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With
Germany¹s support, Turkey continues with the
criminalisation of Kurdish politicians living in
exile.
Remzi Kartal, a founding member of the Kurdistan
National Congress and former DEP MP, was arrested at
the request of Turkey on January 22 2005 in
Nuremberg.
Remzi Kartal is a Kurdish politician who has been
active politically on a completely legal basis and
has worked exclusively for a democratic and peaceful
solution to the Kurdish question. He is known
internationally for his struggle for democracy, as
are his colleagues from the DEP, Hatip Dicle, Leyla
Zana, Orhan Dogan and Selim Sadak. Now he is to be
deported to Turkey.
Former DEP MP Leyla Zana was awarded the European
Parliament¹s Sakharov Prize for her struggle for a
democratic solution for the Kurdish question. For
the same commitment Remzi Kartal has been arrested
with the claim that he is guilty of ³terrorism².
Since 1994 he has lived in exile, because after that
time it was no longer possible to carry out legal
political work in Turkey. Since then he has carried
out his struggle for democracy within various
organisations in Europe such as the Association for
Solidarity with DEP, the Kurdish Parliament in
Exile, the Kurdish National Congress, and most
recently the People¹s Congress of Kurdistan (KONGRA-GEL).
As with the other Kurdish former MPs, Remzi Kartal
has become well-known through his diplomatic work
and because of his Kurdish identity. KONGRA-GEL, of
which Remzi Kartal is vice-president, has dedicated
itself to the pursuit of a just and peaceful
solution to the Kurdish question and has worked for
this since it was founded.
By taking the step of arresting Remzi Kartal, the
Federal Republic of Germany is making it harder to
achieve a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question.
At the same time, Germany is damaging the efforts to
democratise Turkey, and encouraging the continued
use of torture and the commission of human rights
violations, as well as Turkey¹s policy of
assimilation, denial and annihilation towards the
Kurds. This is why we categorise the anti-Kurdish
alliance of Turkey and Germany, the latest result of
which is the arrest of Remzi Kartal, as an attack on
the democratic and legal struggle of all the Kurds.
We therefore call on the Kurdish people and the
democratic public of Europe, as well as all friends
of the Kurdish people, to protest against Remzi
Kartal¹s arrest and to work for his release.
KNK Executive Council
http://www.kongra-gel.net
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