tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79418109439137391012024-03-05T05:46:03.378-08:00United States of KurdistanNews&ViewsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2119125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-32472224526459558492011-02-18T02:26:00.000-08:002011-02-18T02:30:54.792-08:00UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF LINGUISTIC RIGHTS PRELIMINARIESThe institutions and non-governmental organizations, signatories to the present Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights, meeting in Barcelona from 6 to 9 June 1996,<br /><br />Having regard to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights which, in its preamble, expresses its «faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women»; and which, in its second article, establishes that «everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms» regardless of «race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status»;<br /><br />Having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 16 December 1966 (Article 27), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of the same date which, in their preambles, state that human beings cannot be free unless conditions are created which enable them to enjoy both their civil and political rights and their economic, social and cultural rights;<br /><br />Having regard to Resolution 47/135 of 18 December 1992 of the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization which adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to National, Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities;<br /><br />Having regard to the declarations and conventions of the Council of Europe, such as the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, of 4 November 1950 (Article 14); the Convention of the Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe, of 29 June 1992, approving the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages; the Declaration on National Minorities made by the Summit Meeting of the Council of Europe on 9 October 1993; and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of November 1994;<br /><br />Having regard to the Santiago de Compostela Declaration of the International PEN Club and the Declaration of 15 December 1993 of the Translations and Linguistic Rights Committee of the International PEN Club concerning the proposal to hold a World Conference on Linguistic Rights;<br /><br />Considering that, in the Recife, Brazil, Declaration of 9 October 1987, the 12th Seminar of the International Association for the Development of Intercultural Communication recommended the United Nations Organization to take the necessary steps to approve and implement a Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights;<br /><br />Having regard to Convention 169 of the International Labour Organization of 26 June 1989 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries;<br /><br />Having regard to the Universal Declaration of the Collective Rights of Peoples, Barcelona, May 1990, which declared that all peoples have the right to express and develop their culture, language and rules of organization and, to this end, to adopt political, educational, communications and governmental structures of their own, within different political frameworks;<br /><br />Having regard to the Final Declaration adopted by the General Assembly of the International Federation of Modern Language Teachers in Pécs (Hungary) on 16 August 1991, which recommended that linguistic rights be considered as fundamental rights of the individual;<br /><br />Having regard to the report of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, of 20 April 1994, concerning the draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which viewed individual rights in the light of collective rights;<br /><br />Having Regard to the draft Declaration of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, approved at session 1278 on 18 September 1995;<br /><br />Considering that the majority of the world's endangered languages belong to non-sovereign peoples and that the main factors which prevent the development of these languages and accelerate the process of language substitution include the lack of self-government and the policy of states which impose their political and administrative structures and their language;<br /><br />Considering that invasion, colonization, occupation and other instances of political, economic or social subordination often involve the direct imposition of a foreign language or, at the very least, distort perceptions of the value of languages and give rise to hierarchical linguistic attitudes which undermine the language loyalty of speakers; and considering that the languages of some peoples which have attained sovereignty are consequently immersed in a process of language substitution as a result of a policy which favours the language of former colonial or imperial powers;<br /><br />Considering that universalism must be based on a conception of linguistic and cultural diversity which prevails over trends towards homogenization and towards exclusionary isolation;<br /><br />Considering that, in order to ensure peaceful coexistence between language communities, overall principles must be found so as to guarantee the promotion and respect of all languages and their social use in public and in private;<br /><br />Considering that various factors of an extralinguistic nature (historical, political, territorial, demographic, economic, sociocultural and sociolinguistic factors and those related to collective attitudes) give