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Qasimlo and Yilmaz Guney were in Diyarbekir Venezuelan journalist Carol Prunhuber, on May 18, 2010, attended the TUYAP Book Fair which was held for the first time in that city. At the event organized by Avesta, Prunhuber lectured about Abdurrahman Qasimlo and Yilmaz Guney. Now, we at Avesta are publishing the text of the speech of this author whose book has been translated into Turkish with the title "Rahman's passion and death while dreaming of Kurdistan." (Avesta, 2009) Diyarbakir, May 18, 2010 My first encounter with the Kurdish question happened in 1982 through the film Yol at the Cannes Film Festival. I had an invitation for the film but had not read it thoroughly. When I got to the palace and read the invitation I was shocked, it said "tenue de soiree", and my friend and I were in shorts for we had been at the beach. We raced out and took a taxi which raced up the hills to the apartment where we were staying. We ran in, changed our clothes and ran back to the taxi where we put on our makeup as the car raced down the Cannes hills. It screeched to a halt in front of the red carpet of the film palace. The movie had already begun. We were the only ones going in. As we walked into the lobby flashes of cameras started shooting at us. I said to my friend: "I think they have confused us with Turkish actresses. We've come in the wrong way!" My friend responded: "You just keep on walking, walk!" I went up the stairs and when I showed the porter our invitations, he looked at me and said: "Mademoiselle you have the wrong entrance." I pleaded: "Sir I've had a terrible day, please don't make me go down those stairs." He winked at me and smiling said: "Alright come in, but don't do this again." Relieved we thanked him and went inside. We were immediately drawn into the beauty and drama of the movie and learned the film was about Turkey and also the Kurds. The film ended with the train whistle screeching, the lights came on, the hall was on its feet applauding and the director, a few rows down from where we were, stood up with his fist up in the air receiving the public's ovation. We walked out behind the director and I knew that somehow something was going to happen with the Kurds. The next day, I meet the director of the British Film Institute who told me the incredible story of Yol and Yilmaz Guney. A few days later an English journalist asked me to help him. He was going to interview Yilmaz but he did not speak French and Yilmaz's translator did not speak English. Therefore I was going as the translator of the translator. I accompanied the journalist to the producer's office to get information on Yilmaz and we were able to see two other films of his on video: Suru and Umut. By now I was a complete fan of Yilmaz and I was going to meet him soon. The next day I walked into an apartment in Cannes where the interview was happening. We were searched by a guard and I was surprised to see the room full of journalists. I could see people photographing Yilmaz and his beautiful wife. At the end of the interview I asked if I could pose Yilmaz a question. I told him I was not British but Venezuelan. He then exclaimed: "If I had known you were from Venezuela the interview would have changed. Latin America, solidarity between Third World countries…" He then asked for my contact information and accompanied me to the door. A few days later he won the Golden Palm Award and a few weeks after I received a call from his assistant. We met in a café in Paris and then we walked to a nearby café. When I went in I was astonished, there was Yilmaz with his wife Fatosh. Both dressed in white, it was July and hot in Paris. I was so excited my legs were trembling. As I was eating an ice cream Yilmaz said he wanted me to work for him. I said: "But you don't know me, I could be a Turkish spy!" Looking at me he said: "I can see in your eyes that I can trust you." Flabbergasted I asked: "What do you want me to do?" He responded: "I want you to put me in contact with Latin American revolutionary movements." I was surprised. I have to confess that in those days I had no political formation. I knew there were some military dictatorships in the south but that was about it. But I could not lose this chance so I said Yes!. That evening I spoke with my doctoral theses director. He was an Argentinian exile and I asked him for contacts. And so began my political education about Latin America: I owe it to a Kurdwho became my political mentor. Thanks to Yilmaz I learned about the free-spirited Kurdish people and the oppression they had been suffering in the different countries where they lived. This human reality touched me deeply, and I began to write articles on the Kurds for the Venezuelan newspapers and magazines. One year later, in 1983, I went with Yilmaz and Fatosh to an art exhibition and there Kendal Nezan, president of the Kurdish Institute introduced me to Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou. My first impression of Ghassemlou was that he was a cultivated, charming and charismatic man. He spoke eight languages. I was impressed by his knowledge of Western art and culture, as well as that of Iran. That night he recited poems by Rumi and Hafiz in Farsi and then would translate them into French. He was the center of attention; he usually always was, captivating those around him with his humor and his easy way of being with others. His stature and command as a statesman and leader of millions of Kurds brought forth respect and hope for his people. Coming from Latin America, where many progressive intellectuals and political activists still believed in the illusion of Cuba and the Marxist guerrilla movements, I expected this revolutionary leader to be a rigid and orthodox Leftist. To my surprise, I was face-to-face with a far-sighted leader; a tolerant man whose democratic and humanistic vision for his nation had left behind the dogmas of the radical left. Ghassemlou was a man who in the 80's, contrary to the revolutionary movements of the time, opposed any act of terrorism that would harm civilians. About this he once said: "As a democratic organization, we have always opposed all acts of terrorism, be it hijacking of planes, taking hostages, putting bombs or any action that threatens the lives and security of civilians. To renounce our principles and thus lose our image as a responsible, democratic and humanitarian party, in return for fleeting publicity is both vain and useless." When I met him, Ghassemlou had been fighting against the Islamic Republic of Iran for several years. By 1983, he was in the mountains leading guerrilla warfare against the Iranian regime. Who was Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou? His family was well-known and respected. They had been involved in local and national politics for a century. His father was a rich landowner from the Shikak tribe who had always supported the nationalist Kurdish tradition. Yet Ghassemlou pursued his dream to learn more about the role and possible future of his people, pursuing for years his education in Europe. He became well- versed in both economics and the politics of the time. His