Dear friends and supporters,
As you know, over the last few weeks Peace in Kurdistan campaign and CAMPACC have been encouraging people to join our new initiative to Free Adem Uzun from custody in Paris. We have had an great response so far, with nearly 150 people declaring themselves a friend of Adem Uzun.
But we want more!
We will soon send the below appeal and the list of signatories to the Justice Minister of France, Christiane Taubira, but before we do, we call on anyone who has not yet become a friend of Adem to join us. It is very important that the French government sees that Adem has widespread support, and it should understand that criminalising Kurdish politicians in the name of ‘counter-terrorism’ only further disenfranchises and undermines the Kurdish community.
All you need to do to join is reply to this email with your name, profession and organisation as appropriate – please join us today!
Regards,
Melanie
--
Melanie Sirinathsingh
Campaigns Assistant
Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
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Join the Friends of Adem Uzun
Initiative by Peace in Kurdistan Campaign and Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC) UK
FREE ADEM UZUN
The Kurdish politician Adem Uzun was arrested in France on 6 October 2012. Having been denied bail, Adem remains in detention awaiting a trial which could be months away.
Adem Uzun is a prominent activist working to achieve peace through the resumption of negotiations between Turkey and the Kurds. A leading politician with the Kurdistan National Congress, KNK, Adem is well-known to anyone involved in the Kurdish issue, especially in the European Parliament, and has been one of the main Kurdish negotiators in the so-called "Oslo Process" with high-level Turkish Government's representatives.
The charge against Adem Uzun is not supported by credible evidence. At the time of his arrest, Adem Uzun was in Paris to take part in preparations for a conference on Western Kurdistan (Syria), which was scheduled to take place on 13 October 2012.
We believe that the arrest of Adem Uzum, which has been made on Turkey's request, is an attempt to undermine the search for a peaceful political resolution of the Kurdish question.
The prosecution intends to equate two separate organisations, the KNK with the PKK, in order to de-legitimise political efforts towards resolution of the conflict. This same tactic is today being used by Turkey to repress and silence the non-violent dissent of thousands of Kurdish politicians and activists.
The offence of belonging to a terrorist organisation in France and across the EU, is a highly politicised ‘crime by association’. It criminalises the entire Kurdish political movement by imputing activists to be the PKK, in the clear absence of any engagement in violence.
The EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) Conference, meeting in Brussels on 5th and 6th December, passed a special resolution calling on the French authorities to immediately release Adem Uzun. ‘’As a leading legitimate politician of the Kurdish political movement Mr. Uzun is well known for his advocacy of a democratic and peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem for which he was chosen to be one of the negotiators in the Oslo Peace Talks,’’ the EUTCC stated. The resolution urged the ‘’expeditious conclusion to his case by dropping the accusations against him’’.
Adem Uzun is fully committed to a peaceful settlement and we are concerned that peace and reconciliation will be much harder to achieve without the expertise of such a seasoned activist.
We strongly reiterate the demand to French authorities for our friend Adem Uzun’s immediate release and for the dropping of the baseless accusations.
We urge everyone who is committed to a peaceful political resolution of the Kurdish conflict to declare themselves friends of Adem Uzun and to add your voice to the calls for his release.
Friends of Adem
Estella Schmid, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign & CAMPACC; David Morgan, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign; Melanie Sirinathsingh, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign; Philip Khaled Brennan, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign; Paul Burnham, housing worker, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign; Les Levidow, Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC); Saleh Mamon, CAMPACC; Desmond Fernandes, CAMPACC; Anne Gray, retired academic, CAMPACC; Sarah Ludford MEP; Andrew Duff MEP; Jean Lambert MEP; Jeremy Corbyn MP; Conor Murphy MP; Elfyn Llwyd MP; Hywel Williams MP; Mary Glindon MP; Frances Webber, human rights lawyer and writer; Elizabeth Forrester, lawyer; Alastair Lyons, lawyer; Margaret Owen OBE, international human rights lawyer; Prof Bill Bowring, Barrister, Director of the LLM/MA in Human Rights, School of Law Birkbeck, University of London; Hugo Charlton, barrister, 1 Grays Inn; John Hobson, lawyer; Melanie Gingell, barrister; Nick Hildyard, policy analyst; Jonathan Fryer, writer, lecturer and broadcaster; Tony Simpson, Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation; Prof Mary Davis; Bruce Kent, Vice-President Pax Christi; Dr Dafydd Iwan, B.Arch., LL.D.,Plaid Cymru, the Party of Wales; Dr Felix Padel, Social Anthropologist, Author and Political Activist; Lindsey German, Convenor, Stop the War Coalition; Dr Vicki Sentas, School of Law, University of New South Wales, Sydney; Kariane Westrheim, PhD, Associate professor, University of Bergen, Chair of EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC); Dr Michael Gunter, Professor of Political Science, Tennessee Technological University, Secretary General of EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC); Rojin Tasman, Law student, Anglia Ruskin University; Azad Dewani, PhD researcher in Peace Studies, UK; Jonathan Bloch, councillor; Alain Hertzmann, Branch secretary London North West Branch 9708, UNITEtheunion, UK; Stephen Smellie, Deputy Convenor, UNISON Scotland; Fred Leplat, Socialist Resistance; Sarah Parker, translator; Ed McArthur, activist; Jagdeesh Singh of the 1984 Genocide Coalition; David Brunetti, photographer; Glyn Harries, Hackney Trades Union Council, personal capacity; David Ambrose, Performer, Writer, Director of Beyond The Border International Storytelling Festival; Mike Arnott, Secretary, Dundee Trades Union Council; Harem Karen, Kurdistan Tribune; Penny Dimond, Factory of the Eccentric Actor; Orsola Casagrande, journalist; Prof. Khatchatur I. Pilikian (SHS, LH, LSFC); Andy Higginbottom, Secretary of Colombia Solidarity Campaign; Kani Areef, UCL Law Postgraduate; Derwich M. Ferho, director of Kurdish Institute, Brussels; Mehmet Ali Dogan, Social-Anthropologist, France; Yuksel Guney, political activist; Jyan Avesta, Kurdistan LGBT Initiative and Halkevi, Kurdish-Turkish Community Centre; Manaz Baloch UK community; Jennifer Langer Director, Exiled Writers Ink UK; Michael Mansfield QC, President of Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers; Liz Davies, barrister and chair of Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers; Kat Craig, Vice-Chair of Haldane Society; Russell Fraser, Haldane Society; Barry White, European Federation of Journalists (personal capacity); Ms Silvana Barbieri, Italy, human rights defender, Italian association "Puntorosso"; Mr Luigi Vinci, Italy, former MEP, editor of "Progetto Lavoro"; Tony Shito, Italian musician, song-writer, Italy; Martha Jean Baker, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom; Robert Atkins, solicitor; Paul Heron, solicitor, Hackney Community Law Centre; Aviva Stahl, political activist; Sheila Mosley, human rights activist: Support Kurds in Syria - SKS (personal capacity); Handren Ashraf Naoman, General Director, European - Kurdistan Green Organization; Kadim Lacin, Journalist; Hoshyar K. Karadaghi, Chairman, Kurdish Personalities in the UK; Ali Ghahrmani, Kurdish Academic Network (KAN); Serdar Ulus, Architect, designer; Marouan Nabo, Human rights activist, President of Kurdistan House USA; Sylvia Novaes, Geologist, Free Consultant; Syed Gilani, solicitor; Asif Bhayat, activist; Anthony Bairstow, Fight Racism Fight Irmperialist & Hands off Somalia; Hovarim Isse, youth worker; Greg Tonuczak, banker; Kyronne Parkes, FRFI & Hans off Solamia; Mohamed Hashi, Somali community; Maya de Souza, Green Party Councillor, Camden; Tom Foot, editor Camden New Journal; Secunder Kermari, journalist; Kadim Lacin, journalist, UK; Xusrew Zeki, human rights activist/KNK; Sahar Serdasht, student; Kristiina Koivunen PhD, independent scholar; Rabia Khan, student, Birkbeck College and Stop the War Coalition; Sema Thompson, interpreter; Chris Nineham, Stop the War Coalition; Huseyin Gok, self-employed; Birsan Demirel, translator; Rojda Yaman, student; Eylem Guler, solicitor, Archgate Solicitors; Ahmet Koz, self-employed; Insin Onder, software engineer; Madhi Hussein, student; Hasan Oymer, self-employed; Sait Akgul, legal consultant; Can Atas, pharmacist; Aladdin Srafa, self-employed, KCC; Dondu Demira, budget officer; Solman Kayim, student; Yusuf Golek, student; Ollie Sutherland, student; Birgl Yilmaz, student; Kurda Areef, student; Azad Masko, student; Anil Doner, student, SJC; Mehmet Meria, student, SJC; Jine Kalay, student; Fiat Kalay, student; Arif Bektas, journalist; Ata Mufty, journalist; Sherko Zemaloush, activist; Rebwan Salam; Ferhan Yildiz, student; Yasar Gonul, activist, KCC; Berivan Bottologlu; Fero Firat, interpreter, SWP; Mustafa Kadir, activist; F Maroofi, activist; A Amini, activist; D Abbas, academic; D Asaid, activist.
Yes, I would like to be a friend of Adem:
Name/profession/organisation
For further information:
Peace in Kurdistan
Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish Question
Contacts: Estella Schmid and Melanie Sirinathsingh
Email: estella24@tiscali.co.uk
www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com
Patrons: Lord Avebury, Lord Rea, Lord Dholakia, Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, Jill Evans MEP, Jean Lambert MEP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Hywel Williams MP, Elfyn Llwyd MP, Conor Murphy MP, John Austin, Bruce Kent, Gareth Peirce, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, John Berger, Edward Albee, Margaret Owen OBE, Prof Mary Davis, Mark Thomas
Monday 28 January 2013
Sunday 27 January 2013
Kurdish News Weekly Briefing, 18 - 24 January 2013
1. Crowds at PKK funeral as bosses join peace chorus
18 January 2013 / Hurriyet
Tens of thousands of people participated in a grand funeral ceremony held yesterday in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır for three Kurish women killed in Paris last week. Despite worries of possible provocations and sabotage that would turn the ceremony into a violent protest, such fears did not materialize during the peaceful gathering, during which the women’s coffins were covered with the flags of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/crowds-at-pkk-funeral-as-bosses-join-peace-chorus.aspx?pageID=238&nID=39333&NewsCatID=338
2. Hundred thousand people for Leyla
18 January 2013 / ANF
Never before had so many people gathered in Mersin. Thousands cried for Leyla Şaylemez today, who was executed in Paris on 9 January along with Sakine Cansız (Sara) and KNK France representative Fidan Doğan (Rojbin). Young and old women made the majority of the thousands who joined the funeral in a Kurdish neighborhood. Her coffin was carried by women who, like all other people joining the funeral, were dressed in black and wearing a white scarf representing peace. Pigeons were let fly both outside the mosque and at the cemetery with wishes for peace on these lands.
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5598
3. PHOTOS: Bianet photos by Nilay Vardar on mass demonstration in Diyarbakir
17 January 2013 / Bianet
http://www.bianet.org/galeri/diyarbakir-uc-kurt-kadini-ugurladi
4. Suspect remanded in custody - UPDATE
21 January 2013 / ANF
Paris Prosecutor François Molins disclosed some details about the ongoing investigation on the execution of three Kurdish women in Paris at a press conference he held at the Courthouse on Monday. The prosecutor stated that the suspect, Ömer Güney, has been arrested today in connection with the killings. He noted that it is yet not clear if the murders were committed by one or more perpetrators. Molins remarked that the suspect has had connections with the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) circles for the last two years, noting that his real role in the organization has not been determined yet.
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=561824. Erdogan needs to move fast to heal Turkey's divides
5. Erdogan needs to move fast to heal Turkey's divides
21 January 2013 / Guardian
Even for Turkey, where day-to-day politics is conducted at a pitch of tension and paranoia that makes prime minister's questions look like quiet hour at a Trappist monastery, the last few days have been cathartic. Half the country has spent the weekend red-eyed in front of the TV, in anger as much as sorrow.
The atmosphere had been jittery enough without the sudden death of the great TV anchor and columnist Mehmet Ali Birand – a beacon of decency and reason, whose reassuring presence many Turks turned to in times of crisis.
For a significant minority, the tears had begun at a monster demonstration in Diyarbakir on Thursday, when tens of thousands came out onto the streets to meet the coffins of the three Kurdish women activists murdered in Paris.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/21/erdogan-move-fast-heal-turkey-divides
6. Karayilan: Suspect not known to PKK
23 January 2013 / ANF
Speaking to ANF about the arrest of a suspect, claimed to be a member of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party), in connection with the killing of Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez in Paris on 9 January, Murat Karayılan, executive council president of the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK), denied allegations and underlined that the suspect, Ömer Güney, had no ties with the organization. “The allegations on the suspect's ties with the PKK do not reflect the truth because it is not that easy to be a member of the PKK in two years. PKK doesn't accept members from Europe in this way. The mentioned person is not a member of our movement and he is not known by our side or by our executives in Europe.”
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/karayilan-suspect-not-known-to-pkk.htm
7. Turkish ambassador to Colombo welcomes ‘Sri Lanka model’ to deal with ‘terrorism’
24 January 2013 / Tamil Net
Despite the currently ongoing peace process between the PKK and the Turkey government, the Turkish ambassador to Sri Lanka, Iskender Okyay has welcomed the Sri Lanka model of counterinsurgency (COIN) to deal with ‘terrorism’, stating that “Sri Lanka's experience in fighting against terrorism could be a good example for Turkey” and adding that “the relationship between the countries could be deepened over the terrorism issue,” the Turkish nationalist news agency Today’s Zaman reported on Wednesday. Commenting on this, Kurdish activists in Europe told TamilNet that the Turkish diplomat’s endorsement of Sri Lanka’s genocidal model of COIN at a time when the Kurdish political movement was having faith in a peaceful settlement shows the insincerity of Turkey towards the peace process, besides being an tacit approval of the genocide of the Eezham Tamil nation.
http://tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=35980
8. Turkey-PKK Peace Talks Hit New Snag
23 January 2013 / Voice of America
Four leading members of Turkey's main pro-Kurdish political movement on Wednesday were denied a visit with Abdullah Ocala, imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) movement. According to local news reports, the visit, part of government-led efforts to peacefully resolve the three-decades-long Kurdish insurgency, was cancelled by justice ministry officials after Kurdish leaders criticized recent Turkish air strikes against PKK bases in neighboring Iraq. The Turkish military confirmed that its warplanes attacked numerous PKK targets across northern Iraq, following the purportedly PKK-backed killing of a Turkish police officer.
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkey-pkk-peace-talks-hit-snag-over-ocalan-vist/1589651.html
9. Anti-Terror Police Detains Lawyers, Musicians
18 January 2013 / Bianet
Reinforced by anti-terror and special operations teams, police forces in Ankara, İzmir and Istanbul provinces raided dozens of apartment and workplaces this very early morning including the offices of Contemporary Lawyers Association and People's Law Office which provide juridical support for victims in Turkey's major contemporary human rights abuse cases. "The detention orders were given according to the ongoing investigation on DHKP-C terrorist organization," the police reported. Once the procedures are completed, the detainees were told to be transferred to anti-terror police headquarters in Istanbul.
http://www.bianet.org/english/human-rights/143687-anti-terror-police-detains-lawyers-musicians
10. 9 Human Rights Lawyers Arrested in Istanbul
21 January 2013 / Bianet
An Istanbul court order this afternoon the arrest of 9 human rights lawyers who have been detained since Friday for charges related to being a DHKP-C member.
The detained lawyers appeared in Istanbul courthouse this morning for their interrogation. After their interrogation by the judge, 9 detainees were arrested while Efkan Bolaç has been released. On Friday morning, police forces in İstanbul, Ankara, Antalya and Bursa provinces launched a simultaneous raids on apartments and offices, detaining 64 individuals including musicians and human rights lawyers.
http://www.bianet.org/english/human-rights/143740-9-human-rights-lawyers-arrested-in-istanbul
11. Arrest of Turkish lawyers sparks global outrage
21 January 2013 / Global Legal Post
Campaigners have called on the Turkish government to comply with international principles following the arrest of a further 15 lawyers in the country last week. The human rights committee of England’s Bar Council said it was ‘extremely concerned’ following the arrest of the lawyers, which adds to the November 2011 detention of 46 lawyers, who are now being prosecuted on charges alleging association with a terrorist organisation.
http://www.globallegalpost.com/big-stories/arrest-of-turkish-lawyers-sparks-global-outrage-97164034/#.UP2CzehnJCY
12. 'KCK' main lawsuit lasting with 'giving of evidence'
21 January 2013 / Dicle News Agency
The hearing of 'KCK' main lawsuit of 175 Kurdish politicians inluding BDP's arrested parliamentarians, human rights activists, journalists and mayors, of them 108 arrested, began in Diyarbakir the 6th High Penalty Courthouse.The hearing of the 'KCK' main lawsuit of 175 Kurdish politicians, of them 108 arrested among them DEP old Parlementarian Hatip Dicle, BDP Parlementarians Kemal Aktas and Selma Irmak, human rights activists, journalists, electeds, mayors, who have been sued by the court under 'KCK' operations, began in Diyarbakir the 6th High Penalty Courthouse. As usual, prior to the hearing, extraordinary measures were taken. http://www.diclehaber.com/2/22/1/viewNews/337735
13. KCK Trial opened in Van
22 January 2013 / ANF
The KCK (Kurdish Communities Union) trial in Van opened today. Among the politicians under trial are the city mayor, lawyer Bekir Kaya, Bostaniçi District Mayor Nezahat Ergunes, Baskale former District Mayor Ýhsan Guler, Baþkale District Mayor Hecer Sarihan, Edremit District Mayor Abdulkerim Sayan, Özalp Mayor Murat Durmaz, former BDP chairman of Van Cüneyt Canis.
In the local elections held on March 29, 2009, the BDP won the Van Municipality by a large margin in spite of all the efforts of the ruling party AKP and its media. After the election, BDP Van Municipality headed by Mr. Bekir Kaya documented that 190 Million TL (Turkish Lira) of debt was incurred by fake invoices during AKP governance. Due to fraud, the Municipality of Van took more than 100 files to court to punish those responsible.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/kck-trial-opened-in-van.htm
14. Jailed Journalist Nominated for Freedom of Expression Award
17 January 2013 / Bianet
Index on Censorship, a UK based institution that celebrated the freedom of expression with an annual award, nominated Sadiye Eser, Evrensel newspaper journalist jailed for terrorism charges, for its 2013 Freedom of Expression Award.
The award aimed to honor individuals or groups who struggled against censorship in the fields of journalism, publishing and fine arts in their home countries. Notable recipients of the award included Arat Dink, son of assassinated Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
http://www.bianet.org/english/freedom-of-expression/143622-jailed-journalist-nominated-for-freedom-of-expression-award
15. Hrant Dink Commemorated
21 January 2013 / Bianet
Thousands of human rights activists, students, journalists, intellectuals and workers union representatives gathered in front of Agos newspaper building Saturday afternoon to commemorate the sixth death anniversary of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
This year's commemoration activities followed the motto "Buradayız ahparig" which suggested that his friends are still with Hrant Dink who was assassinated on January 19, 2007. The commemoration was held under a heavy rain, which did not seem to prevent any of Hrant Dink's friends from standingin front of Agos newspaper and forming a huge crowd in the surrounding areas which blocked the busy Istanbul traffic.
http://www.bianet.org/english/minorities/143728-hrant-dink-commemorated
16. Kurdish Rights Back in Focus in Turkey
15 January 2013 / Inter Press Service
After over a year without accountability for a Turkish aerial bombing that killed 34 Kurdish men and boys, Turkey has come under heavy criticism for what many say is a widespread culture of impunity, especially when it comes to the treatment of its Kurdish citizens.
“It has been one year and there are no important steps we can see. Nobody has been arrested,” said lawyer Tahir Elci, head of the Diyarbakir Bar Association, which represents over 800 lawyers working in Turkey’s largest Kurdish-majority city.
“Usually, the prosecutors and other authorities protect the perpetrators and there are many barriers before the victims when they try to get justice,” Elci told IPS. “Even if perpetrators have not been punished, it is very important for relatives of victims to learn the truth.”
http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/01/kurdish-rights-back-in-focus-in-turkey/
17. BDP and DTK Woman's Councils in solidarity with Rojava people
24 January 2013 / ANF
In a written statement released on Thursday, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and Democratic Society Congress (DTK) Woman's Councils have announced mass demonstrations in protest against the embargo imposed on the people of Rojava, West Kurdistan. The mass demonstration by DTK Woman's Council will take place in the Nusaybin district of Mardin on 26 January and the one by BDP Woman's Council at the same place on 3 February. The demonstrations will also be joined by woman deputies and co-chairs of both organizations.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/bdp-and-dtk-woman-s-councils-in-solidarity-with-rojava-people.htm
18. Kurdish Supreme Council condemns attacks on Serekaniye
21 January 2013 / ANF
The Kurdish Supreme Council in a statement about Serekaniye (Ras-Alain) events said that "After getting the quietness back to Serekaniye city due to the agreement between People Protection Units (YPG) and the armed groups who attacked the city two months ago, they agreed to form a local council representing all city inhabitants to manage its affairs, as a result of that agreement, a lot of Serekaniye people came back to their homes. But obviously, and to create problems again, after having some problems among the armed groups themselves, they have started to attack the Kurdish districts in the city again, which led People's Protection Units (YPG) to defend their regions [...]"
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/kurdish-supreme-council-condemns-attacks-on-serekaniye.htm
19. Assault within the Turkish Embassy in London
20 January 2013 / ANF
Solidarity with the Victims of All Genocides released a written statement to denounce an attack on a member of the organization who suffered an assault inside the Turkish Embassy in London by a member of staff on 18 January. The organization said that their member was assaulted whilst he was delivering the Ambassador of Turkey, the Turkish Embassy, Knightsbridge, a letter in solidarity with justice demands for the murdered Armenian journalist Hrant Dink on the sixth anniversary of his death on 18 January. http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5607 <http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5607>
COMMENT, OPINION AND ANALYSIS
20. Another chance for peace
21 January 2012 / Hurriyet
The tacit agreement between the government and Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) to show serenity at the funerals of three female Kurdish politicians who were killed in Paris a week ago, proved very successful. Most political observers agree that it could set a good example and provided a chance for the future peace process. Nevertheless, we should interpret the lessons that this event taught us very carefully. First of all, it is seen that if the security forces restrain from violent reactions (by the decision of the government, of course) at public demonstrations, there end up being peaceful expressions of political protest. Then, the successful organization of the BDP showed that the BDP is a capable actor not only in mobilizing but also in controlling the masses. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/another-chance-for-peace.aspx?pageID=238&nID=39478&NewsCatID=406
21. Can Ocalan Rein In the PKK?
17 January 2013 / Al Monitor
Despite the assassinations of three PKK representatives in Paris, Ankara is pressing ahead with its dialogue with PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in an attempt to end its Kurdish problem once and for all. The assumption is that by dealing openly with Ocalan, who controls a relatively monolithic PKK, the group’s militants will disarm willingly. A more inclusive negotiating process that engages Kurdish political representatives and Turkish civilian leaders also is expected to encourage a settlement and sideline PKK hardliners.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/01/ocalan-tuks-pkk.html
22. Ocalan a No-Show at Funeral For PKK Activists
18 January 2013 / Al Monitor
A massive funeral ceremony was held on Thursday in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, which has the largest Kurdish majority in the country for three PKK activists gunned down at the Kurdistan Information Center in Paris. They were buried in their hometowns the next day. Tens of thousands of people participated in the Diyarbakir event. Independent observers estimated the crowd at least 50,000. Before the gathering there were strong fears of possible provocations that could set off bloody confrontations between the security forces and demonstrators. Anxiety was more pronounced than ever before because the funeral observance coincided with talks at Imrali Prison between the Ankara government and the PKK’s founding leader, who is serving a life sentence aimed at getting the PKK to give up arms.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/01/diyarbakir-murder-paris-pkk.html
23. The Slippery Slope Argument in Turkey
24 January 2013 / Rudaw
Whenever anyone discusses Kurdish minority rights in Turkey, the slippery slope argument invariably gets brought up. “If we allow Kurdish in schools or other venues, all the minority groups in the country will demand this right,” we hear. When discussing the option of allowing the Kurds more local, self-government, the slippery slope retort rears its annoying head again: “Every group in Turkey, from the Laz and Circassians to the Arabs and the Alevis, will demand self-government if we allow the Kurds to have it. And if we give the Kurds self-government, they will use it to demand secession.”
http://www.rudaw.net/english/science/columnists/5685.html
EVENTS
Friday 25 January, 12-2pm
Protector or Occupier? Turkey's Ambivalent Role in Cyprus
Seminar given by Rebecca Bryant, LSE, as part of the Seminars on Turkey series at the London Middle East Institute, http://www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/events/turkey/.
Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings, Room 116
Contact email: bp@soas.ac.uk
Contact Tel: 020 7898 4431
Saturday 9 February, 10-5pm
Stop the War International Conference
Confronting war ten years on from the invasion of Iraq. Speakers at this all-day event include: Tariq Ali; Tony Benn; Jeremy Corbyn MP; Brian Eno; Owen Jones; Salma Yaqoob; Mitra Qayoom; and many more.
Venue: Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ. For more information on sessions, speakers and how to book, go to www.tenyearson.org.uk <http://www.tenyearson.org.uk> or phone 020 7561 9311. Ticket price £15/£8 Concs.
Wednesday 20 February, 17.30-8pm
The Kurdish population in Turkey. Time for Justice and a roadmap towards reconciliation.
A seminar of the Law Society, arranged in conjunction with Human Rights Watch, will bring together international and Turkish lawyers. Speakers include Emma Sinclair Webb, author of the Human Rights Watch report, Professor Francoise Hampson of the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex (who together with her colleague Professor Kevin Boyle received the Liberty “Human Rights Lawyer of the Year” award for her work on the Kurdish cases), and Tahir Elci, President of the Diyarbakir Bar, who was himself involved in many of the ECHR cases, including Ozkan v Turkey, the largest of the village destruction cases to come before the ECHR. 20th February 2013 is in fact the 20th anniversary of the attack on the village of Ormanici which formed the basis of this case.
Venue: The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL
Link to the web page on which delegates can register to attend:
https://events.lawsociety.org.uk/ClientApps/Silverbear.Web.EDMS/public/default.aspx?tabid=37&id=152&orgId=1&&guid=39c1d80e-d801-4cdf-9637-662e206c42ba <https://events.lawsociety.org.uk/ClientApps/Silverbear.Web.EDMS/public/default.aspx?tabid=37&id=152&orgId=1&&guid=39c1d80e-d801-4cdf-9637-662e206c42ba>
18 January 2013 / Hurriyet
Tens of thousands of people participated in a grand funeral ceremony held yesterday in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır for three Kurish women killed in Paris last week. Despite worries of possible provocations and sabotage that would turn the ceremony into a violent protest, such fears did not materialize during the peaceful gathering, during which the women’s coffins were covered with the flags of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/crowds-at-pkk-funeral-as-bosses-join-peace-chorus.aspx?pageID=238&nID=39333&NewsCatID=338
2. Hundred thousand people for Leyla
18 January 2013 / ANF
Never before had so many people gathered in Mersin. Thousands cried for Leyla Şaylemez today, who was executed in Paris on 9 January along with Sakine Cansız (Sara) and KNK France representative Fidan Doğan (Rojbin). Young and old women made the majority of the thousands who joined the funeral in a Kurdish neighborhood. Her coffin was carried by women who, like all other people joining the funeral, were dressed in black and wearing a white scarf representing peace. Pigeons were let fly both outside the mosque and at the cemetery with wishes for peace on these lands.
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5598
3. PHOTOS: Bianet photos by Nilay Vardar on mass demonstration in Diyarbakir
17 January 2013 / Bianet
http://www.bianet.org/galeri/diyarbakir-uc-kurt-kadini-ugurladi
4. Suspect remanded in custody - UPDATE
21 January 2013 / ANF
Paris Prosecutor François Molins disclosed some details about the ongoing investigation on the execution of three Kurdish women in Paris at a press conference he held at the Courthouse on Monday. The prosecutor stated that the suspect, Ömer Güney, has been arrested today in connection with the killings. He noted that it is yet not clear if the murders were committed by one or more perpetrators. Molins remarked that the suspect has had connections with the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) circles for the last two years, noting that his real role in the organization has not been determined yet.
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=561824. Erdogan needs to move fast to heal Turkey's divides
5. Erdogan needs to move fast to heal Turkey's divides
21 January 2013 / Guardian
Even for Turkey, where day-to-day politics is conducted at a pitch of tension and paranoia that makes prime minister's questions look like quiet hour at a Trappist monastery, the last few days have been cathartic. Half the country has spent the weekend red-eyed in front of the TV, in anger as much as sorrow.
The atmosphere had been jittery enough without the sudden death of the great TV anchor and columnist Mehmet Ali Birand – a beacon of decency and reason, whose reassuring presence many Turks turned to in times of crisis.
For a significant minority, the tears had begun at a monster demonstration in Diyarbakir on Thursday, when tens of thousands came out onto the streets to meet the coffins of the three Kurdish women activists murdered in Paris.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/21/erdogan-move-fast-heal-turkey-divides
6. Karayilan: Suspect not known to PKK
23 January 2013 / ANF
Speaking to ANF about the arrest of a suspect, claimed to be a member of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party), in connection with the killing of Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez in Paris on 9 January, Murat Karayılan, executive council president of the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK), denied allegations and underlined that the suspect, Ömer Güney, had no ties with the organization. “The allegations on the suspect's ties with the PKK do not reflect the truth because it is not that easy to be a member of the PKK in two years. PKK doesn't accept members from Europe in this way. The mentioned person is not a member of our movement and he is not known by our side or by our executives in Europe.”
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/karayilan-suspect-not-known-to-pkk.htm
7. Turkish ambassador to Colombo welcomes ‘Sri Lanka model’ to deal with ‘terrorism’
24 January 2013 / Tamil Net
Despite the currently ongoing peace process between the PKK and the Turkey government, the Turkish ambassador to Sri Lanka, Iskender Okyay has welcomed the Sri Lanka model of counterinsurgency (COIN) to deal with ‘terrorism’, stating that “Sri Lanka's experience in fighting against terrorism could be a good example for Turkey” and adding that “the relationship between the countries could be deepened over the terrorism issue,” the Turkish nationalist news agency Today’s Zaman reported on Wednesday. Commenting on this, Kurdish activists in Europe told TamilNet that the Turkish diplomat’s endorsement of Sri Lanka’s genocidal model of COIN at a time when the Kurdish political movement was having faith in a peaceful settlement shows the insincerity of Turkey towards the peace process, besides being an tacit approval of the genocide of the Eezham Tamil nation.
http://tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=35980
8. Turkey-PKK Peace Talks Hit New Snag
23 January 2013 / Voice of America
Four leading members of Turkey's main pro-Kurdish political movement on Wednesday were denied a visit with Abdullah Ocala, imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) movement. According to local news reports, the visit, part of government-led efforts to peacefully resolve the three-decades-long Kurdish insurgency, was cancelled by justice ministry officials after Kurdish leaders criticized recent Turkish air strikes against PKK bases in neighboring Iraq. The Turkish military confirmed that its warplanes attacked numerous PKK targets across northern Iraq, following the purportedly PKK-backed killing of a Turkish police officer.
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkey-pkk-peace-talks-hit-snag-over-ocalan-vist/1589651.html
9. Anti-Terror Police Detains Lawyers, Musicians
18 January 2013 / Bianet
Reinforced by anti-terror and special operations teams, police forces in Ankara, İzmir and Istanbul provinces raided dozens of apartment and workplaces this very early morning including the offices of Contemporary Lawyers Association and People's Law Office which provide juridical support for victims in Turkey's major contemporary human rights abuse cases. "The detention orders were given according to the ongoing investigation on DHKP-C terrorist organization," the police reported. Once the procedures are completed, the detainees were told to be transferred to anti-terror police headquarters in Istanbul.
http://www.bianet.org/english/human-rights/143687-anti-terror-police-detains-lawyers-musicians
10. 9 Human Rights Lawyers Arrested in Istanbul
21 January 2013 / Bianet
An Istanbul court order this afternoon the arrest of 9 human rights lawyers who have been detained since Friday for charges related to being a DHKP-C member.
The detained lawyers appeared in Istanbul courthouse this morning for their interrogation. After their interrogation by the judge, 9 detainees were arrested while Efkan Bolaç has been released. On Friday morning, police forces in İstanbul, Ankara, Antalya and Bursa provinces launched a simultaneous raids on apartments and offices, detaining 64 individuals including musicians and human rights lawyers.
http://www.bianet.org/english/human-rights/143740-9-human-rights-lawyers-arrested-in-istanbul
11. Arrest of Turkish lawyers sparks global outrage
21 January 2013 / Global Legal Post
Campaigners have called on the Turkish government to comply with international principles following the arrest of a further 15 lawyers in the country last week. The human rights committee of England’s Bar Council said it was ‘extremely concerned’ following the arrest of the lawyers, which adds to the November 2011 detention of 46 lawyers, who are now being prosecuted on charges alleging association with a terrorist organisation.
http://www.globallegalpost.com/big-stories/arrest-of-turkish-lawyers-sparks-global-outrage-97164034/#.UP2CzehnJCY
12. 'KCK' main lawsuit lasting with 'giving of evidence'
21 January 2013 / Dicle News Agency
The hearing of 'KCK' main lawsuit of 175 Kurdish politicians inluding BDP's arrested parliamentarians, human rights activists, journalists and mayors, of them 108 arrested, began in Diyarbakir the 6th High Penalty Courthouse.The hearing of the 'KCK' main lawsuit of 175 Kurdish politicians, of them 108 arrested among them DEP old Parlementarian Hatip Dicle, BDP Parlementarians Kemal Aktas and Selma Irmak, human rights activists, journalists, electeds, mayors, who have been sued by the court under 'KCK' operations, began in Diyarbakir the 6th High Penalty Courthouse. As usual, prior to the hearing, extraordinary measures were taken. http://www.diclehaber.com/2/22/1/viewNews/337735
13. KCK Trial opened in Van
22 January 2013 / ANF
The KCK (Kurdish Communities Union) trial in Van opened today. Among the politicians under trial are the city mayor, lawyer Bekir Kaya, Bostaniçi District Mayor Nezahat Ergunes, Baskale former District Mayor Ýhsan Guler, Baþkale District Mayor Hecer Sarihan, Edremit District Mayor Abdulkerim Sayan, Özalp Mayor Murat Durmaz, former BDP chairman of Van Cüneyt Canis.
In the local elections held on March 29, 2009, the BDP won the Van Municipality by a large margin in spite of all the efforts of the ruling party AKP and its media. After the election, BDP Van Municipality headed by Mr. Bekir Kaya documented that 190 Million TL (Turkish Lira) of debt was incurred by fake invoices during AKP governance. Due to fraud, the Municipality of Van took more than 100 files to court to punish those responsible.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/kck-trial-opened-in-van.htm
14. Jailed Journalist Nominated for Freedom of Expression Award
17 January 2013 / Bianet
Index on Censorship, a UK based institution that celebrated the freedom of expression with an annual award, nominated Sadiye Eser, Evrensel newspaper journalist jailed for terrorism charges, for its 2013 Freedom of Expression Award.
The award aimed to honor individuals or groups who struggled against censorship in the fields of journalism, publishing and fine arts in their home countries. Notable recipients of the award included Arat Dink, son of assassinated Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
http://www.bianet.org/english/freedom-of-expression/143622-jailed-journalist-nominated-for-freedom-of-expression-award
15. Hrant Dink Commemorated
21 January 2013 / Bianet
Thousands of human rights activists, students, journalists, intellectuals and workers union representatives gathered in front of Agos newspaper building Saturday afternoon to commemorate the sixth death anniversary of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
This year's commemoration activities followed the motto "Buradayız ahparig" which suggested that his friends are still with Hrant Dink who was assassinated on January 19, 2007. The commemoration was held under a heavy rain, which did not seem to prevent any of Hrant Dink's friends from standingin front of Agos newspaper and forming a huge crowd in the surrounding areas which blocked the busy Istanbul traffic.
http://www.bianet.org/english/minorities/143728-hrant-dink-commemorated
16. Kurdish Rights Back in Focus in Turkey
15 January 2013 / Inter Press Service
After over a year without accountability for a Turkish aerial bombing that killed 34 Kurdish men and boys, Turkey has come under heavy criticism for what many say is a widespread culture of impunity, especially when it comes to the treatment of its Kurdish citizens.
“It has been one year and there are no important steps we can see. Nobody has been arrested,” said lawyer Tahir Elci, head of the Diyarbakir Bar Association, which represents over 800 lawyers working in Turkey’s largest Kurdish-majority city.
“Usually, the prosecutors and other authorities protect the perpetrators and there are many barriers before the victims when they try to get justice,” Elci told IPS. “Even if perpetrators have not been punished, it is very important for relatives of victims to learn the truth.”
http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/01/kurdish-rights-back-in-focus-in-turkey/
17. BDP and DTK Woman's Councils in solidarity with Rojava people
24 January 2013 / ANF
In a written statement released on Thursday, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and Democratic Society Congress (DTK) Woman's Councils have announced mass demonstrations in protest against the embargo imposed on the people of Rojava, West Kurdistan. The mass demonstration by DTK Woman's Council will take place in the Nusaybin district of Mardin on 26 January and the one by BDP Woman's Council at the same place on 3 February. The demonstrations will also be joined by woman deputies and co-chairs of both organizations.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/bdp-and-dtk-woman-s-councils-in-solidarity-with-rojava-people.htm
18. Kurdish Supreme Council condemns attacks on Serekaniye
21 January 2013 / ANF
The Kurdish Supreme Council in a statement about Serekaniye (Ras-Alain) events said that "After getting the quietness back to Serekaniye city due to the agreement between People Protection Units (YPG) and the armed groups who attacked the city two months ago, they agreed to form a local council representing all city inhabitants to manage its affairs, as a result of that agreement, a lot of Serekaniye people came back to their homes. But obviously, and to create problems again, after having some problems among the armed groups themselves, they have started to attack the Kurdish districts in the city again, which led People's Protection Units (YPG) to defend their regions [...]"
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/kurdish-supreme-council-condemns-attacks-on-serekaniye.htm
19. Assault within the Turkish Embassy in London
20 January 2013 / ANF
Solidarity with the Victims of All Genocides released a written statement to denounce an attack on a member of the organization who suffered an assault inside the Turkish Embassy in London by a member of staff on 18 January. The organization said that their member was assaulted whilst he was delivering the Ambassador of Turkey, the Turkish Embassy, Knightsbridge, a letter in solidarity with justice demands for the murdered Armenian journalist Hrant Dink on the sixth anniversary of his death on 18 January. http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5607 <http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5607>
COMMENT, OPINION AND ANALYSIS
20. Another chance for peace
21 January 2012 / Hurriyet
The tacit agreement between the government and Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) to show serenity at the funerals of three female Kurdish politicians who were killed in Paris a week ago, proved very successful. Most political observers agree that it could set a good example and provided a chance for the future peace process. Nevertheless, we should interpret the lessons that this event taught us very carefully. First of all, it is seen that if the security forces restrain from violent reactions (by the decision of the government, of course) at public demonstrations, there end up being peaceful expressions of political protest. Then, the successful organization of the BDP showed that the BDP is a capable actor not only in mobilizing but also in controlling the masses. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/another-chance-for-peace.aspx?pageID=238&nID=39478&NewsCatID=406
21. Can Ocalan Rein In the PKK?
17 January 2013 / Al Monitor
Despite the assassinations of three PKK representatives in Paris, Ankara is pressing ahead with its dialogue with PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in an attempt to end its Kurdish problem once and for all. The assumption is that by dealing openly with Ocalan, who controls a relatively monolithic PKK, the group’s militants will disarm willingly. A more inclusive negotiating process that engages Kurdish political representatives and Turkish civilian leaders also is expected to encourage a settlement and sideline PKK hardliners.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/01/ocalan-tuks-pkk.html
22. Ocalan a No-Show at Funeral For PKK Activists
18 January 2013 / Al Monitor
A massive funeral ceremony was held on Thursday in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, which has the largest Kurdish majority in the country for three PKK activists gunned down at the Kurdistan Information Center in Paris. They were buried in their hometowns the next day. Tens of thousands of people participated in the Diyarbakir event. Independent observers estimated the crowd at least 50,000. Before the gathering there were strong fears of possible provocations that could set off bloody confrontations between the security forces and demonstrators. Anxiety was more pronounced than ever before because the funeral observance coincided with talks at Imrali Prison between the Ankara government and the PKK’s founding leader, who is serving a life sentence aimed at getting the PKK to give up arms.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/01/diyarbakir-murder-paris-pkk.html
23. The Slippery Slope Argument in Turkey
24 January 2013 / Rudaw
Whenever anyone discusses Kurdish minority rights in Turkey, the slippery slope argument invariably gets brought up. “If we allow Kurdish in schools or other venues, all the minority groups in the country will demand this right,” we hear. When discussing the option of allowing the Kurds more local, self-government, the slippery slope retort rears its annoying head again: “Every group in Turkey, from the Laz and Circassians to the Arabs and the Alevis, will demand self-government if we allow the Kurds to have it. And if we give the Kurds self-government, they will use it to demand secession.”
http://www.rudaw.net/english/science/columnists/5685.html
EVENTS
Friday 25 January, 12-2pm
Protector or Occupier? Turkey's Ambivalent Role in Cyprus
Seminar given by Rebecca Bryant, LSE, as part of the Seminars on Turkey series at the London Middle East Institute, http://www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/events/turkey/.
Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings, Room 116
Contact email: bp@soas.ac.uk
Contact Tel: 020 7898 4431
Saturday 9 February, 10-5pm
Stop the War International Conference
Confronting war ten years on from the invasion of Iraq. Speakers at this all-day event include: Tariq Ali; Tony Benn; Jeremy Corbyn MP; Brian Eno; Owen Jones; Salma Yaqoob; Mitra Qayoom; and many more.
Venue: Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ. For more information on sessions, speakers and how to book, go to www.tenyearson.org.uk <http://www.tenyearson.org.uk> or phone 020 7561 9311. Ticket price £15/£8 Concs.
Wednesday 20 February, 17.30-8pm
The Kurdish population in Turkey. Time for Justice and a roadmap towards reconciliation.
A seminar of the Law Society, arranged in conjunction with Human Rights Watch, will bring together international and Turkish lawyers. Speakers include Emma Sinclair Webb, author of the Human Rights Watch report, Professor Francoise Hampson of the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex (who together with her colleague Professor Kevin Boyle received the Liberty “Human Rights Lawyer of the Year” award for her work on the Kurdish cases), and Tahir Elci, President of the Diyarbakir Bar, who was himself involved in many of the ECHR cases, including Ozkan v Turkey, the largest of the village destruction cases to come before the ECHR. 20th February 2013 is in fact the 20th anniversary of the attack on the village of Ormanici which formed the basis of this case.
Venue: The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL
Link to the web page on which delegates can register to attend:
https://events.lawsociety.org.uk/ClientApps/Silverbear.Web.EDMS/public/default.aspx?tabid=37&id=152&orgId=1&&guid=39c1d80e-d801-4cdf-9637-662e206c42ba <https://events.lawsociety.org.uk/ClientApps/Silverbear.Web.EDMS/public/default.aspx?tabid=37&id=152&orgId=1&&guid=39c1d80e-d801-4cdf-9637-662e206c42ba>
Killings must not present challenge to peace process - Pat Sheehan, Sinn Fein
Preasoifig Shinn Féin
Tionól na Sé Chontae
Foirgnimh na Parlaiminte
Cnoc an Anfa
Béal Feirste
BT4 3XX
Oifig: 02890521473
www.sinnfein.ie <http://www.sinnfein.ie/>
For immediate release: Wednesday 23rd January 2013
Killings must not present challenge to peace process - Sheehan
Sinn Féin MLA and Middle East spokesperson Pat Sheehan has stated that the killing of three Kurdish women who were involved in the independence movement must be thoroughly investigated.
Speaking today Mr Sheean said: “The tragic murder of three prominent female Kurdish activists, Sakine Cansız, Fidan Dogan and Leyla Şoylemez has caused distress and concern across the Kurdish community and left the Kurdish diaspora shocked.
“Sinn Féin expresses our sympathies to the families of those who were killed.
“There are wider concerns surrounding the impact of these killings on the establishment of a peace process in the Kurdish conflict. Despite the challenges that this situation presents the peace process must be given the chance to be explored and to take hold on the basis of an inclusive process involving the Turkish Government and representatives of the Kurdish people.”
Tionól na Sé Chontae
Foirgnimh na Parlaiminte
Cnoc an Anfa
Béal Feirste
BT4 3XX
Oifig: 02890521473
www.sinnfein.ie <http://www.sinnfein.ie/>
For immediate release: Wednesday 23rd January 2013
Killings must not present challenge to peace process - Sheehan
Sinn Féin MLA and Middle East spokesperson Pat Sheehan has stated that the killing of three Kurdish women who were involved in the independence movement must be thoroughly investigated.
Speaking today Mr Sheean said: “The tragic murder of three prominent female Kurdish activists, Sakine Cansız, Fidan Dogan and Leyla Şoylemez has caused distress and concern across the Kurdish community and left the Kurdish diaspora shocked.
“Sinn Féin expresses our sympathies to the families of those who were killed.
“There are wider concerns surrounding the impact of these killings on the establishment of a peace process in the Kurdish conflict. Despite the challenges that this situation presents the peace process must be given the chance to be explored and to take hold on the basis of an inclusive process involving the Turkish Government and representatives of the Kurdish people.”
Western Kurdistan - English news 14.01.2013
Dear friends,
Please find below the statement of KSC and attached Briefing News and Activities in West Kurdistan and Syria by Info. and Relations Centre Of Democratic Union Party
The Kurdish supreme Council
A statement to the public opinion about Sere-Kanieh (Ras-Alain) events.
After getting the quietness back to Sre-kanieh city due to the agreement between people protection Units (YPG) and the armed groups who attacked the city two month ago, they agreed to form a local council representing all city inhabitants to manage its affairs, as a result of that agreement, a lot of Sere-kanieh people came back to their homes. But obviously, and to create problems again,after having some problems among the armed groups themselves, they have started to attack the Kurdish districts in the city again! Which led People Protection Units (YPG) todefend their regions, consequently the battle area extended and it became very clear that the attack was planned due to the huge preparation for this attack as ordnance –wise and staff-wise aswell, all of it came in through Turkish boarders which insured everything for this attack.
