Peace in Kurdistan 
Press release 4 March 2001

5 March 2001 will be the seventh anniversary of Leyla Zana's imprisonment.

Leyla Zana is the only Kurdish woman elected to the Turkish Paliament, having received
86% of the vote in 1991. She had already spoken out, first as a housewife and then as a
journalist, against the Turkish government¹s oppression of the Kurdish people and continued
to do so as soon as she became an MP for DEP (Democracy Party).

In her own words describing her entry as an MP in the Turkish Parliament: ŒFirst, I calmly
read the Turkish text of the oath, which formally validated my mandate. Then, I added the
following sentence in Kurdish and also in Turkish: ³I underwent that formality under duress.
I will fight for the fraternal co-existence of the Kurdish and Turkish peoples within the
context of democracy.

Then in May 1993 she was invited to testify before the Helsinki commission of the US
Congress. Ten months later the Turkish government revoked he immunity and arrested her.
Citing her testimony before Congress as an act of treason, the State Security Court sentenced
her to 15 years in prison.

Before and after her imprisonment she has been a tireless fighter for peace and for the
national and political rights of her people, and has won widespread international recognition
and respect. In 1995 the European Parliament awareded her the 1995 Sakharov Peace Prize
and Amnesty International has adopted her and her duly elected parliamentarian colleagues
Hatip Dicle, Orhan Dogan and Selim Sadak, as prisoners of conscience.

The full consequences of Turkey¹s present crisis for the political system remain to be seen,
but the impact on the lives of people in Turkey can only be negative. The Kurds, who have
long borne the worst of the state's repeated attacks on the rights of its citizens, know only too
well what to expect from such a regime when it is cornered. Fears that Turkey may turn its
back on democratisation in favour of repression and military rule are real despite the
requirements for reform from Europe.

At a time when a wide-ranging debate on the future of Kurds and Turks is taking place, we
ask people to reflect on the contribution that Leyla Zana has made and continues to make to
that debate.

She once said: For me, the Kurdish people's freedom is more important than my own
personal liberty. I view my imprisonment as a necessary price to be paid for peace, solidarity
and the establishment of true democracy in Turkey. Therefore I am honoured and happy to
be doing my share in this manner.

We call on the British government, the EU and other international organisations to raise Mrs
Zana's case with the Turkish authorities at the highest level as a matter of urgency and seek
her and her colleagues immediate and unconditional release.

Freedom for Leyla Zana, Hatip Dicle, Orhan Dogan and Selim Sadak. Freedom and
self-determination for Kurdistan.

From Peace in Kurdistan

Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish question

Patrons: Lord Avebury, John Austin MP, Lord Rea, Lord Dholakia, Baroness
Sarah Ludford MEP

John Bowis MEP, Julie Christie, Harold Pinter, Noam Chomsky, Arthur Miller

Tel 020 7586 5892 Fax 020 7483 2531
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The Kurdistan Observer
www.kurdistanobserver.com