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BDP EXPRESSES GRAVE CONCERNS OVER DIYARBAKIR ATTACKS
Armenian Weekly
July 19, 2012
The Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Representative in the U.S.,
based in Washington, D.C., wrote the following on July 17.
The recent "Democratic Struggle for Freedom" demonstration organized by
the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and Democratic Society Congress
(DTK) on July 14 in Diyarbakir (Amed), Turkey, was both banned
and violently suppressed by Turkish security forces. Demonstrators
had gathered to deliver a clear message to the ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP) that the Kurdish issue can only be solved
through peaceful means and the restarting of negotiations with the
imprisoned leader of the Kurdish political movement, Abdullah Ocalan.
Turkish security forces confronted the peaceful demonstrators,
detaining and injuring many, including Kurdish deputies from the
National Assembly.
The Turkish government must put an end to the use of force if it
sincerely wishes to solve the Kurdish issue.
The Turkish government must put an end to the use of force if it
sincerely wishes to solve the Kurdish issue. The ruling government AKP
should take immediate steps to end the isolation of Ocalan and free
him by initiating sincere peace talks to resolve the Kurdish issue.
Negotiations between Ocalan and state officials stalled one year ago
in the wake of the national elections in July 2011 in Turkey. Since
then, Ocalan has been held under complete isolation without access
to his lawyers. Furthermore, all of his lawyers were arrested, which
is a complete violation of international agreements regarding the
treatment of prisoners. The EU Commission and Council of Europe,
as well as others in the international community, have criticized
such treatment as a violation of fundamental liberties.
The steady rise in violent incidents in Turkey since July 2011 is
a significant reason why peace talks are necessary more than ever
before. Hundreds of soldiers and guerillas have lost their lives in
violent clashes, and thousands of people have been affected adversely.
Furthermore, the Turkish government has arrested over 8,000 Kurdish
political activists, including elected deputies and mayors, human
rights activists, attorneys, doctors, journalists, academics,
students, and unionists. Rather than making most of the changing
mindset in Turkish society with regards to the Kurdish issue by
advancing a meaningful dialogue with the Kurdish political movement,
the AKP government has, since July 2011, implemented a brutal security
doctrine.
Renewed military operations in the Kurdish regions have resulted
in many deaths and continue to threaten the livelihoods of millions
of people. In December 2011, an air attack by the Turkish military
resulted in the killing of 34 Kurdish civilians, most of them children,
in the district of Uludere (Roboski) in Turkey. This attack was carried
out under the auspices of the AKP and was reported in detail by the
American mainstream media because of the use of U.S. drone
intelligence.
The Turkish government has also taken a step backwards with regards
to the Kurdish issue by preventing Kurds from freely expressing their
cultural heritage. While the AKP claims it is making progress on
Kurdish rights in Turkey, Kurdish people are still unable to express
their identity without fear and intimidation. Just this year, the AKP
implemented a ban on the Kurdish New Year, or Newroz, celebrations. In
March 2012, Kurdish celebrators were met with violence by Turkish
security forces and were forced to end their peaceful celebrations.
We, the BDP Representative Office in the U.S., strongly condemn the
Turkish government's use of disproportional force against the Kurdish
people and their representatives including the co-presidents of our
party, Selahattin Demirtas and Gultan Kisanak. The violent use of
force by Turkish security forces on July 14 is yet another example
of the authoritarian tendencies of the AKP government. We believe
that the Kurdish conflict in Turkey can only be resolved through
inclusive democratic practices that include dialogue and negotiations
with Abdullah Ocalan and the Kurdish political movement. Talks and
negotiations between Turkish state authorities and Abdullah Ocalan
should be restarted in order for a lasting peace to prevail. Peace
talks and negotiations like those between ANC-Mandela and the South
Africa government or IRA-Sinn Fein and the UK government should be
a source of inspiration for Turkish government. These successful
experiences were encouraged by the U.S. administration.
We urge the U.S. president, Congress and Senate, and the American
civil society and media not to remain silent with regards to Turkey's
gross human rights record against the Kurdish people, and to encourage
a peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue that includes sincere peace
talks with the arrested Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan and the Kurdish
political movement.
