Leyla Zana has gained international acknowledgment for her tireless political work for the Kurdish people. She is accused of supporting the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) and its leader Mr. Abdullah Öcalan, writes EU Turkey Civic Commision (EUTCC) in its press release of 9 April 2010.
Accusations against Zana
The court claimed that Leyla Zana (picture below), in her speeches, praised Abdullah Öcalan for his tireless work for the Kurdish causes and announced 
him as the Kurdish national leader. She allegedly stated that if PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan intends to solve the Kurdish issue he should use Öcalan as the interlocutor and instead of travelling to Diyarbakir he should visit him in the Island of Imrali Prison. In another speech Leyla Zana allegedly said that the PKK and its jailed leader are “as important to the Kurdish people as the brain and the soul are to a human being”.
Leyla Zana – brief background
Leyla Zana won a seat in the Turkish Parliament in 1991, as the first Kurdish woman ever to be elected. Her decision to deliver the oath in Kurdish led to a 15 year sentence of which she served 10. She was released in 2004 due to huge international pressure. While in jail, Zana wrote “Writings from Prison”, detailing her cause and the hardships she faced fighting for the Kurdish people.
Zana was awarded the 1994 Rafto Prize for her peaceful struggle for the human rights of the Kurdish people in Turkey and the neighbouring countries. She also received the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1995.
Zana urges Turkey to open talks with the Kurds
Despite the Turkish authorities’ violent political actions against Kurds in Turkey and Europe, and her own suffering and losses during her ten years of imprisonment, Leyla Zana remains a strong voice for peace and democracy and claims that these can only be obtained through a non-violent political solution. She urges Turkey 
to open talks with the Kurds in which representatives of the PKK should be included.
Turkey’s meaningless and devastating politics against the Kurds
The decision of the Diyarbakir Court is a political decision; it is shocking and unworthy for a state claiming membership in the European Union. The Diyarbakir Court decision is just another example of Turkey’s hostility to the Kurdish freedom movement.
The Rafto Foundation joins the EUTCC’s appeal and strongly urges Turkish authorities to reverse the sentence of Leyla Zana and take all possible steps in order to avoid further confrontations with the Kurds. The EUTCC and the Rafto Foundation also call on the European Union to take the measures necessary to finally stop Turkey’s meaningless and devastating politics against the Kurds in Turkey and Europe.
EUTCC – background
The Rafto Foundation, together with three other organisations, established the EUTCC in 2004. Since 2004, the EUTCC has held an annual conference in the European Parliament. One of its most important tasks is to monitor Turkish compliance with the EU accession criteria.
The last EUTCC conference on the topic “Turkey and the Kurdish conflict: Political Dialogue & Peace-building” was organised in February 2010. Through these conferences the EU
TCC also wishes to contribute to a democratic, peaceful and lasting solution to the Kurdish problem. It believes that this can only be achieved through a dialogue between the parties concerned, in which the EU must also play its part. For final resolutions to the 6th International Conference on EU, Turkey and the Kurds 2010 see EUTCC’s website.
Contacts
For further information on Leyla Zana’s case you may contact Kariane Westrheim, the Chair of the EUTCC and former member of the Rafto Prize Committee, telephone: +47 976 42 088.
Related links:
