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KURDISH CONFERENCE ENDS WITH LIST OF DEMANDS FROM GOV'T
Today's Zaman, Turkey
June 17 2013
A two-day conference in the city of Diyarbakır held June 15-16
has ended with a declaration listing the demands of Turkey's Kurds
including freedom for the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers'
Party's (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, and special autonomous status for
Turkey's Kurdish-dominated regions.
The conference, titled the "North Kurdistan Unity and Solution
Conference," was reportedly organized by pro-PKK groups as per
the request of Abdullah Ocalan. The declaration that came out of
the conference will be shared with Ocalan, who is serving life on
İmralı Island in the Sea of Marmara, the PKK headquarters in Kandil,
northern Iraq, the United Nations and the European Union.
The declaration was read out loud by Kurdish politician Aysel Tugluk,
who is an independent deputy representing Van, and a co-chair of the
Democratic Society Congress (DTK) organization. The DTK, the Peace
and Democracy Party (BDP) and the Participatory Democracy Party
(KADEP) also signed the declaration as well as many civil society
organizations.
The declaration stated that "The peoples of Kurdistan have the right
to determine their own status in the form of autonomy, federation
or independence." It also said the conference participants had
agreed on principle that the right of "the peoples of Kurdistan"
to self-determination can only be exercised through the votes of the
people of the region. The declaration demanded freedom for Ocalan and
also that the PKK be taken off of Turkey's and other international
organizations' list of terrorist organizations.
The declaration also demanded the right to education in the Kurdish
language, and the recognition of Kurdish as an official language in
Turkey. The declaration also called on the creation of a democratic
constitution for Turkey. It also demanded affirmative action for
the region, calling on economic incentives and financial stimuli for
the Kurdish region. The declaration further demanded the release of
"political prisoners," referring to arrestees and convicts who have
been imprisoned as part the investigation regarding the Kurdistan
Communities Union (KCK), which Turkish prosecutors say is the mother
network of the terrorist PKK. It also called on the state to undertake
its responsibilities for finding the perpetrators of state-sponsored
killings in the region.
The declaration also demanded an end to discrimination against women
at all levels and an end to state policies threatening the well being
of Turkey's Armenians, Syriacs, Arabs, Mihallemi, Turkmen and other
ethnic groups as well as religious groups such as Christians, Jews,
Muslims, Ezidi, Alevi and others. It also called for the convention
of a "national conference," that would bring together Kurds of Iraq,
Turkey and other countries together.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-318516-kurdish-conference-ends-with-list-of-demands-from-govt.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Today's Zaman, Turkey
June 17 2013
A two-day conference in the city of Diyarbakır held June 15-16
has ended with a declaration listing the demands of Turkey's Kurds
including freedom for the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers'
Party's (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, and special autonomous status for
Turkey's Kurdish-dominated regions.
The conference, titled the "North Kurdistan Unity and Solution
Conference," was reportedly organized by pro-PKK groups as per
the request of Abdullah Ocalan. The declaration that came out of
the conference will be shared with Ocalan, who is serving life on
İmralı Island in the Sea of Marmara, the PKK headquarters in Kandil,
northern Iraq, the United Nations and the European Union.
The declaration was read out loud by Kurdish politician Aysel Tugluk,
who is an independent deputy representing Van, and a co-chair of the
Democratic Society Congress (DTK) organization. The DTK, the Peace
and Democracy Party (BDP) and the Participatory Democracy Party
(KADEP) also signed the declaration as well as many civil society
organizations.
The declaration stated that "The peoples of Kurdistan have the right
to determine their own status in the form of autonomy, federation
or independence." It also said the conference participants had
agreed on principle that the right of "the peoples of Kurdistan"
to self-determination can only be exercised through the votes of the
people of the region. The declaration demanded freedom for Ocalan and
also that the PKK be taken off of Turkey's and other international
organizations' list of terrorist organizations.
The declaration also demanded the right to education in the Kurdish
language, and the recognition of Kurdish as an official language in
Turkey. The declaration also called on the creation of a democratic
constitution for Turkey. It also demanded affirmative action for
the region, calling on economic incentives and financial stimuli for
the Kurdish region. The declaration further demanded the release of
"political prisoners," referring to arrestees and convicts who have
been imprisoned as part the investigation regarding the Kurdistan
Communities Union (KCK), which Turkish prosecutors say is the mother
network of the terrorist PKK. It also called on the state to undertake
its responsibilities for finding the perpetrators of state-sponsored
killings in the region.
The declaration also demanded an end to discrimination against women
at all levels and an end to state policies threatening the well being
of Turkey's Armenians, Syriacs, Arabs, Mihallemi, Turkmen and other
ethnic groups as well as religious groups such as Christians, Jews,
Muslims, Ezidi, Alevi and others. It also called for the convention
of a "national conference," that would bring together Kurds of Iraq,
Turkey and other countries together.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-318516-kurdish-conference-ends-with-list-of-demands-from-govt.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress