UCU, SOAS SU, EUTCC, Green MEP and Lib Dems MEP demand action on human rights in Turkey as Ms Zana is sentenced
Posted on 05. Aug, 2009 by KSSO in Campaigns, News
UCU protests at the imprisonment of Kurdish politician Leyla Zana after SOAS speech
Prof. Mary Davis, Deputy-Director Working Lives Research Institute and Head of Centre for Trade Union Studies at London Metropolitan University, who chaired the seminar, brought a motion of solidarity with Leyla Zana to the UCU conference (27 May 2009) and the academics’ trade union UCU has unanimously passed an emergency motion of solidarity with Zana.
“Congress resolves:
- to instruct Executive to mount a campaign to secure the release of Leya Zana. This includes:
- raising the issue with other trade unions
- calling on MPs and MEPs to protest to the Turkish government
- calling on the Principal of SOAS and the Vice Chancellor of London University to defend the rights of academic freedom and to communicate this in the strongest terms to the Turkish Embassy
- participating in the newly formed solidarity campaign.
http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=3888
UCU protests at the imprisonment of Kurdish politician Leyla Zana after SOAS speech
On the back of a UCU Congress motion http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=3888) the union has written to the Foreign Secretary David Miliband outlining our concerns about the imprisonment of Kurdish politician Leyla Zana by the Turkish authorities. In December 2008 Leyla was sentenced to 10 years in jail under Turkish anti-terrorist laws. On 28 July 2009 she was also given a 15 month sentence for a speech she made at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London on 24 May 2008. UCU is particularly concerned that the latest assault on Leyla’s freedom of expression stems from a speech made at a UK institution.
Click on http://www.london-student.net/2009/07/31/kurdish-politician-leyla-zana-jailed-after-soas-speech for further details of the SOAS case and on http://www.ksso.org.uk/2009/06/01/call-for-solidarity-with-leyla-zana/ for the new solidarity campaign launched by the UK Kurdish Studies and Student Organisation (KSSO).
http://www2.le.ac.uk/institution/unions/ucu/news/ucu-campaigns-update-4-september-2009
UCU protests at the imprisonment of Kurdish politician Leyla Zana after SOAS speech
On the back of a Business of the strategy and finance committee UCU has written to the UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband with our concerns about the imprisonment of Kurdish politician Leyla Zana by the Turkish authorities. In December 2008 Leyla was sentenced to 10 years in jail under Turkish anti-terrorist laws. On 28 July 2009 she was also given a 15 month sentence for a speech she made at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London on 24 May 2008. UCU is particularly concerned that the latest assault on Leyla’s freedom of expression stems from a speech made at a UK HE institution. Click here for further details of the SOAS case and here for the new solidarity campaign launched by the UK Kurdish Studies and Student Organisation (KSSO). UCU has written to the UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband; download UCU letter to David Miliband re Leyla Zana.”
http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=2408
August 11, 2009
Statement from the SOAS Students’ Union on the imprisonment of Leyla Zana
On July 28th, 2009, a court in Diyarbakir, Turkey sentenced Leyla Zana – the first Kurdish female to be elected into the Turkish Parliament in 1991 – to 15 months imprisonment for a speech given during a seminar held at SOAS. It was called ‘Obstacles and Options for a Political and Peaceful Solution of Turkey’s Kurdish Question’ and was organised by the SOAS Kurdish Society. The student society and the organisation it is a part of the Kurdish Studies and Students Organisation (KSSO), stresses their non-political stance and dedication to ensuring the representation of their culture in the UK by means of promoting research and providing a neutral-open platform for intellectual debate on Kurdish matters. The trial and verdict against Ms. Zana is directly opposed to the right of freedom of expression and her position as a 1995 European Parliament Sakharov Prize Laureate and former elected representative highlight the importance of this oppressive verdict.
