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Further 24 arrests in Turkish operation on
Pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party BDP
30.12.2009 |
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Another 24 people have been taken into custody in
the Kurdish cities of Van and Batman. The total
number of arrests throughout the last week in the
scope of the operation against Peace and Democracy
Party mounts to 47 people. The Peace Council of
Turkey criticized the course of action.
December
30, 2009
DIYARBAKIR/VAN/BATMAN, Kurdish Southeastern region of
Turkey, — A further 24 people have been arrested in
Van and Batman, cities in the pre-dominantly Kurdish
south-east of Turkey (Turkey Kurdistan), in the
course of raids against pro-Kurdish Peace and
Democracy Party (BDP). BDP is the succession party
of recently closed Democratic Society Party (DTP).
Members of BDP, DTP and of non-governmental
organizations are among the people taken into
custody on 28 December.
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Turkey's Pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, or
BDP |
The prosecutor's office
accuses all 24 individuals of membership of KCK (Koma
Civaken Kurdistan), the umbrella organization that
includes the Turkey militant Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK).
People arrested in Van:
MEYADER (Mesopotamia Association of Those Having
Lost their Relatives) Van Branch President Ferzende
Abi, Hacıbekir Suburb Free Citizen Association
Chairman Tefik Say, DTP Van Provincial Treasurer
Sıddık Gül, BDP Women's Council Member Yıldız Tekin
and Eylem Açıkalın, Kerem Çağlı, Ramazan Özlü, Selim
Çay, Cafer Koçak, Zihni Karakaya, Mustafa Ayaz and
Kamuran Parlak.
People arrested in Batman:
Former DTP Batman Provincial President Ahmet Sormaz,
Göç-Der (Migration Association) Batman Manager
Selamet Akyüz, former DTP city and county
administrators Veysi Gülseren,www.ekurd.netİlyas
Sağlam and Aydın Kılıç, Urban Women's Council
employee Gülizar Kal, politicians Cahit Conbay,
Rıdvan Asaln and Şeymus Yaşar, Batman Municipality
Council Members Şirin Bağlı, Rıfat Başalak and Nesri
Kılıç.
23 people had been arrested in Diyarbakir on 26
December, among them 7 mayors.
Peace Council: AKP is
playing with fire
A delegation of the Peace Council of Turkey (TBM)
went to Diyarbakir as an act of solidarity with the
Kurdish politicians one day prior to the latest
arrests. The TBM announced, "AKP [ruling Justice and
Development Party] is playing with fire". The
delegation demanded, "All operations should be
stopped immediately, representatives of the Kurdish
people on all levels should be able to do politics
freely, the detainees should be released and
apologized to".
The TBM stressed the fact that the Kurdish question
cannot be solved by eliminating the Kurdish
movement, "The slogan 'Until the last terrorist is
defeated', which was said by the government
addressing the ones in favour of an armed struggle,
means nothing else but 'Until the last politician is
confined'. But this means to allow the weapons to
have a say in this matter".
The TBM urged all citizens of Turkey to beware any
developments that make a solution impossible and to
support a peaceful and democratic solution of the
Kurdish question.
DTP MPs refusing statement
In the context of the recent closure of pro-Kurdish
DTP by reason of "focussing on terroristic
activities", the Ankara 11th High Criminal Court
tries MPs Aysel Tuğluk, Ahmet Türk, Emine Ayna,
Sebahat Tuncel and Selahattin Demirtaş in five
separate cases. When the MPs refused to give their
statements, the court issued the decision to "bring
them in by force" in order to get their statements.
However, the former DTP members still decline to
answer questions at court.
PKK
Since 1984 PKK took up arms for self-rule in the
mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey
(Turkey-Kurdistan) which has claimed around 45,000
lives of Turkish soldiers and Kurdish PKK
guerrillas. A large Turkey's Kurdish community
openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK rebels.
The government categorically rejects dialogue with a
group it labels a terrorist organization and says it
will not let up on the military campaign against the
rebels.
The PKK is considered a
'terrorist' organization by Ankara, U.S., the PKK
continues to be on the blacklist list in EU despite
court ruling which
overturned a decision
to place the Kurdish rebel group PKK and its
political wing on the European Union's terror list.
"The Kurdish question cannot be resolved without
recognizing the will of the Kurdish people and
holding dialogue with its interlocutors," the group
said.
The PKK has long called on Ankara to halt military
operations and agree to negotiations for a solution,
which it says should include official recognition of
the country's Kurds in the constitution.
The PKK demanded Turkey's recognition of the Kurds'
identity in its constitution and of their language
as a native language along with Turkish in the
country's Kurdish areas,www.ekurd.net
the party also demanded
an end to ethnic discrimination in Turkish laws and
constitution against Kurds, ranting them full
political freedoms.
Turkey refuses to recognize its Kurdish population
as a distinct minority. It has allowed some cultural
rights such as limited broadcasts in the Kurdish
language and private Kurdish language courses with
the prodding of the European Union, but Kurdish
politicians say the measures fall short of their
expectations.
The European Union, which Turkey wants to join, has
praised Erdogan's efforts to end the conflict. His
so-called democratic initiative aims to expand
cultural and political liberties to address decades
of grievances from Kurds who say they have faced
state-sanctioned discrimination and violence.
Since August, the Ankara government has been working
on a plan to expand Kurdish freedoms in the hope of
ending the PKK's deadly campaign.
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