In June 2004, Leyla Zana accepted an invitation from the Rafto Foundation to come to Bergen on September 24. She was also invited to a meeting with the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs in the Norwegian Parliament. On September 10 Leyla Zana’s daughter announced to the Rafto Foundation that her mother at present is not allowed to leave Turkey.
“The freedom of Leyla Zana to travel abroad is a test on the effects of constitutional and judicial reforms undertaken by Turkey in recent years,” Mr Arne Liljedahl Lynngård said in a comment to the news that Zana will not come to Norway as planned.
The chairman of the board of the Rafto Foundation said he welcomes many of the legal reforms which have been introduced in the recent past. However, concerns continue about shortcomings in current legislation and the implementation of the reforms.
Concerns about torture and ill-treatment
“We urge the Turkish authorities to take urgent practical measures to ensure the full protection of human rights. The Rafto Foundation has concerns about continuing allegations of torture and ill-treatment; violations of the freedoms of expression, assembly, association and religion, and the right to fair trial. We also have concerns about prisons, national minorities, the lack of independent investigations into human rights violations, including the lack of independent forensic institutes, and internal displacement from the southeastern and eastern provinces,” he said.
13 years in prison
In 1994 during her trial in Ankara, Leyla Zana was honoured with the Rafto Prize for Human Rights. She spent 13 years in a Turkish prison for her courageous defence of human rights and commitment to forging a peaceful, democratic resolution to conflicts between the Turkish government and its minority Kurdish population. A Turkish appeal court´s decision on 9 June 2004 to overturn the convictions of Leyla Zana and three other former Kurdish MPs on charges of links with a Kurdish separatist organisation was welcomed both by Kurdish and international human rights groups as well by the EU. The four are to face a retrial. A date for a retrial is not yet announced.
Accused of separatism
Leyla Zana is the first Kurdish woman elected to Turkey´s Parliament who openly and proudly identified herself as a Kurd. At her inauguration in 1991, she took the oath of loyalty in Turkish, as required by law, and then added in Kurdish, “I shall struggle so that the Kurdish and Turkish peoples may live together in a democratic framework.” Leyla Zana not only spoke before Parliament in Kurdish, but also wore a headband with the traditional Kurdish colours of yellow, green, and red. Parliament erupted with shouts of “Separatist,” “Terrorist,” and “Arrest her.”The Turkish government has placed severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish and prohibiting the language in education. In June, Turkey allowed the first, very limited Kurdish-language broadcasts on state radio and television. Kurds are also pushing for Kurdish language education in schools.
