No to Erdogan’s  Presidential Dictatorship Plans

PEACE IN KURDISTAN CAMPAIGN

Statement, 8 March 2017

On 16 April the future of Turkish democracy will be in the hands of the people. In calling for a No vote, the HDP and the Kurds are on the enlightened side of history and stand as courageous defenders of democracy.

On 16 April 2017 the citizens of Turkey will be asked to vote in a referendum that could permanently change their lives and alter the nature of their country forever.

President Erdogan is determined that the outcome will be the one that he wants – an overwhelming popular approval for his long cherished constitutional reforms that are designed primarily to grant more power to his office and keep him in the presidential palace for many more years to come. Erdogan has been riding a wave of popularity in the aftermath of the failed coup, but there are emerging signs of economic uncertainties ahead and people’s lives are far from improving. Continue reading “No to Erdogan’s  Presidential Dictatorship Plans”

The long road to peace and reconciliation in Turkey

Report by David Morgan, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign

A seminar on ‘’the long road to peace and reconciliation in Turkey’’ has taken place in London with guest speaker from South Africa, Judge Essa Moosa, who was on a brief visit to the UK.

The seminar addressed the current opportunities for dialogue between the Turkish government and the Kurds within the context of the slow moving peace process which was in danger on stalling.  

The event organised by Peace in Kurdistan in association with SOAS Kurdish Society, was held at SOAS on the afternoon of 16 November and attended by students, academics and people from wide spectrum of organisations who take an interest in Kurdish issues.

Judge Moosa, a distinguished law maker and a veteran of the anti-apartheid struggle, was introduced by Birgul Yilmaz, Teaching Fellow at SOAS, Faculty of Languages and Cultures, who chaired the event. He was joined on the panel by Akif Wan, Kurdistan National Congress, UK Representative.

In his address Judge Moosa, who heads the International Peace and Reconciliation Initiative, IPRI, argued that the historic developments in South Africa were a benchmark to understand how the conflict between Turkey and the Kurds might be resolved. (see article entitled “Democratic Solution to the Armed Conflict”)

Continue reading “The long road to peace and reconciliation in Turkey”