The Mezopotamian Development Society (MESOP) and Medico
International
and Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
INTERNATIONAL APPEAL
TURKEY WAGES WAR ON KURDISH CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
Europe has a responsibility to help find a just and peaceful
solution
4 April, 2006
Turkish tanks and water cannons are hunting down Kurdish demonstrators.
Shootings, teargas, broken windows, burning houses, screaming, dead
bodies: for days, there has been turmoil in the Kurdish cities of
south-eastern Turkey, in Diyarbakir, Batman, Hakkari, Siirt, Mardin,
Kiziltepe and Nusaybin. Diyarbakir, the largest city in the region, is
like a city at war. The death toll so far is 15, including children and
young people, while hundreds have been injured.
The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan claims that the
demonstrations are “the work of terrorists”. He said, “For those who
keep their children in the streets or allow them to be used by them,
their tears tomorrow will be in vain.” He has insisted that “Our
security forces will do what is necessary against those who have become
the pawns of terrorists, whoever they are, even if they are women or
children”.
The Kurds had celebrated the New Year festival, Newroz (21 March),
peacefully. But their hopes for peace were dashed once more. The
government in Ankara had already launched large-scale and provocative
military operations in the east of the country, using lethal chemicals
banned under international law, in which 14 guerrillas were killed. At
the funerals in Diyarbakir of four of the dead, the fury of the people
erupted because of their disappointment at the continuing repression,
the lack of justice and any hope for the future.
The mayor of Diyarbakir, who was trying to mediate, was threatened with
violence and physically attacked by the military. Doctors and nurses
were forbidden to treat the injured, and the state hospital was
surrounded by soldiers. Thousands of people taking part in funeral
processions and seeking to bury their dead and mourn them were prevented
from doing so by repeated tear gas attacks and shooting.
Millions of Kurdish people had hoped that Turkey would implement various
reforms required by the EU as part of its accession process, including
improving its human rights record and treatment of the Kurds. But the
Kurdish people are now discovering the brutal reality that they were
just paper reforms.
In view of the ongoing military deployment against the civilian Kurdish
population, we are making the following appeal to the public worldwide;
the institutions of the EU including the Council of Europe; the European
Commissioner for Enlargement, Olli Rehn, who is responsible for Turkey’s
accession negotiations; and to Austria, which currently holds the
European presidency:
• Immediate and effective pressure must be brought to bear on the
Turkish government to stop the current fierce wave of persecution of
Kurdish people;
• European courts must investigate these terrible incidents and bring
those responsible to justice;
• Europe and its national governments, media, and the public must work
to end the continuing abductions, arrests and murders of Kurdish people
in southeastern Turkey;
• Europe must use the opportunities it has to achieve a lasting and
peaceful solution to the long-standing violence in the region, a
solution recognised by Kurdish people that will guarantee their rights
that have been constantly denied them.
We, the undersigned, support this appeal
Name/Organisation
Signatures
Address
For more information contact
e-mail: MESOP@online.de
or knklondon@gn.apc.org
|
