Europe? Apo is fighting against me, as a matter of fact, he is
fighting against all of us."

During the wireless address, Sakik also criticized Ocalan for living in Syria and failing to head his forces in the field. "You
cannot be a hero by sitting in Damascus. If he knows so much, he should take up his gun and lead his forces. He should fight
shoulder to shoulder with his men. Fighting in the field and making all kinds of overtures to European leaders are two different
things. He should come and lead the PKK, which he himself humiliated against the Turkish Army. Yes, I invite him to join the
PKK. I invite him to be a PKK fighter."

In return, Ocalan has reportedly said, "Sakik is preparing his end."

According to the statements of recently captured PKK militants and wireless communications intercepted by security forces,
Ocalan told a PKK official stationed in northern Iraq: "Tell our friends in the field they should not believe the lies Semdin is
trying to spread. That man is having a good time with our women fighters instead of fighting against the Turkish Army. He is
pretending to be ill, and he is refusing to launch operations. Tell all our friends that this man is a spy. Those who try to fight me
should be regarded as people who have betrayed our cause. The PKK is what it is because of me. If it weren't for me, no one
would have heard the names of Semdin Sakik and Cemil Bayik [another PKK field commander]. Ocalan is equal to PKK.
Those who attack me only betray the PKK."

Ocalan threatened to exterminate Semdin, saying: "His end has come ... Semdin should no longer be allowed to betray us. If I
have not exterminated him until now, it was because I did not want to harm our cause. I felt I should not hurt those who
knowingly or unknowingly had sympathies for Semdin. But that is over. It is my duty to exterminate him. The fact that he is still
talking against me has prepared his end."

The dispute between Sakik and Ocalan reached a new peak in the summer when Sakik was detained in northern Iraq under
orders from PKK leadership in Damascus. However, he was later freed under pressure from Sakik's sympathizers.

Ocalan is unhappy with the recent challenges to his leadership and wants to convene the sixth general congress of the PKK this
year and do some "house cleaning" among his leadership. He feels that in this way, he can weed out people like Sakik and his
followers.