Armenian Weekly
July 19, 2012
The Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Representative in the U.S.,
based in Washington, D.C., wrote the following on July 17.
The recent "Democratic Struggle for Freedom" demonstration organized by
the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and Democratic Society Congress
(DTK) on July 14 in Diyarbakir (Amed), Turkey, was both banned
and violently suppressed by Turkish security forces. Demonstrators
had gathered to deliver a clear message to the ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP) that the Kurdish issue can only be solved
through peaceful means and the restarting of negotiations with the
imprisoned leader of the Kurdish political movement, Abdullah Ocalan.
Turkish security forces confronted the peaceful demonstrators,
detaining and injuring many, including Kurdish deputies from the
National Assembly.
The Turkish government must put an end to the use of force if it
sincerely wishes to solve the Kurdish issue.
The Turkish government must put an end to the use of force if it
sincerely wishes to solve the Kurdish issue. The ruling government AKP
should take immediate steps to end the isolation of Ocalan and free
him by initiating sincere peace talks to resolve the Kurdish issue.
Negotiations between Ocalan and state officials stalled one year ago
in the wake of the national elections in July 2011 in Turkey. Since
then, Ocalan has been held under complete isolation without access
to his lawyers. Furthermore, all of his lawyers were arrested, which
is a complete violation of international agreements regarding the
treatment of prisoners. The EU Commission and Council of Europe,
as well as others in the international community, have criticized
such treatment as a violation of fundamental liberties.
The steady rise in violent incidents in Turkey since July 2011 is
a significant reason why peace talks are necessary more than ever
before. Hundreds of soldiers and guerillas have lost their lives in
violent clashes, and thousands of people have been affected adversely.
Furthermore, the Turkish government has arrested over 8,000 Kurdish
political activists, including elected deputies and mayors, human
rights activists, attorneys, doctors, journalists, academics,
students, and unionists. Rather than making most of the changing
mindset in Turkish society with regards to the Kurdish issue by
advancing a meaningful dialogue with the Kurdish political movement,
the AKP government has, since July 2011, implemented a brutal security
doctrine.
Renewed military operations in the Kurdish regions have resulted
in many deaths and continue to threaten the livelihoods of millions
of people. In December 2011, an air attack by the Turkish military
resulted in the killing of 34 Kurdish civilians, most of them children,
in the district of Uludere (Roboski) in Turkey. This attack was carried
out under the auspices of the AKP and was reported in detail by the
American mainstream media because of the use of U.S. drone
intelligence.
The Turkish government has also taken a step backwards with regards
to the Kurdish issue by preventing Kurds from freely expressing their
cultural heritage. While the AKP claims it is making progress on
Kurdish rights in Turkey, Kurdish people are still unable to express
their identity without fear and intimidation. Just this year, the AKP
implemented a ban on the Kurdish New Year, or Newroz, celebrations. In
March 2012, Kurdish celebrators were met with violence by Turkish
security forces and were forced to end their peaceful celebrations.
We, the BDP Representative Office in the U.S., strongly condemn the
Turkish government's use of disproportional force against the Kurdish
people and their representatives including the co-presidents of our
party, Selahattin Demirtas and Gultan Kisanak. The violent use of
force by Turkish security forces on July 14 is yet another example
of the authoritarian tendencies of the AKP government. We believe
that the Kurdish conflict in Turkey can only be resolved through
inclusive democratic practices that include dialogue and negotiations
with Abdullah Ocalan and the Kurdish political movement. Talks and
negotiations between Turkish state authorities and Abdullah Ocalan
should be restarted in order for a lasting peace to prevail. Peace
talks and negotiations like those between ANC-Mandela and the South
Africa government or IRA-Sinn Fein and the UK government should be
a source of inspiration for Turkish government. These successful
experiences were encouraged by the U.S. administration.
We urge the U.S. president, Congress and Senate, and the American
civil society and media not to remain silent with regards to Turkey's
gross human rights record against the Kurdish people, and to encourage
a peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue that includes sincere peace
talks with the arrested Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan and the Kurdish
political movement.