DTP Vice President Nurettin Demirtas arrested

The DTP Vice President Nurettin Demirtas was arrested two days ago at the Ankara Airport when returning from Europe.  Demirtas is accused of having forged documents in order to escape military service in Turkey. It is expected that Demirtas will be transferred to a military service base.

After having participated at the EUTCC conference, EU Turkey and the Kurds, in the European Parliament, Brussels, December 3-4 2007, Demirtas decided to stay in Europe for a few weeks. Before returning to Turkey Demirtas gave an interview to the news agency Firat at the Düsseldorf airport where he strongly condemned the recent air raids against PKK bases carried out by the Turkish air force in the Qandil Mountains of Kurdistan, Iraq. The attacks caused death and huge material losses to civilians in the region.  Demirtas stated in the same interview that the Kurdish question can not be solved by military means; it has to be solved politically.

When receiving the news of the arrest of Mr. Demirtas the chair of the EUTCC Kariane Westrheim stated: “This is just another example of how Turkish authorities try to marginalise DTP representatives in Turkey. The ridiculous accusations against Mr. Demirtas can only be read as a pretext for silencing legally elected DTP politicians”.

EUTCC calls on the international community to strongly condemn the detention of the DTP Vice-president Nurettin Demirtas and urges for his immediate and unconditional release.

For further information:
Kariane Westrheim & Hans Branscheidt, EUTCC, Board of Directors
Menneskerettighetenes plass 1
5007 Bergen, Norway
Telephone: +47 976 42 088

EUTCC Statement on Turkish Air Strikes

18 December 2007
Press Release: For immediate release
 
EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) Strongly Condemns Turkish Air Strikes in Kurdistan, Iraq

EUTCC strongly condemns the air raids carried out two days ago by the Turkish air force in the Qandil Mountains of Kurdistan, Iraq, and urges the Turkish military immediately to stop the air strikes and all military intervention to the area.
 
The air attacks that were aimed at destroying PKK bases, carried out by reportedly 50 Turkish fighter aircrafts, caused widespread destruction of civilian homes and property and have also resulted in loss of civilian lives.   
 
The air attacks mark an escalation in the intensity of Turkish bombardment of the regions.  Simultaneous strikes by the Iranian military in neighbouring areas of the mountainous region are also reported.
 
When receiving the news of the air strikes the chair of the EUTCC Kariane Westrheim stated: “The border region have once again been targeted. The air strikes carried out by Turkey shows serious disrespect for Iraqi sovereignty and the safety and welfare of civilians in the region. It is not solely the PKK that has been targeted, the killing of civilians and the destruction of a series of small mountain villages - homes and property represent a gross violation of the Geneva conventions”
 
EUTCC calls on the international community and all good forces to condemn strongly the military intervention in general and the recent air strikes in particular. A continuous escalation of the conflict will cause more suffering to all – including civilians in the region, which so far has been the stable part of Iraq.

For further information:

Kariane Westrheim – Hans Branscheidt, Board of Directors
Menneskerettighetenes plass 1
5007 Bergen, Norway
Telephone: +47 976 42 088

4th International Conference on EU Turkey and the Kurds

Fourth Annual Conference on the EU, Turkey and the Kurds ends; EUTCC reflects on Two Days of Valuable Dialogue and Debate

Press Release 27 November 2007

The EUTCC urges the Turkish government to curb judicial attempts to derail the democratic and peaceful exercise of the right to free expression, and calls on it to enter into a dialogue with all parties to come to a peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue and prevent the escalation of ethnic violence in Turkey

Press release, October 17th 2006

Press release from 17th of October 2006, after the Third International Conference on EU Turkey and the Kurds held in the European Parliament in Brussels.

EUTCC Appeal to the European Parliament

EUTCC Appeal to the European Parlimanet regarding the draft report on Turkey's progress to accession.

Second International Conference on EU Turkey and the Kurds

In November 2004 the Rafto Foundation, Kurdish Human Rights Project and medico international hosted the first conference on EU Turkey and the Kurds in the European Parliament. As an outcome of this historic event, these organisations and the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales established a standing Civic Commission, the EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC).

