Launch of Haldane Society's Report on Prison Conditions in Turkey.

Delegation Spoke to Abdullah Ocalan's lawyers.
MEETING CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER!!

On Tuesday 3 February, we launch our report

"Conditions of Detention in Turkey: Blocking Admission to the EU".

The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers with colleagues from Finland and Norway sent a delegation to investigate whether Turkey is implementing its commitments on prison reform and conditions of detention, in February 2008.

The delegation met authoritative non-governmental organisations, representatives of the main political parties, practising lawyers, former prisoners and families of prisoners.

Turkey has now undertaken obligations both under the Council of Europe¹sEuropean Convention for the Prevention of Torture (ECPT), and under the Copenhagen Criteria (the conditions for its joining the European Union).

However, a summary of Turkey's recent history in a report published in 2007 by Amnesty International, demonstrated that compliance with those undertakings will require fundamental changes inlaw and practice.

The lawyers¹ delegation in 2008 reports on Turkey's continuing failure to comply with international human rights law, in particular its failure to respect minority rights for the Kurds, and reports of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment in Turkey¹s prisons, with women being subject to particularly harsh treatment.

Turkey maintains high-security F-type prisons, where prisoners are kept isolated from each other in conditions designed to produce 'psychological stress'.

The delegation met lawyers and family members of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, held in solitary confinement on Imrali Island, in the Sea of Marmara. Öcalan's rights to visits from his family are not respected, his lawyers are monitored and subjected to harassment.

The delegation concludes that Turkey's ratification of international instruments, its desire to achieve accession to the European Union, and the appearance of reform, are all consistently undermined by actual practice. It recommends 29 practical steps by which Turkey could achieve compliance with international law.

Speakers are delegation members Professor Bill Bowring and John Hobson,Mark Muller QC and Margaret Owen, Director of Widows for Peace through Democracy and Jeremy Corbyn MP is the chair.

The event is at

MEETING CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER!!

Tuesday 3rd Feb 7pm

Grimmond Room of the House of Commons,

Westminster, London SW1.

Admission is free.

(Note that it takes a little time to get intoWestminster because of security checks.)

Ergenekon. New Twists and Turns.

Turkey's 'Acid Wells'.

The investigation of the neo-nationalist criminal Ergenekon network involving military and police officers, politicians, media members, labor union leaders, and political strategists is continuing.

In the 11th wave of arrests, on January 22, 40 people were detained including 10 police officers, nine active duty military officers, and a union leader accused of being one of the network’s financiers (CNNTurk, January 22).

It was claimed that among those arrested were two assassination teams consisting of police officers from special forces units and the military (Sabah, January 22). At the same time, new evidence has been revealed that has turned public opinion against the Ergenekon network.

According to a poll conducted by the A&G polling company, 61.7 percent of the respondents believed that Ergenekon existed, 20.3 percent said they believed there was no such crime network, and 18 percent were undecided (Milliyet, January 27).

With the recent wave of arrests, the direction of the investigation has tuned to unsolved political murders committed throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.

One of the witnesses in the Ergenekon trial testified that a key Ergenekon suspect, retired General Veli Kucuk, personally ordered the assassination of the secular academic Necip Hablemitoglu in 2002 (Today’s Zaman, January 28).

The Ergenekon trial will determine whether the witness’s claim is true, but the debate over Ergenekon has finally turned to the state’s policies toward the Kurds in the 1990s.

Abdulkadir Aygan, a former member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and later a member of the clandestine gendarmerie intelligence unit known as JİTEM, confessed to the media that when retired Colonel Abdulkerim Kirca was the head of JITEM in Diyarbakir, the unit conducted dozens of executions (Star, January 19). Since then, Aygan has been living in Stockholm for fear of his life. The following day, Kirca committed suicide (Star, January 20).

Chief of General Staff General Ilker Basbug, armed forces commanders, and a large number of military officers attended Kirca’s funeral in what was apparently a show of solidarity by the military for its members (Hurriyet, January 21). The Turkish Armed Forces issued a statement saying, “the media with its untrue stories judges people and drives them to tragedies. The authorities should act to stop this irresponsible media coverage” (www.tsk.mil.tr. January 21).

As was to be expected, the media continued giving attention to Aygan’s confession. Aygan claimed that JITEM had executed between 600 and 700 Kurds in the 1990s and that “JİTEM operations always ended in death.…those who were reported to JİTEM as having any relationship with the PKK were executed” (Taraf, January 27).

In addition, Kurdish activists have started demanding that the acid wells of BOTAS, the Turkish petroleum company, be emptied, because former Ergenekon members have claimed that JITEM dumped some of its victims in them (Today’s Zaman, January 16, Bugun, January 28).

The Kurdish nationalist Democratic Society Party (DTP) asked parliament to request that the authorities investigate the unsolved murders in southeastern Turkey. In response, the justice minister indicated that if there were solid reasons to support digging out the acid wells, he would consider investigating the claims (Radikal, January 21).

With the possibility of establishing a relationship between Ergenekon and some of the unsolved murders and PKK operations in the Kurdish region, the Ergenekon prosecutors asked the court in Diyarbakir to send the files of the JITEM trial in which 11 accused JITEM members have
been tried in the last 10 years without producing a conviction (Referans, January 28).

