Adem Uzun is a Kurdish peace activist, politician and member of the Kurdish National Congress (KNK). He was arrested in Paris last October and
remains in detention without having been granted bail. Adem was a key negotiator in the Oslo Peace Talks with high level Turkish government representatives, but was arrested just a matter of weeks before the latest peace talks – now known as the Imrali Process – were announced at the beginning of this year.
His arrest, which was made on Turkey’s request, appears to simply be an attempt to undermine the search for a peaceful and political settlement to the Kurdish question. This criminalisation of the Kurdish political movement is shameful and must be stopped.
Peace in Kurdistan campaign and Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC) are campaigning for Adem’s release, and have designed and printed postcards to be sent to the Justice Minister of France, Christiane Taubira, demanding that they FREE ADEM UZUN.
We want her to see that Adem has many supporters and that his arrest will not be tolerated by those of us who seek peace!
But we need YOU to sign and send them off to her!
To request a postcard, please write to estella24@tiscali.co.uk with your name, address and the number of cards you need, and we will send them out to you.
Find out more here: http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/activities/free-adem-uzun/
Postcard text:
Dear Mme Christiane Taubira,
Adem Uzun is a prominent Kurdish peace activist and leading politician with the Kurdistan National Congress, KNK. Adem is well-known throughout Europe for his political work and supporting a political solution to the Kurdish question, and has been a key Kurdish negotiator in the so-called “Oslo Process” with high-level Turkish Government’s representatives.
Adem’s arrest in Paris on 6 October came as a shock in view of the constructive and positive role that he had been playing in the ongoing search for a peace settlement acceptable to both sides.
Talks between Turkey and Kurdish leaders have since restarted as of early 2013 and we believe that it is essential that Adem Uzun be immediately released to enable him to continue his positive role as a peace negotiator.
His continued imprisonment can only undermine progress in these talks.
We urge you to free Adem Uzun; drop the charges against him and thereby give peace a chance.
--
Thursday 14 March 2013
Kurdish News Update, 9 - 12 March 2013
1. High Stakes for Erdogan In Turkish Talks With PKK
8 March 2013 / Al Monitor
The leaking of the “Imrali minutes” has not dampened Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s desire to press on with the peace talks with Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed head of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who is serving a life sentence on the Island of Imrali. Erdogan has vowed to “drink poison hemlock” for the sake of peace. Meanwhile, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), which some see as the political wing of the PKK, and which is acting as an intermediary between Ocalan and PKK elements in Europe and the Kandil Mountains in Northern Iraq, has said it is willing to go the full distance for the success of the talks.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/erdogan-talks-ocalan-pkk-kurdish-peace-process-turkey.html
2. Women of Rojava building a free society
9 March 2013 / ANF
Kurdish women in Rojava intend to build a new society in the political, economic, social and diplomatic areas as well. Just like in all parts of Kurdistan and the Middle East, the freedom struggle of women has been led by Kurdish women in Syria and West Kurdistan as well. The long-lasting and challenging struggle of Kurdish women, for which they have paid great prices, have led to the creation of a great organization as well as the establishment of a democratic society. The history of the organized struggle of women in Lebanon, West Kurdistan and Syria began with Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan's arrival at the Syrian territory. They carried out significant works in the areas of life, society and philosophy within the period of 20 years when Öcalan stayed in this territory where he took significant steps concerning the reality of women and described women as the “leading power of life”.
http://en.firatajans.com/news/news/women-of-rojava-building-a-free-society.htm
3. Two party assembly members resign, press officer fired for leak, BDP says
12 March 2012 / Hurriyet
Two members of the Peace and Democracy Party’s (BDP) party assembly have resigned while a press officer has been dismissed following the leakage of the content of talks with the head of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the party said today. M. Rauf Kocaman and Resul Baykara, both members of the BDP party assembly, resigned from their posts in self-criticism over the responsibility for the leaking of documents, the party said in a statement to the Hürriyet Daily News. At the same time, press officer Ali Özgüç was dismissed from his post for sharing the contents of the talks without first notifying the party.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/two-party-assembly-members-resign-press-officer-fired-for-leak-bdp-says.aspx?pageID=238&nID=42826&NewsCatID=338
4. HPG: Prisoners to be released tomorrow
12 March 2013 / ANF
People's Defense Forces (HPG) has announced that the eight prisoners it is holding will be released and handed over to the delegation on Wednesday.
A six-person delegation which left Diyarbakır on Monday has arrived in Hewler on Tuesday. The delegation includes Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputies Sebahat Tuncel, Hüsamettin Zenderlioğlu and Adil Kurt, as well as Human Rights Association (IHD) President Öztürk Türkdoğan, IHD Diyarbakır Branch Chair Raci Bilici and MAZLUMDER Chairman Ahmet Faruk Ünsal.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/hpg-prisoners-to-be-released-tomorrow-flash.htm
5. Hearing of Kurdish politicians going on in Istanbul
12 March 2013 / Dicle News Agency
The sixth session of the fourth hearing of "KCK" Istanbul main lawsuit of 205 Kurdish politicians of them 118 arrested including politicians, academicians, writers, human rights defenders, is going on. The hearing is going on with the TRT reporter's reading of 2400-papered averment. The sixth of session of the fourth hearing of "KCK" Istanbul main lawsuit of 205 Kurdish politicians, of them 118 arrested, who were taken into custody in the military raids to lots of BDP buildings, politicy academies, homes and other foundations related to Kurds on 5-28 October 2011 in Istanbul, is going on in Istanbul 15th High Penalty Courthouse. 111 arrested indictees, families and lawyers stood by in the hearing.
http://www.diclehaber.com/2/22/1/viewNews/343836
6. Kurds welcome British genocide statement
8 March 2013 / UPI
Britain established its reputation as an international leader by formally recognizing Saddam Hussein's regime committed genocide in Iraq, a Kurdish leader said.
