Wednesday, 03 March 2010 15:58
British Politicians Addressed International Conference in Diyarbakir on 27-28 February organised by the Democratic Society Congress
3 March 2010
Press release
For over 30 years, large areas of south-eastern Turkey have been rocked by clashes between security forces and groups fighting for greater rights for the country’s Kurdish minority. But there are fresh hopes that a negotiated end to the conflict could be possible if all parties to it learned from what has happened in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Despite the recent banning of the main Kurdish political party, the DTP (Democratic Society Party), and the incarceration of numerous Kurdish mayors, the government in Ankara is in principle pursuing a new policy of a ‘democratic opening’ to the Kurds and other minority communities.
At the weekend, three British politicians addressed a conference on Conflict Resolution attended by Kurdish and Turkish politicians, media and academics, alongside invitees from South Africa and the Spanish Basque Country, in the predominantly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir (Amed, in Kurdish).
Citing the example of the role of US Senator George Mitchell in the resolution of Northern Ireland’s troubles, Lord Hylton, a Crossbencher in the House of Lords, stressed that ‘a third party facilitating conflict resolution in Turkey could be useful, in the absence of a well-organised dialogue between the Turkish and Kurdish communities.’
Dafydd Iwan, President of the Party of Wales, Plaid Cymru, declared that ‘the devolution of political power to Wales and the expansion of political rights are the sort of thing needed by the Kurdish people, so we could work together on this.’
The writer and broadcaster Jonathan Fryer, who is Chairman of London Liberal Democrats, said that peace would only come if the two sides sit down for serious discussions, in which there would have to be compromises. ‘To borrow a biblical expression, it is time that the lion lies down with the lamb.’
For information contact
Estella 020 7586 5892
Rachel 020 7272 4131
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, Jean Lambert MEP, Bairbre de Brún MEP Sinn, Alyn Smith MEP,
Hywel Williams MP, Elfyn Llwyd MP, Julie Christie, Gareth Peirce, Noam Chomsky, Edward Albee, Mark Thomas
e-mail: estella24@tiscali.co.uk
