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Kurdish Human Rights Project: This is the legacy website of the Kurdish Human Rights Project, containing reports and news pertaining to human rights issues in the Kurdish Regions for 20 years.

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2010 News
Dialogue on the EU, Turkey and the Kurds Continues in Brussels
Thursday, 04 February 2010 07:16

The Sixth International Conference on the EU, Turkey and the Kurds continues at the European Parliament today, with sessions dedicated to promoting discussion around progress on EU-Turkey accession, human rights and democratisation.

 

After yesterday's debate on recent peace initiatives, the morning session commenced with a speech by Emin Aktar, Chairman of the Diyarbakir Bar Association in Turkey. He spoke about the need for the Turkish government to uphold international standards and outlined ongoing human rights abuses, particularly with regard to violations of children's rights, freedom of expression and the right to freely associate. He also spoke of the need to fight actions to close political parties, which restrict political debate in the country.

 

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Sixth International Conference Opens at European Parliament to Discuss the EU, Turkey and the Kurds
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 03:29

Today the Sixth International Conference on the EU, Turkey and the Kurds will begin at the European Parliament in Brussels. This year’s conference entitled, ‘Turkey and the Kurdish Conflict: Political Dialogue and Peace-building’, will be opened by Kariane Westrheim, Chair of the EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC), which hosts the event.

Opening speeches will follow by EUTCC patron and 1995 Sakharov Prize winner, Leyla Zana, Lothar Bisky MEP, and the as yet to be confirmed, Judge Essa Moosa, of the African National Congress in South Africa. A written message is also to be read out on behalf of the former Co-Chair of the pro-Kurdish Demokratik Toplum Partisi (Democratic Society Party, DTP), Ahmet Türk, who is unable to attend the event following the recent travel ban imposed on him and his co-members in the wake of the Turkish Constitutional Court’s closure decision against the party last December.
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Report on the Fifth EUTCC Conference Now Available
Tuesday, 02 February 2010 11:25

Details of key proceedings from the Fifth International Conference on the EU, Turkey and the Kurds, organised by the EU-Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) are now available to download or purchase from the KHRP website. The conference, which was held at the European Parliament in Brussels from 28 to 29 January 2009, was hosted by EUTCC founders the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales, Medico International, The Thorolf Rafto Foundation, and the Kurdish Human Rights Project, and was supported by members of the European Parliament. This year’s conference was dedicated to the memory of writer, activist and member of the KHRP Board of Patrons, Harold Pinter, who passed away on 24 December 2008.

Proceedings were opened with a speech by KHRP Chief Executive, Kerim Yildiz, a copy of which is available both in the full report and as a separate downloadable transcript from the KHRP website here. Throughout the duration of the event, particular emphasis was placed on the need to resolve the ongoing conflict with the PKK in both Northern Iraq and south-east Turkey. The EU was urged to reject the security-centric approach adopted by Turkey in favour of a resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. The 2009 Conference built upon previous events, and on the wider work of the EUTCC, by providing a forum for dialogue regarding key issues and developments surrounding Turkish accession and the Kurdish question, as well as adopting new resolutions to maintain confidence, commitment and cooperation from all parties in the processes of accession.

 

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KHRP Calls for Lifting of Barriers to Freedom of Expression on the Third Anniversary of Hrant Dink’s
Tuesday, 19 January 2010 11:53

Three years since the assassination of editor, journalist, and campaigner, Hrant Dink, obstructions to freedom of expression in Turkey persist, especially surrounding taboo issues such as minority rights and Kurdish cultural and linguistic rights.

Dink, a prominent member of the Turkish-Armenian community, was best known for his advocacy of Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and promotion of human and minority rights. As editor of Agos, Turkey’s only newspaper published in both Armenian and Turkish, Dink became a target of nationalist intimidation and was prosecuted three times by the government under Article 301 of the Penal Code for ‘denigration of Turkishness’. On 19 January 2007, Dink was assassinated by a young nationalist in Istanbul, though many believe he did not act alone.  Whether or not he acted alone, it is clear is that the government did little to protect Dink in the face a growing climate of intimidation and threat of physical violence by nationalists.

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KHRP Publishes Trial Observation Report on the Turkish Judiciary and Honour Killings
Tuesday, 12 January 2010 08:54

KHRP is pleased to announce the publication of The Trial of Kerem Çakan: The Turkish Judiciary and Honour Killings: Trial Observation Report (ISBN 978-1-905592-27-2). This report presents the findings and further recommendations of a KHRP delegation that travelled to Van, south-east Turkey in August 2009. The delegation was dispatched to observe the trial of Kerem Çakan, accused of the murder of his then-pregnant 17-year-old wife, Eylem Pesen. Pesen had previously been forced out of education to marry Çakan, her maternal uncle’s son, who was accused of repeatedly stabbing and running over Pesem on 17 May 2009. The apparent motive for the killing was the defendant’s suspicion that she was involved in a sexual relationship with his elder brother, although subsequent admissions by Çakan revealed that Pesen had reported twice being raped by this same brother.

 

Whilst the accused was convicted of the killing, the court failed to consider the murder as an ‘honour-killing’ (which has an impact on sentencing) and both the police and judiciary neglected further avenues of investigation that may have indicted the case as such. The trial represented the first opportunity afforded to a KHRP delegation to witness a case involving violence against women, and besides monitoring the proceedings, mission members also interviewed the prosecutor, the defendant’s lawyer, relatives of the victim and local NGOs and human rights-based organisations.
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