rise to problems which lead to the extinction, marginalization and degeneration of numerous languages, and that linguistic rights must therefore be examined in an overall perspective, so as to apply appropriate solutions in each case;<br /><br />In the belief that a Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights is required in order to correct linguistic imbalances with a view to ensuring the respect and full development of all languages and establishing the principles for a just and equitable linguistic peace throughout the world as a key factor in the maintenance of harmonious social relations;<br /><br />HEREBY DECLARE THAT<br /><br />PREAMBLE<br /><br />The situation of each language, in view of the foregoing considerations, is the result of the convergence and interaction of a wide range of factors of a political and legal, ideological and historical, demographic and territorial, economic and social, cultural, linguistic and sociolinguistic, interlinguistic and subjective nature.<br /><br />At the present time, these factors are defined by:<br /><br />. The age-old unifying tendency of the majority of states to reduce diversity and foster attitudes opposed to cultural plurality and linguistic pluralism.<br /><br />. The trend towards a worldwide economy and consequently towards a worldwide market of information, communications and culture, which disrupts the spheres of interrelation and the forms of interaction that guarantee the internal cohesion of language communities.<br /><br />. The economicist growth model put forward by transnational economic groups which seeks to identify deregulation with progress and competitive individualism with freedom and generates serious and growing economic, social, cultural and linguistic inequality.<br /><br />Language communities are currently threatened by a lack of self-government, a limited population or one that is partially or wholly dispersed, a fragile economy, an uncodified language, or a cultural model opposed to the dominant one, which make it impossible for many languages to survive and develop unless the following basic goals are taken into account:<br /><br />. In a political perspective, the goal of conceiving a way of organizing linguistic diversity so as to permit the effective participation of language communities in this new growth model.<br /><br />. In a cultural perspective, the goal of rendering the worldwide communications space compatible with the equitable participation of all peoples, language communities and individuals in the development process.<br /><br />. In an economic perspective, the goal of fostering sustainable development based on the participation of all and on respect for the ecological balance of societies and for equitable relationships between all languages and cultures.<br /><br />For all these reasons, this Declaration takes language communities and not states as its point of departure and is to be viewed in the context of the reinforcement of international institutions capable of guaranteeing sustainable and equitable development for the whole of humanity. For these reasons also it aims to encourage the creation of a political framework for linguistic diversity based upon respect, harmonious coexistence and mutual benefit.<br /><br />PRELIMINARY TITLE<br />Concepts<br /><br />Article 1<br /><br />1. This Declaration considers as a language community any human society established historically in a particular territorial space, whether this space be recognized or not, which identifies itself as a people and has developed a common language as a natural means of communication and cultural cohesion among its members. The term language proper to a territory refers to the language of the community historically established in such a space.<br /><br />2. This Declaration takes as its point of departure the principle that linguistic rights are individual and collective at one and the same time. In defining the full range of linguistic rights, it adopts as its referent the case of a historical language community within its own territorial space, this space being understood, not only as the geographical area where the community lives, but also as the social and functional space vital to the full development of the language. Only on this basis is it possible to define the rights of the language groups mentioned in point 5 of the present article, and those of individuals living outside the territory of their community, in terms of a gradation or continuum.<br /><br />3. For the purpose of this Declaration, groups are also deemed to be in their own territory and to belong to a language community in the following circumstances:<br /><br />i. when they are separated from the main body of their community by political or administrative boundaries;<br /><br />ii. when they have been historically established in a small geographical area surrounded by members of otherlanguage communities; or<br /><br />iii. when they are established in a geographical area which they share with the members of other language communities with similar historical antecedents.<br /><br />4. This Declaration also considers nomad peoples within their areas of migration and peoples established in geographically dispersed locations as language communities in their own historical territory.<br /><br />5. This Declaration considers as a language group any group of persons sharing the same language which is established in the territorial space of another language community but which does not possess historical antecedents equivalent to those of that community. Examples of such groups are immigrants, refugees, deported persons and members of diasporas.<br /><br />Article 2<br /><br />1. This Declaration considers that, whenever various language communities and groups share the same territory, the rights formulated in this Declaration must be exercised on a basis of mutual respect and in such a way that democracy may be guaranteed to the greatest possible extent.<br /><br />2. In the quest for a satisfactory sociolinguistic balance, that is, in order to establish the appropriate articulation between the respective rights of such language communities and groups and the persons belonging to them, various factors, besides their respective historical antecedents in the territory and their democratically expressed will, must be taken into account. Such factors, which may call for compensatory treatment aimed at restoring a balance, include the coercive nature of the migrations which have led to the coexistence of the different communities and groups, and their degree of political, socioeconomic and cultural vulnerability.<br /><br />Article 3<br /><br />1. This Declaration considers the following to be inalienable personal rights which may be exercised in any situation:<br /><br />the right to be recognized as a member of a language community;<br /><br />the right to the use of one's own language both in private and in public;<br /><br />the right to the use of one's own name;<br /><br />the right to interrelate and associate with other members of one's language community of origin;<br /><br />the right to maintain and develop one's own culture;<br /><br />and all the other rights related to language which are recognized in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 16 December 1966 and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of the same date.<br /><br />2. This Declaration considers that the collective rights of language groups may include the following, in addition to the rights attributed to the members of language groups in the foregoing paragraph, and in accordance with the conditions laid down in article 2.2:<br /><br />the right for their own language and culture to be taught;<br /><br />the right of access to cultural services;<br /><br />the right to an equitable presence of their language and culture in the communications media;<br /><br />the right to receive attention in their own language from government bodies and in socioeconomic relations.<br /><br />3. The aforementioned rights of persons and language groups must in no way hinder the interrelation of such persons or groups with the host language community or their integration into that community. Nor must they restrict the rights of the host community or its members to the full public use of the community's own language throughout its territorial space.<br /><br />Article 4<br /><br />1. This Declaration considers that persons who move to and settle in the territory of another language community have the right and the duty to maintain an attitude of integration towards this community. This term is understood to mean an additional socialization of such persons in such a way that they may preserve their original cultural characteristics while sharing with the society in which they have settled sufficient references, values and forms of behaviour to enable them to function socially without greater difficulties than those experienced by members of the host community.<br /><br />2. This Declaration considers, on the other hand, that assimilation, a term which is understood to mean acculturation in the host society, in such a way that the original cultural characteristics are replaced by the references, values and forms of behaviour of the host society, must on no account be forced or induced and can only be the result of an entirely free choice.<br /><br />Article 5<br /><br />This Declaration is based on the principle that the rights of all language communities are equal and independent of the legal or political status of their languages as official, regional or minority languages. Terms such as regional or minority languages are not used in this Declaration because, though in certain cases the recognition of regional or minority languages can facilitate the exercise of certain rights, these and other modifiers are frequently used to restrict the rights of language communities.<br /><br />Article 6<br /><br />This Declaration considers that a language cannot be considered proper to a territory merely on the grounds that it is the official language of the state or has been traditionally used within the territory for administrative purposes or for certain cultural activities.<br /><br />TITLE ONE<br />General Principles<br /><br />Article 7<br /><br />1. All languages are the expression of a collective identity and of a distinct way of perceiving and describing reality and must therefore be able to enjoy the conditions required for their development in all functions.<br /><br />2. All languages are collectively constituted and are made available within a community for individual use as tools of cohesion, identification, communication and creative expression.<br /><br />Article 8<br /><br />1. All language communities have the right to organize and manage their own resources so as to ensure the use of their language in all functions within society.<br /><br />2. All language communities are entitled to have at their disposal whatever means are necessary to ensure the transmission and continuity of their language.<br /><br />Article 9<br /><br />All language communities have the right to codify, standardize, preserve, develop and promote their linguistic system, without induced or forced interference.