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Turkey's BDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtas
visits London: Report
5.2.2012
By Kulka Kurdayati
— ekurd.net |
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Turkey's BDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtas, London,
Jaunary 31, 2012. Photo: Photo: Kulka Kurdayati/ekurd.net
Read more by the Author
February
5, 2012
LONDON, — Last Tuesday, 31st January 2012
we have the honor to attend the meeting with Kurdish
MP of BDP party from North Kurdistan [southeastern
Turkey] - Selahattin Demirtas. The meeting took
place in London in Portcullis House, in Westminster
and its theme was "Reversing the spiral of
repression in Turkey: the Kurdish view".
The meeting was hosted by Hywel Williams MP and
supported by Liberation, Kurdistan National Congress
(KNK) UK, Kurdish Federation UK, Kurdish Community
Centre Haringey, Halkevi Kurdish-Turkish Community
Centre, Roj Women and Peace in Kurdistan Campaign.
The patrons were: Lord Avebury, Lord Rea, Lord
Dholakia, Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, Jean Lambert
MEP, Alyn Smith MEP, Bairbre de Brún MEP, Jeremy
Corbyn MP, Hywel Williams MP, Elfyn Llwyd MP, John
Austin, Gareth Peirce, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky,
John Berger, Edward Albee, Margaret Owen OBE, Mark
Thomas.
We listen to the speech of Selahattin Demirtas, who
was talking about the current situation of Kurds in
Turkey and North Kurdistan. He talked about the
continuous struggle of Kurdish people for their
basic rights, as the right for speaking Kurdish
language or express their Kurdish identity, although
comparing to the situation which was some years ago
in the past - today no one can deny the existence of
Kurdish people.
Heval Demirtas also mentioned 4 points that BDP
party demands about the Kurdish issue, which are the
recognition of Kurdish identity in the new Turkish
constitution, the right for Kurdish language to be
taught at schools and used in public domain, the
ability for Kurdish people to administrate
themselves through democratic autonomy and the
ability to associate and politically organized under
their own identity. He talked about the repressions
that still are taking place toward Kurds in North
Kurdistan - there are thousands people in prisons at
the moment, which are Kurdish politicians,
activists, lawyers - that among them there are 6
elected MPs of BDP, 30 leaders of local councils, 34
lawyers, who represent Mr. Ocalan, 94 Kurdish
journalists. Kurds are also under the physical
attacks, that the recent example is Uludere, Roboski
massacre, in which 34 civilians lost their lives (19
children among them). He pointed out on the role of
international community, which remains silent about
events of that kind.
Heval Demirtas expressed his hope that Kurds will be
able to live peacefully and get the right for
self-determination and that these can be achieved
with dialog and peaceful means.
Selahattin Demirtas got the standing ovations after
his speech.
We also had a chance to listen to the speech of the
other BDP MP - Nazmi Gur, as well as Lord Rea and
Jeremy Corbyn MP. One of the guests was Margaret
Owen, the human rights lawyer, who was one the
international observer of Amed trial and who is the
friends of Kurds, taking part in many activities for
the Kurdish rights - she gave a short speech as
well.
At the end of the meeting the audience had a chance
to ask the questions to Selahattin Demirtas and
other speakers.
Next two days Heval Demirtas attended the meetings
in Kurdish Community Center in London at Harringey,
where hundreds of people gathered, as well as in
Kurdish - Turkish community Center Halkevi.
Kulka Kurdayati, a freelance writer and
activist from UK - ekurd.net
Copyright © 2012 ekurd.net. All rights reserved
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