Moreover, the Ergenekon prosecutors have asked the court to send the files on Brigadier General Bahtiyar Aydin who was mysteriously assassinated in town of Lice in Diyarbakir Province in 1993 and the files of colonel Ridban Ozden, whose murder in Mardin Province in 1995 was blamed on the PKK, a theory that is rejected by many including Ozden’s wife (Sabah, January 28).

It still remains to be seen how Ergenekon prosecutors will connect the murders in the Kurdish region in the 1990s with the arrested Ergenekon suspects and the buried ammunition found after the last two waves of Ergenekon arrests in January.

Another claim that is being circulated about the Ergenekon network is that it plotted assassinations and killings to put the country into chaos in preparation for a possible military coup.

While an opinion poll conducted by A&G polling company in second half of January shows that a majority of the people believe that Ergenekon is a criminal network operating outside the boundaries of the law, it is still a difficult task for the prosecutors to prove Ergenekon involvement in the incidents that took place in the past (Milliyet, January 27).

Source: Jamestown Foundation.

A Photo: Kurdistan, A Country Under Military Occupation.

Anybody who has travelled in NW Kurdistan (Turkish occupied part) can immediately relate to this image, of a minibus full of Kurds, being stopped by Turkish soldiers and searched near Diyarbakir.

They say that one picture is worth a thousand words and it is true with this image.

It is part of the everyday suffocating and oppressive Turkish military presence that Kurdish people have to put up with, as the Catholics in the north of Ireland had to suffer the oppressive British Army.

My son found it hard to really understand the whole 'Kurdish Turkish issue' when he was around 5 years old. He would say things like "Well, my mum's Kurdish but she speaks Turkish and lived in Turkey."

The experience that really sorted out the Kurdish Question for my young son was a trip we made to NW Kurdistan. We were stopped so many times by the police and army.

After having these Turkish soldiers trampling through our minibus, searching us and throwing our luggage about and generally being very rude and aggressive my son finally sussed it:

"They don't like Kurds, do they daddy!"

And after those experiences, he understood the issue perfectly!

Abdullah Ocalan is The Kurdish Question! ORGANISE, MOBILISE, DEMONSTRATE!

He leads the Kurdish people from assimilation to Kurdish Freedom !

After 10 years in prison, it is now time to

FREE ABDULLAH OCALAN

LONDON DEMONSTRATION:

13:00

Sunday, 15 February 2009

Seven Sisters Tube Station to KCC

FREE ABDULLAH OCALAN!

FREEDOM FOR THE KURDISH PEOPLE!

26th January 2009

Press Release: CALL FOR LEGAL OBSERVERS ON KURDISH DEMO.

The Kurdish Community Centre is concerned at the increased monitoring and harassment of Kurdish community members in London.

One month ago, two members of the Kurdish community had their houses raided by 'special teams' from the UK Anti Terrorist Branch. One member was hauled off to Paddington Green High Security Anti Terrorist Police HQ to question him, about the status of his council house!

No charges have been forthcoming nor has an inventory of items confiscated during the raids been provided. The Mother in Law of one of the persons raided, fainted at the shock of the police action.

In another incident, one of the distributors of the legal Kurdish newspaper, Ozgur Politka, was stopped by police under, 'anti terrorist' legislation and questioned about his activities. Again, no charges were brought.

These and other incidents mirror the harassment faced by Kurdish political activists in Turkey and is causing us increasing worry here at the community centre.

We fear that this kind of police activity is designed to work in conjunction with the Turkish state to 'criminalise' the Kurdish Community.

We are calling for legal observers and volunteers to monitor the police actions at the next demonstration being organized by the Kurdish community to mark the 10th anniversary of the illegal abduction of the Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan on the 15th Feb 2009.

Organisers have in the past been threatened by the police and demonstrations are video'd and photographed in an intimidating manner. Police have even instructed organisers what can and cannot be chanted on the demos.

We fear that because of the marked increase in police harassment that this demonstration will face similar actions and are appealing to human rights organizations and the media to attend the demonstration to monitor and report on the police tactics.

For more information please contact Arzu Pesman 07960302192 or Mark Campbell 07865079415

Turkey's Death Squads and Acid Wells.

An 'Acid Well' where many thousands of victims of Turkey's death squads were believed to of been dumped.

Turkey’s unsolved murders: from Susurluk to Ergenekon’s acid wells

There are contradicting figures on the exact number of unresolved murders in Turkey. The period between 1986 and 1999 saw a growing toll of unresolved murders while the period prior to 1980 is considered a different category because of ideological clashes between leftist and far-right groups.

Kurdish researchers argue that the number of unresolved murders in Turkey exceeds 20,000. Considering that 33,000 died during Turkey’s fight against terrorism, they believe this is a realistic figure because many unresolved murders stemmed from this combat; however, the number sharply declines to 550 if we only look at applications handled by the European Court of Human Rights as an authoritative indicator.

Sadık Avundukluoğlu, the former chair of the parliamentary commission set up to investigate the unresolved murders, says the figure advanced by the Kurdish intellectuals is an exaggeration, adding that the number of applications before the European Court of Human Rights gives a more accurate figure.

