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