The SOAS Students’ Union commits itself to a long standing tradition to defend and support any individual or group that has been persecuted for expressing their beliefs; we will highlight injustice anywhere and everywhere. By targeting a former elected representative the injustice being done is not limited to Ms. Zana but extends itself to the Kurdish people who elected her. In fact, the trials and continuing support for Zana is proof that she is a reflection of the Kurdish people and her sentence is ignoring the peoples’ decision to support her, thus neglecting the freedom of expression of a populace and condemning someone to prison solely for expressing his/her belief. This now has the potential to lead many to further question the actual desire of the Turkish government to allow for a Kurdish voice to be heard that is justly recognized to be different from the Turkish one. It is especially important to recognise how this contradicts Article 19 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights which says:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference…”
Potential problems that arise from the current state of affairs vary in their severity but all point to a greater alienation of the Kurdish ethnic group in various ways. At best, criminalising the actions of a former elected representative will discourage people to engage with the state’s processes that determine their rights within the society they live in. This is especially possible in the current situation which is causing someone who has said and is felt to defend democracy, human rights, and brotherhood between peoples as long as she lives to be imprisoned. At worst the sentence can be interpreted as a declaration aimed to the Kurdish people that reinforces their belief that they will never be represented justly within the system as it stands and thus by default will encourage further illegal action. This will only cause more of the same problems that have existed between the groups involved and may result in similar conflicts re-emerging.
An open, public meeting dedicated to contextuatising and discussing the ‘Obstacles and Options for a Political and Peaceful Solution of Turkey’s Kurdish Question’ shows the dedication of the Kurdish people to resolve what ever conflict they feel still exists. The surveillance done to sentence Zana not only demonstrates that the level of distrust between parties is in fact escalating but also shows that Turkish Intelligence does not respect the pursuit of discussing controversial matters in a free environment that encourages new and progressive solutions to emerge. Merely the act of holding an event that invites Kurdish people to organise and speak amongst themselves could become a display of trust and confidence that they are part of a just system. If any other conclusion is made and officially recognised then the validity of the system will be undeniable. Only then can progressive engagement with any of the conflicting issues that prevent the peace between the Turkish people and the Kurdish people be addressed.
The SOAS Students’ Union is committed to challenging any government or institution that creates injustice or repression against people, their beliefs, their representatives or their environment. Indeed, it is a fallacy of many governments that seek to forcibly determine the identity and livelihoods of people living within a geographical area and it has been present during the growth of most nations and empires. Therefore the SOAS Students’ Union calls upon active steps to provide a viable, long-term peaceful solution to the Kurdish question instead of struggling to suppress the voices of those who are working towards this goal.
Turkey has the potential to show the world an example of what a just society is and rid itself from the legacy of the military junta. We call on the relevant representatives to help make this a reality.
Ben Sellers
On behalf of the SOAS Student Union Executive
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If you would like to carry this further and voice your opposition to Ms. Zana’s sentence, please contact the following:
Email the EU Commission responsible for enlargement and Turkey’s accession negotiations:
olli.rehn@ec.europa.eu (Commissioner)
taneli.lahti@ec.europa.eu (Member of Cabinet responsible for Turkey)
kariane.westrheim@iuh.uib.no (Eu Turkey Civic Commission)
Other people that would benefit to hear from you would be:
bimer@baskanlik.gov.tr – Turkish Prime Minister: Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan
sadullahergin@adalet.gov.tr – Turkish Ministry of Justice: Mr. Sadullah Ergin
cumhurbaskanligi@tccb.gov.tr – President of Turkey: Mr. Abdullah Gül
mc@ksso.org.uk – Kurdish Studies & Students Organisation
http://findyourmp.parliament.uk – Your Local Member of Parliament
http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=3771 – Your UCU Representative
August 2nd, 2009
EUTCC Patron Leyla Zana Sentenced to Prison by a Turkish Court
Leyla Zana, an internationally renowned Kurdish politician and spokesperson was Tuesday 28 July sentenced to 15 months imprisonment by a Turkish Court in Diyarbakir, a city regarded as the capital of the Kurds. The court claimed that Zana, when speaking at a conference in London last year, stated that the PKK and its jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan are “as important for the Kurdish people as the brain and the soul are for a human being.”