Stressing that every death in connection with arms and drug smuggling in the Southeast is attributed to the state, Avundukluoğlu further said: “The Kurdistan Workers’ Party [PKK] has tried to put the blame for the people it killed on the state.

Giving a figure without taking this into consideration is not meaningful.”

Prosecutors are looking into claims about death wells located in the Southeast in which hundreds of bodies of southeastern citizens killed by the Ergenekon organization on suspicion that they might be affiliated with the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party.

Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO) President Sinan Aygün was one of the people held in custody in connection with the Ergenekon investigation; he was released after being interrogated; however, no legal action was taken with respect to $3.5 million euros found in his safe.

What makes Aygün more interesting is a report issued by the ATO in 2005 on the unresolved murders in Turkey. The report said that about 588,000 perpetrators of unresolved murders are freely living among us.

The report further argued that the harmonization laws enacted to facilitate the EU membership bid eroded the police’s authority and ability to deal with criminal cases and offenses.

According to the report, the number of unresolved murders was 68,000 in 2000, 91,000 in 2001, 85,000 in 2002, 113,000 in 2003 and 129,000 in 2004. The report argued that the figure would most probably reach 200,000 by the end of 2005.

The report was based on police data. ATO asserted that 29 out of 100 criminal cases remained unresolved in 2002, adding that it rose to 35 in 2003 and to 37 in 2004.

The report was published at a time when the Ayışığı and Sarıkız coup attempts would have been staged. Data published by the Forensic Registration and Statistics Unit of the Justice Ministry show that the report was actually an exaggeration. ATO had published similarly exaggerated reports during the same period. For this reason, a number of intellectuals held that ATO’s actual goal was to undermine the EU membership process.

Reports published by the Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples (MAZLUM-DER) with respect to the unresolved murders confirm the arguments put forth by the Kurdish researchers; however, neither the official archives nor the Kurdish intellectuals’ reports were precise.

In any case, all parties agreed that Turkey was a country with many unresolved murders.

Two rooms of the Human Rights Association’s (İHD) Diyarbakır branch are full of files pertinent to the unresolved murders committed in 13 provinces. Local chairman Muharrem Erbey is now working to coordinate with prosecutors with respect to these files.

According to the İHD data, there are about 20,000 files. Most of the dockets were left from the office term of Tansu Çiller between 1993 and 1996. Of these 20,000, 1,500 are on disappeared people.

The apprehension of retired Gen. Levent Ersöz, accused of involvement in a number of unsolved murders and disappearances of persons during his service in the region, has presented an opportunity to shed light on the murders.

Democratic Society Party (DTP) Şırnak deputy Hasip Kaplan complains that the Ergenekon investigation has so far failed to resolve the murders, assassinations and social chaos in the region, adding that Ersöz’s apprehension will be a big step in this respect. Kaplan’s family was extensively affected by Ersöz’s activities in the region.

Kaplan’s brother Faik Kaplan asked to serve as a witness in the Ergenekon trial, arguing that Ersöz threatened to throw him out of a chopper.

Serdar Tanış and Ebubekir Deniz, both from the People’s Democracy Party (HADEP) Silopi local party organization, disappeared on Jan. 25, 2001; a subsequent investigation revealed that they had been taken to the Şırnak Provincial Military Command.

There is still no information on their whereabouts. Ersöz was the provincial military commander at the time of their disappearance.

Ersöz, who fled to Russia when the Ergenekon investigation began, also served as head of the General Staff’s intelligence unit. He was caught with a fake ID last week and stands accused of involvement in a number of unresolved murders.

The European court ruled against Turkey with respect to the disappearance of these persons despite the fact that local remedies were not yet exhausted -- a prerequisite for the acceptance of an application into the court’s docket. The court waived this requirement for the first time in its history.

After the Ergenekon investigation began, alleged Ergenekon member Tuncay Güney, among others, argued that the bodies of some of the missing might have been buried in oil wells and burned with acid in Şırnak and Cizre. While the argument has not attracted attention from public authorities, the İHD’s Diyarbakır branch believes that Tanış and Deniz were dumped in these wells.

Death triangle

After the start of the Ergenekon investigation, the DTP Commission of Human Rights and Law decided to file a motion to intervene in the proceedings. Batman deputy Bengi Yıldız, the head of the commission, notes that they made a report indicating that more than 17,000 people had been killed in the East and Southeast.

The report reserves extensive coverage for the murders committed in the so-called death triangle of Sapanca, Hendek and Düzce. During this period, retired Gen. Veli Küçük, who is currently under arrest in the Ergenekon investigation, was serving as Kocaeli regional gendarmerie commander.

Information about Mustafa Dönmez, also an Ergenekon suspect, may shed light on the unresolved murders. It is interesting to note that the mysterious murders started shortly after Prime Minister Tansu Çiller said on Nov. 4, 1993: “We have a list of artists and businessmen who make payments to the PKK; we will deal with them.”

The victims killed in the death triangle include Kurdish businessman Behçet Cantürk, who was allegedly involved in drug trafficking, and his driver, Recep Kuzucu. Cantürk was kidnapped by men in police uniform on Jan. 14, 1994. The bodies were found in a park in Sapanca the next day. Attorney Yusuf Ekinci, who was allegedly close to Cantürk, was also found dead in Ankara on Feb. 25, 1994.

