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Kurdish National Congress of North America
asking US to remove PKK from the blacklist
7.4.2008
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April
7, 2008
Lake Forest, CA, — Kurdish National Congress
of North America asking US to remove PKK from the
blacklist.
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its political
wing, known as KONGRA-GEL, were
removed from
the European Union's terror list by European Court
of Justice on April 02, 2008.
To resist the aggressions of the Turkish military
against Kurds, PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party)-
(Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan) resorted to armed
struggle in 1984 and has been fighting Turkish
troops in its campaign for greater autonomy. With
calls from the Kurdish population and many Kurdish
and non-Kurdish entities to find a peaceful
resolution, PKK has declared many cease fire
unilaterally, but the Turkish government has yet to
take political steps for a resolution to Kurdish
question. |
Kurdish National Congress of North America |
Furthermore, Turkish
state used violence against Kurdish people to
terrorize them; as a result PKK had been put on the
list of terrorist organization by the European Union
unjustly. The recent verdict of the Luxembourg-based
EU Court,www.ekurd.net
the second highest court
of the European Union, carries great significance to
show that EU still bears and respect its own laws
and the Kurdish struggle for freedom is not no be
called terrorism.
We the Kurdish National Congress of North America
would like to salute the recent decision of the EU
court and congratulate the people of Northern
Kurdistan for this achievement. The people in
Northern Kurdistan not only convinced their military
fighters to avoid violence, but showed the EU that
these fighters deserve a chance to participate in
the political process. We hope all other democratic
nations do everything in their capacity to help PKK
avoid further violence and become a participant in
the political dialogue to solve the Kurdish question
via peaceful means.
As a non-partisan, democratic, and peaceful Kurdish
American organization we at KNC-NA expect our
government in Washington DC to follow suit and
consider removing PKK from the blacklist to further
persuade and pressure Kurdish Political
organizations and the Turkish government to seek
peace and dialogue rather than violence.
Public Relations Committee
Kurdish National Congress of North America
P.O. Box 1663, Lake Forest, CA 92609 USA, Tel/Fax:
1-949-583-1417
P.O. Box 545, Millersville, MD 21108 USA
www.kncna.org
** Kurds are not recognized as an official minority
in Turkey and are denied rights granted to other
minority groups. Under EU pressure, Turkey recently
granted Kurds limited rights for broadcasts and
education in the Kurdish language, but critics say
the measures do not go far enough.
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 over 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 25 million ethnic Kurds, a
large Turkey's Kurdish community 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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