WKI CONDEMNS VERDICT AND TRIAL OF PKK LEADER ABDULAH OCALAN
Calls on US Administration to Support Peaceful Resolution of Kurdish Conflict
Washington, D.C. – The President of the Washington Kurdish Institute, Dr. Najmaldin Karim, condemned the trial of PKK leader Abdulah Ocalan which ended today with announcement of a guilty verdict and death sentence.
“Mr. Ocalan’s death sentence, announced the same day Kurdish rebel leader Sheik Said and hundreds of his followers were executed in 1925, was a foregone conclusion. Mr. Ocalan’s detention and trial exhibited clear violations of accepted international norms — he was denied initial access to lawyers and his defense team was constantly harassed and even beaten by police. While prosecutors claimed the PKK was supported by foreign powers and that Mr. Ocalan was personally responsible for thousands of deaths, they failed to provide concrete evidence of either charge. The absurd theater played out on Imrali island demonstrated that the military regime in Turkey has no interest in peacefully resolving the Kurdish conflict or granting Kurdish citizens democratic rights.”
“Mr. Ocalan repeatedly renounced separatism and expressed a willingness to disarm the PKK in return for a commitment to peacefully resolve the conflict. Despite these pleas, the Turkish regime and State-controlled media whipped up nationalist sentiment against Mr. Ocalan and cracked down on all forms of Kurdish dissent within Turkey The Peoples Democracy Party (HADEP), a Kurdish-based party which received over one million votes in recent elections and controls dozens of municipalities in southeast Turkey, is in the process of being closed by the courts, and its leadership and hundreds of members have been jailed. Journalists, musicians and other intellectuals continue to be jailed for treatments of Kurdish issues considered “separatist propaganda” by the regime.” “The time has come for the United States Government to abandon a policy of studied silence combined with unconditional military support for Turkey in the face of egregious human rights violations. If Mr. Ocalan is executed, Turkey will likely be plunged into civil conflict. The U.S. and others concerned about human rights and stability in Turkey should strongly urge Turkey’s rulers to commute Ocalan’s death sentence and take steps to peacefully resolve the conflict by granting Kurdish citizens cultural and political rights.”
“The Kurdish conflict in Turkey will not end with Mr. Ocalan’s demise. The PKK remains a coherent political and military force. Unless Turkey grants true democratic rights to all its citizens, underlying causes of Kurdish discontent will remain an impetus for the cycle of violence and continued political instability. The international community must vigorously protest policies which fuel bloodshed and impede democracy, and should consider new methods to compel the Government of Turkey to abide by international legal standards.”