At the same time which we condemn this attack and breach of the previous agreement, we are asking the Syrian coalition, Syrian opposition and the free army to clarify its stand toward these armed groups who are dragging our region into a struggle between Kurds and opposition forces, and thus posing a real threat which targets the security , safety and Kurdish existence in this region, and posing a great damage to the Syrian revolution and its goals. we are calling for the withdrawal of those armed groups out of the city and to leave it for its own people to manage themselves freely.
We appeal all Syrian people in general and Syrian revolution forces and national opposition in particular to be aware of what is going on in Sere-kanieh (Ras-Alain) city and what it means as a regional schemes which are targeting the national unity and to transfer the conflict into Syria components which serve the enemies of the Syrian revolution and Syrian regime.
We also emphasize that the Kurdish people will never give up defending their dignity and access to their freedom whatever the sacrifices are and will support by all means our people in Sere-Kanieh who are defending for their dignity and presence.This city was, and still, as a symbol of coexistence, brotherhood, and an expression of civil peace which ensured by region sons with all its various components who are insistent to defend Forth security, the safety and protection of their areas. And in this regard, we turn a salute to people protection units (YPG) and the sons of the city from various components on their heroic struggle and salute the martyrs who sacrificed their lives during these battles.
The Kurdish Supreme Council
Qamishlo
20/01/2013
Please find below the statement of KSC and attached Briefing News and Activities in West Kurdistan and Syria by Info. and Relations Centre Of Democratic Union Party
The Kurdish supreme Council
A statement to the public opinion about Sere-Kanieh (Ras-Alain) events.
After getting the quietness back to Sre-kanieh city due to the agreement between people protection Units (YPG) and the armed groups who attacked the city two month ago, they agreed to form a local council representing all city inhabitants to manage its affairs, as a result of that agreement, a lot of Sere-kanieh people came back to their homes. But obviously, and to create problems again,after having some problems among the armed groups themselves, they have started to attack the Kurdish districts in the city again! Which led People Protection Units (YPG) todefend their regions, consequently the battle area extended and it became very clear that the attack was planned due to the huge preparation for this attack as ordnance –wise and staff-wise aswell, all of it came in through Turkish boarders which insured everything for this attack.
At the same time which we condemn this attack and breach of the previous agreement, we are asking the Syrian coalition, Syrian opposition and the free army to clarify its stand toward these armed groups who are dragging our region into a struggle between Kurds and opposition forces, and thus posing a real threat which targets the security , safety and Kurdish existence in this region, and posing a great damage to the Syrian revolution and its goals. we are calling for the withdrawal of those armed groups out of the city and to leave it for its own people to manage themselves freely.
We appeal all Syrian people in general and Syrian revolution forces and national opposition in particular to be aware of what is going on in Sere-kanieh (Ras-Alain) city and what it means as a regional schemes which are targeting the national unity and to transfer the conflict into Syria components which serve the enemies of the Syrian revolution and Syrian regime.
We also emphasize that the Kurdish people will never give up defending their dignity and access to their freedom whatever the sacrifices are and will support by all means our people in Sere-Kanieh who are defending for their dignity and presence.This city was, and still, as a symbol of coexistence, brotherhood, and an expression of civil peace which ensured by region sons with all its various components who are insistent to defend Forth security, the safety and protection of their areas. And in this regard, we turn a salute to people protection units (YPG) and the sons of the city from various components on their heroic struggle and salute the martyrs who sacrificed their lives during these battles.
The Kurdish Supreme Council
Qamishlo
20/01/2013
Campaign: We demand justice for Sakine, Fidan and Leyla!
We demand justice for Sakine, Fidan and Leyla!
On 9 January 2013 an atrocious crime was committed in the center of Paris which has deeply shaken all Kurdish women's organizations and the Kurdish people, international women's organizations, women in many different countries as well as friends of the Kurdish people, progressive forces and the democratic public. Three Kurdish women politicians and fighters for freedom and women's liberation - Sakine Cansız, Leyla Dogan and Fidan Şaylemez - were brutally and dastardly murdered.
For the Kurdish people and especially for us as women the clarification and elucidation of this political crime is a very important and sensitive issue as well as the identification of the actual perpetrators of this massacre and any involved force. As long as the French justice system has not only exposed the killer pulling the trigger but also all dark forces and states that are involved in this political assassination, the French government cannot secure itself from being under a cloud. As this triple murder took place in a Kurdish institution that has been observed by the French secret service 24 hours per day, the French Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Justice carry the responsibility to clarify completely, how such an act could happen.
This cruel crime in central Paris concerns all people fighting for freedom, justice, women's rights and democracy. Women, peoples and progressive political forces from all over the world have called for an immediate clarification of the killings.
Ceni - Kurdish Women's Office for Peace calls upon the French government with the demand: "We want justice for Sakine, Fidan and Leyla!" Until this crime has been solved and enlightened we will keep on sending letters, faxes, e-mails and postcards with our demands to the French prime minister, the Minister of the Interior and Minister of Justice. We call on all democratic institutions, political parties and individuals; feminist groups and women's rights defenders; internationalists, Kurdish women and the Kurdish people to participate in this campaign by sending, letters, faxes, e-mails and postcards requirements as outlined below (preferably in French) to the representatives of the French Government.
Postcards can be ordered at our office. Please, indicate the number of cards and your postal address.
In solidarity,
Cenî – Kurdish Women’s Office for Peace
Düsseldorf, 21.01.2013
*****************************************************
Sample text in English
We demand justice!
To the French Government
To the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Interior
On 9 January 2013, three Kurdish politicians and fighters for women’s rights, Sakine Cansiz, Fidan Dogan and Leyla Soylemez, were callously and maliciously murdered in the centre of Paris. It is your responsibility to conduct a full-scale investigation into these political killings and bring the perpetrators to justice.
We call on you:
To identify those responsible for the murders and bring them to justice!
To uncover and condemn those persons and state forces who are complicit in this crime!
To stop the politically motivated criminalisation of Kurdish associations and the arrest of Kurdish political activists in France!
The French government must change its anti-Kurdish policies and de-proscribe the PKK from the “list of terrorist organisations”
Yours sincerely,
Name:
Place:
Date:
*****************************************************
Sample text in French:
Nous voulons la justice!
A l'attention du gouvernement français,
A l'attention des Ministres de l'intérieur et de la justice,
Le 9 janvier 2013, trois politiciennes kurdes, Sakine CANSIZ, Fidan DOGAN et Leyla SAYLEMEZ ont été exécutées dans les locaux du Centre d’Information du Kurdistan (CIK), situé en plein centre de Paris. Vous avez le devoir immédiat de faire lumière sur ces assassinats et de juger les coupables.
Nos revendications:
- La condamnation immédiate des assassins et responsables de ce crime politique!
- La lumière sur les forces obscures et les Etats qui se cachent derrière ce massacre!
- Fin aux arrestations et aux pressions faîtes aux politiciens et aux associations kurdes!
- L’abandon par la France de sa politique anti-kurde et le retrait du PKK (Parti des Travailleurs du Kurdistan) de la liste des organisations terroristes.
Respectueusement,
Nom:
Lieu:
Date:
*****************************************************
Addresses – Fax numbers – E-mail- Addresses of the French Ministries:
Prime Minister:
Premier ministre
M. Jean-Marc Ayrault
Hôtel de Matignon
57, rue de Varenne
F- 75700 Paris
France
Fax : 0033 1 45 44 15 72
E-mail: premier-ministre@cab.pm.gouv.fr <mailto:premier-ministre@cab.pm.gouv.fr>
jean-marc.ayrault@pm.gouv.fr <mailto:jean-marc.ayrault@pm.gouv.fr>
Minister of Justice:
Ministre de la Justice
Mme. Christiane Taubira
13, place Vendôme
75800 Paris
France
Fax: 0033 1 44 77 60 69 / 0033 1 44 77 25 05
E-mail: florence.duhot@justice.gouv.fr <mailto:florence.duhot@justice.gouv.fr>
Minister of Interior:
Ministre de l’Intérieur
M. Manuel Valls
Place Beauvau
75800 Paris
France
Fax: 0033 1 42 65 67 72
E-mail: manuel.valls@interieur.gouv.fr <mailto:manuel.valls@interieur.gouv.fr> ;
jean.daubigny@interieur.gouv.fr <mailto:jean.daubigny@interieur.gouv.fr>
__________________________________________________
CENÎ
Kurdisches Frauenbüro für Frieden e.V.
Kurdish Women's Office for Peace
Buroya Aşitîyê ya Jinên Kurd
Corneliusstrasse 125
D - 40215 Düsseldorf
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)211 598 92 51
Fax: +49 (0)211 598 92 53
E-mail: ceni_frauen@gmx.de
www.ceni-kurdistan.com
On 9 January 2013 an atrocious crime was committed in the center of Paris which has deeply shaken all Kurdish women's organizations and the Kurdish people, international women's organizations, women in many different countries as well as friends of the Kurdish people, progressive forces and the democratic public. Three Kurdish women politicians and fighters for freedom and women's liberation - Sakine Cansız, Leyla Dogan and Fidan Şaylemez - were brutally and dastardly murdered.
For the Kurdish people and especially for us as women the clarification and elucidation of this political crime is a very important and sensitive issue as well as the identification of the actual perpetrators of this massacre and any involved force. As long as the French justice system has not only exposed the killer pulling the trigger but also all dark forces and states that are involved in this political assassination, the French government cannot secure itself from being under a cloud. As this triple murder took place in a Kurdish institution that has been observed by the French secret service 24 hours per day, the French Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Justice carry the responsibility to clarify completely, how such an act could happen.
This cruel crime in central Paris concerns all people fighting for freedom, justice, women's rights and democracy. Women, peoples and progressive political forces from all over the world have called for an immediate clarification of the killings.
Ceni - Kurdish Women's Office for Peace calls upon the French government with the demand: "We want justice for Sakine, Fidan and Leyla!" Until this crime has been solved and enlightened we will keep on sending letters, faxes, e-mails and postcards with our demands to the French prime minister, the Minister of the Interior and Minister of Justice. We call on all democratic institutions, political parties and individuals; feminist groups and women's rights defenders; internationalists, Kurdish women and the Kurdish people to participate in this campaign by sending, letters, faxes, e-mails and postcards requirements as outlined below (preferably in French) to the representatives of the French Government.
Postcards can be ordered at our office. Please, indicate the number of cards and your postal address.
In solidarity,
Cenî – Kurdish Women’s Office for Peace
Düsseldorf, 21.01.2013
*****************************************************
Sample text in English
We demand justice!
To the French Government
To the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Interior
On 9 January 2013, three Kurdish politicians and fighters for women’s rights, Sakine Cansiz, Fidan Dogan and Leyla Soylemez, were callously and maliciously murdered in the centre of Paris. It is your responsibility to conduct a full-scale investigation into these political killings and bring the perpetrators to justice.
We call on you:
To identify those responsible for the murders and bring them to justice!
To uncover and condemn those persons and state forces who are complicit in this crime!
To stop the politically motivated criminalisation of Kurdish associations and the arrest of Kurdish political activists in France!
The French government must change its anti-Kurdish policies and de-proscribe the PKK from the “list of terrorist organisations”
Yours sincerely,
Name:
Place:
Date:
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Sample text in French:
Nous voulons la justice!
A l'attention du gouvernement français,
A l'attention des Ministres de l'intérieur et de la justice,
Le 9 janvier 2013, trois politiciennes kurdes, Sakine CANSIZ, Fidan DOGAN et Leyla SAYLEMEZ ont été exécutées dans les locaux du Centre d’Information du Kurdistan (CIK), situé en plein centre de Paris. Vous avez le devoir immédiat de faire lumière sur ces assassinats et de juger les coupables.
Nos revendications:
- La condamnation immédiate des assassins et responsables de ce crime politique!
- La lumière sur les forces obscures et les Etats qui se cachent derrière ce massacre!
- Fin aux arrestations et aux pressions faîtes aux politiciens et aux associations kurdes!
- L’abandon par la France de sa politique anti-kurde et le retrait du PKK (Parti des Travailleurs du Kurdistan) de la liste des organisations terroristes.
Respectueusement,
Nom:
Lieu:
Date:
*****************************************************
Addresses – Fax numbers – E-mail- Addresses of the French Ministries:
Prime Minister:
Premier ministre
M. Jean-Marc Ayrault
Hôtel de Matignon
57, rue de Varenne
F- 75700 Paris
France
Fax : 0033 1 45 44 15 72
E-mail: premier-ministre@cab.pm.gouv.fr <mailto:premier-ministre@cab.pm.gouv.fr>
jean-marc.ayrault@pm.gouv.fr <mailto:jean-marc.ayrault@pm.gouv.fr>
Minister of Justice:
Ministre de la Justice
Mme. Christiane Taubira
13, place Vendôme
75800 Paris
France
Fax: 0033 1 44 77 60 69 / 0033 1 44 77 25 05
E-mail: florence.duhot@justice.gouv.fr <mailto:florence.duhot@justice.gouv.fr>
Minister of Interior:
Ministre de l’Intérieur
M. Manuel Valls
Place Beauvau
75800 Paris
France
Fax: 0033 1 42 65 67 72
E-mail: manuel.valls@interieur.gouv.fr <mailto:manuel.valls@interieur.gouv.fr> ;
jean.daubigny@interieur.gouv.fr <mailto:jean.daubigny@interieur.gouv.fr>
__________________________________________________
CENÎ
Kurdisches Frauenbüro für Frieden e.V.
Kurdish Women's Office for Peace
Buroya Aşitîyê ya Jinên Kurd
Corneliusstrasse 125
D - 40215 Düsseldorf
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)211 598 92 51
Fax: +49 (0)211 598 92 53
E-mail: ceni_frauen@gmx.de
www.ceni-kurdistan.com
Protest against another mass arrest of lawyers in Turkey
Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
Protest against another mass arrest of lawyers in Turkey
18 January 2013
We are disturbed to learn that once again Turkey has carried out yet another mass arrest of lawyers.
According to statements by the ELDH, CHD and by Selcuk Kozagacli, the President of the CHD (see ELDH website http://www.eldh.eu/publications/publication/protest-against-new-wave-of-mass-arrests-of-turkish-lawyers-145/ and attached) police launched raids early on Friday, 18 January, against the political organisation, the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) , arresting 55 peace, including 15 lawyers, of whom nine are members of the Progressive Lawyers’ Association (ÇHD).
Once again we see the results of Turkey’s severe anti-terrorism laws whose failure to distinguish between lawyers and clients end ups criminalising lawyers for carrying out their professional duties of representing their clients.
While lawyers persistently face prosecution for simply doing their jobs and the population in general lives under the constant threat of political intimidation for taking part in normal political activity, there can be little hope of lasting peace and stability in the country.
The responsibility for the continuing unrest and future turmoil must rest with Turkey’s leaders who appear unprepared to take the necessary measures to end protracted political conflict, not least of which is the Kurdish conflict. Turkey is effectively a country in a state of war with large communities existing under siege conditions.
Such circumstances are not propitious for securing peace or for the success of any negotiations which demand goodwill on both sides as a pre-requisite for achieving lasting results.
This continued harrying and persecution of members of the legal profession and others bodes ill for the future and can only be interpreted as a step backwards for peace and reconciliation.
We demand the immediate release of these lawyers along with all other lawyers currently held by Turkey.
We urge friends and supporters to write letters of protest to the Turkish Justice Ministry/Prime Minister Erdogan and the Turkish Embassy.
For further information
Peace in Kurdistan
Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish Question
Contacts: Estella Schmid and Melanie Sirinathsingh
Email: estella24@tiscali.co.uk <http://estella24@tiscali.co.uk> <mailto:estella24@tiscali.co.uk> Tel 020 7586 5892
www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com <http://www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com>
Patrons: Lord Avebury, Lord Rea, Lord Dholakia, Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, Jill Evans MEP, Jean Lambert MEP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Hywel Williams MP, Elfyn Llwyd MP, Conor Murphy MP, John Austin, Bruce Kent, Gareth Peirce, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, John Berger, Edward Albee, Margaret Owen OBE, Prof Mary Davis, Mark Thomas
Protest against another mass arrest of lawyers in Turkey
18 January 2013
We are disturbed to learn that once again Turkey has carried out yet another mass arrest of lawyers.
According to statements by the ELDH, CHD and by Selcuk Kozagacli, the President of the CHD (see ELDH website http://www.eldh.eu/publications/publication/protest-against-new-wave-of-mass-arrests-of-turkish-lawyers-145/ and attached) police launched raids early on Friday, 18 January, against the political organisation, the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) , arresting 55 peace, including 15 lawyers, of whom nine are members of the Progressive Lawyers’ Association (ÇHD).
Once again we see the results of Turkey’s severe anti-terrorism laws whose failure to distinguish between lawyers and clients end ups criminalising lawyers for carrying out their professional duties of representing their clients.
While lawyers persistently face prosecution for simply doing their jobs and the population in general lives under the constant threat of political intimidation for taking part in normal political activity, there can be little hope of lasting peace and stability in the country.
The responsibility for the continuing unrest and future turmoil must rest with Turkey’s leaders who appear unprepared to take the necessary measures to end protracted political conflict, not least of which is the Kurdish conflict. Turkey is effectively a country in a state of war with large communities existing under siege conditions.
Such circumstances are not propitious for securing peace or for the success of any negotiations which demand goodwill on both sides as a pre-requisite for achieving lasting results.
This continued harrying and persecution of members of the legal profession and others bodes ill for the future and can only be interpreted as a step backwards for peace and reconciliation.
We demand the immediate release of these lawyers along with all other lawyers currently held by Turkey.
We urge friends and supporters to write letters of protest to the Turkish Justice Ministry/Prime Minister Erdogan and the Turkish Embassy.
For further information
Peace in Kurdistan
Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish Question
Contacts: Estella Schmid and Melanie Sirinathsingh
Email: estella24@tiscali.co.uk <http://estella24@tiscali.co.uk> <mailto:estella24@tiscali.co.uk> Tel 020 7586 5892
www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com <http://www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com>
Patrons: Lord Avebury, Lord Rea, Lord Dholakia, Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, Jill Evans MEP, Jean Lambert MEP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Hywel Williams MP, Elfyn Llwyd MP, Conor Murphy MP, John Austin, Bruce Kent, Gareth Peirce, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, John Berger, Edward Albee, Margaret Owen OBE, Prof Mary Davis, Mark Thomas
Sunday 20 January 2013
Kurdish News Weekly Briefing, 11 - 17 January 2013
1. Turkey hits PKK in Iraq as bodies of slain Kurds arrive
17 January 2013 / Daily Star
Turkish jets have pounded Kurdish rebel hideouts in northern Iraq in the fiercest aerial campaign in years, military sources said Wednesday, the same day the bodies of three female Kurdish activists who were killed in Paris were due home.
Sixteen F-16 fighter jets took off from their base in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, a Kurdish minority stronghold, around 10 p.m. (2000 GMT) Tuesday and bombed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) bases in the Qandil mountains, 90 kilometers from the border, a military source said.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Jan-17/202523-turkey-hits-pkk-in-iraq-as-bodies-of-slain-kurds-arrive.ashx#axzz2IFoZinhe <http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Jan-17/202523-turkey-hits-pkk-in-iraq-as-bodies-of-slain-kurds-arrive.ashx#axzz2IFoZinhe>
2. CPT in Imralı
17 January 2013 / ANF
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture delegation has arrived on Imralı island today. The Committee will examine the prison conditions of leader Abdullah Öcalan. The Committee's visit had been announced after Democratic Society Congress (DTK) co-chair Ahmet Türk and Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Batman MP Ayla Akat have visited Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan in Imralı prison on 3 January. Lawyers for the Kurdish leader have been denied once again permission to visit their client, who has not seen them since 27 July 2011.
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5592
3. VIDEO: Farewell Ceremony to 3 Slain Kurdish Women
17 January 2013 / Bianet
Hundreds of thousands people gathered in Diyarbakir early to this morning to say a last goodbye to Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez, 3 Kurdish politicians who were cold-bloodedly killed in Paris on January 9.
The ceremony promptly started at 10am in the morning, when the bodies of 3 slain Kurdish women were checked out from a private hospital in downtown Diyarbakir to be escorted to the ceremony in Batikent Square.
One the steps of the hospital, dozens of demonstrators formed a crowded from the early hours of the cold morning and held banners saying "We are all Sakine", "We are all Fidan" and "We are all Leyla".
http://www.bianet.org/english/crisis/143627-video-farewell-ceremony-to-3-slain-kurdish-women
4. Remzi Kartal: Kurds Suspicious About Turkish Statements over Paris Killings
14 January 2013 / Rudaw
Exiled Kurdish leader Remzi Kartal, a former MP who continues to play an active role in Kurdish politics, says that the Kurds have doubts about the Turkish government’s sincerity in peace talks with the Kurdistan Workers Party, since Turkish officials blamed the assassination of three Kurdish women on an internal PKK feud.
Kartal, who is currently the leader of the People’s Congress of Kurdistan (Kongra-Gel), was an active politician in Turkey until he fled the country in 1994 after several of his colleagues were arrested and imprisoned by the Turkish authorities.
http://www.rudaw.net/english/interview/5655.html
5. Jailed Kurdish PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan 'condemns' Paris slayings
15 January 2013 / eKurd
The jailed leader of Turkey's Kurd rebels, Abdullah Ocalan, condemned on Monday the killing of three Kurdish women activists in Paris, one of them a longtime comrade, the Anatolia news agency reported, quoting his brother. "It was a very sad get-together," Mehmet Ocalan told reporters after a visit to the prison island of Imrali near Istanbul, where his brother, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), has been kept for 14 years. "He is very saddened by the massacre in France and condemns it," he added, referring to the killing of the three activists on Thursday in an attack dubbed an "internal feud" by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The killings came days after Turkish media reported that Turkey and Ocalan had reached a roadmap to end the Kurds' three-decade insurgency.
http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2013/1/turkey4436.htm <http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2013/1/turkey4436.htm>
6. Jailed Kurdish rebel chief demands Paris murders solved soon
15 January 2013 / Reuters
Jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on French police to solve the murders of three Kurdish activists quickly, his brother said, but he gave no indication their killing would disrupt nascent peace talks between him and Turkish officials.
The three Kurdish women, one a co-founder of Ocalan's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, were found dead in Paris on Thursday in execution-style killings regarded by many as an attempt to sabotage the fledgling peace moves.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/uk-turkey-kurds-idUKBRE90E0DN20130115?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews <http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/uk-turkey-kurds-idUKBRE90E0DN20130115?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews>
7. Kurdish rebel group sees nationalist hand in Paris killings
11 January 2013 / Reuters
Kurdish rebels suggested on Friday that clandestine Turkish nationalists may have assassinated three Kurdish activists in Paris, but Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said the killings appeared to have been the result of an internal feud. The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) said the execution-style killings of the three women in an institute in central Paris had been premeditated and planned and warned France would be held responsible if it failed to get to the bottom of their deaths.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/11/us-france-kurds-idUSBRE90907B20130111
8. Kurdish activists killed in Paris were shot in head as mystery of executions grows
11 January 2013 / Independent
Three Kurdish activists assassinated in Paris were each shot several times in the head, it has emerged.
The three women - including a founder member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the Kurdish separatist movement - were wearing outdoor coats as if they had just returned to their office or were about to leave.
