The list is growing but we need more signatures!
Dear Peace in Kurdistan supporters,
We wanted to remind you of this ongoing joint appeal from CAMPACC and Peace in Kurdistan campaign to finally remove the PKK from the terrorism list as a means of giving peace negotiations between Turkey and the Kurdish movement the best possible chance.
If you haven’t already signed, you can do so by filling in your details as appropriate in the given spaces below and sending it back to us, or by following this link: http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/activities/new-appeal-lift-the-ban-on-the-pkk/
And don’t forget to share the appeal with friends and colleagues!
Peace in Kurdistan Campaign and Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC)
APPEAL
Lift the ban on the PKK – Justice and Freedom for the KurdsTo the UK government, the European Union and the Turkish Government
The case for the delisting of the PKK is now quite overwhelming. We believe that the time is now right for all parties to consider this move in order to give an additional boost to the peace process.
The new chapter in the peace process to resolve the Kurdish conflict with the start of tentative talks between the government side and Abdullah Ocalan has been heralded as the Kurdish opening. It has been greeted as the start of a genuine breakthrough that could bring about an enduring peace and final end to a conflict that has done so much damage to Turks and Kurds alike. This could not have been achieved without goodwill and willingness to compromise on both sides.
Recent initiatives to secure peace through talks can still be jeopardised by the continued listing of the PKK as a terrorist group in Turkey which is reinforced by the UK and European Union’s ban on the organisation.
We believe that it time to recognise that the PKK is a major political force inside Turkey and the main party that enjoys the trust and loyalty of the vast proportion of the Kurdish people living in the country and in the Kurdish diaspora. The Kurdish people have remained steadfast in their support through thick and thin. To this day, the PKK is able to exercise great influence on the Kurdish community and has shown itself to act responsibly as a force for stability and democratic change inside the country.
Turkey last made amendments to its anti-terrorism law in April of this year and is now reported to be on the verge of introducing new terrorism legislation in the wake of the Taksim Square and Gezi Park protests. Turkey is now facing the prospect of a renewed clampdown on civil rights that might mean a reversal of the real progress on reform. This would be a dangerous development.
We are convinced there is a need to strengthen the social forces that want peace and reconciliation. Abdullah Ocalan and the PKK have demonstrated their readiness to work for peace through constructive engagement with the elected government in Turkey. They continue to adhere to the terms of the peace process and call for a deepening of democracy in the country.
Bringing an end to all the needless suffering and countless casualties are at the forefront of our minds as we seek to encourage and move the peace process forward to an agreement that will satisfy all parties. We believe that this is the only way to secure the peace in the long term. In this context, we believe that it would be a helpful move at this stage to consider the delisting of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party from the banned terrorist groups. Our reasons for making this proposal are twofold – it will boost the prospects for the successful outcome of the peace process, and it will recognise the constructive moves that the PKK has made towards the search for peace and the bringing about of a final end to the conflict.
The ban on the PKK distorts the whole political process by ensuring that anyone who expresses an opinion on controversial issues in Turkey can be held to be an associate of terrorism and prosecuted with the full force of a law that is as indiscriminate as it is unjust. This, we are sure you will agree, is an intolerable situation in any modern democracy.
We have in mind the need to bring the party ‘’in from the cold’’ and believe that lessons can be learned from the history of contemporary conflicts in other countries which had been brought to an end by the taking of bold and imaginative measures such as occurred, for example, in Northern Ireland and South Africa where former combatants now occupy important positions in post-conflict politics. Learning from these experiences, there is an urgent need to look again at the proscription of the PKK as this may become an obstacle to any future negotiations that will be required to achieve the peace settlement to which everyone is publicly pledged.
We appeal to you to take the appropriate measures to review the listing of the PKK because we want to see an end to the conflict in Turkey. A true peace will need to respect and reflect the wishes and traditions of the Turkish nation and the Kurds who form an integral part of it.
On this basis, we the undersigned certainly feel that it is time to delist the PKK.