Leyla Zana was the first Kurdish woman to win a seat in the Turkish Parliament in 1991. Her decision to give the Parliamentary Oath in Kurdish led to immediate calls for her arrest. This was the first time Kurdish had been spoken in the Turkish Parliament. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison but was released in 2004 due to international pressure. While in jail, Zana published Writings from Prison detailing her cause and the hardship she faced fighting for the Kurdish people. Zana received the Rafto Prize in 1994 and the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1995. She has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize several times. In May this year Leyla Zana was invited to speak at the Oslo Freedom Forum together with other former prisoners of consciousness such as Elie Wiesel, Palden Gyatso, Elena Bonner, and Václav Havel. Zana ended her speech by saying:
“The explosion of social awareness despite bans and prohibitions gives an excitement that the demand of Kurdish people for freedom is transforming both the Turkish people and the people in Turkey as a whole, with a positive interaction. The same results, courage and organized thoughts are also forcing a change in the laws, because now in Turkey, both the people are forcing the laws and the laws are forcing the people. From this vicious circle, only the people can come out as winners, and they must.”
Despite Leyla Zana’s personal sufferings and losses during her 10 years of imprisonment, she remains a strong advocate for democracy and claims that it can only be secured by a non-violent political solution.
In order to become a member of the European Union Turkey has to take considerable and positive steps towards a political and durable peaceful solution to the Kurdish question. In that regard the decision of the Diyarbakir Court is as shocking and unacceptable as it is inequitable.
The EUTCC hereby calls on the European Union and the international community to take political action and strongly condemn Turkey for having sentenced Leyla Zana to 15 months of imprisonment.
Kariane Westrheim, Chair of EUTCC, Bergen – Norway
Hans Branscheidt - BOD EUTCC, Frankfurt – Germany
Professor Michel Gunter, BOD EUTCC, Tennessee – USA
For further information please contact:
Kariane Westrheim – Menneskerettighetenes plass 1 – 5007 Bergen, Norway – Telephone: +47 976 42 088 – (www.eutcc.org )
Green MEP demands action on human rights in Turkey as Kurdish campaigner is sentenced
July 31st, 2009
Jean Lambert today expressed her concern and disappointment over the decision of the Turkish authorities to sentence Leyla Zana, a prominent Kurdish human rights activist, for fifteen months. Ms Zana, who has met with the Green MEP on several occasions, was the winner of the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize in 1995 for her work to improve human rights, and extend democracy and freedom of expression in Turkey.
Commenting on the announcement of Ms Zana’s sentence, Jean Lambert MEP said:
“It is a sad outcome for human rights and for the Kurdish people. Leyla Zana is an inspirational figure and has tirelessly fought against intolerance and oppression. I have written to the President of the European Parliament this week to urge that everything possible is done at the EU level to support her appeal and I will continue to follow this situation closely.”
Jean Lambert MEP continued:
“Leyla Zana has already served a 10 year prison sentence for speaking Kurdish in the Turkish Parliament, following her election as the first female Kurdish MP. Even now, the use of the Kurdish language is still banned in public places despite pressure from the EU to reform human rights law and comply with the Copenhagen criteria.
“I support Ms Zana’s calls for the need for dialogue and a political solution to the conflict. I hope that she will win her new appeal against this sentence so that she can continue her work towards a peaceful solution for Turkey and a better situation for the Kurdish community.”
Jean Lambert, London’s Green Party MEP
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July 30th, 2009
Jail sentence for Leyla Zana condemned-Liberal Democrat MEP for London Baroness Sarah Ludford
Liberal Democrat MEP for London Baroness Sarah Ludford has condemned the 15 month prison sentence imposed by Turkish court on Kurdish politician Leyla Zana for comments she made about the PKK and its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan.