French investigators have not excluded the possibility that their killer, or killers, arrived in the company of one or more of the victims at a Kurdish “information office” near the Gare du Nord. This would reinforce the theory – advanced once again by the Turkish government – that the attack was motivated by faction-fighting within the PKK. […]
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/kurdish-activists-killed-in-paris-were-shot-in-head-as-mystery-of-executions-grows-8448551.html <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/kurdish-activists-killed-in-paris-were-shot-in-head-as-mystery-of-executions-grows-8448551.html>
9. 100s of Kurdish women in Turkey protest killings in Paris
15 January 2013 / Press TV
Hundreds of women have held a demonstration in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir to protest against the recent killings of three female Kurdish activists in Paris. On Monday, the protesters gathered in the center of the city to demand justice for three activists who were shot dead in the French capital on January 10. The demonstrators later marched toward a nearby post office to post their protest letters to the French Embassy in Ankara. The body of Sakine Cansiz, a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), was found at the Kurdish Information Center in Paris with multiple bullet wounds to the head. The dead bodies of two other female Kurdish activists, Fidan Dogan and Leyla Soylemez, were also lying beside her.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/01/15/283603/kurdish-women-protest-murder-in-paris/ <http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/01/15/283603/kurdish-women-protest-murder-in-paris/>
10. Photos: Europe’s Kurds march in their thousands in Paris
17 January 2013 / Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
Photos courtesy of David Brunetti.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/europes-kurds-march-in-their-thousands-in-paris/# <http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/europes-kurds-march-in-their-thousands-in-paris/>
11. Mass protests in London condemning assassination of Kurdish activists in Paris
14 January 2013 / TamilNet
Thousands of Kurds from across the UK took to the streets in London on Sunday condemning the recent assassination of three Kurdish women activists in Paris. Demanding a proper inquiry and immediate justice for the brutal murders of Sakine Cansiz, co-founder of the PKK, and activists Fidan Dogan and Leyla Soylemez, the protestors raised slogans of ‘”Turkey is a terrorist state” and “We want freedom”. Kurdish sources told TamilNet that the assassination was an attempt to sabotage the Kurds desire for peaceful negotiations and France should act soon, lest it portrays itself complicit by inaction. Large protests were also held in France and Germany on Saturday […]
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=35937
12. European Parliament remembered Sakine, Fidan and Leyla
15 January 2013 / ANF
Three Kurdish politicians Sakine Cansiz, a co-founder of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party), Fidan Doğan, representative of the KNK (Kurdistan National Congress) in Paris and Leyla Şaylemez who were found shot dead in the Kurdistan Information Office on 10 January were remembered at the meeting of the European Parliament (EP) whose January sessions started in Strasbourg on Monday. The family of Fidan Doğan and Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) European Representative Faik Yağızay were also invited to the EP meeting which begun with one minute's silence for the three women. Group member MPs also conveyed their condolences and messages of solidarity to the families of the three Kurdish politicians.
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5583 <http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5583>
13. London protest at assassination of Kurds in Paris
12 January 2013 / Socialist Worker
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Turkish Embassy in central London yesterday, Friday, to protest at the killing of three Kurdish activists in Paris. Workers, students and campaigners united to demand justice. Among the banners were flags from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
PKK co-founder Sakine Cansiz, Kurdistan National Congress Paris representative Fidan Dogan and Leyla Soylemez were murdered in an armed attack on the Kurdistan Information Bureau in Paris. […]
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=30303 <http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=30303>
COMMENT, OPINION AND ANALYSIS
14. How Turkey Can Make Peace With the Kurds
15 January 2013 / The New York Times
THE assassination of three Kurdish activists in Paris last week has raised fears that the true target was peace talks between Turkey and the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or the P.K.K. But the so-called peace process was already in shambles before the killings, which have not been solved. Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, claims that he wants a deal to end nearly 30 years of war between the state and the P.K.K. rebels. But he has yet to take the decisive action needed for a credible peace process. Until he understands that the Kurdish problem in Turkey is about politics and identity, and not just about getting the guerrillas to withdraw from Turkey and give up their weapons, there will be no hope for peace.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/opinion/how-turkey-can-make-peace-with-the-kurds.html?hp&_r=1&
15. Murder in Paris
11 January 2013 / IHT Global Opinion
It is easy to be cynical about the Turkish government’s stated intention to bring about a settlement to the country’s vexing Kurdish problem. Yet someone took very seriously the authorities’ recently announced decision to negotiate with Abdullah Ocalan, the founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party (P.K.K.), on his island prison not far from Istanbul. In what appears to be an effort to sabotage those talks, someone just shot and killed one of Ocalan’s original comrade-in-arms, along with two other women in the Kurdish Information Center in Paris, around the corner from the Gare du Nord.
http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/who-killed-the-kurdish-activist-sakine-cansiz-and-why/
16. Turkey and the PKK: The Kurdish women who take up arms
15 January 2013 / BBC News
The execution-style killing of three women in Paris last week threw a spotlight on the murky struggle between Turkey and its Kurdish rebels. But how did women from such a conservative society rise to prominence in a paramilitary organisation?
Among the three women killed was Sakine Cansiz. Photographs soon circulated showing her in khaki military uniform, standing alongside the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan. She was one of the most visible symbols of women within the military and political ranks of the Kurdish movement. The PKK, which Turkey, the EU and the US list as a terrorist organisation for its attacks on Turkish security forces and civilians, is a highly capable force.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21026273
17. Theories and Motives Abound in the Killing of 3 Kurds in Paris
11 January 2013 / New York Times
With her signature long hennaed hair, fiery resolve and olive-green military fatigues, Sakine Cansiz was a feminist, guerrilla fighter and former political prisoner as adept at wielding a machine gun as organizing political protests from a jail cell. One day after she and two other Kurdish activists were killed in the heart of Paris, speculation abounded regarding Ms. Cansiz, 55, and whether she had been the main target. One of her brothers, Metin Cansiz, and activists interviewed Friday said her main role in recent years was to raise money and provide political support for the separatist group she helped found, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or P.K.K. Ms. Cansiz may also still have been involved in providing arms for the rebels.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/12/world/europe/plenty-of-theories-and-enemies-in-killing-of-3-kurds-in-paris.html?ref=europe&_r=0 <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/12/world/europe/plenty-of-theories-and-enemies-in-killing-of-3-kurds-in-paris.html?ref=europe&_r=0>
18. Killers must not spark war
13 January 2013 / Morning Star Letters
The murder of three Kurdish women activists in Paris (M Star January 11) is truly shocking. The only conclusion that can be drawn at this stage is that this was a political act by someone to derail the efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue in Turkey. That the perpetrators could be linked to interests within the Turkish establishment or within the banned Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) does not make the murders any less outrageous. It is clear that a military struggle cannot achieve a separate Kurdish state and that a solution will require democratic means.
This was the conclusion of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the PKK.
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/128247
STATEMENTS AND ACTIONS
19. Join the Friends of Adem Uzun!
17 January 2013
A new initiative by Peace in Kurdistan Campaign and Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC) UK unites members of parliament, lawyers, journalists, political commentators and activists in a common cause, to demonstrate support for detained Kurdish politician Adem Uzun and demand his release from prison. Click on the link below to find out how to join.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/join-the-friends-of-adem-uzun/
17 January 2013 / Daily Star
Turkish jets have pounded Kurdish rebel hideouts in northern Iraq in the fiercest aerial campaign in years, military sources said Wednesday, the same day the bodies of three female Kurdish activists who were killed in Paris were due home.
Sixteen F-16 fighter jets took off from their base in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, a Kurdish minority stronghold, around 10 p.m. (2000 GMT) Tuesday and bombed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) bases in the Qandil mountains, 90 kilometers from the border, a military source said.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Jan-17/202523-turkey-hits-pkk-in-iraq-as-bodies-of-slain-kurds-arrive.ashx#axzz2IFoZinhe <http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Jan-17/202523-turkey-hits-pkk-in-iraq-as-bodies-of-slain-kurds-arrive.ashx#axzz2IFoZinhe>
2. CPT in Imralı
17 January 2013 / ANF
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture delegation has arrived on Imralı island today. The Committee will examine the prison conditions of leader Abdullah Öcalan. The Committee's visit had been announced after Democratic Society Congress (DTK) co-chair Ahmet Türk and Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Batman MP Ayla Akat have visited Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan in Imralı prison on 3 January. Lawyers for the Kurdish leader have been denied once again permission to visit their client, who has not seen them since 27 July 2011.
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5592
3. VIDEO: Farewell Ceremony to 3 Slain Kurdish Women
17 January 2013 / Bianet
Hundreds of thousands people gathered in Diyarbakir early to this morning to say a last goodbye to Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez, 3 Kurdish politicians who were cold-bloodedly killed in Paris on January 9.
The ceremony promptly started at 10am in the morning, when the bodies of 3 slain Kurdish women were checked out from a private hospital in downtown Diyarbakir to be escorted to the ceremony in Batikent Square.
One the steps of the hospital, dozens of demonstrators formed a crowded from the early hours of the cold morning and held banners saying "We are all Sakine", "We are all Fidan" and "We are all Leyla".
http://www.bianet.org/english/crisis/143627-video-farewell-ceremony-to-3-slain-kurdish-women
4. Remzi Kartal: Kurds Suspicious About Turkish Statements over Paris Killings
14 January 2013 / Rudaw
Exiled Kurdish leader Remzi Kartal, a former MP who continues to play an active role in Kurdish politics, says that the Kurds have doubts about the Turkish government’s sincerity in peace talks with the Kurdistan Workers Party, since Turkish officials blamed the assassination of three Kurdish women on an internal PKK feud.
Kartal, who is currently the leader of the People’s Congress of Kurdistan (Kongra-Gel), was an active politician in Turkey until he fled the country in 1994 after several of his colleagues were arrested and imprisoned by the Turkish authorities.
http://www.rudaw.net/english/interview/5655.html
5. Jailed Kurdish PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan 'condemns' Paris slayings
15 January 2013 / eKurd
The jailed leader of Turkey's Kurd rebels, Abdullah Ocalan, condemned on Monday the killing of three Kurdish women activists in Paris, one of them a longtime comrade, the Anatolia news agency reported, quoting his brother. "It was a very sad get-together," Mehmet Ocalan told reporters after a visit to the prison island of Imrali near Istanbul, where his brother, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), has been kept for 14 years. "He is very saddened by the massacre in France and condemns it," he added, referring to the killing of the three activists on Thursday in an attack dubbed an "internal feud" by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The killings came days after Turkish media reported that Turkey and Ocalan had reached a roadmap to end the Kurds' three-decade insurgency.
http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2013/1/turkey4436.htm <http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2013/1/turkey4436.htm>
6. Jailed Kurdish rebel chief demands Paris murders solved soon
15 January 2013 / Reuters
Jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on French police to solve the murders of three Kurdish activists quickly, his brother said, but he gave no indication their killing would disrupt nascent peace talks between him and Turkish officials.
The three Kurdish women, one a co-founder of Ocalan's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, were found dead in Paris on Thursday in execution-style killings regarded by many as an attempt to sabotage the fledgling peace moves.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/uk-turkey-kurds-idUKBRE90E0DN20130115?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews <http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/uk-turkey-kurds-idUKBRE90E0DN20130115?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews>
7. Kurdish rebel group sees nationalist hand in Paris killings
11 January 2013 / Reuters
Kurdish rebels suggested on Friday that clandestine Turkish nationalists may have assassinated three Kurdish activists in Paris, but Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said the killings appeared to have been the result of an internal feud. The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) said the execution-style killings of the three women in an institute in central Paris had been premeditated and planned and warned France would be held responsible if it failed to get to the bottom of their deaths.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/11/us-france-kurds-idUSBRE90907B20130111
8. Kurdish activists killed in Paris were shot in head as mystery of executions grows
11 January 2013 / Independent
Three Kurdish activists assassinated in Paris were each shot several times in the head, it has emerged.
The three women - including a founder member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the Kurdish separatist movement - were wearing outdoor coats as if they had just returned to their office or were about to leave.
French investigators have not excluded the possibility that their killer, or killers, arrived in the company of one or more of the victims at a Kurdish “information office” near the Gare du Nord. This would reinforce the theory – advanced once again by the Turkish government – that the attack was motivated by faction-fighting within the PKK. […]
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/kurdish-activists-killed-in-paris-were-shot-in-head-as-mystery-of-executions-grows-8448551.html <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/kurdish-activists-killed-in-paris-were-shot-in-head-as-mystery-of-executions-grows-8448551.html>
9. 100s of Kurdish women in Turkey protest killings in Paris
15 January 2013 / Press TV
Hundreds of women have held a demonstration in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir to protest against the recent killings of three female Kurdish activists in Paris. On Monday, the protesters gathered in the center of the city to demand justice for three activists who were shot dead in the French capital on January 10. The demonstrators later marched toward a nearby post office to post their protest letters to the French Embassy in Ankara. The body of Sakine Cansiz, a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), was found at the Kurdish Information Center in Paris with multiple bullet wounds to the head. The dead bodies of two other female Kurdish activists, Fidan Dogan and Leyla Soylemez, were also lying beside her.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/01/15/283603/kurdish-women-protest-murder-in-paris/ <http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/01/15/283603/kurdish-women-protest-murder-in-paris/>
10. Photos: Europe’s Kurds march in their thousands in Paris
17 January 2013 / Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
Photos courtesy of David Brunetti.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/europes-kurds-march-in-their-thousands-in-paris/# <http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/europes-kurds-march-in-their-thousands-in-paris/>
11. Mass protests in London condemning assassination of Kurdish activists in Paris
14 January 2013 / TamilNet
Thousands of Kurds from across the UK took to the streets in London on Sunday condemning the recent assassination of three Kurdish women activists in Paris. Demanding a proper inquiry and immediate justice for the brutal murders of Sakine Cansiz, co-founder of the PKK, and activists Fidan Dogan and Leyla Soylemez, the protestors raised slogans of ‘”Turkey is a terrorist state” and “We want freedom”. Kurdish sources told TamilNet that the assassination was an attempt to sabotage the Kurds desire for peaceful negotiations and France should act soon, lest it portrays itself complicit by inaction. Large protests were also held in France and Germany on Saturday […]
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=35937
12. European Parliament remembered Sakine, Fidan and Leyla
15 January 2013 / ANF
Three Kurdish politicians Sakine Cansiz, a co-founder of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party), Fidan Doğan, representative of the KNK (Kurdistan National Congress) in Paris and Leyla Şaylemez who were found shot dead in the Kurdistan Information Office on 10 January were remembered at the meeting of the European Parliament (EP) whose January sessions started in Strasbourg on Monday. The family of Fidan Doğan and Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) European Representative Faik Yağızay were also invited to the EP meeting which begun with one minute's silence for the three women. Group member MPs also conveyed their condolences and messages of solidarity to the families of the three Kurdish politicians.
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5583 <http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5583>
13. London protest at assassination of Kurds in Paris
12 January 2013 / Socialist Worker
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Turkish Embassy in central London yesterday, Friday, to protest at the killing of three Kurdish activists in Paris. Workers, students and campaigners united to demand justice. Among the banners were flags from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
PKK co-founder Sakine Cansiz, Kurdistan National Congress Paris representative Fidan Dogan and Leyla Soylemez were murdered in an armed attack on the Kurdistan Information Bureau in Paris. […]
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=30303 <http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=30303>
COMMENT, OPINION AND ANALYSIS
14. How Turkey Can Make Peace With the Kurds
15 January 2013 / The New York Times
THE assassination of three Kurdish activists in Paris last week has raised fears that the true target was peace talks between Turkey and the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or the P.K.K. But the so-called peace process was already in shambles before the killings, which have not been solved. Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, claims that he wants a deal to end nearly 30 years of war between the state and the P.K.K. rebels. But he has yet to take the decisive action needed for a credible peace process. Until he understands that the Kurdish problem in Turkey is about politics and identity, and not just about getting the guerrillas to withdraw from Turkey and give up their weapons, there will be no hope for peace.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/opinion/how-turkey-can-make-peace-with-the-kurds.html?hp&_r=1&
15. Murder in Paris
11 January 2013 / IHT Global Opinion
It is easy to be cynical about the Turkish government’s stated intention to bring about a settlement to the country’s vexing Kurdish problem. Yet someone took very seriously the authorities’ recently announced decision to negotiate with Abdullah Ocalan, the founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party (P.K.K.), on his island prison not far from Istanbul. In what appears to be an effort to sabotage those talks, someone just shot and killed one of Ocalan’s original comrade-in-arms, along with two other women in the Kurdish Information Center in Paris, around the corner from the Gare du Nord.
http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/who-killed-the-kurdish-activist-sakine-cansiz-and-why/
16. Turkey and the PKK: The Kurdish women who take up arms
15 January 2013 / BBC News
The execution-style killing of three women in Paris last week threw a spotlight on the murky struggle between Turkey and its Kurdish rebels. But how did women from such a conservative society rise to prominence in a paramilitary organisation?
Among the three women killed was Sakine Cansiz. Photographs soon circulated showing her in khaki military uniform, standing alongside the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan. She was one of the most visible symbols of women within the military and political ranks of the Kurdish movement. The PKK, which Turkey, the EU and the US list as a terrorist organisation for its attacks on Turkish security forces and civilians, is a highly capable force.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21026273
17. Theories and Motives Abound in the Killing of 3 Kurds in Paris
11 January 2013 / New York Times
With her signature long hennaed hair, fiery resolve and olive-green military fatigues, Sakine Cansiz was a feminist, guerrilla fighter and former political prisoner as adept at wielding a machine gun as organizing political protests from a jail cell. One day after she and two other Kurdish activists were killed in the heart of Paris, speculation abounded regarding Ms. Cansiz, 55, and whether she had been the main target. One of her brothers, Metin Cansiz, and activists interviewed Friday said her main role in recent years was to raise money and provide political support for the separatist group she helped found, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or P.K.K. Ms. Cansiz may also still have been involved in providing arms for the rebels.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/12/world/europe/plenty-of-theories-and-enemies-in-killing-of-3-kurds-in-paris.html?ref=europe&_r=0 <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/12/world/europe/plenty-of-theories-and-enemies-in-killing-of-3-kurds-in-paris.html?ref=europe&_r=0>
18. Killers must not spark war
13 January 2013 / Morning Star Letters
The murder of three Kurdish women activists in Paris (M Star January 11) is truly shocking. The only conclusion that can be drawn at this stage is that this was a political act by someone to derail the efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue in Turkey. That the perpetrators could be linked to interests within the Turkish establishment or within the banned Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) does not make the murders any less outrageous. It is clear that a military struggle cannot achieve a separate Kurdish state and that a solution will require democratic means.
This was the conclusion of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the PKK.
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/128247
STATEMENTS AND ACTIONS
19. Join the Friends of Adem Uzun!
17 January 2013
A new initiative by Peace in Kurdistan Campaign and Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC) UK unites members of parliament, lawyers, journalists, political commentators and activists in a common cause, to demonstrate support for detained Kurdish politician Adem Uzun and demand his release from prison. Click on the link below to find out how to join.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/join-the-friends-of-adem-uzun/
URGENT ACTION ALERT: Join the Friends of Adem Uzun
Please add you name to the list of signatories so far below – name and description - and send back
Join the Friends of Adem Uzun
Intitiative by Peace in Kurdistan Campaign and Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC)
FREE ADEM UZUN
The Kurdish politician Adem Uzun was arrested in France on 6 October 2012. Having been denied bail, Adem remains in detention awaiting a trial which could be months away.
Adem Uzun is a prominent activist working to achieve peace through the resumption of negotiations between Turkey and the Kurds. A leading politician with the Kurdistan National Congress, KNK, Adem is well-known to anyone involved in the Kurdish issue, especially in the European Parliament, and has been one of the main Kurdish negotiators in the so-called "Oslo Process" with high-level Turkish Government's representatives.
The charge against Adem Uzun is not supported by credible evidence. At the time of his arrest, Adem Uzun was in Paris to take part in preparations for a conference on Western Kurdistan (Syria), which was scheduled to take place on 13 October 2012.
We believe that the arrest of Adem Uzum, which has been made on Turkey's request, is an attempt to undermine the search for a peaceful political resolution of the Kurdish question.
The prosecution intend to equate two separate organisations, the KNK with the PKK, in order to de-legitimise political efforts towards resolution of the conflict. This same tactic is today being used by Turkey to repress and silence the non-violent dissent of thousands of Kurdish politicians and activists.
The offence of belonging to a terrorist organisation in France and across the EU, is a highly politicised ‘crime by association’. It criminalises the entire Kurdish political movement by imputing activists to be the PKK, in the clear absence of any engagement in violence.
The EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) Conference, meeting in Brussels on 5th and 6th December, passed a special resolution calling on the French authorities to immediately release Adem Uzun. ‘’As a leading legitimate politician of the Kurdish political movement Mr. Uzun is well known for his advocacy of a democratic and peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem for which he was chosen to be one of the negotiators in the Oslo Peace Talks,’’ the EUTCC stated. The resolution urged the ‘’expeditious conclusion to his case by dropping the accusations against him’’.
Adem Uzun is fully committed to a peaceful settlement and we are concerned that peace and reconciliation will be much harder to achieve without the expertise of such a seasoned activist.
We strongly reiterate the demand to French authorities for our friend Adem Uzun’s immediate release and for the dropping of the baseless accusations.
We urge everyone who is committed to a peaceful political resolution of the Kurdish conflict to declare themselves friends of Adem Uzun and to add your voice to the calls for his release.
Friends of Adem
Estella Schmid, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign & CAMPACC; David Morgan, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign; Melanie Sirinathsingh, Peace in Kurdistasn Campaign; Philip Khaled Brennan, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign; Paul Burnham, housing worker, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign; Les Levidow, Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC); Saleh Mamon, CAMPACC; Desmond Fernandes, CAMPACC; Anne Gray, retired academic, CAMPACC; Sarah Ludford MEP; Andrew Duff MEP; Jean Lambert MEP; Conor Murphy MP; Elfyn Llwyd MP; Hywel Williams MP; Mary Gindell MP; Frances Webber, human rights lawyer and writer; Elizabeth Forrester, lawyer; Alastair Lyons, lawyer; Margaret Owen OBE, international human rights lawyer; Prof Bill Bowring, Barrister, Director of the LLM/MA in Human Rights, School of Law Birkbeck, University of London; Hugo Charlton, barrister, 1 Grays Inn; John Hobson,lawyer; Melanie Gingell, barrister; Nick Hildyard, policy analyst; Jonathan Fryer, writer, lecturer and broadcaster; Tony Simpson, Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation; Prof Mary Davis; Bruce Kent, Vice-President Pax Christi; Dr Dafydd Iwan, B.Arch., LL.D.,Plaid Cymru, the Party of Wales; Dr Felix Padel, Social Anthropologist, Author and Political Activist; Lindsey German, Convenor, Stop the War Coalition; Dr Vicki Sentas, School of Law, University of New South Wales, Sydney; Kariane Westrheim, PhD, Associate professor, University of Bergen, EUTCC Chair; Dr Michael Gunter, Professor of Political Science, Tennessee Technological University, Secretary General of EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC); Rojin Tasman, Law student, Anglia Ruskin University; Azad Dewani, PhD researcher in Peace Studies, UK; Jonathan Bloch, councillor; Alain Hertzmann, Branch secretary London North West Branch 9708, UNITEtheunion, UK; Stephen Smellie, Deputy Convenor, UNISON Scotland; Fred Leplat, Socialist Resistance; Sarah Parker, translator; Ed McArthur, activist; Jagdeesh Singh of the 1984 Genocide Coalition; David Brunetti, photographer; Glyn Harries, Hackney Trades Union Council, personal capacity; David Ambrose, Performer, Writer, Director of Beyond The Border International Storytelling Festival; Mike Arnott, Secretary, Dundee Trades Union Council; Harem Karen, Kurdistan Tribune; Penny Dimond, Factory of the Eccentric Actor; Orsola Casagrande, journalist; Prof. Khatchatur I. Pilikian (SHS, LH, LSFC); Andy Higginbottom, Secretary of Colombia Solidarity Campaign; Kani Areef, UCL Law Postgraduate; Derwich M. Ferho, director of Kurdish Institute, Brussels; Mehmet Ali Dogan, Social-Anthropologist, France; Yuksel Guney, political activist; Jyan Avesta, Kurdistan LGBT Initiative and Halkevi, Kurdish-Turkish Community Centre; Manaz Baloch UK community
Yes, I would like to be a friend of Adem:
Name/profession/organisation
Join the Friends of Adem Uzun
Intitiative by Peace in Kurdistan Campaign and Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC)
FREE ADEM UZUN
The Kurdish politician Adem Uzun was arrested in France on 6 October 2012. Having been denied bail, Adem remains in detention awaiting a trial which could be months away.