The British Parliament last week voted unanimously to recognize the genocide of the Kurdish people by Iraq's government under Saddam.
Ali Hassan al-Majid, an Iraqi defense minister under the former Baathist regime, was executed in January 2010 for ordering chemical weapons attacks on the Kurdish population in 1988 as part of the so-called Anfal campaign. An estimated 5,000 people were killed during the assault, earning Majid the nickname Chemical Ali.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2013/03/08/Kurds-welcome-British-genocide-statement/UPI-63351362762605/
7. Syrian Kurdish Militia Takes Over Oil Fields
7 March 2013 / Al Monitor
In the beginning of March, a Kurdish militia took over oil fields and installations in northeastern Syria, declaring their willingness to share the resources with the Syrian opposition if the Kurds would get their own share. With the ongoing civil war between Syrian government forces and Arab rebels, a Syrian Kurdish party called the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its militia, the Kurdish People’s Defence Units (YPG), are increasingly using the power vacuum to create a form of Kurdish autonomy similar to that which Iraqi Kurds enjoy. The PYD has set up local councils, security forces and Kurdish-language schools, creating a parallel government in the north of Syria.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/power-vacuum-oil-fields-syria-kurdish-militia-pyd.html
8. Mohsen Rezaee officially announced to be a candidate for the Iranian presidential election in eastern Kurdistan
10 March 2013 / Roj Helat
The secretary general of Expediency Discernment Council addressed the people of Divandareh in the city’s Grand Mosque: “I have been asked several time whether I will participate in the scene of presidential election or not, and I had postponed the answer to this question to the appropriate time and place, and today, among the people of Divandareh in Kurdistan province I announce that I will participate in the forthcoming presidential election.”
http://rojhelat.info/en/?p=5436
9. Over 50 Kurdish activists arrested in Iran
12 March 2013 / ANF
Based on official statistics more than 50 civil and political activists have been arrested by Iranian security forces during last two months. In recent days a new wave of arrest has been started specially in cities such as Pawe, Mehabad and Sne (Sanandaj). Iran’s Islamic Regime has intensified its pressure on Kurdish activists by illegal and mass arrests, issuing death penalty and abusing families of prisoners.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/over-50-kurdish-activists-arrested-in-iran.htm
COMMENT, OPINION AND ANALYSIS
10. The Democratic Union Party (PYD) Factor Forces Turkey to Have a Peace Process with the PKK
11 March 2013 / Kurdish Aspect
Let me be clear. I am for peace, and I support any step toward the peace process, because innocent people are paying the price. Therefore, I salute the BDP (Kurdish Peace Democratic Party), the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party), and even the Turkish government for their courage in trying to end violence and bloodshed, but let’s be honest and not delude ourselves. Based on what we have seen and what has been done in the past, this recent fanfare is an effort to discredit the BDP and to encourage division between the Kurdish parties or groups such as the BDP, the PKK, the KCK (Union of Communities in Kurdistan), and the new Kurdish religious party, the Huda-Par Party.
http://www.kurdishaspect.com/doc031113AM.html
11. Unprecedented Turns On Turkey's Kurdish Question
11 March 2013 / Al Monitor
Cengiz Candar: Turkey is a dazzling country. For years, I have been saying that nobody can claim to be an “expert on Turkey." Developments in the last couple of months have proven how right I was. Actually anyone can reach the same conclusion by looking at two photographs I saw. A photograph printed on the first pages of Turkish dailies in July caused a furor. Two women members of the parliament from the Peace and Democracy Party [BDP] known to be following the line of the notorious PKK and accepted as a Kurdish party in the parliament that is perceived as "Turkey’s Sinn Fein” were in the photograph. One of them is the current co-chair of BDP and the other was the previous co-chair. They were photographed embracing armed PKK militants who had cut off a road and were checking identifications at a point near the Iraqi border.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/kurdish-issue-turkey-developments-ocalan-bdp-pkk-ceasefire.html
12. The Kurds Are for the Kurds: Syria’s other combatants
8 March 2013 / The Weekly Standard
In northeast Syria, from the border with Iraq to the disputed town of Seri Kaniyah, a de facto Kurdish autonomous region has emerged. The area, known to the Kurds as western Kurdistan, is ruled by the Democratic Union party (PYD). This is the Syrian franchise of the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), which has been waging a military campaign against Turkey since 1984. The Kurds’ creation and successful defense of this area has largely been ignored in media coverage of Syria, with attention focused farther south and west, on the battle between the forces of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and the rebel insurgency.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/kurds-are-kurds_706670.html
13. Turkey and the Kurds: the era of mass hypnosis is over
7 March 2013 / Guardian
Since the start of this year, the Justice and Development party (AKP) has emerged from what looked like an impasse over Turkey's three-decade-long Kurdish conflict. The pace of change has been intense. But slow-motion progress in the background has often been overlooked: over the course of 15 years the public debate, backed by small-scale reforms, has evolved from the archaic militarist jargon of "there are no Kurds here, only mountain Turks". Ankara is now conducting direct negotiations with the jailed PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan – once demonised as a baby killer and chief terrorist by a venomously nationalist "mainstream" media.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/07/turkey-kurds-recep-tayyip-erdogan
Kurdish News Weekly Briefing, 1-7 March 2013
1. Turkish PM berates media for coverage of Kurdish peace process
4 March 2013 / Reuters
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has accused the country's media of trying to undermine a nascent Kurdish peace process and called on journalists to censor themselves if they love their nation, prompting a rare rebuke from a normally compliant press. In a heated public speech over the weekend, Erdogan condemned an article in the daily Milliyet newspaper, which published a transcript of a meeting last month between militant chief Abdullah Ocalan and Kurdish politicians.
