Kariane Westrheim has had a close friendship with Leyla Zana (below), who was 50 on 3 May 2011 and who Kariane Westrheim describes as a warm and wonderful person.
Westrheim was, for many years, a member of the Board of Directors of the Rafto Foundation and a member of the Rafto Prize Committee. She was also involved in the establishment of EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC), which among other things, works for the removal of Kurdistan Workers’ Part (PKK) from the EU’s terrorist organization list.
Last year she was held by the police in Istanbul when she entered Turkey and is now permanently denied entry into the country.
Kurds hope to get into Parliament
Westrheim believes that 12 June will be a day of destiny for the almost 20 million Kurds in the country. Zana and all Kurds hope to get many Kurds into Parliament – 20 years after Zana herself became the first Kurdish woman in Parliament. That resulted in her being imprisoned for 10 years because she used her mother tongue when she was sworn in.
Last year she received a new conviction; this time she was given 3 years for allegedly speaking positively about the imprisoned PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan. However, she has still not been imprisoned and is running an election campaign in her home town of Diyarbakir.
Westrheim says that Zana, together with 60 other Kurds, go to the election as independent candidates. The reason being that the government has forbidden them to represent Peace and Democracy Party (PDP), as the government say that the party has links to PKK, the Kurds military organization.
But, both Zana and I hope that the election will result in many Kurds taking their place in Parliament, says Westrheim.
Constitution
Zana says that after the elections the construction process of constitution will be started.
The new Constitution process will hold the discussions of status of the Kurds. It will be decided if the Kurds and the Turks will have an equal and liberated social agreement.
According to her, the Kurds and the Turks are facing a historical exam. She hopes and wishes that all the problems will be solved in peaceful and democratic ways.
The Kurd’s demands
Westrheim says that the most important demands from the Kurds are to get recognition for their ethnic identity and to receive the rights they have according to the constitution. She compares the Kurd’s situation with the Sami’s in Norway and the The African National Congress’s (ANC) fight in South Africa. The Kurds do not want to move borders they want a form of self- rule in their own region.
The situation for the Kurds is worse than it’s been for a long time, says Westrheim. In the spring 2000 politicians were imprisoned, even children have been put in prison, she says. The authorities have sanctioned military attacks in Kurdish regions, including the use of chemical weapons, mainly from the air.
153 legally elected mayors, judges and others have been imprisoned because it is claimed that they are associated with PKK. They have only dared to initiate health information campaigns and mother tongue teaching for the Kurds, says Westrheim.
Turkey’s EU membership and Kurds
– Do you believe that Turkey has any chance of being a member of EU if they don’t give the Kurds the same rights as the Turks?
The EU doesn’t require much of Turkey with regard to the Kurds, so I’m afraid that Turkey can become a member of the EU without their demands being met. Our organization, EUTCC, is approved by the EU, but that doesn’t mean that the EU supports the Kurds in their battle for rights. In addition, the USA opposes their fight.
– How does Leyla Zana see the PKK and their use of weapons?
Leyla Zana deplores violence and weapon use. But the PKK are a defensive army, where most families are represented. The PKK has lead to a stronger sense of identity among the Kurds. But Zana says that ‘If there was a real project and both parts were ready to negotiate, then, armed activities will cease immediately.’
– But what if the election on 12 June does not result in more power and better conditions
for the Kurds?
PKK’s leader, Abdullah Ocalan, who is in prison on an island, has said that if that happens, there can be an increased offensive from PKK. So, the election will be exceedingly crucial and nerve racking.
What is certain is that Zana will do everything she possibly can to create peace and conciliation. She is intelligent and competent at uniting the Kurdish people. Democracy is very important to her.
But I am very anxious about the result of the election. We in EUTCC will regardless continue with our work for the Kurd’s rightful demands, but it would be a great advantage if the election resulted in the Kurds having more influence in the Turkish Parliament. If that doesn’t happen, I’m afraid that there could be war, as there was from 1984 to 1990, says Westrheim (above), EUTCC leader.
EUTCC – aim and background 
EUTCC was established in order to monitor and conduct regular audits of the European Commission’s performance in ensuring Turkey’s full compliance with the accession criteria as defined within the meaning of the accession agreements. EUTCC was established by the Rafto Foundation (Norway), Kurdish Human Rights Project (United Kingdom) and Medico International (Germany) in 2004.
Since 2004, the EUTCC has held an annual conference in the European Parliament. The last conference on the topic “Turkey and the Kurdish conflict: Political Dialogue & Peace-building” was organised in February 2010.
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