<br /><br />Article 10<br /><br />1. All language communities have equal rights.<br /><br />2. This Declaration considers discrimination against language communities to be inadmissible, whether it be based on their degree of political sovereignty, their situation defined in social, economic or other terms, the extent to which their languages have been codified, updated or modernized, or on any other criterion.<br /><br />3. All necessary steps must be taken in order to implement this principle of equality and to render it effective.<br /><br />Article 11<br /><br />All language communities are entitled to have at their disposal whatever means of translation into and from other languages are needed to guarantee the exercise of the rights contained in this Declaration.<br /><br />Article 12<br /><br />1. Everyone has the right to carry out all activities in the public sphere in his/her language, provided it is the language proper to the territory where s/he resides.<br /><br />2. Everyone has the right to use his/her language in the personal and family sphere.<br /><br />Article 13<br /><br />1. Everyone has the right to acquire knowledge of the language proper to the territory in which s/he lives.<br /><br />2. Everyone has the right to be polyglot and to know and use the language most conducive to his/her personal development or social mobility, without prejudice to the guarantees established in this Declaration for the public use of the language proper to the territory.<br /><br />Article 14<br /><br />The provisions of this Declaration cannot be interpreted or used to the detriment of any norm or practice deriving from the internal or international status of a language which is more favourable to its use within the territory to which it is proper.<br /><br />SECOND TITLE<br />Overall linguistic régime<br /><br />Section I<br />Public administration and official bodies<br /><br />Article 15<br /><br />1. All language communities are entitled to the official use of their language within their territory.<br /><br />2. All language communities have the right for legal and administrative acts, public and private documents and records in public registers which are drawn up in the language of the territory to be valid and effective and no one can allege ignorance of this language.<br /><br />Article 16<br /><br />All members of a language community have the right to interrelate with and receive attention from the public authorities in their own language. This right also applies to central, territorial, local and supraterritorial divisions which include the territory to which the language is proper.<br /><br />Article 17<br /><br />1. All language communities are entitled to have at their disposal and to obtain in their own language all official documents pertaining to relations which affect the territory to which the language is proper, whether such documents be in printed, machine-readable or any other form.<br /><br />2. Forms and standard administrative documents, whether in printed, machine-readable or any other form, must be made available and placed at the disposal of the public in all territorial languages by the public authorities through the services which cover the territories to which each language is proper.<br /><br />Article 18<br /><br />1. All language communities have the right for laws and other legal provisions which concern them to be published in the language proper to the territory.<br /><br />2. Public authorities who have more than one territorially historic language within their jurisdiction must publish all laws and other legal provisions of a general nature in each of these languages, whether or not their speakers understand other languages.<br /><br />Article 19<br /><br />1. Representative Assemblies must have as their official language(s) the language(s) historically spoken in the territory they represent.<br /><br />2. This right also applies to the languages of the communities established in geographically dispersed locations referred to in Article 1, Paragraph 4.<br /><br />Article 20<br /><br />1. Everyone has the right to use the language historically spoken in a territory, both orally and in writing, in the Courts of Justice located within that territory. The Courts of Justice must use the language proper to the territory in their internal actions and, if on account of the legal system in force within the state, the proceedings continue elsewhere, the use of the original language must be maintained.<br /><br />2. Everyone has the right, in all cases, to be tried in a language which s/he understands and can speak and to obtain the services of an interpreter free of charge.<br /><br />Article 21<br /><br />All language communities have the right for records in public registers to be drawn up in the language proper to the territory.<br /><br />Article 22<br /><br />All language communities have the right for documents authenticated by notaries public or certified by other authorized public servants to be drawn up in the language proper to the territory where the notary or other authorized public servant performs his/her functions.<br /><br />Section II<br />Education<br /><br />Article 23<br /><br />1. Education must help to foster the capacity for linguistic and cultural self-expression of the language community of the territory where it is provided.<br /><br />2. Education must help to maintain and develop the language spoken by the language community of the territory where it is provided.