CALL FOR ACTION: CHALLENGE CAMERON’S SILENCE ON TURKEY!

 

Wednesday 23rd September, 4pm

Join us for a demonstration outside 10 Downing Street!

 

“Help build peace with the Kurds, rather than extend the war.”

 

Kurdish women shout slogans during the funeral of a YPG (People’s Protection Units) fighter in the town of Suruc, Sanliurfa province, on October 14, 2014. 
AFP PHOTO / ARIS MESSINISARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images

On Wednesday 23rd September at 4pm, a delegation of women will deliver an open letter signed by a coalition of prominent women’s rights activists to 10 Downing Street. The letter urgently calls on David Cameron to use his influence with the Turkish government to stop the violence being perpetrated against Kurdish civilians in the south east of the country.

232 academics call for an end to conflict

Over 200 academics from Turkey have signed this excellent statement calling for an end to military violence and a return to the peace process. 

Support Us ın Our Call!

Declaration to the Peoples of Turkey and the world,

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”)

Turkey, peace talks and the PKK: full video

Last Friday, we held an important public event with distinguished expert speakers to discuss the current peace talks, possible disruptions to the process and the role of the PKK. Here is a full video of the speakers’ presentations:

Turkey, peace talks and the PKK, Freedom and Justice for the Kurds from Saman Gareeb on Vimeo.

Amed conference for Democracy and Peace, final resolutions

The Amed (Diyarbakir) Conference for Democracy and Peace, one of four being held across Kurdistan and the diaspora, took place 15-16 June 2013. The conferences are being organised as part of the ongoing peace process.

 

Northern Kurdistan Unity and Solution Conference

Final Declaration

Our Conference, in which representatives of various political, ethnic and religious groups participated in Amed [Diyarbakir] city on 15-16 June 2013, has taken historically significant decisions, and concluded successfully. We, representing all the different hues of Kurdistan, are sharing the conclusions and decisions reached after intense debate and discussion.

Ankara conference for Democracy and Peace, final resolution

The Ankara Conference for Democracy and Peace, one of four being held across Kurdistan and the diaspora, took place 25-26 May 2013. The conferences are being organised as part of the ongoing peace process.

Final Resolution – Conference for Democracy and Peace, 27.5.2013

The final resolution of the Conference for Democracy and Peace, which took place from 25 – 26 May in Ankara, has now been published. The purpose of this conference was to analyse the steps required to solve the Kurdish question during the negotiation process. Different groups came together and emphasised in the final resolution that ‘the successful continuation and development of the negotiations are linked to the health, security and freedom of Abdullah Öcalan, who has very limited room of movement at this stage. Further, means of communication between different groups has to be guaranteed.’

In addition to the proclamation that these negotiations must continue resolutely, the following resolutions were published:

‘We Alewites, Armenians, Arameans, Kurds, Turks, Sunnis, Arabs, Roma – in other words all different peoples and religious groups, atheists, intellectuals, academics, young people, women, workers, unionists, political parties and groups have decided to work together. We want to create a sustainable peace and a democratic and just future, to develop a proposal for a viable solution to the conflict and create a collective peace movement.

Northern Kurdistan Conference: Öcalan’s freedom a must for a solution

This article was originally published in Firat News.

Northern Kurdistan Conference: Öcalan’s freedom a must for a solution
ANF – AMED 17.06.2013 15:48:07

The two day “Northern Kurdistan Conference for Solution and Unity” in the main Kurdish city Amed has ended on Sunday. The conference was organized as a part of the four conferences Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan suggested should take place in the ongoing process in search of a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish question.

The final declaration of the conference called on the government to take more sincere steps for the solution of the Kurdish question and demanded Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan’s freedom to ensure a healthy progress in the solution process.

Reading the Turkish side of the final declaration, which was released in Kurdish as well, DTK (Democratic Society Congress) co-chair Aysel Tuğluk underlined that “the conference which was attended by Kurdistani identities has been a significant step serving for a free future for Kurdistan”.

Turkey, peace talks and the PKK: Freedom and Justice for the Kurds

Panel Discussion

Friday, 28 June 2013, 6.30pm

Garden Court Chambers, 57-60 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A (closest tube Holborn)

 

Chaired by Professor Bill Bowring, President of the European Lawyers for Democracy and Human Panel Rights (ELDH); International Secretary, Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers

Speakers include Gareth Peirce, human rights lawyer; Melanie Gingell, barrister Doughty Street Chambers; member of the Bar Human Rights Committee; Dr Ozlem Galip, researcher and lecturer, University of Oxford; Prof Dr Michael Gunter, Professor of Political Science, Tennessee Technological University, Secretary General of EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC); Barry White, National Organiser of the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, member of European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)

Over recent months dramatic developments have been taking place in Turkey with the emergence of direct talks between representatives of the Turkish government and the imprisoned leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan. The seminar will explore how a lasting peace can be secured now that a ceasefire has been followed by the start of a phased withdrawal of Kurdish guerrillas.

German authorities review the ban on the PKK/trial test and talks with Ankara

 

Berlin – MESOP – 2.6.2013 – In secret negotiations with Turkey, German security authorities are reviewing the ban on the activity of the left-extremist PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party), imposed in 1993.

Members of the Interior Ministry of the German Bundestag like Franz Josef Jung (CDU) and Dieter Wiefelspütz (SPD) have pointed to consultations, which suggest that the VS had originally expressed vehement opposition against the PKK ban. They are now “testing” the Turkish reaction. The latter being negative for sure, but possibly only towards outside – as the legalisation of the PKK in the foreseeable future would allow the Erdogan government to lead more relaxed talks and negotiations with the PKK.

The Peace and Democracy Conference to meet in Brussels

Further information at InfoTurk

Declaration to the press and public:

During the historic process that we are going through, an opportunity for a lasting peace has been created that lays the foundation for a free and democratic future for all our peoples. This period marks a turning point for the future for everyone.

We believe that the achievement of an enduring democracy is a common demand of everyone. In this context, we believe that all people, regardless of their ethnic origins, religion, language, culture, history and class positions, will carry out their historic responsibilities.

The peoples living in Europe who can trace their origins to Turkey and Kurdistan are a fundamental part of this process.