Adem Uzun is a prominent activist working to achieve peace through the resumption of negotiations between Turkey and the Kurds. A leading politician with the Kurdistan National Congress, KNK, Adem is well-known to anyone involved in the Kurdish issue, especially in the European Parliament, and has been one of the main Kurdish negotiators in the so-called "Oslo Process" with high-level Turkish Government's representatives.
The charge against Adem Uzun is not supported by credible evidence. At the time of his arrest, Adem Uzun was in Paris to take part in preparations for a conference on Western Kurdistan (Syria), which was scheduled to take place on 13 October 2012.
We believe that the arrest of Adem Uzum, which has been made on Turkey's request, is an attempt to undermine the search for a peaceful political resolution of the Kurdish question.
The prosecution intend to equate two separate organisations, the KNK with the PKK, in order to de-legitimise political efforts towards resolution of the conflict. This same tactic is today being used by Turkey to repress and silence the non-violent dissent of thousands of Kurdish politicians and activists.
The offence of belonging to a terrorist organisation in France and across the EU, is a highly politicised ‘crime by association’. It criminalises the entire Kurdish political movement by imputing activists to be the PKK, in the clear absence of any engagement in violence.
The EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) Conference, meeting in Brussels on 5th and 6th December, passed a special resolution calling on the French authorities to immediately release Adem Uzun. ‘’As a leading legitimate politician of the Kurdish political movement Mr. Uzun is well known for his advocacy of a democratic and peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem for which he was chosen to be one of the negotiators in the Oslo Peace Talks,’’ the EUTCC stated. The resolution urged the ‘’expeditious conclusion to his case by dropping the accusations against him’’.
Adem Uzun is fully committed to a peaceful settlement and we are concerned that peace and reconciliation will be much harder to achieve without the expertise of such a seasoned activist.
We strongly reiterate the demand to French authorities for our friend Adem Uzun’s immediate release and for the dropping of the baseless accusations.
We urge everyone who is committed to a peaceful political resolution of the Kurdish conflict to declare themselves friends of Adem Uzun and to add your voice to the calls for his release.
Friends of Adem
Estella Schmid, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign & CAMPACC; David Morgan, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign; Melanie Sirinathsingh, Peace in Kurdistasn Campaign; Philip Khaled Brennan, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign; Paul Burnham, housing worker, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign; Les Levidow, Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC); Saleh Mamon, CAMPACC; Desmond Fernandes, CAMPACC; Anne Gray, retired academic, CAMPACC; Sarah Ludford MEP; Andrew Duff MEP; Jean Lambert MEP; Conor Murphy MP; Elfyn Llwyd MP; Hywel Williams MP; Mary Gindell MP; Frances Webber, human rights lawyer and writer; Elizabeth Forrester, lawyer; Alastair Lyons, lawyer; Margaret Owen OBE, international human rights lawyer; Prof Bill Bowring, Barrister, Director of the LLM/MA in Human Rights, School of Law Birkbeck, University of London; Hugo Charlton, barrister, 1 Grays Inn; John Hobson,lawyer; Melanie Gingell, barrister; Nick Hildyard, policy analyst; Jonathan Fryer, writer, lecturer and broadcaster; Tony Simpson, Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation; Prof Mary Davis; Bruce Kent, Vice-President Pax Christi; Dr Dafydd Iwan, B.Arch., LL.D.,Plaid Cymru, the Party of Wales; Dr Felix Padel, Social Anthropologist, Author and Political Activist; Lindsey German, Convenor, Stop the War Coalition; Dr Vicki Sentas, School of Law, University of New South Wales, Sydney; Kariane Westrheim, PhD, Associate professor, University of Bergen, EUTCC Chair; Dr Michael Gunter, Professor of Political Science, Tennessee Technological University, Secretary General of EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC); Rojin Tasman, Law student, Anglia Ruskin University; Azad Dewani, PhD researcher in Peace Studies, UK; Jonathan Bloch, councillor; Alain Hertzmann, Branch secretary London North West Branch 9708, UNITEtheunion, UK; Stephen Smellie, Deputy Convenor, UNISON Scotland; Fred Leplat, Socialist Resistance; Sarah Parker, translator; Ed McArthur, activist; Jagdeesh Singh of the 1984 Genocide Coalition; David Brunetti, photographer; Glyn Harries, Hackney Trades Union Council, personal capacity; David Ambrose, Performer, Writer, Director of Beyond The Border International Storytelling Festival; Mike Arnott, Secretary, Dundee Trades Union Council; Harem Karen, Kurdistan Tribune; Penny Dimond, Factory of the Eccentric Actor; Orsola Casagrande, journalist; Prof. Khatchatur I. Pilikian (SHS, LH, LSFC); Andy Higginbottom, Secretary of Colombia Solidarity Campaign; Kani Areef, UCL Law Postgraduate; Derwich M. Ferho, director of Kurdish Institute, Brussels; Mehmet Ali Dogan, Social-Anthropologist, France; Yuksel Guney, political activist; Jyan Avesta, Kurdistan LGBT Initiative and Halkevi, Kurdish-Turkish Community Centre; Manaz Baloch UK community
Yes, I would like to be a friend of Adem:
Name/profession/organisation
KNK Open Letter: Call for a thorough investigation into the apparent assassination of three Kurdish politicians in exile in Paris
The open letter below and attached has been sent to each French embassy in Europe, including in London, demanding a complete and thorough investigation into the circumstances which led to the assassinations of three Kurdish politicians in Paris last Wednesday.
---
Open Letter to the French Ambassador in LONDON 12-01-2013
58 Knightsbridge, LONDON SW1X 7JT
Call for a thorough investigation into the apparent assassination of three Kurdish politicians in exile in Paris
On the evening of 09.01.2013, Sakine Cansiz, a founding member of the PKK, Fidan Dogan, a representative of the KNK, and Leyla Soylemez, a young activist, were all victims of a callous killing in the office of the Kurdish Information Centre in Paris. Not only does the use of silencers point to a professional contract killing, but other facts also, for example, the targeted shoot to kill.
The timing of the attack implies a connection to the most recent political peace negotiations: For some weeks, negotiations were being held between representatives of the Turkish government; the leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, who is imprisoned in total isolation on Imrali prison island; and the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). The attack on political exiles can therefore be considered as provocation and an act of sabotage against a possible renewed peace process.
But the French influencing factors cannot be left out of consideration. A few months ago, French Judge Thierry Fragnoli, who is responsible for anti-terror matters, spoke to this effect, when it was proposed that a group of 4 judges, 8 lawyers and 28 commissioners would work exclusively with regard to Kurds in France. How, under such strict observation, such a murder could happen, is highly suspect. In light of this, the reaction of the French Home Secretary that “the murder was unacceptable” – downplays the true gravity of the incident.
Because of this, the following questions arise, for which we expect answers from you and the French government.
· How could it happen that the culprit(s) could commit this cold-blooded murder by day in such a populated area, when, in France, Kurdish activists, certainly including the victims of the murder, are under constant observation by state security and the police?
· Is there no video recording of the culprits? If so, why has this been withheld from the public?
· Did the French secret service have any information of a possible murder before the act took place? If so, why was this not made public and/or the victims not warned about this?
Against the backdrop that the French authorities did not shy away from the illegal arrest of Kurdish political activist, Adem Uzun, even cooperating with the Turkish secret service, it is absolutely incomprehensible that the French authorities were in no position to stop the act. If there is, therefore, no prompt explanation for the murder, the Kurdish community would question, for better or worse, the role of France in the Kurdish conflict. The confidence of around 150 000 Kurds in France, in the French government and in their authorities is shaken anyway. Reasons being the state repression against Kurdish activists, closures of Kurdish organisations, or the inconsistent attacks on Kurdish facilities, for instance the burning down on a Kurdish organisation in Mulhouse at the end of December last year. The Kurdish community will pursue the examination of French authorities around this incident, and continue to question the words of French Home Secretary Manuel Valls all the more, because those responsible will have to get to the bottom of this “unacceptable act”.
We completely condemn this attack, and demand a full investigation into the circumstances of the killing and its background! The fact that the French authorities share responsibility for this act must not be disregarded. With raids of Kurdish organisations and the arrest of Kurdish activists in the last year, French police and justice may have contributed to this crime. We call on the French government to reassess its anti-Kurdish policies.
We ask you to reply to all the queries of the Kurdish community.
Akif R.WAN
Representative of KNK in The UK
6-9 Manor Gardens
London, N7 6LA
---
Open Letter to the French Ambassador in LONDON 12-01-2013
58 Knightsbridge, LONDON SW1X 7JT
Call for a thorough investigation into the apparent assassination of three Kurdish politicians in exile in Paris
On the evening of 09.01.2013, Sakine Cansiz, a founding member of the PKK, Fidan Dogan, a representative of the KNK, and Leyla Soylemez, a young activist, were all victims of a callous killing in the office of the Kurdish Information Centre in Paris. Not only does the use of silencers point to a professional contract killing, but other facts also, for example, the targeted shoot to kill.
The timing of the attack implies a connection to the most recent political peace negotiations: For some weeks, negotiations were being held between representatives of the Turkish government; the leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, who is imprisoned in total isolation on Imrali prison island; and the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). The attack on political exiles can therefore be considered as provocation and an act of sabotage against a possible renewed peace process.
But the French influencing factors cannot be left out of consideration. A few months ago, French Judge Thierry Fragnoli, who is responsible for anti-terror matters, spoke to this effect, when it was proposed that a group of 4 judges, 8 lawyers and 28 commissioners would work exclusively with regard to Kurds in France. How, under such strict observation, such a murder could happen, is highly suspect. In light of this, the reaction of the French Home Secretary that “the murder was unacceptable” – downplays the true gravity of the incident.
Because of this, the following questions arise, for which we expect answers from you and the French government.
· How could it happen that the culprit(s) could commit this cold-blooded murder by day in such a populated area, when, in France, Kurdish activists, certainly including the victims of the murder, are under constant observation by state security and the police?
· Is there no video recording of the culprits? If so, why has this been withheld from the public?
· Did the French secret service have any information of a possible murder before the act took place? If so, why was this not made public and/or the victims not warned about this?
Against the backdrop that the French authorities did not shy away from the illegal arrest of Kurdish political activist, Adem Uzun, even cooperating with the Turkish secret service, it is absolutely incomprehensible that the French authorities were in no position to stop the act. If there is, therefore, no prompt explanation for the murder, the Kurdish community would question, for better or worse, the role of France in the Kurdish conflict. The confidence of around 150 000 Kurds in France, in the French government and in their authorities is shaken anyway. Reasons being the state repression against Kurdish activists, closures of Kurdish organisations, or the inconsistent attacks on Kurdish facilities, for instance the burning down on a Kurdish organisation in Mulhouse at the end of December last year. The Kurdish community will pursue the examination of French authorities around this incident, and continue to question the words of French Home Secretary Manuel Valls all the more, because those responsible will have to get to the bottom of this “unacceptable act”.
We completely condemn this attack, and demand a full investigation into the circumstances of the killing and its background! The fact that the French authorities share responsibility for this act must not be disregarded. With raids of Kurdish organisations and the arrest of Kurdish activists in the last year, French police and justice may have contributed to this crime. We call on the French government to reassess its anti-Kurdish policies.
We ask you to reply to all the queries of the Kurdish community.
Akif R.WAN
Representative of KNK in The UK
6-9 Manor Gardens
London, N7 6LA
KNK & PIK press statement: This brutal execution of Kurdish women activists is a cynical attempt to derail the peace process that won't succeed
Kurdistan National Congress UK & Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
Press statement, 10 January 2012
For immediate release
This brutal execution of Kurdish women activists is a cynical attempt to derail the peace process that won’t succeed
In the early hours of Thursday morning, in the heart of Paris, an appalling crime was perpetrated against the entire Kurdish nation: the cold-blooded murder of three of our most dedicated Kurdish women activists.
The victims represent three generations of Kurdish women; the most senior victim was Sakine Canziz, a founder member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK, who has since been playing a crucial role in the Kurdish women’s movement; Fidan Dogan (Rojbin) who was a member of the Kurdistan National Congress and the youngest casualty, Leyla Soylemez, an activist working on diplomatic relations.
All had dedicated their lives to the achievement of a lasting peace settlement between Turkey and the Kurdish movement and at the time of their brutal deaths were just about to see all their efforts come to fruition with the reopening of peace talks between representatives of the Turkish government and the leader of the Kurdish people, Abdullah Ocalan.
Tragically our three friends and comrades will now never be able to see the final outcome of the peace that they had worked so long and hard for; it must be left to others to carry out the task of securing the peace and justice on behalf of our people.
Our three friends were singled out for execution because of their ethnicity in what must surely count as one of the most shocking hate crimes to have occurred in a sophisticated Parisian suburb in recent years.
News of the killings was met with universal shock and horror. The French President Francois Hollande described the killings as "horrible", while the country’s Interior Minister Manuel Valls expressed the view that the manner of their deaths was "surely an execution".
The Kurdish people, who were filled with hope and expectations after the start of peace talks, have reacted to these deaths with outrage and anger but tempered by remarkable self-discipline and restraint.
It is clear that the executions were carried out by a professional assassin and the incident can only be interpreted as an act of provocation designed to derail the emerging peace process; since it surely can be no coincidence that the murders came within hours of the announcement of peace talks between Turkey and Mr Ocalan.
All the circumstances therefore point to the fact that Sakine, Fidan and Leyla were killed by someone who does not want to see Turkey and the Kurds ever reaching a peace accord.
To take away the lives of innocent people in cold blood is the most heinous crime imaginable, but to commit such a barbaric act as a cynical attempt to prevent peace must be counted as the worst of all villainies.
Those responsible for the brutal murders are the enemies of peace and also the sworn enemies of all peace-loving humanity.
There can be no rest until the culprits of the execution of our sisters and comrades are tracked down and brought to justice.
The French authorities and all their European counterparts have a duty also to support the peace process to which they can most constructively contribute by removing the obstacles that they have placed in its way, primarily by ending the criminalisation of the Kurdish community through the delisting of the PKK as a terrorist organisation and specifically in the case of France, the authorities should release the leading Kurdish peace activist and KNK representative Adem Uzun, who was arrested in Paris in October 2012.
After our initial shock and sadness, the Kurdish people’s demand for justice must inevitably grow stronger.
The Kurdish movement can best honour the memory of our martyred sisters by redoubling our efforts for peace and we remain dedicated to the successful implementation of the roadmap to bring the much longed for justice for all our people after generations of struggle.
Press statement, 10 January 2012
For immediate release
This brutal execution of Kurdish women activists is a cynical attempt to derail the peace process that won’t succeed
In the early hours of Thursday morning, in the heart of Paris, an appalling crime was perpetrated against the entire Kurdish nation: the cold-blooded murder of three of our most dedicated Kurdish women activists.
The victims represent three generations of Kurdish women; the most senior victim was Sakine Canziz, a founder member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK, who has since been playing a crucial role in the Kurdish women’s movement; Fidan Dogan (Rojbin) who was a member of the Kurdistan National Congress and the youngest casualty, Leyla Soylemez, an activist working on diplomatic relations.
All had dedicated their lives to the achievement of a lasting peace settlement between Turkey and the Kurdish movement and at the time of their brutal deaths were just about to see all their efforts come to fruition with the reopening of peace talks between representatives of the Turkish government and the leader of the Kurdish people, Abdullah Ocalan.
Tragically our three friends and comrades will now never be able to see the final outcome of the peace that they had worked so long and hard for; it must be left to others to carry out the task of securing the peace and justice on behalf of our people.
Our three friends were singled out for execution because of their ethnicity in what must surely count as one of the most shocking hate crimes to have occurred in a sophisticated Parisian suburb in recent years.
News of the killings was met with universal shock and horror. The French President Francois Hollande described the killings as "horrible", while the country’s Interior Minister Manuel Valls expressed the view that the manner of their deaths was "surely an execution".
The Kurdish people, who were filled with hope and expectations after the start of peace talks, have reacted to these deaths with outrage and anger but tempered by remarkable self-discipline and restraint.
It is clear that the executions were carried out by a professional assassin and the incident can only be interpreted as an act of provocation designed to derail the emerging peace process; since it surely can be no coincidence that the murders came within hours of the announcement of peace talks between Turkey and Mr Ocalan.
All the circumstances therefore point to the fact that Sakine, Fidan and Leyla were killed by someone who does not want to see Turkey and the Kurds ever reaching a peace accord.
To take away the lives of innocent people in cold blood is the most heinous crime imaginable, but to commit such a barbaric act as a cynical attempt to prevent peace must be counted as the worst of all villainies.
Those responsible for the brutal murders are the enemies of peace and also the sworn enemies of all peace-loving humanity.
There can be no rest until the culprits of the execution of our sisters and comrades are tracked down and brought to justice.
The French authorities and all their European counterparts have a duty also to support the peace process to which they can most constructively contribute by removing the obstacles that they have placed in its way, primarily by ending the criminalisation of the Kurdish community through the delisting of the PKK as a terrorist organisation and specifically in the case of France, the authorities should release the leading Kurdish peace activist and KNK representative Adem Uzun, who was arrested in Paris in October 2012.
After our initial shock and sadness, the Kurdish people’s demand for justice must inevitably grow stronger.
The Kurdish movement can best honour the memory of our martyred sisters by redoubling our efforts for peace and we remain dedicated to the successful implementation of the roadmap to bring the much longed for justice for all our people after generations of struggle.
Kurdish News Weekly Briefing, 4 - 10 January 2013
1. Three PKK members killed in Paris attack
10 January 2013 / Hurriyet
An office of the Kurdistan Information Center in Paris was attacked by unknown people in the French capital Paris late yesterday, resulting in the deaths of three women, including one of the founders of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Sakine Cansız, one of the PKK founders in 1978, Brussels-based Kurdistan National Congress' (KNK) Paris representative Fidan Doğan, and Leyla Söylemez were found dead in the office, located near Gare du Nord station.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/three-pkk-members-killed-in-paris-attack.aspx?pageID=238&nid=38748
2. 3 Female Kurdish Politicians Found Dead in Paris
10 January 2013 / Bianet
Last night, 3 Kurdish female politicians--PKK co-founder Sakine Cansız, Kurdish National Congress Paris representative Fidan Doğan and Leyla Söylemez--were found dead at the Kurdish Information Office in Paris. The three women were allegedly murdered by a group of individuals who raided the office, Firat News Agency said.
Rumors say that Cansız and Doğan were shot dead with a bullet in the head while Söylemez died due to a gun wound in the belly. Murders were said to be orchestrated with gun silencers. "We didn't hear from Fidan Doğan for hours. So we headed to the office after midnight around 1am. There were traces of blood by the entrance. We broke in and found them dead," Selma Akkaya from Özgür Politika newspaper said.
http://www.bianet.org/english/other/143431-3-female-kurdish-politicians-found-dead-in-paris
3. Paris attack draws reactions
10 January 2013 / Hurriyet
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls has described the attack at the office of the Kurdistan Information Center in Paris, which resulted in the death of three women, as "insupportable." French authorities are determined to uncover the truth in this case," Valls said during his visit to the crime scene this morning. Valls offered his condolescences to the families of the three victims. "Three women have been shot down, killed, without doubt executed. This is a very serious incident, which is why I am here. It is completely unacceptable," he told reporters, AFP has reported.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/paris-attack-draws-reactions.aspx?pageID=238&nID=38755&NewsCatID=338 <http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/paris-attack-draws-reactions.aspx?pageID=238&nID=38755&NewsCatID=338>
4. PKK militants should leave Turkey: Erdoğan
10 January 2013 / Hurriyet
The aim of ongoing talks with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is to convince the group’s militants to lay down their arms and abandon Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said yesterday. “Our sincerity can be seen in the steps that we have taken in the last few days. Our aim is to have the separatist terrorist organization’s cadres leave Turkey. [We want to make them] lay down their arms and leave,” Erdoğan said during a joint press conference with Nigerien Prime Minister Mahamadou Issoufou in reference to the talks between Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK, and the government.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/pkk-militants-should-leave-turkey-erdogan.aspx?pageID=238&nID=38735&NewsCatID=338
5. Turkey agrees peace roadmap with PKK: media
9 January 2013 / AFP
The Turkish government and jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan have agreed on a roadmap to end a three-decade-old insurgency that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, Turkish media reported Wednesday.
The deal was reached during a new round of talks between Ankara and Ocalan and aims to have the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) lay down arms in March, private news network NTV and Radikal newspaper reported.
An initial cessation of hostilities was to evolve into a fully-fledged ceasefire agreement over the following months, they said, without revealing their sources for the reported breakthrough.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ifEh-KB11EiuHKRaYWhVTErjDTJQ?docId=CNG.3ea52f50071a0fb8fe29207717dd1604.b1 <http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ifEh-KB11EiuHKRaYWhVTErjDTJQ?docId=CNG.3ea52f50071a0fb8fe29207717dd1604.b1>
5. Demirtaş: It's the AKP's turn to move
8 January 2012 / ANF
Speaking on Tuesday during his party's parliamentary group meeting. Selahattin Demirtaş, co-chair of the BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) welcomed the contacts with Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and said they are "logical, right and the only path to peace". He also said the talks are a positive but late and inadequate development. "If Öcalan is to negotiate for peace, he must have direct contact with the Kurdish Communities Union and the Kurdish people,” Demirtaş added. Demirtaş underlined that the KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union), DTK (Democratic Society Congress) and BDP need to be included into the process of ongoing talks so that these meetings could pave the way for negotiations. “It is important to us that the talks have been given publicity 14 years later and are progressing in partial transparency at present. This is a logical and right step taken in such a critical process”, he said.
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5541
6. İmralı meeting is correct decision: PKK Europe head
6 January 2013 / Hurriyet
Zübeyir Aydar, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party's (PKK) European head, has denied recent reports that his group is against negotiations between Kurdish deputies and PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, Doğan News Agency has reported. "The PKK is a whole and its follows its leader. It doesn't have sects. Meeting with our leader, constructing dialogue and negotiating with him is the right decision. We have said for years that our interlocutor is Öcalan. The dialogue which has been started with him is our demand. It is unthinkable for us to be against it. Any other comments are manipulations of psychological warfare," he said.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/imrali-meeting-is-correct-decision-pkk-europe-head.aspx?pageID=238&nID=38443&NewsCatID=338
7. Turkey's Erdogan rules out amnesty for Kurdish militants
6 January 2013 / Reuters
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan ruled out a general amnesty for Kurdish militants on Sunday but said intelligence agents would continue to talk to the rebels' jailed leader in a bid to end a near three-decade insurgency.
