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KurdistanObserver.com
Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) Press Release
Former Kurdish MP Dr. Remzi Kartal To Be Extradited To Turkey
With Germany's support, Turkey continues with the criminalisation of Kurdish
politicians living in exile.
Remzi Kartal, a founding member of the Kurdistan National Congress and former
DEP MP, was arrested at the request of Turkey on January 22 2005 in Nuremberg.
Remzi Kartal is a Kurdish politician who has been active politically on a
completely legal basis and has worked exclusively for a democratic and peaceful
solution to the Kurdish question. He is known internationally for his struggle
for democracy, as are his colleagues from the DEP, Hatip Dicle, Leyla Zana,
Orhan Dogan and Selim Sadak. Now he is to be deported to Turkey.
Former DEP MP Leyla Zana was awarded the European Parliamentıs Sakharov Prize
for her struggle for a democratic solution for the Kurdish question. For the
same commitment Remzi Kartal has been arrested with the claim that he is guilty
of ³terrorism².
Since 1994 he has lived in exile, because after that time it was no longer
possible to carry out legal political work in Turkey. Since then he has carried
out his struggle for democracy within various organisations in Europe such as
the Association for Solidarity with DEP, the Kurdish Parliament in Exile, the
Kurdish National Congress, and most recently the Peopleıs Congress of Kurdistan
(KONGRA-GEL).
As with the other Kurdish former MPs, Remzi Kartal has become well-known through
his diplomatic work and because of his Kurdish identity. KONGRA-GEL, of which
Remzi Kartal is vice-president, has dedicated itself to the pursuit of a just
and peaceful solution to the Kurdish question and has worked for this since it
was founded.
By taking the step of arresting Remzi Kartal, the Federal Republic of Germany is
making it harder to achieve a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question. At the
same time, Germany is damaging the efforts to democratise Turkey, and
encouraging the continued use of torture and the commission of human rights
violations, as well as Turkeyıs policy of assimilation, denial and annihilation
towards the Kurds. This is why we categorise the anti-Kurdish alliance of Turkey
and Germany, the latest result of which is the arrest of Remzi Kartal, as an
attack on the democratic and legal struggle of all the Kurds.
We therefore call on the Kurdish people and the democratic public of Europe, as
well as all friends of the Kurdish people, to protest against Remzi Kartalıs
arrest and to work for his release.
KNK Executive Council
24 January 2005
Translated by SP
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