The spirit of the Kurdish people cannot be broken by threats and intimidation
The root of the Kurdish problem lies in the failure of Turkey and its allies in UK and Europe to acknowledge the denial of the basic rights of existence to the Kurdish people under the Turkish constitution and its state ideology.
The numerous opportunities for peace between Turkey and the Kurds offered, for example, by the latest Kurdish ceasefire and the constructive proposals for a just settlement repeatedly made by Kurdish leaders remain unreciprocated.
At the heart of the problem is the refusal on the part of the British authorities to fully address the legitimate demands of the Kurds for democratic and social rights and their failure to use available diplomatic channels to persuade the Turkish authorities to find a political and negotiated solution to the Kurdish conflict. It is equally vital to understand the nature of the solidarity and cohesiveness of the Kurdish people around their leading organisations and political leadership of Abdullah Ocalan and the Kurdistan Workers' Party. The spirit of the Kurdish people cannot be broken by threats and intimidation.
Peace in Kurdistan is determined to redouble its efforts for a just peace for Kurds in Turkey and calls on the British government to engage constructively with the legitimate representatives of the Kurdish people in the UK and in Kurdistan.
We further call on the UK government to realise that its current anti-terrorism legislation, in particular the proscription of the PKK, stands as an obstacle to achieving peace and in fact only criminalizes the whole Kurdish community by preventing them from freely expressing their opinions and showing solidarity with their brothers and sisters in the Kurdish movement back in their homeland.
Peace in Kurdistan Campaign: Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish question
Image: Kurdish demonstration in Turkey
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Patrick Mac Manus
Copenhagen (Denmark)
Blog: http://patrickmacmanus.wordpress.com/