academic credentials were impressive and his simple humanity endeared him to everyone - from the man who tilled the fields to his legion of mountain fighting men, the peshmergas. He cared deeply about his cause and devoted himself to it, heart and soul. In 1979 he returned to Kurdistan in Iran. He was the Secretary General of the KDPI. The revolution had happened, the Shah had fled and Khomeini was coming back to Iran. Soon after his return, Ghasssemlou became the undisputed leader of the Kurds. He had a clear message that spoke to the hopes of the people: Autonomy for Kurdistan. Democracy for Iran. He became the leader who could bring change to the Kurdish people's lives. He engendered and represented national pride. Ghassemlou was the first Kurdish leader to envision a solution that overcame the obstacles inhibiting the creation of a Kurdish state. That is why he accepted a realistic plan: to choose the path of autonomy within a democratic Iran. He gave the national movement an unambiguous direction and was able to mobilize the people around his vision for a democratic party and country. Ghassemlou knew who Khomeini was. He had read his books, listened to his speeches. He knew Khomeini was a reactionary and that his political proposal was medieval for Iran, but he said, "I never imagined that he would be so bloodthirsty." He was well aware that those first months of freedom after the revolution would not last, and that the mullahs would confiscate the revolution and turn it into a clerical dictatorship. He believed that under the iron grip of the ayatollahs, there could be no democratic progress in the country. During those turbulent months of 1979, Ghassemlou was building the armed resistance of the peshmergas, and at the same time he was working to reach an agreement with the government. Even though Ghassemlou was meeting with the authorities from Tehran and went to visit Khomeini twice, he knew that the government was buying time. So when the referendum for the installment of an Islamic Republic took place, the Kurds announced they would not participate because the question only gave the people one option: to choose or not to choose an Islamic republic. Ghassemlou was elected to be a member of the Constitutional Council of Experts that would write the new constitution for the new Islamic republic, by an overwhelming majority of votes. The day before the opening session, the Kurds had clashed with the armed forces and defeated them. Furious Khomeini had threatened with punishing the army officials and named himself commander of the armed forces. Warned not to attend the opening session on August 19, 1979, Ghassemlou was watching the opening session on television from his home in Mahabad, when Khomeini declared the KDPI illegal and condemned him to death. The Kurds began an armed struggle against Khomeini and his regime that would last more than a decade. Though Ghassemlou took up arms against the regime, he never believed that violence was the way to achieve his demands. Armed struggle was a means to achieve enough clout when the time came for negotiating. Ghassemlou became a reliable and trusted spokesman for the Kurdish cause among western intellectuals. At the same time, he developed close ties and relations with politicians, journalists and academics in Europe and beyond, which gave him a pragmatic approach that others lacked. Because of this developed socio-cultural awareness and his political tolerance and moderation, he was able to justly win the ears, if not the support of foreign powers. Ghassemlou knew that unity among the Kurds was of prime importance. In fact, he was tormented by the division among the Kurds. For the Kurds had a tribal concept of politics, based on the unconditional support of their chief, not those of a particular political program. All of this became the Achilles heel of the Kurdish movement, making it ever vulnerable to the manipulations of regional governments. One day I showed him a eulogy I had written on Yilmaz Güney after his death. After I finished translating it to him he said to me: "When I die, I would like you to write a book, telling the story of my life and the Kurdish cause." The story of this book began on July 1985 with my first trip to Kurdistan, where I did many interviews that I would later use. But it was the murder and the injustice of the unpunished crime that led me to finally write it. To begin with, I had merely a short interview with Ghassemlou, some letters and of course my memories of conversations with him. Yet it was thanks to the American journalist, Jonathan Randal, that I was able to recreate his life. Randal had a very long interview with Ghassemlou which he generously gave me. This interview and more than fifty other interviews with people who knew him well allowed me to recreate Ghassemou's life. As a writer I wanted to tell a story that caught the reader, which brought him into the events. And for this I used narrative tools such as recreating dialogues from the interviews I had. As a journalist I wanted to bring forth the facts and build my case. His death resembled that of Julius Cesar - who despite all the warnings he received still went to the Senate where he was stabbed to death. In the same way, Ghassemlou received several warnings prior to his trip to Vienna. Bernard Kouchner, current French Minister of Foreign Affairs, told him the night before to not go to this meeting because he could trust the Iranians. His former wife Helene Krulich told him that Rafansayani wanted his death and he should not go to Vienna. His loyal assistant Abdullah Ghaderi's had an ominous feeling and was sick to his stomach the day of the murder...so many signs that he ignored. The book's first version was finished in 1992, yet at that time the response I got from the publishers in Madrid, Caracas and Mexico was: "Who's interested in the Kurds?" So the book lay dormant for many years until the United States invaded Iraq and the Kurds jumped to the front page of the news. A Venezuelan publisher accepted the book because they were also interested in Iran since Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's president, had become chummy with Ahmadinejad. The book was published in 2008 in Caracas, then Sorani and Turkish by Abdulla Keskin from Avesta and recently in English. Twenty five years later, the promise I made in 1994 to write his story has been fulfilled. It has been very moving to see once again the love and respect the Kurdish people have for their fallen leader - even twenty one years following his passing. Especially significant has been the enthusiasm and passion of the young Kurds, the new generation - who offer hope as their lives stretch before them. They earnestly carry forward many of the ideals that Ghassemlou embodied during his lifetime. So, in closing, it is to all of you, friends and members of the Kurdish nation, and to the upcoming generation, that I offer the story of Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou - to the hearts of a people for whom this noble man gave his life - members of this proud and dignified nation - the Kurds. Carol Prunhuber |
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