Erdogan's chief adviser said last week that Turkish officials had been discussing disarmament with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and on Thursday two Kurdish lawmakers paid a rare visit to the militant group's leader in his island prison.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/06/us-turkey-kurds-idUSBRE90505N20130106
8. In Rare Talks Ocalan Demands Release of Prisoners, Contact With Rebel Base
7 January 2013 / Rudaw
Jailed rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan has asked Ankara to free thousands of Kurdish prisoners and let him communicate with his mountain base in Iraqi Kurdistan, in rare talks believed to have centered on disarming guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey, a source told Rudaw. Ocalan, who has lived in virtual isolation on Turkey’s Imrali island since his capture in 1999, met last week with two pro-Kurdish MPs, the first meeting with anyone outside his family for more than a year. Details of Thursday’s talks, led by Aylat Akat of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) have not been disclosed, but Turkish intelligence and other officials have said that, “The talks with Ocalan are about disarming the PKK."
http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/turkey/5632.html
9. Kurdish Politicians Apply to Meet Öcalan
9 January 2013 / ANF
Peace and Democracy Party co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş said the appointment delegation would include co-chairs of Peace and Democracy Party and Democratic Society Congress. "We have applied to the Ministry of Justice before," Demirtaş said. "But our efforts yielded no results. This time, we believe that our request will be accepted." Demirtaş underscored the importance of their participation in the Imrali process--the ongoing detente and negotiations between Turkish state and PKK. "If our request will be approved, we will head to Imrali island and meet Öcalan."
Demirtaş Also reminded last week's meeting where Öcalan received deputies Ahmet Türk and Ayla Akat Ata, which he suggested to "bring a positive climate".
http://www.bianet.org/english/politics/143420-kurdish-politicians-apply-to-meet-ocalan
10. Kurdish and Turkish lawyers on trial for representing imprisoned leader
9 January 2012 / Guardian Law blog
While UK courts made their traditionally slow start to the new year, a hearing in Istanbul managed to pack more than 100 lawyers onto its benches on January 3rd.
The mass trial of Kurdish and Turkish lawyers has raised concern among the international legal community about the state of justice in one of NATO's more powerful members. Turkey is also a member of the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/guardian-law-blog/2013/jan/09/kurdish-turkish-lawyers-trial
11. After 682 days in jail Soner Yalcin is released
30 December 2012 / The Spark
By Barry White. Soner Yalcin, international journalist and owner of Odatv news web site was released at the end of the 15th hearing of the Odatv trial at the Judgement Palace in Istanbul on 27 December. However, he can’t leave Turkey and he will have to report weekly to the court. He was first imprisoned in February 2011, along with nine other journalists working for the internet news site. They were accused of being involved in the alleged ‘Ergenekon’ coup plot to overthrow the government. The defendants have always maintained that the case was an excuse to bully independent and critical journalists. One journalist, Yalcin Kucuk remains in prison along with former intelligence officer, Hanefi Avci.
http://www.thespark.me.uk/?p=479
COMMENT, OPINION AND ANALYSIS
12. Turkey makes game-changing move on Kurdish problem
5 January 2013 / Hurriyet
The Turkish government has made a game-changing move on the country’s chronic Kurdish problem by letting two Kurdish-origin members of Parliament visit the leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan, at his İmralı island prison on Jan. 3 following a number of contacts with him by Hakan Fidan, the head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT). Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin told reporters that his ministry had decided give a positive answer to the applications of the Kurdish problem-focused Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) to talk to Öcalan themselves instead of hearing what he says on the future of the Kurdish problem from government officials, lawyers or his relatives.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-makes-game-changing-move-on-kurdish-problem-.aspx?pageID=449&nID=38417&NewsCatID=409
13. Karayılan: Dialogue is important but there also needs to be a policy for resolution
9 January 2013 / Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
KCK Executive Council President Murat Karayılan talked to ANF reporters Deniz Kendal and Rosida Mardin about the recent meeting with the leader of the Kurdish people, Abdullah Öcalan, on Imrali Island. Stressing the importance of monitoring the initiative carefully, he said, “the initiative launched for dialogue is both an important and an accurate approach.” Karayılan said that meetings have been taking place with Öcalan since November, and he continued, “of course the visit of Ahmet Turk and Ayla Akat to Imrali showed the significance of these meetings.” This is a new dimension and we are aware of its importance. However, we will find out in the coming days whether these meetings and the renewed dialogue will turn into a process that leads to a resolution of the Kurdish issue or not.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2013/01/09/karayilan-dialogue-is-important-but-there-also-needs-to-be-a-policy-for-resolution/
14. Cemil Bayık: talks are the last chance for AKP
7 January 2013 / Peace in Kurdistan campaign
While the talks with the Kurdish Leader Abdullah Öcalan in Imrali are being debated, member of the KCK Executive Council, Cemil Bayık, evaluated the subject in his column published at the Yeni Özgür Politika and Azadiya Welat newspapers.
Bayık, in his article written in Kurdish, entitled ‘the last chance for AKP’, stated that as a result of the resistance of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan against one and a half year of threats and blackmailing, the AKP had to restart the talks. Stating “resistance of the Guerrilla and the People also forced the AKP to talk with the Kurdish People’s Leader”, Bayık’s article is as follows.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/bayik-talks-are-the-last-chance-for-akp/
15. Demirtas addresses BDP group meeting about peace talks
10 January 2013 / Peace in Kurdistan
Co-chair of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Selahattin Demirtas addressed the BDP group meeting on Tuesday with an in-depth discussion on the renewed negotiations between the Turkish state and the PKK. Here is a translated version of the full speech.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/demirtas-addresses-bdp-group-meeting-about-peace-talks/
16. KCK Trial of Kurdish Lawyers – Istanbul 3rd January 2013
6 January 2013 / Peace in Kurdistan campaign
As part of Peace in Kurdistan’s continuing monitoring of the ongoing KCK Trials in Turkey, solicitor Tony Fisher and barrister Melanie Gingell have returned from Istanbul where they observed the latest hearing of a mass trial of 46 Kurdish lawyers. Tony Fisher, a member of the Law Society’s Human Rights Committee, has written the following report about the hearing on 3 January, which includes a summary of the proceedings and a commentary on the highly politicised nature of the trial. The report is also available for download.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/report-from-the-lastest-kck-trial-of-kurdish-lawyers/
17. Open letter to PM Erdoğan
5 January 2013 / Alliance for Kurdish Rights
Honorable Prime Minister Erdoğan, as you are aware, the long-standing Kurdish struggle for autonomy has remained a constant issue in Turkish national politics. Kurdish history is dominated by the unending fight for self-determination and recognition of a distinct ethnic identity within the Turkish community. http://kurdishrights.org/2013/01/05/open-letter-to-pm-erdogan/ <http://kurdishrights.org/2013/01/05/open-letter-to-pm-erdogan/>
18. Canadian MP Jim Karygiannis: Kurdish Issue is ‘Also Our Problem’
8 January 2013 / Rudaw
As a Liberal Party member of the Canadian House of Commons since 1988, Jim Karygiannis is working to establish peace through dialogue between the Kurdish and Turkish communities in Canada as well as in Turkey. In an interview with Rudaw, he says that on the Kurdish issue Turkey and Iran can learn from Canada, where Francophones exist alongside Anglophones and enjoy similar rights. He adds that, because Kurds are part of the Canadian community, the Kurdish issue is also a Canadian problem. He urges young Canadian Kurds to see themselves as full citizens and become more engaged in Canadian politics.
http://www.rudaw.net/english/interview/5633.html
19. Syria: Whatever happened to balanced reporting?
2 January 2013 / eKurd
How many reports have we seen telling us that Kurds in Syria are working for al-Assad, that the Kurdish PKK (from Turkey) is behind the actions of Kurdish Democratic Union Party – PYD, that PYD runs the Kurdish area, and that Kurds are divided? There are many. In contrast, where are the articles that positively report the unity of the Kurdish political parties and the creation of a safe area within the Kurdish region in the North-East where those who come without weapons are welcomed and cared for? Where are the articles that give voice to those working for a solution based on dialogue and non-violence? There are just a few.
http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2013/1/syriakurd717.htm
20. This could be the birth of an independent Kurdish state
9 January 2013 / Guardian
I was surprised to read an article in the Baghdad newspaper al-Sabah, by its editor Abd al-Jabbar Shabbout, suggesting it was time to settle the "age-old problem" between Iraq's Arabs and Kurds by establishing a "Kurdish state". I had never heard a formerly so heretical view expressed in any Arab quarter so publicly. And this was no ordinary quarter: al-Sabah is the mouthpiece of the prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki himself. Shabbout went on to suggest a negotiated "ending of the Arab-Kurdish partnership in a peaceful way".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/09/birth-kurdish-state-ottoman-syria-arab-spring
21. ‘From the Amazons to Hasankeyf: Damocracy’ – new documentary
9 January 2013 / Mesop
A new documentary, out next month, makes the case against huge dam projects, such as the one in north Kurdistan which threatens to destroy the 10,000 year old town of Hansankeyf, one of the oldest continually inhabited places on earth. Film maker Todd Southgate travelled from the deepest corners of the vast Amazon rainforest in Brazil to the mountains and plains of fertile upper Mesopotamia in north Kurdistan/Turkey.
http://www.mesop.de/2013/01/09/from-the-amazons-to-hasankeyf-damocracy-new-documentary/
10 January 2013 / Hurriyet
An office of the Kurdistan Information Center in Paris was attacked by unknown people in the French capital Paris late yesterday, resulting in the deaths of three women, including one of the founders of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Sakine Cansız, one of the PKK founders in 1978, Brussels-based Kurdistan National Congress' (KNK) Paris representative Fidan Doğan, and Leyla Söylemez were found dead in the office, located near Gare du Nord station.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/three-pkk-members-killed-in-paris-attack.aspx?pageID=238&nid=38748
2. 3 Female Kurdish Politicians Found Dead in Paris
10 January 2013 / Bianet
Last night, 3 Kurdish female politicians--PKK co-founder Sakine Cansız, Kurdish National Congress Paris representative Fidan Doğan and Leyla Söylemez--were found dead at the Kurdish Information Office in Paris. The three women were allegedly murdered by a group of individuals who raided the office, Firat News Agency said.
Rumors say that Cansız and Doğan were shot dead with a bullet in the head while Söylemez died due to a gun wound in the belly. Murders were said to be orchestrated with gun silencers. "We didn't hear from Fidan Doğan for hours. So we headed to the office after midnight around 1am. There were traces of blood by the entrance. We broke in and found them dead," Selma Akkaya from Özgür Politika newspaper said.
http://www.bianet.org/english/other/143431-3-female-kurdish-politicians-found-dead-in-paris
3. Paris attack draws reactions
10 January 2013 / Hurriyet
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls has described the attack at the office of the Kurdistan Information Center in Paris, which resulted in the death of three women, as "insupportable." French authorities are determined to uncover the truth in this case," Valls said during his visit to the crime scene this morning. Valls offered his condolescences to the families of the three victims. "Three women have been shot down, killed, without doubt executed. This is a very serious incident, which is why I am here. It is completely unacceptable," he told reporters, AFP has reported.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/paris-attack-draws-reactions.aspx?pageID=238&nID=38755&NewsCatID=338 <http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/paris-attack-draws-reactions.aspx?pageID=238&nID=38755&NewsCatID=338>
4. PKK militants should leave Turkey: Erdoğan
10 January 2013 / Hurriyet
The aim of ongoing talks with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is to convince the group’s militants to lay down their arms and abandon Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said yesterday. “Our sincerity can be seen in the steps that we have taken in the last few days. Our aim is to have the separatist terrorist organization’s cadres leave Turkey. [We want to make them] lay down their arms and leave,” Erdoğan said during a joint press conference with Nigerien Prime Minister Mahamadou Issoufou in reference to the talks between Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK, and the government.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/pkk-militants-should-leave-turkey-erdogan.aspx?pageID=238&nID=38735&NewsCatID=338
5. Turkey agrees peace roadmap with PKK: media
9 January 2013 / AFP
The Turkish government and jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan have agreed on a roadmap to end a three-decade-old insurgency that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, Turkish media reported Wednesday.
The deal was reached during a new round of talks between Ankara and Ocalan and aims to have the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) lay down arms in March, private news network NTV and Radikal newspaper reported.
An initial cessation of hostilities was to evolve into a fully-fledged ceasefire agreement over the following months, they said, without revealing their sources for the reported breakthrough.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ifEh-KB11EiuHKRaYWhVTErjDTJQ?docId=CNG.3ea52f50071a0fb8fe29207717dd1604.b1 <http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ifEh-KB11EiuHKRaYWhVTErjDTJQ?docId=CNG.3ea52f50071a0fb8fe29207717dd1604.b1>
5. Demirtaş: It's the AKP's turn to move
8 January 2012 / ANF
Speaking on Tuesday during his party's parliamentary group meeting. Selahattin Demirtaş, co-chair of the BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) welcomed the contacts with Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and said they are "logical, right and the only path to peace". He also said the talks are a positive but late and inadequate development. "If Öcalan is to negotiate for peace, he must have direct contact with the Kurdish Communities Union and the Kurdish people,” Demirtaş added. Demirtaş underlined that the KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union), DTK (Democratic Society Congress) and BDP need to be included into the process of ongoing talks so that these meetings could pave the way for negotiations. “It is important to us that the talks have been given publicity 14 years later and are progressing in partial transparency at present. This is a logical and right step taken in such a critical process”, he said.
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5541
6. İmralı meeting is correct decision: PKK Europe head
6 January 2013 / Hurriyet
Zübeyir Aydar, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party's (PKK) European head, has denied recent reports that his group is against negotiations between Kurdish deputies and PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, Doğan News Agency has reported. "The PKK is a whole and its follows its leader. It doesn't have sects. Meeting with our leader, constructing dialogue and negotiating with him is the right decision. We have said for years that our interlocutor is Öcalan. The dialogue which has been started with him is our demand. It is unthinkable for us to be against it. Any other comments are manipulations of psychological warfare," he said.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/imrali-meeting-is-correct-decision-pkk-europe-head.aspx?pageID=238&nID=38443&NewsCatID=338
7. Turkey's Erdogan rules out amnesty for Kurdish militants
6 January 2013 / Reuters
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan ruled out a general amnesty for Kurdish militants on Sunday but said intelligence agents would continue to talk to the rebels' jailed leader in a bid to end a near three-decade insurgency.
Erdogan's chief adviser said last week that Turkish officials had been discussing disarmament with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and on Thursday two Kurdish lawmakers paid a rare visit to the militant group's leader in his island prison.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/06/us-turkey-kurds-idUSBRE90505N20130106
8. In Rare Talks Ocalan Demands Release of Prisoners, Contact With Rebel Base
7 January 2013 / Rudaw
Jailed rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan has asked Ankara to free thousands of Kurdish prisoners and let him communicate with his mountain base in Iraqi Kurdistan, in rare talks believed to have centered on disarming guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey, a source told Rudaw. Ocalan, who has lived in virtual isolation on Turkey’s Imrali island since his capture in 1999, met last week with two pro-Kurdish MPs, the first meeting with anyone outside his family for more than a year. Details of Thursday’s talks, led by Aylat Akat of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) have not been disclosed, but Turkish intelligence and other officials have said that, “The talks with Ocalan are about disarming the PKK."
http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/turkey/5632.html
9. Kurdish Politicians Apply to Meet Öcalan
9 January 2013 / ANF
Peace and Democracy Party co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş said the appointment delegation would include co-chairs of Peace and Democracy Party and Democratic Society Congress. "We have applied to the Ministry of Justice before," Demirtaş said. "But our efforts yielded no results. This time, we believe that our request will be accepted." Demirtaş underscored the importance of their participation in the Imrali process--the ongoing detente and negotiations between Turkish state and PKK. "If our request will be approved, we will head to Imrali island and meet Öcalan."
Demirtaş Also reminded last week's meeting where Öcalan received deputies Ahmet Türk and Ayla Akat Ata, which he suggested to "bring a positive climate".
http://www.bianet.org/english/politics/143420-kurdish-politicians-apply-to-meet-ocalan
10. Kurdish and Turkish lawyers on trial for representing imprisoned leader
9 January 2012 / Guardian Law blog
While UK courts made their traditionally slow start to the new year, a hearing in Istanbul managed to pack more than 100 lawyers onto its benches on January 3rd.
The mass trial of Kurdish and Turkish lawyers has raised concern among the international legal community about the state of justice in one of NATO's more powerful members. Turkey is also a member of the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/guardian-law-blog/2013/jan/09/kurdish-turkish-lawyers-trial
11. After 682 days in jail Soner Yalcin is released
30 December 2012 / The Spark
By Barry White. Soner Yalcin, international journalist and owner of Odatv news web site was released at the end of the 15th hearing of the Odatv trial at the Judgement Palace in Istanbul on 27 December. However, he can’t leave Turkey and he will have to report weekly to the court. He was first imprisoned in February 2011, along with nine other journalists working for the internet news site. They were accused of being involved in the alleged ‘Ergenekon’ coup plot to overthrow the government. The defendants have always maintained that the case was an excuse to bully independent and critical journalists. One journalist, Yalcin Kucuk remains in prison along with former intelligence officer, Hanefi Avci.
http://www.thespark.me.uk/?p=479
COMMENT, OPINION AND ANALYSIS
12. Turkey makes game-changing move on Kurdish problem
5 January 2013 / Hurriyet
The Turkish government has made a game-changing move on the country’s chronic Kurdish problem by letting two Kurdish-origin members of Parliament visit the leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan, at his İmralı island prison on Jan. 3 following a number of contacts with him by Hakan Fidan, the head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT). Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin told reporters that his ministry had decided give a positive answer to the applications of the Kurdish problem-focused Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) to talk to Öcalan themselves instead of hearing what he says on the future of the Kurdish problem from government officials, lawyers or his relatives.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-makes-game-changing-move-on-kurdish-problem-.aspx?pageID=449&nID=38417&NewsCatID=409
13. Karayılan: Dialogue is important but there also needs to be a policy for resolution
9 January 2013 / Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
KCK Executive Council President Murat Karayılan talked to ANF reporters Deniz Kendal and Rosida Mardin about the recent meeting with the leader of the Kurdish people, Abdullah Öcalan, on Imrali Island. Stressing the importance of monitoring the initiative carefully, he said, “the initiative launched for dialogue is both an important and an accurate approach.” Karayılan said that meetings have been taking place with Öcalan since November, and he continued, “of course the visit of Ahmet Turk and Ayla Akat to Imrali showed the significance of these meetings.” This is a new dimension and we are aware of its importance. However, we will find out in the coming days whether these meetings and the renewed dialogue will turn into a process that leads to a resolution of the Kurdish issue or not.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2013/01/09/karayilan-dialogue-is-important-but-there-also-needs-to-be-a-policy-for-resolution/
14. Cemil Bayık: talks are the last chance for AKP
7 January 2013 / Peace in Kurdistan campaign
While the talks with the Kurdish Leader Abdullah Öcalan in Imrali are being debated, member of the KCK Executive Council, Cemil Bayık, evaluated the subject in his column published at the Yeni Özgür Politika and Azadiya Welat newspapers.
Bayık, in his article written in Kurdish, entitled ‘the last chance for AKP’, stated that as a result of the resistance of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan against one and a half year of threats and blackmailing, the AKP had to restart the talks. Stating “resistance of the Guerrilla and the People also forced the AKP to talk with the Kurdish People’s Leader”, Bayık’s article is as follows.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/bayik-talks-are-the-last-chance-for-akp/
15. Demirtas addresses BDP group meeting about peace talks
10 January 2013 / Peace in Kurdistan
Co-chair of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Selahattin Demirtas addressed the BDP group meeting on Tuesday with an in-depth discussion on the renewed negotiations between the Turkish state and the PKK. Here is a translated version of the full speech.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/demirtas-addresses-bdp-group-meeting-about-peace-talks/
16. KCK Trial of Kurdish Lawyers – Istanbul 3rd January 2013
6 January 2013 / Peace in Kurdistan campaign
As part of Peace in Kurdistan’s continuing monitoring of the ongoing KCK Trials in Turkey, solicitor Tony Fisher and barrister Melanie Gingell have returned from Istanbul where they observed the latest hearing of a mass trial of 46 Kurdish lawyers. Tony Fisher, a member of the Law Society’s Human Rights Committee, has written the following report about the hearing on 3 January, which includes a summary of the proceedings and a commentary on the highly politicised nature of the trial. The report is also available for download.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/report-from-the-lastest-kck-trial-of-kurdish-lawyers/
17. Open letter to PM Erdoğan
5 January 2013 / Alliance for Kurdish Rights
Honorable Prime Minister Erdoğan, as you are aware, the long-standing Kurdish struggle for autonomy has remained a constant issue in Turkish national politics. Kurdish history is dominated by the unending fight for self-determination and recognition of a distinct ethnic identity within the Turkish community. http://kurdishrights.org/2013/01/05/open-letter-to-pm-erdogan/ <http://kurdishrights.org/2013/01/05/open-letter-to-pm-erdogan/>
18. Canadian MP Jim Karygiannis: Kurdish Issue is ‘Also Our Problem’
8 January 2013 / Rudaw
As a Liberal Party member of the Canadian House of Commons since 1988, Jim Karygiannis is working to establish peace through dialogue between the Kurdish and Turkish communities in Canada as well as in Turkey. In an interview with Rudaw, he says that on the Kurdish issue Turkey and Iran can learn from Canada, where Francophones exist alongside Anglophones and enjoy similar rights. He adds that, because Kurds are part of the Canadian community, the Kurdish issue is also a Canadian problem. He urges young Canadian Kurds to see themselves as full citizens and become more engaged in Canadian politics.
http://www.rudaw.net/english/interview/5633.html
19. Syria: Whatever happened to balanced reporting?
2 January 2013 / eKurd
How many reports have we seen telling us that Kurds in Syria are working for al-Assad, that the Kurdish PKK (from Turkey) is behind the actions of Kurdish Democratic Union Party – PYD, that PYD runs the Kurdish area, and that Kurds are divided? There are many. In contrast, where are the articles that positively report the unity of the Kurdish political parties and the creation of a safe area within the Kurdish region in the North-East where those who come without weapons are welcomed and cared for? Where are the articles that give voice to those working for a solution based on dialogue and non-violence? There are just a few.
http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2013/1/syriakurd717.htm
20. This could be the birth of an independent Kurdish state
9 January 2013 / Guardian
I was surprised to read an article in the Baghdad newspaper al-Sabah, by its editor Abd al-Jabbar Shabbout, suggesting it was time to settle the "age-old problem" between Iraq's Arabs and Kurds by establishing a "Kurdish state". I had never heard a formerly so heretical view expressed in any Arab quarter so publicly. And this was no ordinary quarter: al-Sabah is the mouthpiece of the prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki himself. Shabbout went on to suggest a negotiated "ending of the Arab-Kurdish partnership in a peaceful way".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/09/birth-kurdish-state-ottoman-syria-arab-spring
21. ‘From the Amazons to Hasankeyf: Damocracy’ – new documentary
9 January 2013 / Mesop
A new documentary, out next month, makes the case against huge dam projects, such as the one in north Kurdistan which threatens to destroy the 10,000 year old town of Hansankeyf, one of the oldest continually inhabited places on earth. Film maker Todd Southgate travelled from the deepest corners of the vast Amazon rainforest in Brazil to the mountains and plains of fertile upper Mesopotamia in north Kurdistan/Turkey.
http://www.mesop.de/2013/01/09/from-the-amazons-to-hasankeyf-damocracy-new-documentary/
Three Pens & Three Kurdish Women Activists assassinated in Paris
To whom it may concern,
Kurds have woken up with deep pain in their hearts today. As yesterday three Kurdish women activists - including a co-founder of the militant nationalist PKK - have been found dead with gunshot wounds in a Kurdish information centre in Paris.
