Final Resolution of 11th EUTCC Conference in European Parliament
The EUTCC conference was closed last week with a resolution again calling for all parties take the opportunity for negotiations for peace and democracy in Turkey and for several measures to support the peace process such as delisting the PKK; third party mediation; recognition of the Democratic Autonomous Self-Administration of Rojava and more logistical support for the people of Kobane who have been resisting a siege on their city since August.
Kurdish Info has also published all the papers that were presented at the conference, as well as a videos of the discussion and a message to the conference by Abdullah Ocalan. The conference, now in its 11th year, was attended by Selahattin Demirtas and Salih Muslim, as well as several prominent academics and activists.
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Appeal to all Kurdistani people, supporters and humanitarian organisations to support Syrian Kurdish region
Appeal for funds from the Kurdish Red Cross. Please do what you can to support humanitarian efforts in Rojava:
Today the Syrian people in general and Kurds in particular are going through a violent proxy war. The Syrian Kurdish region is suffering most severely due to imposed double blockade of both the brutal Assad regime and the armed opposition. People in the Kurdish regions are suffering from lack of essential food and medicine and are becoming isolated in a crippling siege, which is threatening to become a severe humanitarian disaster in these hard winter conditions, the shortage of food, medicines and fuel for heating, bakeries, transports and electrical generators operation for hospitals and medical centres.
This situation is threatening people’s life, because of spread of diseases and lack of medical aids. However the Kurdish regions have been excluded from the international humanitarian aid despite hosting thousands of hundreds of refugees and displaced people from all Syrian war affected towns and cities.
The recent brutal attack targeting civilians in SereKaniye (Ras al Ain) on 16 January 2013 by Selafist armed mercenaries affiliated to terrorist groups, Turkey and others regional powers to destabilise and dragging the relatively peaceful Kurdish region into violent civil war which makes the Kurdish region a violent proxy war zone, targeting the civilians by killing indiscriminately and shelling civilians’ houses and properties which have been destroyed and looted and thousands have forcibly fled in horror and displaced.
We, the Kurdish Red cross crescent an humanitarian relief organisation established in Syrian Kurdish region to support the affected people in need and earnestly call all Kurdistani people, regional and global humanitarian Relief organisations, EU, UN, International community and public opinion to support the Kurdish region people and carry out their duties and responsibilities over the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the region where vulnerable people are losing lives.
Looking forward to your support and contributions to save lives!
Dr Mohamed Mustafa,
Representative of Kurdish Red Cross/ Crescent in the UK.
Mobile: 07872 300836
The objectives of campaign:
– Inviting and asking everyone, all Kurdistani people and humanitarian relief organisations to contribute in this campaign.
-Organising sub-committee for collecting of donations from businesses, shops, homes, families, individuals.
-Organising a fund raising event in the UKBritain: Kurdish Red Moon, Address: Fairfax Hall 11 Portland Gardens / London N4 IHU
Registered Charity No: 10 93 741, Company No: 42 85 714Bank Sort code: 20 46 60
Bank Account No: 40 91 23 87
Council for the Prevention of Torture reports on visit to Imrali island
Following the publication of the EP’s resolution on the 2013 Turkey Progress Report, another European institution has put Turkey under the spotlight this week, the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT). The CPT visited the island of Imrali in January 2013 and laid out their finding in a report, which is available to download here.
The CPT found that Abdullah Ocalan is being denied the same amount of open air time as the five other prisoners, and that he is not still allowed to have contact with them during his outdoor exercise despite earlier recommendations that this should be allowed. They add, “Out of a total of 168 hours per week, prisoners could stay outside their cells for up to 36 hours (22 for Abdullah Ocalan), but they were able to be in contact with other inmates for only 8 hours per week; in other words, they were being held in solitary confinement for 160 hours a week.”
The CPT goes on to say: “More generally, the CPT must stress once again that the regime applied to prisoners serving a sentence of aggravated life imprisonment suffers from a fundamental flaw and and should be revised not only at Imrali prison but in the prison system as a whole….as a matter of principle, the imposition of such a regime [of isolation] should not be the automatic consequence of the type of sentence imposed. The Committee wishes to stress that life-sentenced prisoners (as indeed all prisoners) are sent to prison as punishment and not to be punished within the prison.”
The report reveals the torturous levels of solitary confinement suffered by the prisoners, especially Ocalan. At one point in 2011, Ocalan was held in continuous cellular confinement for a total of 240 days as part of a disciplinary punishment, far exceeding the CPT’s owen recommendations to impose this kind of solitary on an inmate for just 14 days at a time. “Such a state of affairs is totally unacceptable”, the report concludes.
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KCD-E: ‘Confessions of a Murderer’
Below we reproduce a press release on new information about the murders of Sakine, Leyla and Fidan in January last year:
KCD-E (The Kurdish Democratic Society Congress in Europe,
Press Release 13.01. 2013
‘Confessions of a Murderer’
A recording that was leaked on the 12th of January 2014 – exactly a year after the murders – has provided the public with new information about how and by whom the Paris murders were planned.
In the recording Omer Guney, currently the only suspect and in French custody, clearly states that he was working in conjunction with the Turkish state and that it was he who planned and carried out the attack. It is clear from the recording that Omer Guney and Turkish state officials had been planning not just one attack but several attacks on various targets.
From the start, Kurdish political organisations insisted that this incident was a carefully planned professional attack backed by the Turkish state. Despite the fact that the French authorities never released any information to the public, these political murders can be traced back to Ankara.
EP passes resolution on Turkey Progress Report
The European Parliament held a plenary debate yesterday to discuss a resolution on the 2012 Turkey Progress Report, published last autumn. Peace in Kurdistan has followed the process closely and provided a submission to the draft resolution, which you can read below.
The final resolution was adopted yesterday, and can be downloaded here.
PEACE IN KURDISTAN CAMPAIGN APRIL 2013
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Motion for a resolution on the 2012 Progress Report on Turkey
Presentation by Peace in Kurdistan campaign for discussion of the draft motion on the 2012 Progress Report on Turkey, to be discussed in the plenary of the European Parliament on 17 April 2013.
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EC publishes 2012 Progress Report on Turkey
The European Commission has published its 2012 progress report on Turkey, the key finding from which you can read a summary of below. It is particularly critical of Turkey’s lack of respect for fundamental rights and there are continued concerns over the unnecessarily broad terrorism laws in the country.
You can download a pdf of the full report here: Turkey Progress Report 2012
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