Izmir- Northern Kurdistan: Turkish High Court sentenced 61 year old Kurdish “Peace Mother” Sultan Acibuca to 6 years and 3 months in prison for her speech at 8th March Women’s International Day celebrations in Izmir.
Izmir 10th High Criminal Court sentenced Acibuca on the grounds of being a member of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
The only evidence against Acibuca was her speech at Women’s International Day celebrations in Izmir. In her speech Acibuca called the PKK and Turkish Army to lay down arms and end the 30 year of armed conflict. Her last words were “Enough is enough! We don’t want war”.
The Kurdistan Worker Party (PKK) was founded in 1973 as the result of the continuous and systematic oppressions and the denial of the Kurdish nation by the occupying powers of Kurdistan. The PKK took up arm in 1984 since all the possible political and diplomatic means applied for 11 years in between 1973-84 proved exhausted. The PKK however declared its first unilateral ceasefire in 1993 since it believed the arm struggle had hit its targets. Since 1993 to date the PKK has declared 6 unilateral ceasefires in 6 different occasions and called upon Ankara to solve the Kurdish problem in a peaceful democratic way.
Despite the facts that the PKK has declared 6 unilateral ceasefires and also it sent peace groups in two different occasions yet the PKK is considered as a 'terrorist' organization by Ankara and the US. It also continues to be on the blacklist in EU despite the court ruling, which overturned the decision to place the Kurdish freedom movement on the EU's terror list. “By labelling PKK as a terrorist organisation, the EU and the US are giving Turkey a green light to target its civilians. They gave the Turkish government a free hand to do what it will, a mother of Kurdish martyr said”.
It should be noted that after 1954, apart from the Korean War in1949-52 and the invasion of Cyprus in 1974, the Turkish Army operations have continued to be exclusively against the Kurds.