A new Case of Restrictions on Freedom of Expression in Turkey

Turkey continues having problems in understanding and respecting European standards of human rights, including the importance of respecting the freedom of expression.

In Memory of the Kurdish writer Mehmet Uzun

EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) has received the sad message that the dear, prominent and internationally recognised Kurdish writer died today in Diyarbakir.

4th International Conference on EU Turkey and the Kurds

Fourth Annual Conference on the EU, Turkey and the Kurds ends; EUTCC reflects on Two Days of Valuable Dialogue and Debate.

EU Turkey Civic Commission Strongly Condemns Turkish incursion into Kurdistan, Iraq

On 21 February, up to 10 000 Turkish soldiers, with the blessing of the US, crossed the Iraqi Kurdistan border in order to track down PKK guerrillas. The Turkish State started its extensive aerial attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan on 16 December, 2007. These bombings resulted in the destruction of peaceful settlements and the killing and wounding of civilians.

EUTCC Press release

Leyla Zana, a well know political spokesperson for the Kurds in Turkey has been sentenced to two years imprisonment by a Turkish Court in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir. The court’s judgment said she violated Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law after a speech she held at a Kurdish Newroz Festival in 2007.

Jon Rud, a member of the EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) Refused Entry into Turkey

Jon Rud is a Norwegian human rights lawyer, and a member of the EUTCC. He was formerly Chairman of the Norwegian Bar Human Rights Committee and of Amnesty International in Norway. On 7 November this year, he was refused entry into Turkey. He had been invited by the Working Group on Justice of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (of which he is also a member) to a seminar in Istanbul.

EUTCC welcomes Joost Lagendijk’s statement regarding regional autonomy

Recent violence in Turkey regarding the Kurdish issue demonstrates the need for renewed commitment on the part of all involved parties to seek a peaceful solution.

Kurdish Spokesperson and EUTCC Patron Leyla Zana Convicted to Ten Years in Prison by a Turkish Court

Leyla Zana, a well know political spokesperson for the Kurds in Turkey, was Thursday convicted to ten years in prison by a Turkish Court in Diyarbakir.

Kurdish Spokesperson and EUTCC Patron Leyla Zana Convicted to Ten Years in Prison by a Turkish Court

Leyla Zana, a well know political spokesperson for the Kurds in Turkey, was Thursday convicted to ten years in prison by a Turkish Court in Diyarbakir

Nobel Laureate and EUTCC Patron Shirin Ebadi harassed by Iranian police

The office of the Iranian Human Rights lawyer, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and EUTCC patron Shirin Ebadi, was brutally closed down today by dozens of uniformed police and plain clothes without judicial warrant.

In Memory of Nobel Laureate, EUTCC patron and friend of the Kurds, playwright Harold Pinter

EU Turkey Civic Commission has received the sad message that the dear, prominent and internationally recognised playwright Harold Pinter died in London December 25, at the age of 78.

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."

EUTCC Patron Leyla Zana banned by Constitutional Court, Turkey

Leyla Zana, an internationally renowned Kurdish politician and spokesperson is banned from joining any political party the next five years.

EUTCC strongly condemns Turkey’s ban on DTP

The EUTCC strongly deplores the Turkish Constitutional Court’s decision to ban the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP).

EUTCC statement - Mass arrests in Turkey

EUTCC statement on the recent arrests of more than 80 persons including 9 democratically elected Mayors in Turkey's southeastern provinces.

Mayor Osman Baydemir forbidden to leave Turkey

The democratically elected Greater Diyarbakir Mayor, Osman Baydemir, Turkey, has been forbidden by the Turkish authorities from going abroad.

EUTCC statement on Muharrem Erbey arrest

EUTCC statement on Muharrem Erbey arrest

Leading Kurdish Politicians and Journalists Detained in Belgium

It is with deep concern that the EUTCC received the news that the Belgian federal police have detained 25 people for suspected links to the PKK along with ROJ-TV journalists.

EUTCC Patron Leyla Zana Sentenced to Prison by Diyarbakir Court

Leyla Zana, a former MP who has gained internationally acknowledgment for her tireless political work for the Kurdish People, was Thursday April 8 sentenced to 3 years imprisonment, accused of being supportive to the PKK and its leader Mr. Abdullah Öcalan.