<br /><br />3. Education must always be at the service of linguistic and cultural diversity and of harmonious relations between different language communities throughout the world.<br /><br />4. Within the context of the foregoing principles, everyone has the right to learn any language.<br /><br />Article 24<br /><br />All language communities have the right to decide to what extent their language is to be present, as a vehicular language and as an object of study, at all levels of education within their territory: preschool, primary, secondary, technical and vocational, university, and adult education.<br /><br />Article 25<br /><br />All language communities are entitled to have at their disposal all the human and material resources necessary to ensure that their language is present to the extent they desire at all levels of education within their territory: properly trained teachers, appropriate teaching methods, text books, finance, buildings and equipment, traditional and innovative technology.<br /><br />Article 26<br /><br />All language communities are entitled to an education which will enable their members to acquire a full command of their own language, including the different abilities relating to all the usual spheres of use, as well as the most extensive possible command of any other language they may wish to know.<br /><br />Article 27<br /><br />All language communities are entitled to an education which will enable their members to acquire knowledge of any languages related to their own cultural tradition, such as literary or sacred languages which were formerly habitual languages of the community.<br /><br />Article 28<br /><br />All language communities are entitled to an education which will enable their members to acquire a thorough knowledge of their cultural heritage (history, geography, literature, and other manifestations of their own culture), as well as the most extensive possible knowledge of any other culture they may wish to know.<br /><br />Article 29<br /><br />1. Everyone is entitled to receive an education in the language proper to the territory where s/he resides.<br /><br />2. This right does not exclude the right to acquire oral and written knowledge of any language which may be of use to him/her as an instrument of communication with other language communities.<br /><br />Article 30<br /><br />The language and culture of all language communities must be the subject of study and research at university level.<br /><br />Section III<br />Proper names<br /><br />Article 31<br /><br />All language communities have the right to preserve and use their own system of proper names in all spheres and on all occasions.<br /><br />Article 32<br /><br />1. All language communities have the right to use place names in the language proper to the territory, both orally and in writing, in the private, public and official spheres.<br /><br />2. All language communities have the right to establish, preserve and revise autochthonous place names. Such place names cannot be arbitrarily abolished, distorted or adapted, nor can they be replaced if changes in the political situation, or changes of any other type, occur.<br /><br />Article 33<br /><br />All language communities have the right to refer to themselves by the name used in their own language. Any translation into other languages must avoid ambiguous or pejorative denominations.<br /><br />Article 34<br /><br />Everyone has the right to the use of his/her own name in his/her own language in all spheres, as well as the right, only when necessary, to the most accurate possible phonetic transcription of his/her name in another writing system.<br /><br />Section IV<br />Communications media and new technologies<br /><br />Article 35<br /><br />All language communities have the right to decide the extent to which their language is be present in the communications media in their territory, whether local and traditional media, those with a wider scope, or those using more advanced technology, regardless of the method of dissemination or transmission employed.<br /><br />Article 36<br /><br />All language communities are entitled to have at their disposal all the human and material resources required in order to ensure the desired degree of presence of their language and the desired degree of cultural self-expression in the communications media in their territory: properly trained personnel, finance, buildings and equipment, traditional and innovative technology.<br /><br />Article 37<br /><br />All language communities have the right to receive, through the communications media, a thorough knowledge of their cultural heritage (history, geography, literature and other manifestations of their own culture), as well as the greatest possible amount of information about any other culture their members may wish to know.<br /><br />Article 38<br /><br />The languages and cultures of all language communities must receive equitable and non-discriminatory treatment in the communications media throughout the world.<br /><br />Article 39<br /><br />The communities described in Article 1, paragraphs 3 and 4, of this Declaration, and the groups mentioned in paragraph 5 of the same article, are entitled to an equitable representation of their language in the communications media of the territory where they are established or where they migrate. This right is to be exercised in harmony with the rights of the other language groups or communities in the territory.