Continue reading “KCK: New Interview with KCK Representative Duran Kalkan”
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.
Write to Adem Uzun!
Earlier in the year, Peace in Kurdistan campaign and CAMPACC began a number of initiatives to demand the release of Brussels-based Kurdish activist Adem Uzun, who was arrested in Paris last October. He was denied bail and he has now spent seven months in prison without a trial date set.
Read more about Adem, the political nature of his arrest and our campaigns to release him.
In February we sent an open letter to the French Justice Minister, Christiane Taubira, which was signed by over 200 campaigners, politicians, academics and community activists, urging the French authorities to release him. Anyone who missed their chance to sign the open letter can still get involved – we also designed and printed cards that YOU can send off her. The more that arrive on her desk the better, so get in touch if you’d like some to send.
Most importantly, we are appealing to everyone to write directly to Adem. It is often said that the most frightening thing for prisoners is the fear of being forgotten. We want to make sure that Adem is not forgotten, and a simple letter from you could break the isolation he must undoubtedly feel at this time. We believe and act of solidarity like this will provide him with great comfort and strength.
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.
New international campaign for Adem Uzun launched
Peace in Kurdistan campaign, along with Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC), is pleased to support this new international campaign launched by the EUTCC calling for the release of Adem Uzun:
EUTCC – TURKEY CIVIC COMMISSION
INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN
FREE ADEM UZUN
THE LIBERATION OF A GENUINE KURDISH DIPLOMAT : ADEM UZUN
Editorial
The international community while waiting for creative dynamics in context with the complicated Turkish-Kurdish dialogue at the same time Mr. Adem Uzun as one of the ARCHITECTS
OF KURDISH DIPLOMACY is arrested in Paris.
Continue reading “New international campaign for Adem Uzun launched”
Europe’s Kurds march in their thousands in Paris
These photos are courtesy of David Brunetti, many thanks to him for sending them on to us.
Join the Friends of Adem Uzun!
A new initiative by Peace in Kurdistan Campaign and Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC) UK unites members of parliament, lawyers, journalists, political commentators and activists in a common cause, to demonstrate support for detained Kurdish politician Adem Uzun and demand his release from prison.
We have already collected dozens of signatures but we need more! To add your name to the growing list, please email ‘I would like to join the Friends of Adem Uzun’ to estella24@tiscali.co.uk with your name, profession and organisation as appropriate and we will add you.
FREE ADEM UZUN
The Kurdish politician Adem Uzun was arrested in France on 6 October 2012. Having been denied bail, Adem remains in detention awaiting a trial which could be months away.
Adem Uzun is a prominent activist working to achieve peace through the resumption of negotiations between Turkey and the Kurds. A leading politician with the Kurdistan National Congress, KNK, Adem is well-known to anyone involved in the Kurdish issue, especially in the European Parliament, and has been one of the main Kurdish negotiators in the so-called “Oslo Process” with high-level Turkish Government’s representatives. Continue reading “Join the Friends of Adem Uzun!”
EUTCC: In memory of our friends
Issued: 10 January, 2013
For immediate release
IN MEMORY OF OUR FRIENDS:
SAKINE CANZIZ, FIDAN DOGAN, AND LEYLA SÖYLEMEZ
It was with shock and grief we received the horrible news about the deaths of our dear friends who were massacred in Paris today in the most grotesque way. Sakine Canziz, the co-founder of the PKK in 1978 holds a crucial role in the party. Fidan Dogan (Rojbin), a Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) member from Paris, has also been working closely alongside the EUTCC for many years and her work has been very important to our international work for the Kurds.
GUE/NGL Group of the European Parliament condemns the assassination of three Kurdish activists in Paris
(FR/EN)
Le Groupe GUE/NGL du Parlement Européen condamne l’assassinat de trois activistes kurdes à Paris
GUE/NGL Group of the European Parliament condemns the assassination of three Kurdish activists in Paris
(English text follows below)
Brussels, 10/01/2013
“Je n’ai pas de mot pour exprimer l’horreur et la tristesse que je ressens face à ce crime. Rojbin Fidan Dogan a été la première personne à m’avoir parlé de la question kurde. Elle était la joie de vivre personnifiée. Je n’oublierai jamais son sourire. Toute ma solidarité et ma compassion va aux familles des victimes”, affirme Marie-Christine VERGIAT, députée européenne française du GUE/NGL (Front de Gauche).”Les Kurdes Continue reading “GUE/NGL Group of the European Parliament condemns the assassination of three Kurdish activists in Paris”