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Condemnation of the killing of three Kurdish women activists
17-01-2013
We have just started the year 2013 facing once again a case of violation
against women and people’s struggle as a whole. At the same day in
which we are sending this message to you, the funeral of three Kurdish
women is taking place: Sakine Cansiz, founder of PKK (Kurdistan Workers
Party), Dogan Fidan, KNK (Kurdistan National Congress) representative,
and the activist Leyla Soylemez, were found dead on the 9th January,
shot in the head, at the Kurdish Information Office in Paris, France,
the country where they lived in exile. These three women put a face and
name to all anonymous women who are fighting for the independence of the
Kurdish people.
The very professional execution of the three women occurs at a time when the Turkish state and Abdullah Ocalan, PKK’s leader, imprisioned since 1999, resume the talks to start a peace process and end an undeclared war in which more than 40,000 Kurds have already been exterminated since 1984. As a first step in this process, the PKK demands that the Turkish state recognizes the political and cultural rights of the Kurdish people and a substantial improvement in the Abdullah Ocalan prision conditions: he is being held in complete isolation for more than 1.5 years.
We are convinced that the extermination of women fighting for the rights of their people only benefits the oppressive state and its allies. Our Kurdish sisters have told us that the Turkish government openly states that both "security operations and negotiations will continue". They denounce the fact that this attack has not been developed without the complicity of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Europe and the French state.
While the Turkish government speaks about negotiating peace, it actually is implementing a policy of physical elimination of leaders of the resistance – such as Sakine Cansiz, known for her resistance against torture in Diyarbakir prison during the military regimen – as well as the imprisonment without any evidence of trade unionists, parliamentarians, human rights defenders and journalists such as Pinak Selek and sisters of KESK (Confederation of Public Employees Trade Unions of Turkey), that we have been following in recent years.
We, the World March of Women, condemn this crime and denounce it as an attack against peace and the struggle for freedom at same time as we express our solidarity with the Kurdish women and people. On the 12th January we joined Kurdish protesters from various parts of Europe in a large demonstration in Paris to demand that the French authorities guarantee a thorough investigation and exposure of those responsible for the slaughter.
We are also present in the streets in Turkey, where we join our Kurdish sisters to affirm that our experiences and the memory of the martyrs will continue to guide us in our resistance towards freedom: “grief and pain will not deter us, on the contrary, it will strengthen the will and determination that will carry us to victory".
We share with you the statements of our sisters from the Democratic Free Women’s Movement (DOKH) – a Kurdish women's group that is part of the WMW in Turkey; of the WMW in France (in French) and an article written by Ximena González, from the WMW in Galiza (in gallego). Click also to read short biographies of the activists in English or Castellano.
The very professional execution of the three women occurs at a time when the Turkish state and Abdullah Ocalan, PKK’s leader, imprisioned since 1999, resume the talks to start a peace process and end an undeclared war in which more than 40,000 Kurds have already been exterminated since 1984. As a first step in this process, the PKK demands that the Turkish state recognizes the political and cultural rights of the Kurdish people and a substantial improvement in the Abdullah Ocalan prision conditions: he is being held in complete isolation for more than 1.5 years.
We are convinced that the extermination of women fighting for the rights of their people only benefits the oppressive state and its allies. Our Kurdish sisters have told us that the Turkish government openly states that both "security operations and negotiations will continue". They denounce the fact that this attack has not been developed without the complicity of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Europe and the French state.
While the Turkish government speaks about negotiating peace, it actually is implementing a policy of physical elimination of leaders of the resistance – such as Sakine Cansiz, known for her resistance against torture in Diyarbakir prison during the military regimen – as well as the imprisonment without any evidence of trade unionists, parliamentarians, human rights defenders and journalists such as Pinak Selek and sisters of KESK (Confederation of Public Employees Trade Unions of Turkey), that we have been following in recent years.
We, the World March of Women, condemn this crime and denounce it as an attack against peace and the struggle for freedom at same time as we express our solidarity with the Kurdish women and people. On the 12th January we joined Kurdish protesters from various parts of Europe in a large demonstration in Paris to demand that the French authorities guarantee a thorough investigation and exposure of those responsible for the slaughter.
We are also present in the streets in Turkey, where we join our Kurdish sisters to affirm that our experiences and the memory of the martyrs will continue to guide us in our resistance towards freedom: “grief and pain will not deter us, on the contrary, it will strengthen the will and determination that will carry us to victory".
We share with you the statements of our sisters from the Democratic Free Women’s Movement (DOKH) – a Kurdish women's group that is part of the WMW in Turkey; of the WMW in France (in French) and an article written by Ximena González, from the WMW in Galiza (in gallego). Click also to read short biographies of the activists in English or Castellano.