Ocalan, head of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), has been holding peace talks with Turkey since October on his island prison and met a delegation of Kurdish politicians late last month to discuss the negotiations.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/04/us-turkey-kurds-media-idUSBRE9230PI20130304
2. BDP Executive Board gathers in Ankara
4 March 2013 / ANF
Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) central executive board and parliamentary group have gathered at the BDP head office in Ankara on Monday.
The meeting, closed to the press, will reportedly handle Öcalan's letters and recent developments in the process of talks with the Kurdish leader for a solution to the Kurdish problem. Among the letters written by Öcalan, one was sent to Kandil, one to Europe and one to BDP and HDK (People's Democratic Congress). After BDP received the letters on 26 February, the letters to Kandil and Europe were delivered to both addresses on the 27th. Following the Party Council and Central Executive Board meeting of BDP, a delegation of the BDP and Democratic Society Congress (DTK) went to Federal Kurdistan Region on the 27th to have talks with relevant political authorities here about Öcalan's letter. The delegation's most siginificant meeting was that with Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) Executive Council President Murat Karayılan and other KCK executives on Saturday.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/bdp-executive-board-gathers-in-ankara.htm
3. Kışanak: We are working for the release of Turkish prisoners
4 March 2013 / ANF
Speaking after the central executive board and parliamentary group meeting of Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) at the BDP head office in Ankara on Monday, co-chair Gültan Kışanak said that they had held the meeting to form opinions in order to make contribution to the ongoing process of talks for a solution to the Kurdish problem.
Kışanak pointed out that they were facing the responsibility of coming up with a solution for a vital issue, adding; “We have come up to this point by going through challenging times which made Kurds suffer great difficulties and pains as well as violations of their rights and freedoms. Well aware of the fact that we are witnessing a historic phase now, the executives of our party are trying to develop practical proposals and debates concerning the steps necessary for the process of talks to advance and to lead to a democratic life. We will continue to hold meetings and to focus our works on this purpose”.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/kisanak-we-are-working-for-the-release-of-turkish-prisoners.htm
4. PKK's Captives Interviewed
6 March 2013 / Bianet
Firat News Agency has released a series of interviews with 8 state workers - including Turkish army officers, a prospective governor and policeman - who are being held as captives by PKK since 2011. Family members of captive workers expressed their concerns to Hürriyet newspaper. On February 23, during the meeting with Kurdish deputies on peace talks, PKK leader Öcalan said "both PKK and Turkish state held captives". On the same day, Kurdish deputies reportedly received a letter from Öcalan which appealed the release of PKK's captives in Qandil Mountain in 10 days.
On Saturday, Peace and Democracy Party Co-Chairperson Gültan Kışanak confirmed Öcalan's statement in a press conference.
Firat News Agency also cited the caption dates of aforementioned Turkish state workers.
http://www.bianet.org/english/other/144880-pkk-s-captives-interviewed
5. PM Erdogan's Remarks on Imrali Process Are Concerning, IPI Says
6 March 2013 / Bianet
The International Press Institute (IPI) and its affiliate, the South East Europe Media Organization (SEEMO), released a statement yesterday, expressing its concerns overPM Erdogan's critical remarks on the publishing of Imrali peace process talks outlines by Milliyet newspaper.
“The job of journalists is to report on matters of public interest, which we believe include information on the potential resolution of a conflict that has dragged on for nearly three decades and claimed more than 40,000 lives," Anthony Mills, IPI Deputy Director, said.
http://www.bianet.org/english/freedom-of-expression/144897-pm-erdogan-s-remarks-on-imrali-process-are-concerning-ipi-says
6. KCK to respond to Öcalan within ten days
2 March 2013 / ANF
Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and Democratic Society Congress (DTK) delegation have returned to Hewler, capital city of Federal Kurdistan Region, after paying a visit to Kandil where they met Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) Executive Council President Murat Karayılan and other KCK executives on Saturday.
Following the visit to Media Defense Areas, the delegation, consisting of BDP co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Gültan Kışanak, Democratic Society Congress (DTK) co-chairs Ahmet Türk and Aysel Tuğluk, BDP deputies Altan Tan and Sırrı Süreyya Önder, held a press conference at the BDP office in Hewler.
Speaking here, Kışanak said that they had to make their visit to Kandil one day later than they had planned because of the heavy bombing by the Turkish army.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/kck-to-respond-to-ocalan-within-ten-days.htm
7. In pictures: Kurds mourn slain activists
4 March 2013 / Al Jazeera
Thousands of Kurdish women have marched in the southeastern region of Turkey, commemorating three Kurdish women assassinated in France in January. The rallies on Sunday were part of a series of events planned for the week to observe the upcoming International Women's Day. The largest demonstration was held in Diyarbakir, the region's biggest city, which has been torn apart by clashes between the army and pro-Kurdish armed group Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) for more than 30 years.
Thousands of women shouted slogans protesting the death of the three women.
PKK members Sakine Cansiz, Fidan Dogan and Leyla Soylemez were shot dead at the Kurdistan Information Bureau in Paris on January 10.
Gultan Kisanak, the female co-leader of Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), also attended the demonstration initiated by Democratic Free Women Movement, a Kurdish NGO. BDP has 29 members in parliament.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2013/03/20133493827926482.html
8. KCK main trial resumes in Istanbul
4 March 2013 / ANF
The fourth hearing of Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) Istanbul main trial has begun this morning at Istanbul 15th High Criminal Court in Silivri Prison Complex.