Signatories: Gareth Peirce, solicitor, Birnberg Peirce; Melanie Gingell, barrister, Doughty Street Chambers; Professor Bill Bowring, Professor of Law, president of the European Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights (ELDH); Dr Michael M. Gunter, Professor of Political Science, General Secretary of the EUTurkey Civic Commission; Barry White, Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, EFJ; Ozlem Galip, University of Oxford; Ali Has, solicitor advocate; Bronwen Jones, barrister, Tooks Chambers; Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers; Bruce Kent, Vice President Pax Christi UK; Margaret Owen OBE, Director, Widows for Peace through Democracy (WPD); Mary Davis, Visiting Professor of Labour History at Royal Holloway, University of London; Nick Hildyard, policy adviser; Tony Simpson, Editor, The Spokesman, journal of The Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation; Phil Shiner, Solicitor, Public Interest Lawyers; Francis Webber, retired barrister; Louise Christian, human rights lawyer; Alastair Lyon, solicitor; Dr Vicki Sentas, Lecturer in Law, University of New South Wales; Hugo Charlton, barrister and human rights lawyer; Johanna Alberti, Keswick Peace and Human Rights; Councillor Jonathan Bloch, Liberal Democrats; Andrew Penny, translator; Isabel Käser, Monocle Magazine; Seyithan Sansur; Prof. Hovhannes I Pilikian; Jawad Mella, KNC; Saleh Mamon, CAMPACC; Philip Khaled Brennan, CAMPACC/PiK; Les Levidow, CAMPACC;Amed Yaduz; Juan Efrin, MGRK-Britaniye; Seyfettin Cabuga; Rusen Unlu; Osman Ismail, freelance writer; Roj Gunay; Prof. Katchatur L. Pilikian; Laurence Goodchild, postgraduate student, Oxford Brookes University; Jandan Candan, lawyer; Bianca Benvenuti, student;Cihan Negiz; Anna Bragga, journalist; Alexandra Lort Phillips, researcher; Kardo Bokani, PhD candidate; Cemalettin Cinkilic, artist;Joseba Karlos Gonzalez, cleaner; Mauro Desira, NGO worker, Kurdish Institute Brussels; Aonghas MacNeacail, Poet/Songwriter;C.T.V.Dorp, biologist; Joy Hall, housewife; Kariane Westrheim, Associate Professor, University of Bergen; Alain Hertzmann, Branch secretary London North West Branch 9708, UNITEtheunion, UK; Stephen Smellie, Deputy Convenor, UNISON Scotland; Nelly Bocchi, pharmacist, Centro Immigrazione, Asilo, Cooperazione Internazionale (CIAC); Donatella Perfetti, tourist guide; Alessia Montuori, researcher, University la Sapienza, Rome; Dogan Sahin, interior designer; Ann Alexander, Scotland Against Criminalising Communities;David Polden, peace worker, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; David Murray, engineer; Professor Penny Green, International State Crime Initiative, Dickson Poon School of Law, Kings College London; ; Micheline Maire, PhD Student; Myrta Grob, ritual master; Shiler Amini, PhD researcher, Exeter University; Rossella Piscontii, researcher, Exeter University; Sally Mousaawi, digital editor; A Gelawej, Laurea University; Paige Rosner, Gallery Educator, Southern Alberta Art Gallery; Peter Käser, school director; Gemeinde Goldach; Alan Rezai, student; Abul Hassan, biologist; Hashim Ul-Hassan, student, University of Edinburgh; Paul Barbara, retired minicab driver; Cahit Cetinkaya, painter and decorator; Anne Crozier, teacher; Ruken Akansu, engineer; Matthew Greenan, journalist; Sheila Mosely, social worker, International Support Kurds In Syria Association; Shirzad Ahmed, barrister and solicitor; Delshad Rasoul, lawyer, Win Solicitors; Dana Abdullah, doctor, Birtley Medical Group; Gary Hewitt, education consultant; P. Selvaratnam, retired teacher, Women for Justice and Peace in Sri Lanka; David Landau, project worker/case worker; Stuart Crosthwaite, asylum rights campaigner, South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group; Jude Bloomfield, urban researcher and writer; Annemarie Haest, painter and peace worker; John Daniels, retired printer, Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation; Nihat Gümüs, student; Shakhawan Jaf, PhD student; Ayse Tekagac, postgraduate researcher
I/we would like to sign:
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For further information contact
Peace in KurdistanCampaign for a political solution of the Kurdish QuestionEmail: estella24@tiscali.co.uk <mailto:estella24@tiscali.co.uk>
www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com
Contacts Estella Schmid 020 7586 5892 & Melanie Sirinathsingh - Tel: 020 7272 7890
Fax: 020 7263 0596Patrons: 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
Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC) www.campacc.org.uk
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