We welcome and commend the United States Department of State (DOS) call upon the Turkish Government to release the unjustly imprisoned Turkish philanthropist and political prisoner, Osman Kavala. We consider Mr. Kavala to be a symbol of peace and coexistence in Turkey, as he has consistently taken a strong stance on defending human rights across the country, including the Kurdish region. Mr. Kavala’s imprisonment by the authoritarian President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is wrong and inhuman, and should be continuously condemned by the United States and the international community. We add our voice to the Department of State spokesperson and millions of people in Turkey for the immediate release of Mr. Kavala.
We also welcome calls by the DOS in regard to the false and baseless accusations against Professor Henri Barkey by Erdogan and his government. Professor Barkey has not only served the United States Department of State, but has also contributed to think tanks and the academic world for decades. Professor Barkey is one of the most prominent experts on Turkey in Washington DC, and his only guilt is advocating for peace in Turkey and expressing his views on the authoritarian President Erdogan, something a dictator would never understand.
We would like to take this opportunity to remind the DOS and the international community of the illegal and unconstitutional imprisonment of hundreds of Kurdish lawmakers, mayors, politicians, and activists including the former co-leaders of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yüksekdağ.
Mr. Demirtas, an immensely popular figure in Turkey, Kurdistan and further abroad, has received millions of votes in two presidential races. He was stripped of his parliamentary immunity and was unlawfully detained on November 4, 2016. President Erdogan’s dictatorial policies have imposed long prison sentences against dozens of pro-Kurdish politicians like Leyla Guven, Gluten Kisanak, Abdullah Zeydan, İdris Baluken, Sebahat Tuncel, Selcuk Mizralki, Bekir Kaya, and others. Furthermore, since 2016, more than 120 elected Kurdish officials have been forcibly removed from office and replaced by government appointed trustees.
We call upon the Department of State, the rest of the government, and non-government institutions and organizations to condemn the jailing of Mr. Demirtas and his colleagues and to pressure President Erdogan for the release of Mr. Demirtas and all political prisoners in Turkey.
We hope the current administration will avoid making the same mistakes as its predecessors in appeasing a dictator like Erdogan, who has so far committed heinous crimes against humanity with near impunity from Washington. We are looking forward to the realization of President Joe Biden’s vow to return America’s democratic ideology to the forefront of its foreign policy.
“We must start with diplomacy rooted in America’s most cherished democratic values: defending freedom, championing opportunity, upholding universal rights, respecting the rule of law, and treating every person with dignity.” President Biden, February 4, 2021
Washington Kurdish Institute
February 11, 2021