Orhan Dogan has died. His funeral will take place in Kurdistan, 30th June 2007.

The Kurdish people have lost

Orhan Dogan!

His funeral will take place in Kurdistan

tommorrow from Van to Cizre.

Orhan Dogan had finished an election speech to a large gathering at the annual cultural festival at Dogubayazit, when he fell to the floor clutching his chest. This man had represented his Kurdish constituents in the Turkish parliament in 1991 before being imprisoned with his other Kurdish MP colleagues for 'treason' after Leyla Zana, fellow MP stood up in the Turkish parliament and saluted the "Sister and Brotherhood of Kurdish and Turkish People" in Kurdish and wore the Kurdish colours of red, green and yellow.

For this dreadful crime all of the Kurdish MP's were stripped of their immunity and in 1995 sent to jail for 15 years.(press picture above for video) Other Kurdish MP's like Zubeyir Aydar and Remsi Kartel, fled into exile to continue their diplomatic and political work from abroad.

Orhan Dogan is widely respected by Turks and Kurds alike.

This from a recent article from Sirnak, Orhan Dogan's constituency:

The Turkish military has shipped in trainloads of tanks, and tens of thousands of additional soldiers to the southeast. But local Kurdish politicians claim these measures are aimed at hurting their political campaigns in the run-up to general elections next month. "This is martial law," said Orhan Dogan, a Kurdish politician in Diyarbakir who served 10 years in prison after being convicted of having links to the PKK. Recently, Turkey's electoral commission barred him from running for parliament. "The military won't need any excuse to cancel meetings, political campaigns or even [stop] travel from one town to the next," Dogan said.

In Dogubayazit, like other Kurdish towns, medical facilities are minimum, so as Orhan Dogan held on to his chest he was not able to go to the local hospital as there were no facilities. Did the Turkish authorities make a helicopter available for this important Kurdish politician. No. Racist policies of the state mean that there are no such services for Kurds. If he was a Turkish politician you can be sure that he would of been rushed to the nearest hospital by helicopter.

As it was, he had to been driven in an ambulance for over 4 hours, first to Igdir and then to the nearest hospital with the relevant special equipment in Van where stayed in intensive care for the past two days. He died this morning.


Our thoughts are with his family, political colleagues and the Kurdish people. It is poignant moment that as we approach the Turkish elections on 22nd July and have great hopes that in this next election Kurdish representation returns to the Turkish parliament, that one of the Kurdish MP's who stood up for the rights of the Kurdish people, at great personal sacrifice, has lost his life.

Orhan Dogan's funeral will travel to different points in Kurdistan but will start tomorrow from Van and travel to Cizre.

It is sure to be attended by a massive crowd!

Basin Sag Olsun!