The second murder case in the death triangle involved Savaş Buldan, who was kidnapped along with his friends Adnan Yıldırım and Hacı Karay in İstanbul on June 2, 1994. The bodies of the victims were found in Bolu on June 4. Savaş Buldan was the husband of DTP deputy Fatma Buldan.

On March 27, 1994, Fevzi Aslan, a car dealer in İstanbul, and his nephew, Salih Aslan, were detained by men who introduced themselves as police officers. They were found dead in Sakarya the next day. A ballistics investigation revealed that the gun used in the murder of Cantürk and was the same gun that killed Fevzi and Salih Aslan.

On Feb. 4, 2007, a male body was found in Hendek. The body has still not been identified.

Other people killed in the death triangle also include Enis Karaduman, Mustafa Çapar and Ekrem Çaylan.

The İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court, which is currently hearing the Ergenekon trial, has ruled for a reinvestigation of the unresolved murders committed in this region.

There is also extensive evidence showing that retired Capt. Cem Ersever, the founder of JİTEM, and Tarık Ümit, from the MİT, were murdered in the death triangle.

Source: Zaman.

Sebahat Tuncel Urges Support for DTP.

By David Morgan, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign, 18 January 2008

A public meeting on the threatened closure of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) by the Turkish courts took place in the Grand Committee Room of the House of Commons on 15 January.

The packed meeting hosted by Labour MP Eric Joyce heard an address by guest speaker Sebahat Tuncel, an MP representing the DTP from Istanbul, who outlined the court case that has been initiated against her party and the likely consequences of any ban for democracy in the country.

Strong expressions of support for the DTP were voiced by members of the audience. It was widely felt that the party’s policy of pluralism and peace in Turkey offered hope for both Kurds and Turks after years of conflict and suffering.

Ms Tuncel called on British MPs to take a close interest in what is happening inside Turkey today, particularly with respect to the legal action against her party, although it has won support from large numbers of Kurdish people.

Although progress has been made in democratic reform over recent years, there was always a danger that these steps could be reversed as long as the Kurdish Question goes unresolved, she said.

Both Britain and the EU should realise that Turkey still needs to find a solution to the Kurdish issue before it can achieve and secure its own full democratisation, the meeting was told.

The absurdity of the current situation is illustrated by the fact that Kurdish-speaking members of the Turkish Parliament are forced to register their mother tongue as “an unknown language” simply because the state refuses to recognise the existence of Kurdish.

Such procedures still prevail despite the recent opening of a state-controlled Kurdish language television channel in Turkey.

Ms Tuncel reminded everyone of the fragility of the democratic process in Turkey and the repressive measures that have been taken against Kurdish political party organisations over many years. The DTP was accused of failing to denounce the PKK as a terrorist organisation.

The MP stressed that the real reason for the case against the DTP was rooted in the historic failure of the Turkish state to come to terms with the Kurdish presence and its denial that there is a “Kurdish Question”.

The DTP was formed in 2005 after a succession of previous constitutional parties supported by Kurds such as HADEP and DEHAP had been shut down by the state. The Kurdish people were therefore all too familiar with these attempts to marginalise and exclude them from the democratic process.

Despite all the obstacles placed in their way, Kurds remained determined to make their voice heard by fighting elections at local and national level. In 2007, the DTP gained representation in the Turkish Parliament when 22 of its members were elected despite the 10 percent voting threshold that is designed to exclude minority parties. The DTP now makes up the 4th largest party bloc in the Parliament.

The DTP is also strongly represented at local level in the Kurdish South East of the country and the meeting also highlighted the importance of Turkey’s forthcoming local elections in March and the prospects for stronger representation of the Kurds.

Sebahat Tuncel described the DTP’s position as on the side of peace and pluralism which would equally bring benefits to both Kurds and Turks. The party felt that dialogue was essential to resolve the ongoing conflict which had caused so much suffering over the years. The Kurds had endured four million of their people displaced and 10,000 extra-judicial killings, with many disappeared people remaining unaccounted for.

The root of the conflict was not the PKK and its alleged terrorism, but the policy of denial of the Kurds which has meant that 20 million people had been assumed simply not to exist with their language and culture not recognised.

The PKK should be understood as the latest manifestation of the uprising of the Kurdish people against the intolerable repression that Kurds have been suffering for many decades. The numerous unilateral ceasefires and proposals for peace issued by the PKK should not go unmentioned.

Eric Joyce, who chaired the meeting, said that the DTP clearly had an important role to play in the democratic process in Turkey, but firmly urged Kurds to emphatically “disavow” all forms of violence and develop a credible programme to move the dialogue forward.

The meeting also heard from Lord Wallace, Liberal Democrat spokesman on Foreign Affairs, who saw many signs of progress from Turkey but felt that its critics needed to moderate their demands in order to avoid any adverse reaction.

The meeting was supported by the Kurdish Federation UK (Fed-bir), Kurdish Community Centre (KCC) Haringey, Halkevi (Kurdish Turkish Community Centre) Hackney; Kurdish Community Centre Croydon, Roj Kurdish Women's Association London, Heyva Sor (Kurdish Red Crescent), Peace in Kurdistan Campaign and the Kurdistan Solidarity Committee.