205 politicians (118 are in prison), are tried in the scope of the so called KCK Istanbul case. The politicians, academics and human rights defenders on trial were arrested in a KCK operation which targeted BDP provincial and district offices, politics academies and institutions in Istanbul between 5 and 28 September 2011. Speaking at today's hearing, defendant lawyer Ercan Kanar asked the court board to allow three days time for the defense of suspects, defending that very litte time is allocated to the defense of a number of defendants. The chief judge rejected Kanar's request, saying that the court will act in line with its own program, according to which 205 suspects will be allowed to defend themselves one day long, from 14 to 15 March.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/kck-main-trial-resumes-in-istanbul.htm
9. 10 Associations Face Closure Trial in Van Province
28 February 2013 / Bianet
A chief prosecutor has filed closure lawsuits on 10 local associations in Van province, charging them for their linkages with PKK.
Among these associations, women rights advocacy teams, sick inmate solidarity groups and Kurdish language culture centers were listed.
In the declaration of charges accepted by a local district court this morning, Chief Prosecutor Canip Cihangir charged the aforementioned associations for their linkages with PKK according to secret witness testimonies.
"This is the first time that KCK prosecutions are targeting local associations. It always aimed individuals before," Murat Timur, Van Bar Association Chairperson, said.
Timur also added that there has been an ambivalence on which association activities were related to PKK linkages.
http://www.bianet.org/english/local-goverment/144764-10-associations-face-closure-trial-in-van-province <http://www.bianet.org/english/local-goverment/144764-10-associations-face-closure-trial-in-van-province>
10. Set journalists free in Turkey: EFJ campaign update
7 March 2013 / Peace in Kurdistan campaign
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) pursues its international campaign to Set Free all Journalists in Turkey.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2013/03/07/set-journalists-free-in-turkey-efj-campaign-update-13/
11. 164 Human Rights Organizations to Meet in Istanbul in May
6 March 2013 / Bianet
International Federation for Human Rights will host its 38th international conference in Istanbul. Alongside with representatives from Turkey, 164 human rights organizations from more than 100 countries will gather in Istanbul between May 23 and 27 to discuss human rights challenges, Turkey's new constitution and the ongoing peace process on the Kurdish problem. On May 23-24, a public international forum on "Political Transitions and Human Rights: Experiences and Challenges” will address issues of institutional reforms, challenges to fighting impunity, the negative consequences of economic crises or of globalization on human rights, challenges to women's rights, to freedom of religion, opinion or conscience, and to discrimination against minorities On May 25-27, the internal congress of FIDH will enable its 164 member organizations from more than 100 countries, to exchange best practices and define FIDH strategic orientations, as well as elect its international board.
http://www.bianet.org/english/world/144867-164-human-rights-organizations-to-meet-in-istanbul-in-may
12. Barzani: We are ready to play our role for peace in Turkey
5 March 2013 / ANF
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has said it is ready to do what it can in order to support the process of dialogue in Turkey.
KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani told the press in Hewler/Erbil that its government "support this peace process. We are ready to play every role reserved for us. We hope that the problem will be solved in peace and democracy.” The press conference was joined by Ahmet Türk, deputy and co-chair of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK). The two met at Barzani’s house in Selahaddin. Türk said the meeting was part of the ongoing solution process. All parties should act sensitively in a bid to finalize the process through peace, Türk said. “Belief in peace will solve everything,” he said.
“We want Kurdish parties to play their part. Kurds are working for peace, but peace is not simply unilateral. Turks and Kurds need each other in the Middle East.”
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/barzani-we-are-ready-to-play-our-role-for-peace-in-turkey.htm
13. On the Ground Activities in western Kurdistan
28 Feruary 2013 / PYD Info
Girkê Legê: the Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party in Syria held a meeting in the city
The Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party in Syria held an expanded meeting yesterday in the town of Girke Lege in order to discuss the recent developments in the region.
Ahmed Suleiman of the Central Committee, pointed out the role of the Kurdish people in the Syrian revolution, and condemned the reaction of some of the opposition parties which are ignoring the Kurdish cause.
Suleiman stressed the role of the Supreme Kurdish Council in representing the Kurdish will and that it should play an active role in voicing the Kurdish cause in the Syrian opposition.
He also praised the role of the military committee, supervised by the Supreme Kurdish Council and called on all parties to join them to protect western Kurdistan. […]
http://pydinfo.com/field-reports/75-on-the-ground-activities-in-western-kurdistan
14. Basque parliament urges Turkey to work for peace with Kurds
5 March 2013 / ANF
The Basque Parliament has condemned today, with the votes of Euskal Herria Bildu y Partito Nacionalista Vasco, the killing in Paris of Sakine Cansız, a co-founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Fidan Doğan, representative of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) in Paris, and Leyla Şaylemez, member of the Kurdish youth movement on 9 January. The original text presented by Euskal Herria Bildu addressed three main points. Besides condemning the three deaths and show solidarity with the families of the three militants and Kurdish people, it asks Turkey to commit to a negotiated solution to end the "suffering the people of Kurdistan and Turkey have endured for so many year". It also calls for the recognition of the Kurdish national reality and urges the Council of Europe to intervene in the conflict.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/basque-parliament-urges-turkey-to-work-for-peace-with-kurds.htm
15. Prison sentences asked for Kurdish politicians in France
1 March 2013 / ANF
Three to five years in prison has been asked for 18 Kurdish politicians whose trial is going on since their detention in 2007 in France.
The action of objection in the trial was held from 11 to 27 February. The court decision on Kurdish politicians will be announced on 23 April 2013.
Speaking in court following the two-days lasting defense statements by lawyers, Kurdish politician Nedim Seven demanded light beeing shed on the execution of Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez in Paris on 9 January. Seven remarked that the French court trying them was a political act, adding; "None of the trials of Kurds will go beyond making a political decision unless the 30 years-old war between the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party), Kurds and the Turkish state is taken to trial at an international and independent court. Just like the former decision, the new decision to be made will also be a political one because of the political character of the case".