Sarah Ludford, who is the Liberal Democrat European justice & human rights spokeswoman, has met Leyla Zana on several occasions and is an outspoken supporter of cultural and political rights for Kurdish people in Turkey and elsewhere. She said:
“As is well known, I am a firm advocate of Turkish accession to the EU. But the necessary reforms must include respect for free speech, an end to the criminalisation of legitimate if controversial political views, and the related ending of the role of the military at the heart of state power.”
“Only a political solution to the Kurdish question will path the way for vital democratic renewal in Turkey and enable it to step into line with international and European human rights standards.”
“I join the EU-Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) in calling on the European Union and the international community to take political action to try and stop Leyla Zana’s imprisonment and encourage the government to begin a real dialogue with Kurds at last.”
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July 28th, 2009
Leyla Zana has been sentenced to 1 year and 3 months imprisonment because of a seminar she gave organised by the Kurdish Society at SOAS university.
Bianet has published the following article on their website. We hope to get more updates soon!
SOURCE: Bianet.org
1 Year 3 Months Imprisonment for Leyla Zana
A Diyarbakır court has sentenced politician Zana for “organisational propaganda”.
A court in Diyabakır has sentenced Kurdish politician Leyla Zana to 1 year and 3 months imprisonment for allegedly spreading PKK propaganda in a speech made at a seminar at London’s SOAS University on 24 May 2008.
In her speech, she had likened the PKK and its imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan’s importance to the Kurdish people to the importance the brain and heart have to humans. “They have created a new life for the Kurdish people, so that a people that used to be ashamed of its existence gained a spirit of freedom and resistance.”
The former MP for the Democracy Party (DEP) was tried under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law and the prosecution demanded 5 years imprisonment.
The police had monitored recordings on the Kurdish satellite channel Roj TV and had filed a criminal complaint against her.
Previous long imprisonment
In 1994, Zana and several other Kurdish politicians were arrested for using Kurdish at the swearing-in ceremony for MPs. They were imprisoned for 15 years and released in 2004.
Supporters of Zana in Turkey and France organised campaigns after she was sentenced to ten years imprisonment last year for speeches she made. The case is currently at the Supreme Court of Appeals. The campaign in Turkey has called for the Supreme Court to overturn the sentence, and on MPs to lift legal obstructions to the freedom of expression. In France, a campaign started on 10 February was signed by many intellectuals.
In the report by the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, problems regarding the freedom of expression, Leyla Zana’s court case under Article 301 was cited. The EU had awarded Zana the Sakharov Prize in 1995. (EÜ/AG)
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July 21st, 2009
Leyla Zana appeard in the Diyarbakir Heavy Penal Court on July 21st again to answer charges regarding another ‘press crime’!
The Turkish authorities have taken several legal actions against Leyla Zana speeches made in Turkey and abroad between 2007 and 2008. This includes the speech she made at the Kurdish Society’s seminar at SOAS in May 2008.
On December 2008, the Diyarbakir Heavy Penal Court has already sentenced Zana to 10 years’ imprisonment for violating the penal code and the anti-terror law in nine different speeches. Her file is at the Supreme Court of Appeals (Court of Cassation in Ankara)
Leyla Zana states at the Turkish court in Amed (Turkish: Diyarbakir) on 31st March 2009
“Respectable Judges, I would like first to point out that I consider it a disgrace for the democracy of Turkey that I am being tried because of my thoughts. The fact that expression of thought is being considered within the scope of the fight against terrorism underscores yet another topical and burning issue. It is a fact that to be able to express one’s thought is a guarantee of all other freedoms”.
Leyla Zana, March 31st, 2009
We, The Committee for Solidarity with Leyla Zana call on the Diyarbakir Heavy Penal Court to stop prosecuting Leyla Zana for expressing thought at SOAS and call on the Supreme Court of Appeals to overturn the 10-year prison sentence in considering the European Court of Human Rights’ case law and on the Turkish Parliament to lift all legal obstructions to freedom of expression in Turkey.
Please join us to campaign strenuously on her behalf; write to MPs and MEPS, to trade Unions, NGO in the UK to not allow this time her imprisonment!
