Page 74 - America's Failure to Perceive the PKK

Öcalan describes how the PKK was constructed on the Marxist-
Leninist tradition and will continue along those same principles in the
future:

The PKK has experienced a development in line with the Marxist-
Leninist tradition. It is clear that from then on it will take shape
on the basis of that legacy, which is inseparable in the way that
flesh is joined to bone. 15

st
In an address on May 1 , 1982, he said:

Yet we should be well aware of the fact that if the history of Kur-
distan desires to keep up with the times, it has to be founded com-
pletely on the fact of the working class. No matter what unsuit-
able conditions it may live under, IT MUST BE BASED on the

objective force of the working class, and ON MARXISM-
LENINISM, its science and guide to action; AND NOTE THAT
THE REASON FOR OUR EXISTENCE IS TOTALLY
GROUNDED IN THAT FACT... If
those tribal walls, those feudal fences
had not been breached, MARXISM-
LENINISM, THE MODERN AND
THE MOST REVOLUTIONARY
WAY OF THINKING would never

have entered our heads.

These explicit statements by Öcalan
and the information in the organization's
Manifesto, Program and Statutes show that

the ultimate aim of the PKK is to establish
a Kurdistan founded on Marxist-Leninist
principles. Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria,
which comprise that region, are described
as "colonialist" states, and the PKK settled

72 America's Failure to Perceive the PKK