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Turkey: Call from pro-Kurdish DTP party,
our party leader N. Demirtas's Trial
10.4.2008
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April
10, 2008
Call from Democratic Society Party (DTP) - Our party
leader N. Demirtas's Trial
Sebahat Tuncel, April 7, 2008
Dear Sir/Madame,
Our co-Chairperson Nurettin Demirtaş will be brought
before trial on April 21 and will be tried by a
military court. As you know Nurettin Demirtaş is in
jail since December on the allegation that he
obtained a false medical report in order to avoid
military service. An order of detention was issued
for Mr. Demirtaş by the Air Force Command based on
this allegation and Mr. Demirtaş was taken into
custody by the police at the Esenboga Airport in
Ankara on his return from Dusseldorf, Germany. |
Sebahat Tuncel, lawmaker from the Pro-Kurdish DTP
party |
Mr. Demirtaş had previously stayed in prison for
twelve years and suffered from severe health
problems during this period. However,www.ekurd.net
he was arrested in
December in relation to the police operations
conducted against a gang preparing false medical
reports for discharge. His detention since December
and the accusations brought against him signify an
attempt to intimidate the peaceful struggle of the
democratic forces in Turkey.
We strongly believe that international cooperation
and solidarity of democratic forces is extremely
important for the improvement of rights and freedoms
and enhancement of democracy in a country. For this
particular reason, we invite you to attend Mr.
Demirtaş’s trial on April 21 in order to demonstrate
the solidarity of international democratic public
opinion against these anti-democratic practices.
Sincerely,
DTP Vice-Co-Chiarperson Responsible for Foreign
Affairs
Sebahat Tuncel
* The leader of Turkey's main Kurdish party DTP
risks up to 10 years in jail
on charges of evading military service with a false
medical report, Anatolia news agency reported
Friday.
** 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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