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/prison-sentences-asked-for-kurdish-politicians-in-france.htm
16. Protecting Workers Rights - Gerry Adams
3 March 2013 / ANF
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD speaking on Saturday's Sinn Féin organised conference ‘A century of workers in struggle 1913 -2013’said:
“100 years after the Lockout this state is only one of three EU member states in which workers have no legislated right to workplace representation – have no right to sit across from their employers and negotiate the terms and conditions of their employment. Workers have no right to collective bargaining. The government claimed that current legislation provides adequate protection. Workers deserve protection and they don’t have that. They deserve the legal protection of the government, particularly a government which has a Labour party component.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/out-there/protecting-workers-rights-gerry-adams.htm
17. From Rosa to Sakine: the International Women’s Movement and the Struggle of Kurdish Women
6 March 2013 / Roj Women
Roj Women Association organized a panel for International Women Solidarity Day at the Kurdish Community Center in North London in the evening of Sunday 3 March. Our slogan, “From the Mirabal Sisters to Rosa, from Rosa to Sakine: your words are our words, your ways are our ways” reflected how the Kurdish Women see their struggle as connected to the struggle of women across the world.
http://rojwomen.com/2013/03/06/from-rosa-to-sakine-the-international-womens-movement-and-the-struggle-of-kurdish-women/
COMMENT, OPINION AND ANALYSIS
18. Ocalan Signals Openness to Talks With Turkey on Kurdish Issue
3 March 2013 / Al Monitor
Milliyet, one of the most influential dailies of Turkey, rattled public opinion last Thursday. Milliyet headlined the notes of the meeting between three parliamentarians from the Peace and Democracy Party [BDP] and the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan at the prison on Imrali island where he is serving a life sentence. In journalism jargon, Milliyet scored a true scoop. But in Turkey’s fragile and even volatile political climate, it is impossible for such a news report to be received as pure news. The opposition immediately went on the offensive. Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Action Party [MHP], the rigid and passionate representative of Turkish nationalism, alluded to the notes of the meeting with Ocalan, accusing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of “treason” because of the steps he had taken for a solution to the Kurdish issue.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/turkey-ocalan-pkk-akp-kurdish-peace-hope.html
19. Turks and Kurds look to Good Friday accords as template for peace
1 March 2013 / Guardian
While Turkish and Kurdish leaders wait for the music to start in their fragile "peace process", they have already jointly taken to the dance floor, warily exploring whether enemies can become partners. Two places they have been doing this are Britain and Ireland, with politicians from both sides visiting London, Belfast and Dublin to learn about the methodology and psychology of negotiations that led to the breakthrough Good Friday accords under Tony Blair. "Although there are historical differences between Northern Ireland and Turkey, it was very important. I learned a lot," said Ayla Akat, a Kurdish MP who took part. She recalled meetings Jonathan Powell, Blair's chief of staff, and learning of his "bicycle theory" of conducting negotiations. "You've got to keep pedalling or you fall over."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/01/turk-kurd-good-friday-accord
20. Locked in a fateful embrace: Turkey's PM and his Kurdish prisoner
1 March 2013 / Guardian
A couple of hours south of the marinas of Istanbul in the middle of the Sea of Marmara sits Imrali island, a no-go area sealed off by the Turkish state. The island is Turkey's most high-security prison – its the equivalent of Alcatraz or Robben Island in South Africa – adapted to incarcerate one man, Abdullah Öcalan, the founder of the Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK) – an armed group of Kurdish fighters engaged in an insurrection against the Turkish state for 30 years.
Public enemy No 1 to the Turks, lionised by the Kurds, Öcalan has been demonised by Ankara for most of the 14 years he has been in solitary confinement on the island. The prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, even said recently he would have liked to have seen Öcalan executed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/01/turkey-pm-kurdish-prisoner-peace
21. PKK leader’s reading of the Arab Spring and ‘new’ Mideast
2 March 2013 / Hurriyet
The fledgling peace efforts between the leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Turkish state have taken a new turn with the second visit by deputies from the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and the leak of the alleged “official prison records” of their meeting. The daily, which published the records, said the records were not “served” to them, and the source of the leakage remained a mystery as this article was being penned.
The governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) pointed at the BDP for the release of the documents and labeled the disclosure as “an attempt to sabotage” the peace talks. There is quite many who think otherwise, suggesting the leakage is part of the “transparency” of the ongoing process. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/pkk-leaders-reading-of-the-arab-spring-and-new-mideast.aspx?pageID=449&nID=42154&NewsCatID=470
22. The message of Sinop
22 February 2013 / Kurdish Matters
‘Kurdistan does not exist!’ When you write about the Kurdish issue, now and then Turks feel the need to tell you with exclamation marks that a place called ‘Kurdistan’ doesn’t exist. Not only when I use the term – which I don’t do so often – but also just randomly. Sometimes, I take the trouble to answer that countries are not only defined by official borders, and that Kurdistan definitely does exist in the hearts, minds and dreams of many Kurds. Since this week’s events in the Black Sea Coast cities of Sinop and Samsun, I think it even exists in the minds of nationalist Turks. Unconsciously but unmistakably.
http://kurdishmatters.com/nationalism/turkce-sinopta-verilen-mesaj/
23. Turkey’s Negotiations with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and Armed Drones
26 February 2013 / Turkey Wonk
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently re-intiated peace talks with Abdullah Ocalan and the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK). Erdogan’s AKP, like Turgut Ozal’s Motherland Party, has sought to address Turkey’s Kurdish Issue – or the Kurds’ Turkey Problem – by focusing on the two groups’ shared muslim identity, rather than the previous policy of forced ethnic assimilation. Erdogan has previously engaged the PKK in peace talks, however, these efforts were unsuccessful. During the previous round of negotiations, Erdogan opted to hold the talks in secret, rather than subject himself to the inevitable backlash from Turkish nationalists (An important AKP voting bloc by the way).
http://turkeywonk.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/turkeys-negotiations-with-the-kurdistan-workers-party-and-armed-drones/
24. Turkey Renews Focus on Ending Its Long Conflict With Kurds
5 March 2013 / New York Times
When three prominent Kurdish women activists were murdered in Paris in January, analysts worried that the killings would derail the fledgling peace talks, begun late last year. Just the opposite appears to have happened, as both sides have moved forward with more determination to end one of the region’s most intractable conflicts, which has claimed almost 40,000 lives over nearly three decades. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has become such a forceful advocate for peace that he said he would drink “hemlock poison” if it meant an end to hostilities.