The bodies of Sakine Cansiz and two others were found on Thursday in which darkness does not only descend upon Kurds in the Middle east it has also followed them to the Europe where it has claimed three peaceful Kurdish female activists.
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls said the killings were "intolerable". However, killing of three beautiful Kurdish people in Paris can only mean one thing for European Kurds, “leaving their loved ones and Kurdistan behind does not mean they are safe in the other part of the world where other countries and Europe turned their back to protect them”.
The motive for the shootings is unclear. Some 40,000 people have died in the 25-year conflict between the Turkish state and the PKK. Moreover, the murdered subjects were dedicated people not only to their people but to the humanity.
Who were the victims?
Sakine Cansiz: Founding member of the PKK, and first senior female member of the organisation; while jailed, led Kurdish protest movement out of Diyarbakir prison in Turkey in 1980s; after being released, worked with PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in Syria; was a commander of the women's guerrilla movement in Kurdish areas of northern Iraq; later took a lower profile and became responsible for the PKK women's movement in Europe
Fidan Dogan: Paris representative of the Brussels-based Kurdistan National Congress (KNC) political group; responsible for lobbying the EU and diplomats on behalf the PKK via the KNC
Leyla Soylemez: Junior activist working on diplomatic relations and as a women's representative on behalf of the PKK.
Members of the Kurdish Community demonstrated outside the information centre as Mr Valls arrived.The three women were "undoubtedly executed", Mr Valls said, adding that the French authorities were determined to "shed light on this act".
However, what is striking that before the French Authorities have made a statement on the incident a Turkish AKP minister (Mr Celik) had released some inadequate information on the incident which means Turkish Government had already known about the assassinations or seems got the first hand information.
We as the Kurdish Federation in Britain call for an immediate “International Soliditary” for Kurdistan’s people. We appeal to the “International Communities” with our hearts and pain and urge them to take actions and put pressure on Turkey and French Government in order to solve those ruthless murders and bring peaceful solutions to the Kurdish question by dialogue and implementing democracy for Kurds not only in Turkey but in the Middle East too.
Fedbir in UK,
11 Portland Gardens London
Kurds have woken up with deep pain in their hearts today. As yesterday three Kurdish women activists - including a co-founder of the militant nationalist PKK - have been found dead with gunshot wounds in a Kurdish information centre in Paris.
The bodies of Sakine Cansiz and two others were found on Thursday in which darkness does not only descend upon Kurds in the Middle east it has also followed them to the Europe where it has claimed three peaceful Kurdish female activists.
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls said the killings were "intolerable". However, killing of three beautiful Kurdish people in Paris can only mean one thing for European Kurds, “leaving their loved ones and Kurdistan behind does not mean they are safe in the other part of the world where other countries and Europe turned their back to protect them”.
The motive for the shootings is unclear. Some 40,000 people have died in the 25-year conflict between the Turkish state and the PKK. Moreover, the murdered subjects were dedicated people not only to their people but to the humanity.
Who were the victims?
Sakine Cansiz: Founding member of the PKK, and first senior female member of the organisation; while jailed, led Kurdish protest movement out of Diyarbakir prison in Turkey in 1980s; after being released, worked with PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in Syria; was a commander of the women's guerrilla movement in Kurdish areas of northern Iraq; later took a lower profile and became responsible for the PKK women's movement in Europe
Fidan Dogan: Paris representative of the Brussels-based Kurdistan National Congress (KNC) political group; responsible for lobbying the EU and diplomats on behalf the PKK via the KNC
Leyla Soylemez: Junior activist working on diplomatic relations and as a women's representative on behalf of the PKK.
Members of the Kurdish Community demonstrated outside the information centre as Mr Valls arrived.The three women were "undoubtedly executed", Mr Valls said, adding that the French authorities were determined to "shed light on this act".
However, what is striking that before the French Authorities have made a statement on the incident a Turkish AKP minister (Mr Celik) had released some inadequate information on the incident which means Turkish Government had already known about the assassinations or seems got the first hand information.
We as the Kurdish Federation in Britain call for an immediate “International Soliditary” for Kurdistan’s people. We appeal to the “International Communities” with our hearts and pain and urge them to take actions and put pressure on Turkey and French Government in order to solve those ruthless murders and bring peaceful solutions to the Kurdish question by dialogue and implementing democracy for Kurds not only in Turkey but in the Middle East too.
Fedbir in UK,
11 Portland Gardens London
3 Kurdish women politicians killed in Paris
Three PKK members killed in Paris attack
10 January 2013 / Hurriyet
An office of the Kurdistan Information Center in Paris was attacked by unknown people in the French capital Paris late yesterday, resulting in the deaths of three women, including one of the founders of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Sakine Cansız, one of the PKK founders in 1978, Brussels-based Kurdistan National Congress' (KNK) Paris representative Fidan Doğan, and Leyla Söylemez were found dead in the office, located near Gare du Nord station.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/three-pkk-members-killed-in-paris-attack.aspx?pageID=238&nid=38748
3 Female Kurdish Politicians Found Dead in Paris
10 January 2013 / Bianet
Last night, 3 Kurdish female politicians--PKK co-founder Sakine Cansız, Kurdish National Congress Paris representative Fidan Doğan and Leyla Söylemez--were found dead at the Kurdish Information Office in Paris. The three women were allegedly murdered by a group of individuals who raided the office, Firat News Agency said.
Rumors say that Cansız and Doğan were shot dead with a bullet in the head while Söylemez died due to a gun wound in the belly. Murders were said to be orchestrated with gun silencers. "We didn't hear from Fidan Doğan for hours. So we headed to the office after midnight around 1am. There were traces of blood by the entrance. We broke in and found them dead," Selma Akkaya from Özgür Politika newspaper said.
http://www.bianet.org/english/other/143431-3-female-kurdish-politicians-found-dead-in-paris
Paris attack draws reactions
10 January 2013 / Hurriyet
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls has described the attack at the office of the Kurdistan Information Center in Paris, which resulted in the death of three women, as "insupportable." French authorities are determined to uncover the truth in this case," Valls said during his visit to the crime scene this morning. Valls offered his condolescences to the families of the three victims. "Three women have been shot down, killed, without doubt executed. This is a very serious incident, which is why I am here. It is completely unacceptable," he told reporters, AFP has reported.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/paris-attack-draws-reactions.aspx?pageID=238&nID=38755&NewsCatID=338
10 January 2013 / Hurriyet
An office of the Kurdistan Information Center in Paris was attacked by unknown people in the French capital Paris late yesterday, resulting in the deaths of three women, including one of the founders of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Sakine Cansız, one of the PKK founders in 1978, Brussels-based Kurdistan National Congress' (KNK) Paris representative Fidan Doğan, and Leyla Söylemez were found dead in the office, located near Gare du Nord station.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/three-pkk-members-killed-in-paris-attack.aspx?pageID=238&nid=38748
3 Female Kurdish Politicians Found Dead in Paris
10 January 2013 / Bianet
Last night, 3 Kurdish female politicians--PKK co-founder Sakine Cansız, Kurdish National Congress Paris representative Fidan Doğan and Leyla Söylemez--were found dead at the Kurdish Information Office in Paris. The three women were allegedly murdered by a group of individuals who raided the office, Firat News Agency said.
Rumors say that Cansız and Doğan were shot dead with a bullet in the head while Söylemez died due to a gun wound in the belly. Murders were said to be orchestrated with gun silencers. "We didn't hear from Fidan Doğan for hours. So we headed to the office after midnight around 1am. There were traces of blood by the entrance. We broke in and found them dead," Selma Akkaya from Özgür Politika newspaper said.
http://www.bianet.org/english/other/143431-3-female-kurdish-politicians-found-dead-in-paris
Paris attack draws reactions
10 January 2013 / Hurriyet
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls has described the attack at the office of the Kurdistan Information Center in Paris, which resulted in the death of three women, as "insupportable." French authorities are determined to uncover the truth in this case," Valls said during his visit to the crime scene this morning. Valls offered his condolescences to the families of the three victims. "Three women have been shot down, killed, without doubt executed. This is a very serious incident, which is why I am here. It is completely unacceptable," he told reporters, AFP has reported.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/paris-attack-draws-reactions.aspx?pageID=238&nID=38755&NewsCatID=338
Saturday 5 January 2013
KURDISH NEWS WEEKLY BRIEFING, 21 December 2012 – 4 January 2013
1. Turkish Kurd deputies meet jailed militant leader Ocalan: lawmaker
3 January 2013 / Reuters
Two Kurdish lawmakers made a rare visit to Abdullah Ocalan at his island prison on Thursday, signaling that Turkey is negotiating with the influential militant leader over ending a conflict that has killed tens of thousands over three decades.
Pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputy Ayla Akat Ata and prominent Kurdish politician Ahmet Turk went with a lawyer to Imrali, where Ocalan has been held in virtual isolation since his capture in 1999, a Kurdish lawmaker said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/03/us-turkey-kurds-idUSBRE9020K720130103
2. Intel agency starts fresh talks on İmralı island
1 January 2013 / Hurriyet
Turkish intelligence officials are holding talks with the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party <http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/tag/PKK> (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan, in an effort to convince his organization to lay down their arms, daily Hürriyet reported yesterday. Officials from the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) held a four-hour meeting with Öcalan Dec. 22 on İmralı Island, where he has been serving a life sentence since 1999. During the meeting, Öcalan reportedly demanded direct contact with his organization and better prison conditions as a first step toward the militants’ disarmament.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/intel-agency-starts-fresh-talks-on-imrali-island.aspx?pageID=238&nid=38084
3. To End Kurdish Conflict, Turkey Calls on Archenemy
2 January 2013 / IHT Rendezvous
Turkish intelligence agents have been making the short hop from Istanbul across the Sea of Marmara to the prison Island of Imrali in recent weeks for talks with a jailed Kurdish separatist leader who was once Turkey’s most wanted man.
Abdullah Ocalan, founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, the P.K.K., has been languishing on Imrali since he was captured in Nairobi in 1999 while on the run. He is serving a life term after a death sentence was commuted.
Now the Turkish government wants his help to end a resurgent war with P.K.K. rebels that has claimed around 900 lives in the past year and a half.
http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/02/hoping-to-end-decades-long-kurdish-conflict-turkey-calls-on-archenemy/
4. Turkey, jailed Kurd leader discuss disarmament: report
31 December 2012 / France 24
Turkey's intelligence agency has discussed the issue of disarmament with the jailed Kurdish leader in a bid to bring an end to the nearly three-decade old insurgency, a newspaper reported on Monday.
Officials from the National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) held a four-hour meeting with Abdullah Ocalan on December 23 to urge outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants to lay down their arms, the Hurriyet newspaper reported.
But Ocalan demanded that he must have a direct contact with the PKK and his detention conditions must be improved, according to the paper.
http://www.france24.com/en/20121231-turkey-jailed-kurd-leader-discuss-disarmament-report
5. Turkey: Military will keep fighting rebel Kurds
4 January 2013 / Associated Press
Turkey will press ahead with military operations against autonomy-seeking Kurdish rebels even as Turkish officials hold talks with the rebels' jailed leader to end the 28-year-old conflict, officials said Friday. Last week, the government confirmed that Turkey's intelligence agency was talking to rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan with the aim of convincing the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, to disarm. Ocalan has been serving a life sentence on a prison island off Istanbul since 1999. Yet Turkish officials said Turkey had no intention of halting its military drive against the group, which took up arms in 1984 and is fighting for self-rule in southeast Turkey, often from bases in northern Iraq. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people since then.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iWbJouA1rbi-UVV-M38d96f5sc-Q?docId=819d27e4ad1548cb8c52c696fb57a7ed
6. Thousands Commemorate in Roboski, Demand for Justice
28 December 2012 / Bianet
Today marked as the anniversary of Roboski Massacre, killing of 34 Kurdish civilians from Roboski and Bujeh villages--which are officially recongnized as Ortasu and Gülyazı respectively--after a Turkish military air strike days only three before 2012. Turkish state officials claim that killings were caused due to false intelligence reports provided by U.S. Army, an argument that created controversy in Turkey.
Turkish police tightened security on Riboski entrance, controlling human circulation in and out of the village with barricades. Last night several vehicles heading to Sirnak province has been halted by the police for vehicle license checks. Many individuals said they were IDed by the police in downtown Sirnak.
http://www.bianet.org/english/human-rights/143162-thousands-commemorate-in-roboski-demand-for-justice
7. The Kurds, Syria and the denial of Kurdish Rights
6 December 2012 / Stop the War Coalition
For the last twenty months Syria has provided the scenery for a longstanding and violent upheaval. News coverage of events taking place in the country has been narrowly focused on the conflict between the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the Syrian opposition on one side and the Syrian regime on the other.
Northern Syria, or “West Kurdistan” as the Kurds call it, has had very little media coverage during this period. The situation there is an entirely different story. This region of Syria is home to approximately 3 million Kurds. The Kurds make up the largest ethnic minority group within Syria.
http://www.stopwar.org.uk/index.php/syria/2116-the-kurds-syria-and-the-denial-of-kurdish-rights
8. Map of Western Kurdistan – First stage
YASA – Kurdish Centre for Legal Studies and Consultancy
After many months of work and cooperation with many Kurds both inside and outside Syria, YASA, the Kurdish Center for Legal Studies & Consultancy, has created a map of Western Kurdistan.
The first phase of the project is completed, and we are currently working on the second phase. People and experts who want to join us or have any comments or suggestions can contact us using the following e-mail address:
info@yasa-online.org <mailto:info@yasa-online.org> .
http://yasa-online.org/index.php/77-yasa-english/138-map-of-western-kurdistan-first-stage
9. 401 years and 9 months prison sentence in KCK Şırnak case
3 January 2013 / ANF
The hearing of the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) Şırnak case was held at Diyarbakır 6th High Criminal Court on Wednesday. 41 of the 55 Kurdish politicians tried in the case have been jailed for years, including Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Şırnak deputy Faysal Sarıyıldız. The court passed a total of 401 years and 9 months prison sentence on 40 Kurdish politicians for allegedly being members of the KCK organization and holding explosive substances. Following the protest of defendants against the court decision, lawyer Fethi Gümüş objected to the sentence which he said was passed without defendants being given the right to defend themselves in their mother tongue Kurdish. Defendant Metin Fındık also asked the court board to postpone the trial until after the imminent legislation of the mother tongue arrangement by the Parliament. The court board replied that the present legislation didn't allow mother tongue at courts.
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5519
10. Court Rejects Testimony in Kurdish
3 January 2013 / Bianet
The 6th Diyarbakir High Criminal Court found 40 defendants guilty for being a KCK organization member, ordering prison sentences from six years and three months to seventeen years. In 2009, police raided several apartments in Şırnak province, detaining dozens of individuals suspected of being a member of KCK, an organization recognized as the urban branch of PKK. On the 24th session of Şırnak KCK trial, the judge ruled to prosecute 12 suspects--including Şırnak province deputy Faysal Sarıyıldız--under a separate trial. Defendant attorneys requested that suspects testified in Kurdish, a proposition rejected by the court. The judge ruled that legislation regulating testimonies in other languages than Turkish has not yet implemented. The judge also rejected defense attorneys' request for additional time until the the suspects could testify in Kurdish.
http://www.bianet.org/english/human-rights/143266-diyarbakir-court-rejects-testimony-in-kurdish
11. Demirtas criticizes Erdogan Roboski remarks, derides opposition leaders
24 December 2012 / Kurd Press
The Leader of pro- Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Selahhatin Demirtas criticized Turkey prime minister remarks over last year Roboski Massacre where 34 Kurdish civilians were killed in an army air strike. Addressing BDP fans in southern Turkey province of Mersin, Demirtas said more than a year has passed but the result of the case is still vague and undecided. “More surprisingly is that Erdogan (Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan) voices remarks that prove he is thinking of a new plan over the case,” Demirtas said, adding that Erdogan has asked judiciary system and security officials to count some of the Roboski victims as members of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to decriminalize the operation.
“The operation was a war crime even if all the civilians are proved to be PKK members,” he further said.
http://tinyurl.com/abp3xek <http://tinyurl.com/abp3xek>
12. HPG's war statement for 2012
3 January 2013 / ANF
HPG (People’s Defense Forces) Press Office (HPG-BIM) released its statement about the 2012 balance of operations and clashes. The statement remarked that the Turkish army had carried out 320 ground operations and 184 aerial attacks in the last year. According to the statement, guerrilla forces carried out 736 actions and 314 guerrillas lost their lives in clashes during the year. The war statement for 2012 shows that the year has been the severest one of late years as clashes are seen to have intensified the most in the months of August-September-October, three months when guerrilla actions reached an all-time high.
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5521
13. Human Rights Watch: Turkey Must Account for Roboski Bombing
28 December 2012 / Rudaw
On the first anniversary of a Turkish airstrike that killed 34 Kurdish villagers near the border with Iraqi Kurdistan, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Turkey of failing the families of victims in their search for justice.
“One year on, no one has been held (to) account for ordering the F-16 jets to drop the bombs that killed the 34 villagers,” Emma Sinclair-Webb, senior researcher for Turkey at HRW, said in a statement on Thursday.
“The Turkish government, parliament, and Diyarbakır prosecutor have so far failed the families of the victims in their search for justice,” she added.
http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/turkey/5596.html
14. Set journalists free in Turkey: EFJ campaign update
3 January 2013 / Peace in Kurdistan campaign
The latest updates from the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) this week includes news of ODA TV’s Sonar Yalcin ‘s release from prison.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/set-journalists-free-in-turkey-efj-campaign-update-10/
15. Turkey arms Syrian rebels against Kurds: BDP leader
17 December 2012 / Kurd Press
Pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-Chair Gultan Kisanak said Ankara government is meddling in Syria Kurdish regions by arming Arab rebels to fight against Kurdish parties in Syria Kurdish region of Sarikani in the north of the country.
Addressing a group of BDP fans in southeastern province of Batman, Kisanak said Turkey has ordered an illegal and secret group to fuel tensions in Sarikani and make Kurds and Arabs fight against each other.
“We talked to dozens of People in Jilanpinar (southeastern Turkey city in Syria border). We fortunately have achieved undeniable documents that prove Turkey is arming and paying hireling and urges them to make Sarikani biggest war scene between Arabs and Kurds.
http://tinyurl.com/a95lm6a <http://tinyurl.com/a95lm6a>
16. Will Turkey Squander Its Opportunity to Lead?
30 December 2012 / IHT Rendezvous
Instead of Turkey leading the post-Arab Spring Middle East, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is setting a new standard of intolerance. Fourteen months after he touted Turkey as an example for the region, Mr. Erdogan is polarizing politics in his country and squelching dissent.
Turkey is, at last, in a unique and enviable position on the world stage: sitting astride Europe, Asia and the Middle East, culturally as well as politically, and relatively strong economically. As post-Mubarak Egypt grapples with old demons in new forms, Syria approaches a bloody denouement, and Saudi Arabia and Iran offer little in the way of viable paths to progress, this could be Turkey’s moment.
http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/30/will-turkey-squander-its-opportunity-to-lead/
17. Erdogan Talks Turkey with the Kurds
2 January 2013 / The American Interest
Turkey is talking with the Kurds, the FT is reporting. A senior political adviser to Prime Minister Erdogan has admitted that his government has opened disarmament discussions with the jailed leader of the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan: “Pointing out that after close to three decades of armed struggle with the PKK neither side had achieved its aims, Mr Akdogan explained that Turkey had tried to negotiate with the PKK before and was doing so again in an effort to end the conflict.”
http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2013/01/02/erdogan-talking-turkey-with-kurdish-leader/
18. Turkish talks offer hope of peace with Kurdish militants
31 December 2012 / Guardian
If you were looking for some new year cheer, you could do worse than look toward Turkey, with confirmation this weekend that talks between Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government and Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK), are continuing and that the focus of the negotiations was getting the movement to lay down its arms. Any glimmer of hope for an end to an insurgency that has cost at least 40,000 lives is to be welcomed. Especially since the last 18 months have witnessed a surge in violence the like of which has not been seen since Ocalan was seized by Turkish special forces in 1999.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/31/turkish-peace-talks-kurdish-militants-pkk
19. Erdogan's troubling shift toward repression
28 December 2012 / CNN Global Public Square
Editor’s note: Mehmet Yuksel is the BDP representative in Washington, DC. The views expressed are the author’s own.
Many U.S. officials still consider Turkey a model for the Middle East, crediting Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with ushering in reforms that have excised the presence of the Turkish military from the political sphere. They are wrong. Erdoğan’s recent treatment of political opposition suggest that rather than democratize Turkey, he is instead following the model employed by Vladimir Putin in Russia or Mohamed Morsy in Egypt. Erdoğan entered office promising a new approach on the Kurdish issue, a topic which the predominantly Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party [BDP] holds dear. But his outreach was insincere.
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/28/erdogans-troubling-shift-toward-repression/
20. The Kurdish Issue in Turkey: An Interview with Selahattin Demirtas
17 December 2012 / Foreign Policy Association blog
At thirty-nine years old, Selahattin Demirtas is the Chairman of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) in Turkish parliament. He has held this position since January 2010 and was first elected to parliament in 2007 as the MP for the Kurdish majority city of Diyarbakir, after which he joined the now-defunct Democratic Society Party (DTP). After the DTP was dissolved, he joined the BDP and rose to his present rank. A controversial figure, Demirtas was sentenced to ten months in prison for alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) after suggesting that the Turkish government talk to imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. He has been extremely outspoken regarding the inclusion of Ocalan in political negotiations and the creation of some sort of autonomy for Turkey’s Kurdish population.
http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2012/12/17/the-kurdish-issue-in-turkey-an-interview-with-selahattin-demirtas/ <http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2012/12/17/the-kurdish-issue-in-turkey-an-interview-with-selahattin-demirtas/>
21. Solidarity Letters from Political Prisoners in Turkey
23 December 2012 / Alliance for Kurdish Rights
The number of political prisoners in Turkey is increasing on a daily basis. Despite Turkey being criticised for its crackdowns on mostly Kurdish but also Turkish journalists, lawyers, politicians and activists, there hasn’t been sufficient pressure on Turkey to end these mass and arbitrary arrests. The violations of Kurdish rights in Turkey have been ongoing for decades. The struggle against the Turkish state to stop the unjust and degrading treatment of the Kurds seems never-ending. The number of Kurdish political prisoners strikes us as infinite, and consequently the prisoners are faceless to the outside world; just a mere number in a Turkish prison. An often forgotten statistic. However, an initiative attempts to put a face and give a voice to those unknown defenders of human rights.
http://kurdishrights.org/2012/12/23/solidarity-letters-from-political-prisoners-in-turkey/ <http://kurdishrights.org/2012/12/23/solidarity-letters-from-political-prisoners-in-turkey/>
22. We Need Mother Tongue Education for a Democratic Citizenship | Levent Pişkin
6 December 2012 / Turkey Constitution Watch
Mother tongue education has become one of the most hotly debated topics of the constitution-drafting process. But what exactly does this issue entail?