Turkey's 'Terrorist' Baby!

NEVER MIND TRT JASH, THIS IS STILL THE REALITY FOR THE KURDS IN TURKEY!

This Baby cannot receive medical treatment because it has a Kurdish name!

Free Kurdish Dancing Classes. Women Only!

ROJ WOMENS GROUP

Every Saturday from 10.00 to 12.00

Women-only Folk-Dance Classes

The first session is on 17 January 2009, Saturday



THE COURSE IS FREE OF CHARGE

LOCATION: Kurdish Community Centre

New Member Applications: 07979041236 or 0207 249 6980

ROJ WOMENS GROUP
Kurdish Community Centre
Fairfax Hall
11 Portland Gardens
N4 1HUE-mail: rojwoman@yahoo.co.uk

Turkey and the Kurdish Question: Public Meeting in UK Parliament

Public Meeting

Turkey and the Kurdish Question

The closure case of Democratic Society Party (DTP) by the Turkish court

Thursday, 15 January, 6.30pm Grand Committee Room, House of Commons, Westminster SW1

Chaired by Eric Joyce MP

Speaker: Ms Sebahat Tuncel

Democratic Society Party MP for Istanbul


The Kurdish communities in Turkey and the UK are vibrant, democratic and very active. The Turkish Government has made some progress in recent years, notably the harmonisation of Turkish human rights legislation with EU legislation.

There remains some way to go, of course, and this includes such issues as the local elections in March and the future of parties which have a strong claim to represent many Kurds.

I am writing to invite you to attend a public meeting in the grand committee room at 18;30pm, followed by a reception with tradition Kurdish food in Jubilee Room at 20;00pm on Thursday 15th of January 2009.

The meeting and the reception is hosted by Eric Joyce MP and there will be speakers on the Kurdish issue and Turkey's EU accession progress.

I will be pleased if you can confirm whether you will be attending both the meeting and the reception or which one of the events you will be present in.

The meeting is supported by Foreign Policy Centre, Kurdish Federation UK (Fed-bir), Kurdish Community Centre (KCC) Haringey, Halkevi (Kurdish Turkish Community Centre) Hackney; Kurdish Community Centre Croydon, Roj Kurdish Women's Association London, Heyva Sor (Kurdish Red Crescent), Peace in Kurdistan Campaign, Kurdistan Solidarity Committee.

For information contact: Ibrahim Dogus, ibrahimdogus@gmail.com <mailto:ibrahimdogus@gmail.com> , on 07876146557 or Susan Cooper, COOPERSD@parliament.uk <mailto:COOPERSD@parliament.uk> , on 0207 219 2779.

Kurdish Asylum Seeker Speaks Out from Yarlswood Detention Centre.

Nazim Kilic is awaiting deportation in Yarlswood Dentention Centre. He has made the following statement from the centre, today, 12th Jan 2009, 1400hrs:

"I have been in the UK since 04/06/1999. I have been reporting to the Hastings Police Station as and when required, sometimes on a weekly basis and sometimes on a monthly basis.

On the 5th January 2009 at 0600hrs immigration staff (3 females and 4 males) came to my flat and wanted me and my family to get up and pack our belongings.

We were told we will be leaving the UK. We were told our flight was booked for the 8th January 2009.

I was told I will be returning to Turkey and my wife and children will be going to Belgium.

We were all brought to Yarlswood IRC in Bedford and held in detention.

We were taken to Heathrow Airport on the 8th January 2009. We told the Immigration Officer at the airport we did not want to be separated.

I am Kurdish and my land has been divided, part of my land belongs to Turkey and the other part is divided between Iraq, Syria and Iran. Since 1923 when Turkey became a republic they do not accept any other rights or ethnics as part of their culture. They don't accept any reading or writing in Kurdish but want it in Turkish.

All other ethnics and religious beliefs were not accepted.

Many Kurdish people seeking their rights have left the country. This 'ban' is still taking place today. Turkey still doesn't accept the Kurdish language and claims it as an unknown language. Against this Turkish ban anyone seeking Kurdish rights is killed. Thousands of Kurdish people are being killed who are labelled as "unknown killings" and many more Kurdish people are being arrested. All regions are getting poorer and there is no work.

Farming the mountain areas is banned. Over 4,000 thousand villages have been left empty and people have no choice but to leave their homes. These events are still taking place even today and these are the reasons.

I feel it is not safe for me and my family to live in Turkey. The Home Office wants me to go back there and I don't want my children to grow up in this unacceptable place. There is still a lot of racism towards Kurdish people.

When I was in Turkey I was involved in political activities which put my life at risk and I had to leave the country with my family.

Here in the UK I was also involved in the community centres which catered for Kurdish refugees. The community centres were legal to run and was run with the help and approval of the local council. The Turkish embassy was watching our activities and monitoring who was involved. These activities, this alone, makes it difficult for me to return to my own country. I don't what I'll face when I get there.

The Home Office believes that I have been involved in political activities and say that part of my family still lives there, therefore I can live there too and that there is no danger for me.

