Conflict resolution, War crimes

Report on the Halabja Conference in the EP published

On 16 March, the the Kurdish people commemorated the anniversary of the Halabja Genocide in 1988, in which more than 5,000 Kurds were killed in air strikes in Northern Iraq using chemical weapons. On the same day, a summary report on the recent conference in the European Parliament called “Remembering the Halabja Genocide and the Use of Chemical Weapons Against Kurds” was published, which we have made available to download here (doc). You can also see the final declaration that was adopted by the conference participants below:

Continue reading “Report on the Halabja Conference in the EP published” →

Conflict resolution, Peace process, War crimes

Final declarations from the Halabja conference in European Parliament

Last week, the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) held an annual conference entitled Remembering the Halabja genocide and the use of chemical weapons against Kurds in the European Parliament. Contributions were made by members of the European Parliament, representatives from a variety of Kurdish civil society organisations, political parties and by medical experts and victims of the chemical attacks. You can download a copy of the programme here (doc). Below are the final declarations from the conference, which are also available for download here (doc), as well as an article about the conference reposted from AK News. Continue reading “Final declarations from the Halabja conference in European Parliament” →

Conflict resolution, Freedom of expression, KCK trials, Kurdish language rights, Kurdish Women, Peace process, Political prisoners, War crimes

Dossier: Stop the political genocide and femicide against the Kurds in Turkey!

The following is a dossier produced by CENI Kurdish Women’s Office for Peace and the KNK, which provides a useful account of recent developments in Turkey, the actions of an increasingly repressive AKP government and the role and significance of Abdullah Ocalan’s arrest and continued imprisonment for a solution to the Kurdish Question. You can download the dossier here (pdf).

February 2012

Dossier

Stop the political genocide and femicide against the Kurds in Turkey!

Freedom for Abdullah Ocalan!

Contents

1. Political Genocide and Femicide – the AKP Regime

Continue reading “Dossier: Stop the political genocide and femicide against the Kurds in Turkey!” →

Kurdish community, War crimes

Protesters carry 34 coffins to Turkish Embassy in memory of Uludere victims

Yesterday, 8 February 2012, the Kurdish Community in London held a march to commemorate the 40th day of mourning for the 34 Kurdish civilians killed in a bombardment by Turkish fighter jets on 28 December 2011. The marchers carried 34 symbolic coffins from Amnesty International to the Turkish Embassy, where officials secretly filmed the protesters from inside the building. The peaceful demonstration was organised by several Kurdish community centres in London and attended nearly 200 people. You can read the original statement about the march below:

Continue reading “Protesters carry 34 coffins to Turkish Embassy in memory of Uludere victims” →

War crimes

Kurds Sue Turkish Government over Massacre of Their Compatriots

The American Kurdish Information Network and their colleagues have initiated a criminal complaint against the Turkish government and members of the Turkish military forces for inciting, encouraging and directly perpetrating mass murder against Kurdish civilians on the night of 28 December 2011. Below is an extract of the complaint, which can be found in full in both English and Turkish here.
January 27th, 2012

Sait Pektaş, Edip Yüksel, Kani Xulam
Versus
The Turkish Government and the Top Commanders of its Military Forces Continue reading “Kurds Sue Turkish Government over Massacre of Their Compatriots” →

Kurdish community, War crimes

EDM on Roboski killings tabled in UK parliament

A new Early Day Motion has been tabled by Hywel Williams MP, condemning the attack by the Turkish air force on civilians in the border province of Sirnak which killed 35 innocent people.

It is important that members of the British parliament do not ignore the massacre, particularly when the UK government is increasing its cooperation with the Turkish military. We urgently need to get MP’s to sign the motion, to generate support in Parliament for the Kurdish people and their struggle against the repressive actions of the Turkish government. Continue reading “EDM on Roboski killings tabled in UK parliament” →

Conflict resolution, War crimes

Then, the Kurds were alone, and so they still are now…

Article translated from Ceni Info  No 5, 1 January 2012

In a letter to the Turkish journalist Hasan Cemal, which was published on 1.1.2012 in the newspaper “Milliyet”, BDP MP Ayla Akat describes her encounter with, and feelings about, the massacre at Roboski:

“Roboski is one of the villages of Uludere that lies close to the border. A vast crowd of people had amassed. The mountainsides were covered with people. Cries of mourning and indignation! Continue reading “Then, the Kurds were alone, and so they still are now…” →

War crimes

PJAK calls upon Obama to reassess policy toward the Kurds

Originally published in Roj Helat:

In a letter to Barak Obama, the General Assembly of Kurdistan’s Free Life Party (PJAK) calls upon the United States to reassess their policies in the Middle East particularly in relation to the Kurdish people. The letter reads as follow:

Your Excellency the President of the United States of America

Dear Barak Hussein Obama

On 28 December 2011, in Qilaban region of Sirnak province in Northern Kurdistan (Turkey), 35 civilian Kurds were massacred by Turkish aircrafts in a heinous way. Continue reading “PJAK calls upon Obama to reassess policy toward the Kurds” →

Conflict resolution, Peace process

KON-KURD Info File on the attacks at Roboski available for download

Nearly three weeks after the massacre in Roboski village, Uludere, which killed 35 civilians were killed by the Turkish air force, KON-KURD, the European umbrella group of Kurdish organisations, has published this Info File on the attack. The file contains a letter to US representatives written by KON-KURD, as well as as a useful collection of statements and press releases written by a variety of Kurdish political and civil society organisations in response to the massacre, including the BDP, the KNK, and the report by the Turkish Human Rights Association (IHD). It also contains the names and images of the 36 guerrilla fighters who were killed in October 2011.

You can download the Info file here: Dosya KON-KURD 12 (pdf).

Conflict resolution, Peace process, War crimes

IHD publishes report on Roboski massacre

The Human Rights Association (IHD) has published a report on the atrocities in Uludere on 28 December 2011, in which 35 people, 17 of them juveniles, were killed in an air attack by the Turkish Air Force just across the Turkish-Iraqi border. The report is filled with testimony from witnesses and survivors, and calls on the Turkish National Assembly, the UN and the European Council to investigate these extrajudicial killings and bring those responsible to justice.

You can download the full report (pdf) here: IHD_Report_Massacre of Roboski- 03 January 2012