His nominal opponent, Abdullah Ocalan, the Kurdish militant leader, recently released a letter from his jail cell calling for a cease-fire by March and the withdrawal of fighters from Turkish territory by August.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/06/world/europe/turkey-renews-focus-on-peace-with-kurds.html?_r=0
25. Turkey and the Kurds: the era of mass hypnosis is over
7 March 2013 / Guardian
Since the start of this year, the Justice and Development party (AKP) has emerged from what looked like an impasse over Turkey's three-decade-long Kurdish conflict. The pace of change has been intense.
But slow-motion progress in the background has often been overlooked: over the course of 15 years the public debate, backed by small-scale reforms, has evolved from the archaic militarist jargon of "there are no Kurds here, only mountain Turks". Ankara is now conducting direct negotiations with the jailed PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan – once demonised as a baby killer and chief terrorist by a venomously nationalist "mainstream" media.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/07/turkey-kurds-recep-tayyip-erdogan
Peace in Kurdistan Campaign solidarity statement for International Women¹s Day, 8 March 2013
At the forefront of the struggle
7 March 2013
On International Women’s Day, 8 March 2013, Peace in Kurdistan campaign stands alongside all Kurdish women, across Kurdistan and in the diaspora, who are engaged with the struggle for Kurdish liberation and democratic rights. Peace in Kurdistan campaign also wishes to express solidarity with the millions of women fighting for social justice, women’s rights and freedom from state violence who are so often at the forefront of global liberation movements.
At this critical historical juncture in the Kurdish-Turkish conflict and with peace talks ostensibly ongoing between the Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan and the Turkish government, the struggle of the Kurdish people for their genuine liberation remains as urgent as ever. In the face of systematic violence and oppression, Kurdish women’s voices are among the loudest and most fearless of the movement.
Sakine Cansiz, brutally murdered in Paris on 9 January this year, was one such woman. As a founder member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), she was a leader in the Kurdish women’s movement’s dual fight, against patriarchy and against the Turkish state’s repression of Kurdish language, culture, and political rights.
This week thousands of women from across North Kurdistan gathered to demonstrate against Sakine’s assassination and that of Fidan Digan and Leyla Soylemez, both of whom were also active in the Kurdish Women’s movement in Europe before they were callously slain. When Gultan Kisanak, co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) addressed the crowd at the largest rally in Amed (Diyarbakir), she represented a long line of Kurdish women politicians who have forced the issue of Kurdish rights onto the political agenda in Turkey.
She follows in the footsteps of Leyla Zana, the first Kurdish woman to win a seat in the Turkish National Assembly and who famously spoke in Kurdish when giving her parliamentary oath. She was subsequently arrested and subjected to ten years in prison. The message has always been clear - with the vote or with the bullet, in the National Assembly or in the mountains, Kurdish women calling for justice will be accused of terrorism and treated as terrorists.
In Abdullah Ocalan’s view, sexism is an instrument of power that has been utilised throughout history to reinforce and exploit social hierarchies. He reminds us that the freedom of the Kurdish people rests on the freedom of women from patriarchal domination. Putting this ideology into practice, women have played a central role in every area of the liberation movement. (See greetings message from Ocalan below, 3 March 2013).
We know that confronting both state and gender violence takes great courage, and the Kurdish women’s movement has shown nothing less. Our sisters in the movement continue to inspire our efforts for peace, justice and self-determination for the Kurdish people, and we gladly honour them today.
7 March 2013
On International Women’s Day, 8 March 2013, Peace in Kurdistan campaign stands alongside all Kurdish women, across Kurdistan and in the diaspora, who are engaged with the struggle for Kurdish liberation and democratic rights. Peace in Kurdistan campaign also wishes to express solidarity with the millions of women fighting for social justice, women’s rights and freedom from state violence who are so often at the forefront of global liberation movements.
At this critical historical juncture in the Kurdish-Turkish conflict and with peace talks ostensibly ongoing between the Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan and the Turkish government, the struggle of the Kurdish people for their genuine liberation remains as urgent as ever. In the face of systematic violence and oppression, Kurdish women’s voices are among the loudest and most fearless of the movement.
Sakine Cansiz, brutally murdered in Paris on 9 January this year, was one such woman. As a founder member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), she was a leader in the Kurdish women’s movement’s dual fight, against patriarchy and against the Turkish state’s repression of Kurdish language, culture, and political rights.
This week thousands of women from across North Kurdistan gathered to demonstrate against Sakine’s assassination and that of Fidan Digan and Leyla Soylemez, both of whom were also active in the Kurdish Women’s movement in Europe before they were callously slain. When Gultan Kisanak, co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) addressed the crowd at the largest rally in Amed (Diyarbakir), she represented a long line of Kurdish women politicians who have forced the issue of Kurdish rights onto the political agenda in Turkey.
