|
After 15 years and legal fight, Kurdish
man calls Canada home
9.9.2006 |
|
|
|
Toronto, Canada,
-- After 15 years of waiting and hoping, a Turkish
Kurd accused of involvement with a terrorist
organization can now call Canada home.
"This is the paper," Suleyman Govern grinned, as he
held up the form that grants him permanent
residency.
But while he waited more than a decade for that
moment, it was not without mixed feelings.
"This card represents a great deal of suffering and
agony for me," he admitted.
In 1991, Govern arrived as a refugee, claiming he
had been tortured in Turkey for being a Kurd and a
trade union leader.
Then he came under the scrutiny of the Canadian
Security Intelligence Service.
Activities 'misrepresented, misinterpreted'
The agency accused Govern of supporting the
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group on the
federal government's list of banned organizations,
through the Toronto Kurdish Community Information
Centre, a group he helped create and which he
describes as a cultural organization.
"The CSIS actually misrepresented, misinterpreted my
legitimate activities and law-abiding peaceful
activities and put it in a different category," he
said.
Ten months ago, Govern's lawyer Andrew Brougher
launched a civil suit against the federal
government.
No new information came to light with the suit, but
Brougher believes the pressure sparked action in the
15-year-old case.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada refused to
comment on the case, citing privacy concerns.
Brougher estimates there may be 100 to 200 cases in
Canada of people suspected of links to banned
organizations who are forced to wait years to
receive a decision on their landing application.
"The problem with immigration law is that it's
unbelievably vague," Brougher said. "Membership is
not defined, neither is terrorist."
mytelus com
In 1984 the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) took up
arms for self-rule in the country's mainly Kurdish
southeast of Turkey.
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan".
Others estimate as many as 40 million Kurds live in
Big Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan but
unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag is
banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it is
a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey) wikipedia
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 