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The Hague: Tamil court case could have repercussions
for PKK, lawyer says
19.1.2012 |
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A Sri Lankan Tamil protester in London. Photo AFP
January
19, 2012
THE HAGUE, The Netherlands, — A Dutch
court’s determination that the Tamil Tigers is a
criminal organization and not a terrorist group
will have consequences for the Kurdish rebel
group Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the lawyer
handling the case told the Dutch newspaper, The
Gelderlander.
The lawyer Victor Koppe, defended five Tamil
sympathizers who were ultimately convicted of
collecting millions of Euros to support the
rebel movement which for decades fought Sri
Lanka for independence. Koppe is appealing the
verdict but said “The fight of the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is comparable to
the situation of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
from Turkey. Both organizations are designated
as terrorists by the European Union.”
The LTTE was defeated by Sri Lanka in 2009,
while the PKK continued to carry out attacks in
Turkey. Still, both organizations are targets of
EU governments.
The court in the Hague judged in October that
the LTTE was, according to Dutch law, not a
terrorist organization. But because the LTTE is
on the EU-terrorist list, the suspects were
still sentenced to prison sentences for
supporting a criminal organization.
Both the Public Prosecutor and the five suspects
appealed. In addition to this case, lawyer Koppe
is trying to challenge the terrorist designation
of the LTTE in the European Court of Justice.
Koppe feels supported by the ruling of the Dutch
court in October,www.ekurd.net
but the court can still reach a different
ruling.
A similar court case is that against the Kurdish
TV station Roj TV. On January 10, the court in
Denmark ruled that Roj TV was backing the PKK,
inciting terrorism.
As a result, the network was imposed a fine of
about $900,000 on the owners, but it was allowed
to continue broadcasting. Turkey welcomed the
decision as a confirmation of Roj TV’s support
for the PKK, but added that Roj TV’s license
should be revoked and the station should be
banned.
In a statement released on January 11, the
executive council of the PKK hailed the decision
as a victory, and said that their struggle is
not terrorism.
“This is known by all the European countries as
well as by all the countries in the world. For
the sake of using Turkey as a subcontractor in
the region, everybody knows that EU has put PKK
on the list of terrorist organisations by the
pressure from the US,” the PKK said.
By Wladimir van Wilgenburg
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