Parts of my family are still living there but are scared and are under close observations from the Turkish people and laws.

My family are still living with fear and are looking for Kurdish rights.

Turkey will never be safe for people like me who are fighting for Kurdish human rights. I will always defend my ethnic rights and therefore Turkey is a danger for me and my family." Nizam Kilic faxed statement from Yarlswood Detention Camp, 12th January 2009.

NOW SPEAK OUT FOR NIZAM AND HIS FAMILY SIGN THIS ONLINE PETITION

Sign The Petition: Let This Kurdish Family Stay!

URGENT ACTION PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION AND PASS IT AROUND

Nizam and Hefez are Kurds from Turkey, they have two young daughters, Shilan (2) and Nujan (3) they fled to the UK 10 years ago because they were persecuted by their government and have lived here ever since.

The family have lived in Brighton and have settled very well in the local community

Nizam is a member of a well known Kurdish political family in Turkey and has campaigned for the rights of Kurdish people in Turkey from the UK.

Nizam and his family have been held in detention since 5th January. They are stressed and the children are disturbed.

They are now facing imminent deportation to Turkey. As a result of representations made by the local MP the Home Office has decided to deport Hefez and the two children to Turkey as well, so as 'not to cause the family trauma of seperation' (yesterday they were going to deport Hefez and children to Belgium)

This is even worse as it now puts the whole family in danger. It is not safe for this family to return to Turkey.

According to Human Rights Watch

Kurds have been the principal victims of the Turkish state's excesses since the military coup of 1980"(<. The Turkish Government's treatment of the Kurds is internationally recognised as some of the worst human rights abuses in the world. The Turkish Government is particularly harsh on those they perceive as activists and Nazim because of his association with the PKK, at least, if not his whole family, will face imprisonment, torture and even death if they are returned to Turkey. The EU Progress Report on Turkey published in November referred to the "significant political influence" exercised by the military and suggested that military leaders should confine public statements to military and defence matters. The report criticized continuing violations of freedom of expression and concluded that Turkey had made little progress in ensuring the rights of minorities. In September the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) reported on its December 2005 visit to Turkey. It noted expressed concern about continued cases of abuse, which included beatings and squeezing of testicles, in some police stations. During 2006 the European Court of Human Rights issued approximately 200 judgments against Turkey for torture, unfair trial, violations of free expression, extrajudicial execution, and other violations.

We're asking people to sign the petition above and also to Fax Jacqui Smith the Home Office Minister to protest against this family's removal.

Children should not be locked up like criminals nor should families be returned to countries where they will face persecution.

Let Nazim Kilic, Hefez, Silan and Nucan Stay!

What you can do to help -

Your letters and faxes do make a difference!

1) - Fax: Ms Jacqui Smith MP, Home Office Minister please include full names and Home Office Reference number: K1096787

Fax: 020 8760 3132 / + 44 20 8760 3132 (if you are faxing from outside UK)

Don't Let their Daddy be Tortured!

Urgent Press Release from Kurdish Community Centre.










Young Kurdish Family Faces New Year Deportation, Torture and Separation.



This morning we have been contacted by friends and family of a young Kurdish family in Brighton who were forcibly taken from their family home, early in the morning of the 5th Jan 2009. The ‘Immigration Removal Team’ forcibly dragged the husband, wife and two young girls of 2 and 3 into vans and were driven, against their will, to Yarlswood detention centre.

They were then, later, taken to Heathrow and there was an attempt to forcibly put the family onboard two different aeroplanes. The husband on a flight to Turkey and the wife and two children on a flight to Belgium. As they had resisted, the deportation has been suspended for now but is still imminent.

The Kurdish Community Centre is deeply worried about the safety of this young family.

Not only because we believe that this attempt to deport this young family to different countries is a flagrant breech of international human rights law but because we are almost certain that if Nizam Kilic is returned to Turkey he will face imprisonment and torture.





The father, Nizam Kilic, is from a well known political Kurdish family in Turkey and has been campaigning in the UK for the rights of Kurdish people in Turkey for the last 10 years.






We are appealing to the Home Office on humanitarian grounds to stop this barbaric behavior to this young family and allow them to stay.

We also appeal to any humanitarian organizations to protest to the Home Office about this disturbing case.



Please telephone the Home Office and ask for this deportation to be halted and allow this young family to stay.

Home Office Ref Number: Nazim Kilic K1096787

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION TO SUPPORT THIS FAMILIES RIGHT TO STAY IN THE UK.


For more information please contact Racheal Bird 07952145854 or Mark Campbell 0208 880 1804 or 07865079415

Medical Aid for Palestinians! Please Donate!

Left: A Palestinian father loses his three children, murdered by Israel.

Hevallo has just donated money to MAP (Medical Aid for Palestinians) Watch this video from inside a Palestinian Hospital in Gaza.


DO SOMETHING! DONATE HERE!

Interview with Murat Karayilan.

We will participate in freedom

Interview with the Chair of the Kurdistan Democratic Confederation Executive Council, Murat Karayilan



Published in Yeniden Ozgur Politika, 27 December 2008

The Chair of the Kurdistan Democratic Confederation Executive Council, Murat Karayilan, spoke to ANF on recent debates in relation to the PKK.