She follows in the footsteps of Leyla Zana, the first Kurdish woman to win a seat in the Turkish National Assembly and who famously spoke in Kurdish when giving her parliamentary oath. She was subsequently arrested and subjected to ten years in prison. The message has always been clear - with the vote or with the bullet, in the National Assembly or in the mountains, Kurdish women calling for justice will be accused of terrorism and treated as terrorists.
In Abdullah Ocalan’s view, sexism is an instrument of power that has been utilised throughout history to reinforce and exploit social hierarchies. He reminds us that the freedom of the Kurdish people rests on the freedom of women from patriarchal domination. Putting this ideology into practice, women have played a central role in every area of the liberation movement. (See greetings message from Ocalan below, 3 March 2013).
We know that confronting both state and gender violence takes great courage, and the Kurdish women’s movement has shown nothing less. Our sisters in the movement continue to inspire our efforts for peace, justice and self-determination for the Kurdish people, and we gladly honour them today.
Lawyers on Trial in Turkey: Implications for Establishing Peace and Justice, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
Report of the public meeting held in Parliament by David Morgan, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
4 March 2013
In Turkey today lawyers are being locked up simply for doing their job of representing their clients. The abuse of legality has gone so far that lawyers seeking to represent imprisoned lawyers are themselves being prosecuted. At present more than 50 lawyers in Turkey are in jail, of whom the majority are former members of Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan’s legal team.
These and other deeply worrying facts were discussed at a briefing meeting, hosted by Lord Kennedy, which was held in the Wilson Room, Portcullis House, Westminster, on 28 February.
The meeting was organised by Peace in Kurdistan supported by Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers the European Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights (ELDH) and CAMPACC and it was addressed by a distinguished panel of human rights lawyers including Michael Mansfield QC, Professor Bill Bowring and Margaret Owen OBE.
The speakers highlighted numerous abuses in the Turkish legal system and discussed the wider political implications, including similarities between what was taking place inside Turkey and in many other cases throughout the world where people were struggling for legitimate democratic rights.
In the case of the Kurdish lawyers, the meeting was informed that the evidence used against them had been obtained through the recording of what should have been confidential meetings with Ocalan during their prison visits to Imrali Island. The lawyers now stand accused of acting as go-betweens for Ocalan and the wider Kurdish movement, including the guerrillas.
Speakers stressed that it was not only lawyers that were facing arrest. Since the Turkish authorities launched the KCK operations over 8,000 people from various social stratas, including politicians, academics, writers, journalists and trade unionists, had been arrested as Turkey attempts to silence the Kurdish people and weaken their political organisations. The clampdown had been launched in the wake of the electoral gains of the main pro-Kurdish political party, the BDP, stated solicitor Ali Has, who chaired the meeting.
Sadly, Turkey was far from alone in this practise, the meeting heard; in fact, there are cases around the world of lawyers targeted for persecution wherever popular movements exist which threaten to disrupt the interests of governments and their global allies among which are multinational corporations, many British owned.
Michael Mansfield, who is President of the Haldane Society, put the arrest of lawyers in the wider context of a deep global crisis which he described as an economic, environmental and political ‘’meltdown’’ with serious implications for the future of human rights.
As the crisis deepened, we were witnessing a desperate scramble for territory, energy resources and power among the world’s major states acting in concert with multinational corporations. Anyone who stood in the way of these powerful interests were being criminalised and because those threatened were not simply lawyers, Mansfield said he preferred to describe them as ‘’human rights defenders’’.
The persecuted included the miners in South Africa who were shot for standing up for their rights as well as indigenous peoples around the world who were confronting the impact of development policies on their lands such as the Kurds who faced criminalisation under anti-terrorism laws.
Mr Mansfield described similar cases in which he had been involved over the years such as the struggle of the people of the Niger Delta in the 1990s to resist oil exploration which was destroying their environment.
People in Europe were not exempt from the criminalisation for the simple fact that Europe was right at the heart of it, he said. Multinationals carrying out development projects in Africa represented European interests along with those of China and the US.
He argued that the need to defend human rights defenders remained an urgent priority of groups like the Haldane Society and called for the setting up an instant response unit of lawyers in order to respond to cases as they emerge. This could organise protest actions and hold states to account when they abused their power.
Mr Mansfield warned that lawyers in the UK were not free from attack and cited the cases of lawyers in Northern Ireland who had been murdered by assassins thought to be linked to security forces.
Bill Bowring described the work of the European Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights and the International Association of Democratic Lawyers which was established in 1946 and had a record of support for national liberation movements.
Professor Bowring looked at the threats to lawyers in Turkey over many decades and how they had courageously sought to resist criminalisation including going on hunger strike against the notorious F-Type prisons. The appalling conditions of detention in Turkish prisons had later been probed in a Haldane Society report, he said.
The trial of the 46 lawyers which had been adjourned until 28 March had inspired a UK delegation which had produced a witness report and details of the trial had been circulated all over the world. It was vitally important to get the message to the media, he said, when human rights defenders were continuing to be arrested in Turkey, as in the case of the 85 people who were detained on 18 January.
Finally, Margaret Owen, who had acted as a witness at previous trials in Turkey, gave a vivid description of the bizarre situation within Turkish courts where the judge sat alongside the prosecuting counsel and seemingly cared little about conveying an impression of impartiality.
Ms Owen condemned the routine refusal to grant bail to lawyers facing prosecution as an example of the injustice of the Turkish legal system which also prevented Kurdish defendants from speaking in the Kurdish language and consistently breached confidentiality by listening in on conversations between lawyers and clients.
She situated the trials within the context of Turkey’s ongoing criminalisation of the Kurds with the introduction of more draconian anti-terrorism laws at an international level post-9/11. Human rights breaches in Turkey were rarely raised by European politicians or in the media despite Ankara’s bid to join the European Union.
She warned that Turkey was killing its own people and engaging in a cultural genocide against the Kurds and its atrocious record needed to be highlighted more in the international arena.
