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By TJKE (Kurdish women’s movement in Europe):
Sakine Cansız, Dogan Fidan and Leyla Söylemez – shot dead
On January 9, our friends Sakine Cansiz, Fidan Dogan and Leyla Şaylemez were murdered in Paris. All three were courageous Kurdish women who fought for a democratic solution to the Kurdish question, as well as for women’s liberation. Sakine Cansiz was a woman who, as one of the first leaders of the PKK, was determined to resist against the atrocities of the Turkish state for 37 years. For the Kurdish people, and especially for us women, she is a role model and a hero.
The murders were supposed to prevent a possible peace
The struggle of the Kurdish population and the resistance of 10,000 political prisoners in Northern Kurdistan and Turkey put the AKP government in a hopeless situation in 2012. All attacks of the Turkish army came to nothing due to the strong position of the Kurdish guerrilla forces. As a result, the Turkish government was forced to resume talks with the representative of the Kurdish people, Abdullah Öcalan, for a political solution of the Kurdish question in late 2012. The forces behind the murders in Paris noticed that the dialogue process progressed. With this crime they intended to intimidate the Kurdish representative Abdullah Ocalan and the PKK and to sabotage the peace process. This insidious triple murder shocked the Kurdish population as well as all supporters of democracy. On 12 January 2013, more than 100,000 people of different nationalities and beliefs protested together in Paris against the killings.
The answers to the Kurdish peace initiatives are: murders and bans!
From recent history we, as Kurds in Europe, know too well that the PKK has been seriously attacked every time when it reached strategic decisions for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question. Six months after the PKK had announced its first ceasefire in 1993, the PKK was banned in Germany. Shortly after the PKK had declared its strategy of political struggle, it was put on the EU list of terrorist organizations in 2002. While the PKK was preparing for a struggle for the democratization of Turkey to solve the Kurdish question in 2013, it was confronted with the shocking murders in Paris on January 9. For 30 years the Turkish government has tried every form of genocide against the Kurdish people. As a NATO member, Turkey and its genocidal policies against the Kurds were supported militarily, politically, economically and diplomatically by international forces.
France has been stubbornly silent for 5 months
Although five months have passed since the murders, the French authorities are still to elucidate these executions. Though, we know very well that states are well able to elucidate murders within a few days, if they wish to. Therefore this question arises for us: Does France remain silent on the murder to cover up its guilt?
The elucidation of the murders in Paris is important for the peace process
After the peace process was confronted with an attempted sabotage with the murders in Paris, the Kurdish representative Abdullah Öcalan declared a democratic strategy to solve the Kurdish question in Turkey on March 21, 2013. We regard the elucidation of the murders as a guarantor for the progress of the peace process. Further, in order to prevent similar political crimes in the future, the determination of the offenders is necessary. As long as this does not happen, dark forces will be encouraged to further murderous acts. For this reason, we call on the leaders of the French state to expose the forces behind these murders and to bring them to justice. Otherwise, France itself will be under suspicion with regards to these murders. We will continue our fight for justice until the murderers of our three comrades are captured.
June 9, 2013
CENÎ – Kurdish Women’s Office for Peace
email: ceni_frauen@gmx.de