Mr Karayilan highlighted the need for constitutional reform and added “unless concrete actions are taken to address the fundamental aspects of the Kurdish problem any effort for the disarmament of the Kurdish querrillas is futile.”

Mr Karayilan, who explained that the reason for the very existence of the querrillas was the need for freedom, added that “the issue for discussion is not how to disarm the guerrillas but it is the status or the recognition of the guerrilla forces.” “The truth of the matter is how to achieve reconciliation, equality between two nations, the Turks and the Kurds.

Disarmament is impossible without the freedom of Kurdish people,” Karayilan added.

Elaborating on the recent report on Kurdish question by the TESEV and statements made by both Talabani and Barzani, Mr Karayilan stated that the recognition of the Kurdish problem was an important development.

He said that the Kurdish question is one of the important issues in the Middle East that demands urgent resolution and that the KCK and the armed forces are both key counterparts in a process of resolution. “Even though our movement is sceptical about the purpose of the recent debates still we attach great importance to discussion of the Kurdish problem,” Karayilan stated.

“There have been various other reports in Turkey, but the TESEV report despite its shortcomings contains research that exposes the root causes of the Kurdish question. However, the key role of our leader Abdullah Ocalan in a peace process had been overlooked and the number of our armed forces has been underestimated in the report.

The guerrilla forces make up much more than couple of hundreds as claimed in the report. The guerrilla forces have established themselves and possess a structure that has been formed over the past 25 years.

Proposals to ‘disarm and rehabilitate’ the Kurdish querrillas are out of its context and not realistic. Solution does not lie within a new/revised amnesty but in meeting the demands of the Kurds for freedom.

Thus the report fails to propose a realistic solution by ignoring the fact that the Kurdish guerrillas and the Kurdish strug gle under an organised form constitute an important reality of the Kurdish people in Turkey.

Unless the rights and demands of the Kurds are recognised and secured any effort to dissolve Kurdish armed forces and its organisational form will be futile.

The fact that the report highlights the need for a political solution and identifies the social dimension of the Kurdish problem is important. The report concludes that the problem cannot be resolved through military means.

We have always believed in a dialogue like a civilised people. Even though the report contains valuable conclusions the TESEV somehow hesitates to puts its name under the proposals and instead announced the report as ‘the views of the Kurds.’

This report may carry a value as it could arguably offer a framework for public debate on the Kurdish issue.

The President of Iraq, Mr Jalal Talabani has also spoken to the CNN-Turk [Turkish TV channel] in line with the report. However, at the moment it is all words and we are yet to see any action.

In such matters it is practical steps that carry real value.

We do not seek a military solution. The Turkish state and the Turkish Army insist on military action.

We believe in a political solution and also argue that we [the Kurdish movement] have become a political, social and military reality.

It is important to reach an accord on the basis of both the Turks and the Kurds to live together in a democratic Turkey. Constitutional reforms are necessary which could lay the basis for a resolution.

Any proposal for disarmament of the guerrilla forces without addressing the fundamental roots of the Kurdish issue is futile. Kurdish guerrillas are not on mountains waiting for yet another Amnesty, they are on mountains to secure freedom.

The guerrilla members are not on mountains for personal gains they are fighting for freedom of our people. Therefore an Amnesty would not dissolve the Kurdish armed forces. First step is to provide constitutional safeguard to Kurdish cultural rights and Kurdish ethnic identity.

If such steps are taken then the issue of the armed forces can be discussed. The discussion should not only be focussed on disarmament, a legal status for the Kurdish guerrillas could also be discussed.

The cornerstone in any discussion should be the equality and reconciliation between the Kurds and the Turks. The TESEV report states that the PKK maintains its organisational strength.

The Kurdish question cannot be resolved by ignoring or disgarding the PKK and the guerrilla forces. However, the current Turkish government insists on a policy of denial and annihilation of the facts related to the Kurdish question.

They demand surrender. This political reality of the Turkish authorities cannot bring about any form of peace process. Denial and annihilation is the official policy for the Turkish state.

Today the annihilation and the denial policy are enshrined in Turkish law. Throughout history the Ottomans, the Republic of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran have implemented violence and repression against the Kurds; however no solution was achieved.

We need to overcome the mentality of denial in order to take constructive steps towards a solution.

We believe in a peaceful solution but we are also obliged to defend the rights of our people, our dignity and our cause against the mentality of annihilation. Our armed forces are in defensive positions and contribute to the development of our political and social gains.

The guerrilla forces do not represent an obstacle to a solution. The fact that the Kurdish question is debated is due to the struggle and the organisational existence of our movement.

Although we attach importance to calls for a political solution we believe such calls should be directed to Turkish officials as our movement does not oppose a political solution.

The TESEV report claims that ‘the PKK maintains its power’. This is an insufficient statement. ;

Our leader has been in captivity for the last ten years.

Our movement has been attacked not only by Turkish forces but has also been subjected to all forms of political attacks at the international level. Despite all the attacks the PKK did not only maintain its organisational power but has grown in strength and numbers.

The past ten years are significant to establish that violence and the use of force will not succeed against our movement. The war of denial and annihilation had an impact on the Kurdish movement to further develop its ability of defence and organisational structure.
Sooner the relevant forces recognise this fact the closer we may get to the beginning of a peace process.

