Zana urges EU on the situation of Kurdish hunger strikers
By Roni Alasor and Lorin Sarkisyan
Brussels, 3 November 2012 – Ararat News (ANP) -The Kurdish parliamentarian Leyla Zanasent an open letter to the President of the European Parliament (EP), Martin Schulz, European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule and Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland to urge for pressure on Turkey to fulfil its obligations in order to prevent any loss of life of 683 Kurdish hunger strikers in Turkey.
The hunger strike, which started on 12 September 2012, entered in its 53rd day and the health situation of about twenty people is in danger. While many thousands Kurds demonstrate all over Kurdistan, Turkey and Europe as sign of solidarity with the hunger strikers, Kurdish politicians mobilize their international contacts in order to seek support for the Kurdish cause.
In her letter, MP Leyla Zana calls on EU politicians and international organisations to “urge Turkish authorities to fulfil obligations stemming from the international conventions signed by Republic of Turkey without further delay and to implement a constructive dialogue in a human and peaceful manner meeting the human and political demands of hunger strikes immediately, which are among the fundamental human rights, in order to prevent any loss of life of my people’s children”.
The letter has been sent to the President of the European Parliament, MEP Mr. Martin SCHULZ, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Mr. Thorbjorn JAGLAND, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and ENP, Mr. Štefan FULE, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Mr. Nils MUIZNIEKS, Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), the Chair of the Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, Ms. Hélène Flautre, the Chair of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, Mr. Mikael Gustafsson, the Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights, Ms. Barbara Lochbihler and Sakharov Prize Laureates.
2012-11-04