For this reason, Margaret Owen indicated her intention to join the forthcoming delegation to witness the resumption of the lawyers’ trial when it opens on 28 March.
The public meeting urged support for the delegation as an urgent priority and saw it as an important means of raising the continuing abuses by the Turkish authorities of fundamental civil and human rights of the Kurdish people. It also made a call for support for the initiative to set up an Alliance to Defend Human Rights Defenders in Turkey.
4 March 2013
In Turkey today lawyers are being locked up simply for doing their job of representing their clients. The abuse of legality has gone so far that lawyers seeking to represent imprisoned lawyers are themselves being prosecuted. At present more than 50 lawyers in Turkey are in jail, of whom the majority are former members of Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan’s legal team.
These and other deeply worrying facts were discussed at a briefing meeting, hosted by Lord Kennedy, which was held in the Wilson Room, Portcullis House, Westminster, on 28 February.
The meeting was organised by Peace in Kurdistan supported by Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers the European Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights (ELDH) and CAMPACC and it was addressed by a distinguished panel of human rights lawyers including Michael Mansfield QC, Professor Bill Bowring and Margaret Owen OBE.
The speakers highlighted numerous abuses in the Turkish legal system and discussed the wider political implications, including similarities between what was taking place inside Turkey and in many other cases throughout the world where people were struggling for legitimate democratic rights.
In the case of the Kurdish lawyers, the meeting was informed that the evidence used against them had been obtained through the recording of what should have been confidential meetings with Ocalan during their prison visits to Imrali Island. The lawyers now stand accused of acting as go-betweens for Ocalan and the wider Kurdish movement, including the guerrillas.
Speakers stressed that it was not only lawyers that were facing arrest. Since the Turkish authorities launched the KCK operations over 8,000 people from various social stratas, including politicians, academics, writers, journalists and trade unionists, had been arrested as Turkey attempts to silence the Kurdish people and weaken their political organisations. The clampdown had been launched in the wake of the electoral gains of the main pro-Kurdish political party, the BDP, stated solicitor Ali Has, who chaired the meeting.
Sadly, Turkey was far from alone in this practise, the meeting heard; in fact, there are cases around the world of lawyers targeted for persecution wherever popular movements exist which threaten to disrupt the interests of governments and their global allies among which are multinational corporations, many British owned.
Michael Mansfield, who is President of the Haldane Society, put the arrest of lawyers in the wider context of a deep global crisis which he described as an economic, environmental and political ‘’meltdown’’ with serious implications for the future of human rights.
As the crisis deepened, we were witnessing a desperate scramble for territory, energy resources and power among the world’s major states acting in concert with multinational corporations. Anyone who stood in the way of these powerful interests were being criminalised and because those threatened were not simply lawyers, Mansfield said he preferred to describe them as ‘’human rights defenders’’.
The persecuted included the miners in South Africa who were shot for standing up for their rights as well as indigenous peoples around the world who were confronting the impact of development policies on their lands such as the Kurds who faced criminalisation under anti-terrorism laws.
Mr Mansfield described similar cases in which he had been involved over the years such as the struggle of the people of the Niger Delta in the 1990s to resist oil exploration which was destroying their environment.
People in Europe were not exempt from the criminalisation for the simple fact that Europe was right at the heart of it, he said. Multinationals carrying out development projects in Africa represented European interests along with those of China and the US.
He argued that the need to defend human rights defenders remained an urgent priority of groups like the Haldane Society and called for the setting up an instant response unit of lawyers in order to respond to cases as they emerge. This could organise protest actions and hold states to account when they abused their power.
Mr Mansfield warned that lawyers in the UK were not free from attack and cited the cases of lawyers in Northern Ireland who had been murdered by assassins thought to be linked to security forces.
Bill Bowring described the work of the European Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights and the International Association of Democratic Lawyers which was established in 1946 and had a record of support for national liberation movements.
Professor Bowring looked at the threats to lawyers in Turkey over many decades and how they had courageously sought to resist criminalisation including going on hunger strike against the notorious F-Type prisons. The appalling conditions of detention in Turkish prisons had later been probed in a Haldane Society report, he said.
The trial of the 46 lawyers which had been adjourned until 28 March had inspired a UK delegation which had produced a witness report and details of the trial had been circulated all over the world. It was vitally important to get the message to the media, he said, when human rights defenders were continuing to be arrested in Turkey, as in the case of the 85 people who were detained on 18 January.
Finally, Margaret Owen, who had acted as a witness at previous trials in Turkey, gave a vivid description of the bizarre situation within Turkish courts where the judge sat alongside the prosecuting counsel and seemingly cared little about conveying an impression of impartiality.
Ms Owen condemned the routine refusal to grant bail to lawyers facing prosecution as an example of the injustice of the Turkish legal system which also prevented Kurdish defendants from speaking in the Kurdish language and consistently breached confidentiality by listening in on conversations between lawyers and clients.
She situated the trials within the context of Turkey’s ongoing criminalisation of the Kurds with the introduction of more draconian anti-terrorism laws at an international level post-9/11. Human rights breaches in Turkey were rarely raised by European politicians or in the media despite Ankara’s bid to join the European Union.
She warned that Turkey was killing its own people and engaging in a cultural genocide against the Kurds and its atrocious record needed to be highlighted more in the international arena.
For this reason, Margaret Owen indicated her intention to join the forthcoming delegation to witness the resumption of the lawyers’ trial when it opens on 28 March.
The public meeting urged support for the delegation as an urgent priority and saw it as an important means of raising the continuing abuses by the Turkish authorities of fundamental civil and human rights of the Kurdish people. It also made a call for support for the initiative to set up an Alliance to Defend Human Rights Defenders in Turkey.
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