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.
“We Want Justice for Sakine Fidan, and Leyla” Campaign, 1 year on
One year since the tragic and callous assassination of Sakine Cansiz, Fidan Dogan (Rojbin) and Leyla Saylemez in Rue La Fayette in Paris, we still wait for answers from the French authorities about who is responsible for their murder.
The Ufficio di Informazione del Kurdistan in Italia (UIKI), The International Representation of Kurdish Women and CENI – Women’s Office for Peace have put together a document with the latest information about their campaign for justice for the three courageous women.
We Want Justice (pdf)
The European Peace and Democracy Assembly (ABDEM) has also called for mass participation in the demonstration to be held in Paris this Saturday, 11 January for Sakine, Leyla and Fidan.
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Conference on Democracy, Self-Determination and Liberation of Peoples
Held at the European Parliament, 23 September 2013. The final outcomes of the conference, set out in a declaration, are published below.
PRESS RELEASE
European Parliament
Brussels, Belgium
September 23, 2013
BRUSSELS, Belgium—Over a hundred representatives from various countries, civil society groups and grassroots organizations gathered at the European Parliament to hold the Conference on Democracy, Self-Determination and Liberation of Peoples last September 23, 2013. Organized by the offices of Members of the European Parliament Jürgen Klute and Iñaki Irazabalbeitia, IBON International and KONKURD (Confederation of Kurdish Associations in Europe), the conference aims to reaffirm the fundamental principles enshrined in the various UN declarations on the collective rights of peoples to self-determination and liberation.
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We demand justice!
CENI – Kurdish Women’s Office for peace have released this statement on the anniversary of the assassinations in Paris of Sakine, Fidan and Leyla.
Also, the CENI Info news bulletin for June is available in English for the first time, bring you all the latest news from the Kurdish women’s movement in Kurdistan and the diaspora. You can download it here.
We won’t rest until the murders of Sakine, Fidan and Leyla are completely solved:
We demand justice!
On 9 January 2013, a terrible crime took place in central Paris. Three female Kurdish politicians and fighters for freedom and women rights, Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez were gruesomely murdered with shots to the head. The Kurdish people, women and democratic forces around the world, are demanding a prompt and full investigation into the killings.
A Call for Justice: Over 100 women join together to demand justice for Sakine, Fidan and Leyla
Margaret Owen OBE and Professor Mary Davis, two patrons of the Peace in Kurdistan campaign, have written an open letter to the Justice Minister of France, Christiane Taubira, demanding justice for Sakine Cansiz, Fidan Dogan and Leyla Soylemez who were brutally assassinated on 9 January 2013. The assassinations, which took place days after peace talks with the Turkish government and Abdullah Ocalan were announced, was not only an attack on these three well-loved and well-known activists, but on the Kurdish women’s movement and the Kurdish liberation struggle as a whole.
The letter has been signed by nearly 120 women from across the UK, and the list includes members of parliament, academics, campaigners, trade unionists and many more. These women have chosen to stand by their Kurdish sisters who worked tirelessly for peace and justice for Kurdistan. So that their message is heard clearly, we have also sent copies to of the letter to MP’s Theresa May, Yvette Cooper, Baroness Warsi, Harriet Harman and Emily Thornberry. The letter has also been published in today’s print edition of the Morning Star.
KJB: The murders in Paris must not be forgotten
Statement by the High Women’s Council:
To the public
On January 9, 2013, the co-founder of the PKK and leading figure of the Kurdish women’s movement, Sakine Cansiz, and our comrades Fidan Dogan (Rojbin) and Leyla Saylemez (Ronahi) were murdered in the French capital of Paris. Although a month has already passed, these murders are still not sufficiently resolved. The French state refrains from disclosing its findings to the public.
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14 years too long: “Freedom for Ocalan!”
This text is from a leaflet orginially published by International Initiative – Peace in Kurdistan. It can be downloaded as a pdf here so that copies can be printed for distribution at meetings, protests and other such actions.
Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan
Who is Abdullah Öcalan?
Millions of Kurds regard Abdullah Öcalan as their political representative. About 3.5 million Kurds have testified this in a signature campaign in 2006. He is the most important exponent of their struggle for cultural rights and democracy and has become a symbol for the freedom of the Kurds. Öcalan opposes separatism and secessionism and stands for a democratic Middle East with all the peoples having equal rights which he has put forward as his perspective for a solution. A worldwide signature campaign for his freedom was recently launched.
Tireless peace efforts
Since 1993, Öcalan has been trying to create conditions that are suitable for a peaceful solution of the conflict. Even after his illegal abduction and imprisonment in 1999, he has remained a consistent advocate of a peaceful, political solution. From 2006 to 2011 he led talks with the Turkish government for a political solution to the conflict. In 2009 he presented his “Road Map for Negotiations”. In July 2011 Erdogan terminated the talks, only to restart them in November 2012 after much bloodshed and a huge hunger strike by political prisoners.
Karayılan: We have no doubt the Turkish state was involved
Translated from Turkish original (short text version), London 1 Feb. 2013
by DENİZ KENDAL
22 January 2013
BEHDİNAN – KCK Executive Council President Murat Karayılan said they had no doubt that the Turkish state was behind the murder of three Kurdish women activists in Paris, adding that it was “highly likely” the attack had been carried out along the lines of the Green Ergenekon integration strategy.
Karayılan stated there were two possibilities as regards which forces were behind the murders of PKK founder member Sakine Cansız, KNK Paris representative Fidan Doğan and youth movement member Leyla Söylemez on 9 January. Karayılan said it was highly likely that the attack had been carried out by Green Ergenekon forces as part of their plans to liquidate the leaders of the Kurdish movement. He added that the second possibility was that the Ergenekon deep state structure had carried out the attack without the knowledge of the government together with the NATO Gladio. Karayılan also made assessments of the latest developments in Syria.
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