Upcoming local elections.

The TESEV report and the following debate coincided with the current local election campaigns. We are concerned and hope that these recents debates and the report are not a simple election tactic. That is why our movement insists on concrete and sincere practical steps along with discussion.

The Kurdish people and all concerned parties should be aware of the timing of the recent debate and demand action on the political solution of the Kurdish question. The DTP visit to South Kurdistan and proposals for a conference
We have always believed in dialogue between the Kurds.

The Kurds living in all parts of Kurdistan would benefit from unity between the Kurdish organisations. The Kurds living in all parts need to develop policies that would consider the Kurdish question as a whole.

We believe at this time a conference at a national level between the Kurds would be appropriate and is a necessity. In the light of developments in all parts of Kurdistan it is important to form a platform – which could be in the form of conference or a congress – where national policies and strategies could be designed. We attach importance to the DTP visit to South Kurdistan and declare our support for a national conference.

We will take an active part in the preparation of such a platform where all Kurdish organisations should have equal representation.

I would like to state our appreciation of t he recent statements made by the Massoud Barzani, Necirvan Barzani and the Iraqi President Jalal Talabani who have emphasised the need for a political solution and once more given assurances that the Kurds will not be fighting Kurds.

I would like to affirm our determination to keep peace between all Kurdish parties and call on all relevant forces, including the Kurdish parties, to take an active part in promoting a political solution to the Kurdish question in Turkey.

Recent Turkish air bombardments and deployment of forces along the border.

The Turkish Army continued its military operations throughout the winter season. This is the other side of the coin. The Turkish officials may hope to strike a military blow on our forces, cause demoralisation among our people and perhaps gain more credit for the upcoming local elections.

Iran has also taken part in the implementation of this concept. Turkey made every effort to obtain the active support of Syria and Iraq. They intend to gain a victory at the local elections and declare that there is no such thing as the Kurdish question.

During the same time last year Turkish Army attempted to launch a massive military operation against our forces in Zap area. They were defeated. We are prepared for every possibility and possess the necessary skills and experience to defeat similar attacks.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki visit to Turkey.

Turkey and Iran intend to gain the full support of Syria and Iraq to support all out war against our movement. Turkey has been invading Iraqi land and bombing Iraqi villages for years and Mr Maliki has not raised the issue of cross border operations or air bombardments.

We believe Iraqi officials should encourage a political solution to the Kurdish question in Turkey and should not be part of Turkey’s military campaigns. Iraq has a history and experience in dealing with its own Kurdish problem. Necessary lessons should be learnt.

At a time when peace in the Middle East is a key fundamental issue the Kurdish question cannot be avoided. Remaining silent against the Turkish military attacks and plans to form an alliance against the PKK is not the right way forward. Iraq should not engage in a war against the Kurds.

We would actively support any initiative that promotes a political and peaceful solution however we warn the regional powers to be aware of Turkey’s hidden agenda under the pretext of the war against ‘terorism’.

The PKK cannot be eradicated by military means. Our movement is politically and organisationally in a strong position.

Our armed forces have long been positioned to fight against any possible military operations at any level. The guerrillas are well equipped and able to use all parts of Kurdistan effectively.

We call on all forces not to adopt policies that would only prolong the war and cause more bloodshed but to engage in dialogue and seek a political solution.
ERDAL ERGİN/ ANF/BEHDİNAN

Kurdish National Congress Pays Tribute to Harold Pinter.

Harold Pinter delivers a letter of protest to the Turkish Embassy in London about the suppression of the Kurds in Turkey.

Kurdistan National Congress (KNK)

Tribute to Harold Pinter: A Tremendous Loss for All Humanity

On Christmas Eve 2008 the world suffered a tremendous blow and the Kurdish people lost one of their most loyal and dear friends when Harold Pinter sadly passed away.

One of the English language’s greatest playwrights, the author of over 29 plays and numerous film scripts, Harold Pinter was celebrated as a writer, poet, director and actor with a distinguished career in the theatre, on screen, in radio and on television.

Pinter was a much deserved winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature and his name will be remembered internationally for all time.

But Harold Pinter was more than a great professional author. He was a true friend of all humanity who was a towering figure on the side of people struggling for justice and freedom in every corner of the world.

An outspoken and courageous critic of tyrannical power and government corruption at home and abroad, Pinter’s unique voice and writings offered a bright beacon of hope for the poor and oppressed everywhere.

Harold Pinter truly understood the plight of the Kurdish people and repeatedly over many decades spoke out against the denial of their most basic rights of language, culture, identity and representation under the Turkish Republic.

It can be recalled that one of Harold Pinter’s most effective and moving plays, Mountain Language, was inspired by his deep sense of outrage at the intolerable treatment of the Kurds and remains a searing indictment of their continuing oppression.

Harold Pinter consistently stood for peace, decency and civilised values. His words will remain an inspiration for humanity.

The Kurds will always honour the name of Harold Pinter and we cherish his friendship and solidarity. They deeply mourn his loss and on behalf of the Kurdish people we send our heartfelt condolences to his family. He was a great man and a remarkable human being.

31 December 2008