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Kurdish politician arrested in Turkey
3.4.2007 |
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Kurdish politician 'Aydin Budak' arrested in Turkey
for his Newroz festival speech, Budak sent greetings
to PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan,
April 3, 2007
DIYARBAKIR, Kurdish Southeastern region of
Turkey, -- A Turkish court on Monday ordered the
arrest of a Kurdish politician for having allegedly
praised separatist Kurdish rebels fighting the
government in a public speech, court officials said.
Aydin Budak, mayor of the town of Cizre and member
of the Democratic Society Party (DTP), the main
Kurdish political movement in Turkey, was remanded
in custody pending trial for a speech he made on
March 21 during Newroz, the Kurdish new year. |
Aydin Budak, mayor of the town of Cizre and member
of the pro Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) |
DTP members have increasingly become the target of
judicial action in recent weeks on charges of
supporting the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which
has waged a bloody campaign for Kurdish self-rule in
the southeast since 1984.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and
much of the international community.
Budak was charged with praising an illegal
organisation and making its propaganda, and of
inciting hatred among the population, the sources
said.
Prosecutors now have to draw up a detailed
indictment for the trial to start.
In his Newroz speech, Budak sent greetings to PKK
leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been serving a life
sentence for separatism since 1999, and insisted
that millions of Kurds see him as their leader.
Prosecutors have also launched a preliminary
investigation against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan on charges that he praised Ocalan by calling
him "sayin" -- a word meaning esteemed or honorable,
but which also doubles for "mister" -- in a radio
interview in 2000.
The Kurdish conflict in Turkey has claimed more than
37,000 lives since the PKK took up arms in 1984.
AFP
** 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" Southeast
Turkey.
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.
Turkey is home to some 20 million ethnic Kurds, some
of whom openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK for a
Kurdish homeland in the country's mainly Kurdish
southeast of Turkey
Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed
severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish language,
prohibiting the language in education and broadcast
media.
The Kurdish alphabet is still not recognized
in Turkey, and use of the Kurdish letters X, W, Q
which do not exist in the Turkish
alphabet has led to judicial persecution in 2000 and
2003
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
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