The republican regime and the nation-state have imposed an essentialist view of society by both de jure and de facto means. For years, the phrase “mother tongue education” meant only teaching Turkish. “Citizen, Speak Turkish!” campaigns were organized, while any questioning of the unified, state-led education system was forbidden.
According to the most recent edition of the Turkish Language Association’s Turkish dictionary, “mother tongue” is defined as “the language a child acquires from its family or the society in which it lives.” The definition widely used in the social sciences does not differ to a great extent from that of the Turkish Language Association. A survey of their definitions might lead us to the following synthesis: “Mother tongue” is “the language that a person acquires by skill and from the extended family into which he or she is born, is developed within that person’s social network, and enables his or her socialization.”
http://turkeyconstitutionwatch.org/2012/12/05/we-need-native-language-education-for-a-democratic-citizenship-levent-piskin/
23. Turkey: Where the Army Can’t Protect Its Own Troops
21 December 2012 / American Interest
Turkey’s Islamist government started life planning to spread peace and security around the Middle East. With war in Syria and tensions building with Iran, that ambition isn’t looking so good. And now the Turks are discovering that the peace of their own country isn’t that secure; the long sputtering Kurdish revolt is back with a bang.
Things are so bad that the Turkish army can’t protect its own troop convoys on Turkish roads anymore; Turkey’s armed forces are going to begin transporting troops to bases in the southeast by commercial aircraft in order to avoid roadside bombs set by the Kurds.
Reuters reports: Turkey’s government and military began discussing alternative transport arrangements with the airline [Turkish Airlines] after a bomb attack on a security convoy in southeastern Bingol province which killed 10 people in September. [...]
http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2012/12/21/is-turkey-losing-control-of-inner-anatolia/
24. Statehood for Kurds?
4 January 2013 / LA Times
The Baghdad newspaper Sabah published a surprising article a few weeks ago. Its editor, Abd Jabbar Shabbout, suggested it was time to settle the "age-old problem" between Iraq's Arabs and Kurds by establishing a "Kurdish state." Never before had I heard such a once-heretical view so publicly expressed in any Arab quarter. And this was no ordinary quarter: Sabah is the mouthpiece of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki. Shabbout went on to suggest a negotiated "ending of the Arab-Kurdish partnership in a peaceful way." He called his proposal Plan B, Plan A being the "dialogue" between Iraq's central government and the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq that emerged after the fall of Saddam Hussein. But Plan A, he said, was getting nowhere. Differences over power and authority, oil and natural resources, territory and borders were so deep that the dialogue repeatedly failed. In December the Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga faced off in an atmosphere so tense, according to Shabbout, that hostilities could have broken out at any moment as a result of the slightest miscalculation.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-hirst-kurds-iraq-syria-20130104,0,1540675.story
25. An Interview with Nechirvan Barzani: Will There Be an Independent Kurdistan?
21 December 2012 / Time
If there is one man who deserves the credit for the growing Turkish-Kurd rapprochement, it’s Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani of Iraqi Kurdistan. Five years ago Kurds and foreigners alike laughed in his face when he told them that not only did he want Iraqi Kurdistan to export its own oil, but that he wanted to export it to Turkey, which has had an intractable problem with its own large Kurdish minority. Barzani’s strategy was one of patience: starting with confidence-building with the Turks and then coaxing small oil companies and then larger ones to risk Baghdad’s ire to drill for oil not only in the autonomous region but in territory disputed by both Barzani’s government and the Iraqi central government.
Barzani sat down with TIME on December 13 to talk about the Turks, his stormy relationship with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the potential for an independent Kurdish state–and how that would affect members of the non-Arab ethnicity, which lives in Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria.
http://world.time.com/2012/12/21/an-interview-with-nechirvan-barzani-will-there-be-an-independent-kurdistan/
26. Syrian Kurdish Plight Requires Independence
2 January 2013 / The Front Page Mag
Once again the Kurds find themselves in a humanitarian crisis not of their own making. The Syrian Kurds are caught between the Assad regime and its allied forces, (including the Kurdish PYD – Union Democratic Party, which is linked to the PKK), and the Syrian opposition, principally the Free Syrian Army and its radical Islamists affiliates (such as Jabhat al-Nusra, with close ties to Al-Qaeda). Both are seeking to draw the Kurds, who are the largest ethnic minority in Syria, to their side. In the meantime, both groups are confiscating vital supplies destined for the beleaguered Syrian Kurdish region. http://frontpagemag.com/2013/joseph-puder/syrian-kurdish-plight-requires-independence/
3 January 2013 / Reuters
Two Kurdish lawmakers made a rare visit to Abdullah Ocalan at his island prison on Thursday, signaling that Turkey is negotiating with the influential militant leader over ending a conflict that has killed tens of thousands over three decades.
Pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputy Ayla Akat Ata and prominent Kurdish politician Ahmet Turk went with a lawyer to Imrali, where Ocalan has been held in virtual isolation since his capture in 1999, a Kurdish lawmaker said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/03/us-turkey-kurds-idUSBRE9020K720130103
2. Intel agency starts fresh talks on İmralı island
1 January 2013 / Hurriyet
Turkish intelligence officials are holding talks with the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party <http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/tag/PKK> (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan, in an effort to convince his organization to lay down their arms, daily Hürriyet reported yesterday. Officials from the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) held a four-hour meeting with Öcalan Dec. 22 on İmralı Island, where he has been serving a life sentence since 1999. During the meeting, Öcalan reportedly demanded direct contact with his organization and better prison conditions as a first step toward the militants’ disarmament.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/intel-agency-starts-fresh-talks-on-imrali-island.aspx?pageID=238&nid=38084
3. To End Kurdish Conflict, Turkey Calls on Archenemy
2 January 2013 / IHT Rendezvous
Turkish intelligence agents have been making the short hop from Istanbul across the Sea of Marmara to the prison Island of Imrali in recent weeks for talks with a jailed Kurdish separatist leader who was once Turkey’s most wanted man.
Abdullah Ocalan, founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, the P.K.K., has been languishing on Imrali since he was captured in Nairobi in 1999 while on the run. He is serving a life term after a death sentence was commuted.
Now the Turkish government wants his help to end a resurgent war with P.K.K. rebels that has claimed around 900 lives in the past year and a half.
http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/02/hoping-to-end-decades-long-kurdish-conflict-turkey-calls-on-archenemy/
4. Turkey, jailed Kurd leader discuss disarmament: report
31 December 2012 / France 24
Turkey's intelligence agency has discussed the issue of disarmament with the jailed Kurdish leader in a bid to bring an end to the nearly three-decade old insurgency, a newspaper reported on Monday.
Officials from the National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) held a four-hour meeting with Abdullah Ocalan on December 23 to urge outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants to lay down their arms, the Hurriyet newspaper reported.
But Ocalan demanded that he must have a direct contact with the PKK and his detention conditions must be improved, according to the paper.
http://www.france24.com/en/20121231-turkey-jailed-kurd-leader-discuss-disarmament-report
5. Turkey: Military will keep fighting rebel Kurds
4 January 2013 / Associated Press
Turkey will press ahead with military operations against autonomy-seeking Kurdish rebels even as Turkish officials hold talks with the rebels' jailed leader to end the 28-year-old conflict, officials said Friday. Last week, the government confirmed that Turkey's intelligence agency was talking to rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan with the aim of convincing the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, to disarm. Ocalan has been serving a life sentence on a prison island off Istanbul since 1999. Yet Turkish officials said Turkey had no intention of halting its military drive against the group, which took up arms in 1984 and is fighting for self-rule in southeast Turkey, often from bases in northern Iraq. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people since then.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iWbJouA1rbi-UVV-M38d96f5sc-Q?docId=819d27e4ad1548cb8c52c696fb57a7ed
6. Thousands Commemorate in Roboski, Demand for Justice
28 December 2012 / Bianet
Today marked as the anniversary of Roboski Massacre, killing of 34 Kurdish civilians from Roboski and Bujeh villages--which are officially recongnized as Ortasu and Gülyazı respectively--after a Turkish military air strike days only three before 2012. Turkish state officials claim that killings were caused due to false intelligence reports provided by U.S. Army, an argument that created controversy in Turkey.
Turkish police tightened security on Riboski entrance, controlling human circulation in and out of the village with barricades. Last night several vehicles heading to Sirnak province has been halted by the police for vehicle license checks. Many individuals said they were IDed by the police in downtown Sirnak.
http://www.bianet.org/english/human-rights/143162-thousands-commemorate-in-roboski-demand-for-justice
7. The Kurds, Syria and the denial of Kurdish Rights
6 December 2012 / Stop the War Coalition
For the last twenty months Syria has provided the scenery for a longstanding and violent upheaval. News coverage of events taking place in the country has been narrowly focused on the conflict between the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the Syrian opposition on one side and the Syrian regime on the other.
Northern Syria, or “West Kurdistan” as the Kurds call it, has had very little media coverage during this period. The situation there is an entirely different story. This region of Syria is home to approximately 3 million Kurds. The Kurds make up the largest ethnic minority group within Syria.
http://www.stopwar.org.uk/index.php/syria/2116-the-kurds-syria-and-the-denial-of-kurdish-rights
8. Map of Western Kurdistan – First stage
YASA – Kurdish Centre for Legal Studies and Consultancy
After many months of work and cooperation with many Kurds both inside and outside Syria, YASA, the Kurdish Center for Legal Studies & Consultancy, has created a map of Western Kurdistan.
The first phase of the project is completed, and we are currently working on the second phase. People and experts who want to join us or have any comments or suggestions can contact us using the following e-mail address:
info@yasa-online.org <mailto:info@yasa-online.org> .
http://yasa-online.org/index.php/77-yasa-english/138-map-of-western-kurdistan-first-stage
9. 401 years and 9 months prison sentence in KCK Şırnak case
3 January 2013 / ANF
The hearing of the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) Şırnak case was held at Diyarbakır 6th High Criminal Court on Wednesday. 41 of the 55 Kurdish politicians tried in the case have been jailed for years, including Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Şırnak deputy Faysal Sarıyıldız. The court passed a total of 401 years and 9 months prison sentence on 40 Kurdish politicians for allegedly being members of the KCK organization and holding explosive substances. Following the protest of defendants against the court decision, lawyer Fethi Gümüş objected to the sentence which he said was passed without defendants being given the right to defend themselves in their mother tongue Kurdish. Defendant Metin Fındık also asked the court board to postpone the trial until after the imminent legislation of the mother tongue arrangement by the Parliament. The court board replied that the present legislation didn't allow mother tongue at courts.
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5519
10. Court Rejects Testimony in Kurdish
3 January 2013 / Bianet
The 6th Diyarbakir High Criminal Court found 40 defendants guilty for being a KCK organization member, ordering prison sentences from six years and three months to seventeen years. In 2009, police raided several apartments in Şırnak province, detaining dozens of individuals suspected of being a member of KCK, an organization recognized as the urban branch of PKK. On the 24th session of Şırnak KCK trial, the judge ruled to prosecute 12 suspects--including Şırnak province deputy Faysal Sarıyıldız--under a separate trial. Defendant attorneys requested that suspects testified in Kurdish, a proposition rejected by the court. The judge ruled that legislation regulating testimonies in other languages than Turkish has not yet implemented. The judge also rejected defense attorneys' request for additional time until the the suspects could testify in Kurdish.
http://www.bianet.org/english/human-rights/143266-diyarbakir-court-rejects-testimony-in-kurdish
11. Demirtas criticizes Erdogan Roboski remarks, derides opposition leaders
24 December 2012 / Kurd Press
The Leader of pro- Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Selahhatin Demirtas criticized Turkey prime minister remarks over last year Roboski Massacre where 34 Kurdish civilians were killed in an army air strike. Addressing BDP fans in southern Turkey province of Mersin, Demirtas said more than a year has passed but the result of the case is still vague and undecided. “More surprisingly is that Erdogan (Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan) voices remarks that prove he is thinking of a new plan over the case,” Demirtas said, adding that Erdogan has asked judiciary system and security officials to count some of the Roboski victims as members of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to decriminalize the operation.
“The operation was a war crime even if all the civilians are proved to be PKK members,” he further said.
http://tinyurl.com/abp3xek <http://tinyurl.com/abp3xek>
12. HPG's war statement for 2012
3 January 2013 / ANF
HPG (People’s Defense Forces) Press Office (HPG-BIM) released its statement about the 2012 balance of operations and clashes. The statement remarked that the Turkish army had carried out 320 ground operations and 184 aerial attacks in the last year. According to the statement, guerrilla forces carried out 736 actions and 314 guerrillas lost their lives in clashes during the year. The war statement for 2012 shows that the year has been the severest one of late years as clashes are seen to have intensified the most in the months of August-September-October, three months when guerrilla actions reached an all-time high.
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5521
13. Human Rights Watch: Turkey Must Account for Roboski Bombing
28 December 2012 / Rudaw
On the first anniversary of a Turkish airstrike that killed 34 Kurdish villagers near the border with Iraqi Kurdistan, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Turkey of failing the families of victims in their search for justice.
“One year on, no one has been held (to) account for ordering the F-16 jets to drop the bombs that killed the 34 villagers,” Emma Sinclair-Webb, senior researcher for Turkey at HRW, said in a statement on Thursday.
“The Turkish government, parliament, and Diyarbakır prosecutor have so far failed the families of the victims in their search for justice,” she added.
http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/turkey/5596.html
14. Set journalists free in Turkey: EFJ campaign update
3 January 2013 / Peace in Kurdistan campaign
The latest updates from the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) this week includes news of ODA TV’s Sonar Yalcin ‘s release from prison.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/set-journalists-free-in-turkey-efj-campaign-update-10/
15. Turkey arms Syrian rebels against Kurds: BDP leader
17 December 2012 / Kurd Press
Pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-Chair Gultan Kisanak said Ankara government is meddling in Syria Kurdish regions by arming Arab rebels to fight against Kurdish parties in Syria Kurdish region of Sarikani in the north of the country.
Addressing a group of BDP fans in southeastern province of Batman, Kisanak said Turkey has ordered an illegal and secret group to fuel tensions in Sarikani and make Kurds and Arabs fight against each other.
“We talked to dozens of People in Jilanpinar (southeastern Turkey city in Syria border). We fortunately have achieved undeniable documents that prove Turkey is arming and paying hireling and urges them to make Sarikani biggest war scene between Arabs and Kurds.
http://tinyurl.com/a95lm6a <http://tinyurl.com/a95lm6a>
16. Will Turkey Squander Its Opportunity to Lead?
30 December 2012 / IHT Rendezvous
Instead of Turkey leading the post-Arab Spring Middle East, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is setting a new standard of intolerance. Fourteen months after he touted Turkey as an example for the region, Mr. Erdogan is polarizing politics in his country and squelching dissent.
Turkey is, at last, in a unique and enviable position on the world stage: sitting astride Europe, Asia and the Middle East, culturally as well as politically, and relatively strong economically. As post-Mubarak Egypt grapples with old demons in new forms, Syria approaches a bloody denouement, and Saudi Arabia and Iran offer little in the way of viable paths to progress, this could be Turkey’s moment.
http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/30/will-turkey-squander-its-opportunity-to-lead/
17. Erdogan Talks Turkey with the Kurds
2 January 2013 / The American Interest
Turkey is talking with the Kurds, the FT is reporting. A senior political adviser to Prime Minister Erdogan has admitted that his government has opened disarmament discussions with the jailed leader of the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan: “Pointing out that after close to three decades of armed struggle with the PKK neither side had achieved its aims, Mr Akdogan explained that Turkey had tried to negotiate with the PKK before and was doing so again in an effort to end the conflict.”
http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2013/01/02/erdogan-talking-turkey-with-kurdish-leader/
18. Turkish talks offer hope of peace with Kurdish militants
31 December 2012 / Guardian
If you were looking for some new year cheer, you could do worse than look toward Turkey, with confirmation this weekend that talks between Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government and Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK), are continuing and that the focus of the negotiations was getting the movement to lay down its arms. Any glimmer of hope for an end to an insurgency that has cost at least 40,000 lives is to be welcomed. Especially since the last 18 months have witnessed a surge in violence the like of which has not been seen since Ocalan was seized by Turkish special forces in 1999.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/31/turkish-peace-talks-kurdish-militants-pkk
19. Erdogan's troubling shift toward repression
28 December 2012 / CNN Global Public Square
Editor’s note: Mehmet Yuksel is the BDP representative in Washington, DC. The views expressed are the author’s own.
Many U.S. officials still consider Turkey a model for the Middle East, crediting Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with ushering in reforms that have excised the presence of the Turkish military from the political sphere. They are wrong. Erdoğan’s recent treatment of political opposition suggest that rather than democratize Turkey, he is instead following the model employed by Vladimir Putin in Russia or Mohamed Morsy in Egypt. Erdoğan entered office promising a new approach on the Kurdish issue, a topic which the predominantly Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party [BDP] holds dear. But his outreach was insincere.
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/28/erdogans-troubling-shift-toward-repression/
20. The Kurdish Issue in Turkey: An Interview with Selahattin Demirtas
17 December 2012 / Foreign Policy Association blog
At thirty-nine years old, Selahattin Demirtas is the Chairman of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) in Turkish parliament. He has held this position since January 2010 and was first elected to parliament in 2007 as the MP for the Kurdish majority city of Diyarbakir, after which he joined the now-defunct Democratic Society Party (DTP). After the DTP was dissolved, he joined the BDP and rose to his present rank. A controversial figure, Demirtas was sentenced to ten months in prison for alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) after suggesting that the Turkish government talk to imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. He has been extremely outspoken regarding the inclusion of Ocalan in political negotiations and the creation of some sort of autonomy for Turkey’s Kurdish population.
http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2012/12/17/the-kurdish-issue-in-turkey-an-interview-with-selahattin-demirtas/ <http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2012/12/17/the-kurdish-issue-in-turkey-an-interview-with-selahattin-demirtas/>
21. Solidarity Letters from Political Prisoners in Turkey
23 December 2012 / Alliance for Kurdish Rights
The number of political prisoners in Turkey is increasing on a daily basis. Despite Turkey being criticised for its crackdowns on mostly Kurdish but also Turkish journalists, lawyers, politicians and activists, there hasn’t been sufficient pressure on Turkey to end these mass and arbitrary arrests. The violations of Kurdish rights in Turkey have been ongoing for decades. The struggle against the Turkish state to stop the unjust and degrading treatment of the Kurds seems never-ending. The number of Kurdish political prisoners strikes us as infinite, and consequently the prisoners are faceless to the outside world; just a mere number in a Turkish prison. An often forgotten statistic. However, an initiative attempts to put a face and give a voice to those unknown defenders of human rights.
http://kurdishrights.org/2012/12/23/solidarity-letters-from-political-prisoners-in-turkey/ <http://kurdishrights.org/2012/12/23/solidarity-letters-from-political-prisoners-in-turkey/>
22. We Need Mother Tongue Education for a Democratic Citizenship | Levent Pişkin
6 December 2012 / Turkey Constitution Watch
Mother tongue education has become one of the most hotly debated topics of the constitution-drafting process. But what exactly does this issue entail?
The republican regime and the nation-state have imposed an essentialist view of society by both de jure and de facto means. For years, the phrase “mother tongue education” meant only teaching Turkish. “Citizen, Speak Turkish!” campaigns were organized, while any questioning of the unified, state-led education system was forbidden.
According to the most recent edition of the Turkish Language Association’s Turkish dictionary, “mother tongue” is defined as “the language a child acquires from its family or the society in which it lives.” The definition widely used in the social sciences does not differ to a great extent from that of the Turkish Language Association. A survey of their definitions might lead us to the following synthesis: “Mother tongue” is “the language that a person acquires by skill and from the extended family into which he or she is born, is developed within that person’s social network, and enables his or her socialization.”
http://turkeyconstitutionwatch.org/2012/12/05/we-need-native-language-education-for-a-democratic-citizenship-levent-piskin/
23. Turkey: Where the Army Can’t Protect Its Own Troops
21 December 2012 / American Interest
Turkey’s Islamist government started life planning to spread peace and security around the Middle East. With war in Syria and tensions building with Iran, that ambition isn’t looking so good. And now the Turks are discovering that the peace of their own country isn’t that secure; the long sputtering Kurdish revolt is back with a bang.
Things are so bad that the Turkish army can’t protect its own troop convoys on Turkish roads anymore; Turkey’s armed forces are going to begin transporting troops to bases in the southeast by commercial aircraft in order to avoid roadside bombs set by the Kurds.
Reuters reports: Turkey’s government and military began discussing alternative transport arrangements with the airline [Turkish Airlines] after a bomb attack on a security convoy in southeastern Bingol province which killed 10 people in September. [...]
http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2012/12/21/is-turkey-losing-control-of-inner-anatolia/
24. Statehood for Kurds?
4 January 2013 / LA Times
The Baghdad newspaper Sabah published a surprising article a few weeks ago. Its editor, Abd Jabbar Shabbout, suggested it was time to settle the "age-old problem" between Iraq's Arabs and Kurds by establishing a "Kurdish state." Never before had I heard such a once-heretical view so publicly expressed in any Arab quarter. And this was no ordinary quarter: Sabah is the mouthpiece of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki. Shabbout went on to suggest a negotiated "ending of the Arab-Kurdish partnership in a peaceful way." He called his proposal Plan B, Plan A being the "dialogue" between Iraq's central government and the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq that emerged after the fall of Saddam Hussein. But Plan A, he said, was getting nowhere. Differences over power and authority, oil and natural resources, territory and borders were so deep that the dialogue repeatedly failed. In December the Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga faced off in an atmosphere so tense, according to Shabbout, that hostilities could have broken out at any moment as a result of the slightest miscalculation.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-hirst-kurds-iraq-syria-20130104,0,1540675.story
25. An Interview with Nechirvan Barzani: Will There Be an Independent Kurdistan?
21 December 2012 / Time
If there is one man who deserves the credit for the growing Turkish-Kurd rapprochement, it’s Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani of Iraqi Kurdistan. Five years ago Kurds and foreigners alike laughed in his face when he told them that not only did he want Iraqi Kurdistan to export its own oil, but that he wanted to export it to Turkey, which has had an intractable problem with its own large Kurdish minority. Barzani’s strategy was one of patience: starting with confidence-building with the Turks and then coaxing small oil companies and then larger ones to risk Baghdad’s ire to drill for oil not only in the autonomous region but in territory disputed by both Barzani’s government and the Iraqi central government.
Barzani sat down with TIME on December 13 to talk about the Turks, his stormy relationship with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the potential for an independent Kurdish state–and how that would affect members of the non-Arab ethnicity, which lives in Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria.
http://world.time.com/2012/12/21/an-interview-with-nechirvan-barzani-will-there-be-an-independent-kurdistan/
26. Syrian Kurdish Plight Requires Independence
2 January 2013 / The Front Page Mag
Once again the Kurds find themselves in a humanitarian crisis not of their own making. The Syrian Kurds are caught between the Assad regime and its allied forces, (including the Kurdish PYD – Union Democratic Party, which is linked to the PKK), and the Syrian opposition, principally the Free Syrian Army and its radical Islamists affiliates (such as Jabhat al-Nusra, with close ties to Al-Qaeda). Both are seeking to draw the Kurds, who are the largest ethnic minority in Syria, to their side. In the meantime, both groups are confiscating vital supplies destined for the beleaguered Syrian Kurdish region. http://frontpagemag.com/2013/joseph-puder/syrian-kurdish-plight-requires-independence/
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