<br /><br />Article 40<br /><br />In the field of information technology, all language communities are entitled to have at their disposal equipment adapted to their linguistic system and tools and products in their language, so as to derive full advantage from the potential offered by such technologies for self-expression, education, communication, publication, translation and information processing and the dissemination of culture in general.<br /><br />Section V<br />Culture<br /><br />Article 41<br /><br />1. All language communities have the right to use, maintain and foster their language in all forms of cultural expression.<br /><br />2. All language communities must be able to exercise this right to the full without any community's space being subjected to hegemonic occupation by a foreign culture.<br /><br />Article 42<br /><br />All language communities have the right to full development within their own cultural sphere.<br /><br />Article 43<br /><br />All language communities are entitled to access to the works produced in their language.<br /><br />Article 44<br /><br />All language communities are entitled to access to intercultural programmes, through the dissemination of adequate information, and to support for activities such as teaching the language to foreigners, translation, dubbing, post-synchronization and subtitling.<br /><br />Article 45<br /><br />All language communities have the right for the language proper to the territory to occupy a pre-eminent position in cultural events and services (libraries, videothèques, cinemas, theatres, museums, archives, folklore, cultural industries, and all other manifestations of cultural life).<br /><br />Article 46<br /><br />All language communities have the right to preserve their linguistic and cultural heritage, including its material manifestations, such as collections of documents, works of art and architecture, historic buildings and inscriptions in their own language.<br /><br />Section VI<br />The socioeconomic sphere<br /><br />Article 47<br /><br />1. All language communities have the right to establish the use of their language in all socioeconomic activities within their territory.<br /><br />2. All members of a language community are entitled to have at their disposal, in their own language, all the means necessary for the performance of their professional activities, such as documents and works of reference, instructions, forms, and computer equipment, tools and products.<br /><br />3. The use of other languages in this sphere can only be required in so far as it is justified by the nature of the professional activity involved. In no case can a more recently arrived language relegate or supersede the use of the language proper to the territory.<br /><br />Article 48<br /><br />1. Within the territory of his/her language community, everyone has the right to use his/her own language with full legal validity in economic transactions of all types, such as the sale and purchase of goods and services, banking, insurance, job contracts and others.<br /><br />2. No clause in such private acts can exclude or restrict the use of the language proper to the territory.<br /><br />3. Within the territory of his/her language community, everyone is entitled to have the documents required for the above-mentioned operations at his/her disposal in his/her own language. Such documents include forms, cheques, contracts, invoices, receipts, delivery notes, order forms, and others.<br /><br />Article 49<br /><br />Within the territory of his/her language community, everyone has the right to use his/her own language in all types of socioeconomic organizations such as labour and union organizations, and employers', professional, trade and craft associations.<br /><br />Article 50<br /><br />1. All language communities have the right for their language to occupy a pre-eminent place in advertising, signs, external signposting, and in the image of the country as a whole.<br /><br />2. Within the territory of his/her language community, everyone has the right to receive full oral and written information in his/her own language on the products and services proposed by commercial establishments, such as instructions for use, labels, lists of ingredients, advertising, guarantees and others<br /><br />3. All public indications affecting the safety of persons must be expressed at least in the language proper to the territory, in conditions which are not inferior to those of any other language.<br /><br />Article 51<br /><br />1. Everyone has the right to use the language proper to the territory in his/her relations with firms, commercial establishments and private bodies and to be served or receive a reply in the same language.<br /><br />2. Everyone has the right, as a client, customer, consumer or user, to receive oral and written information in the language proper to the territory from establishments open to the public.<br /><br />Article 52<br /><br />Everyone has the right to carry out his/her professional activities in the language proper to the territory unless the functions inherent to the job require the use of other languages, as in the case of language teachers, translators or tourist guides.<br /><br />ADDITIONAL DISPOSITIONS<br /><br />First<br /><br />The public authorities must take all appropriate steps to implement the rights proclaimed in this Declaration within their respective areas of jurisdiction. More specifically, international funds must be set up to foster the exercise of Linguistic Rights in communities which are demostrably lacking in resources. Thus the public authorities must provide the necessary support so that the languages of the various communities may be codified, transcribed, taught, and used in the administration.<br /><br />Second<br /><br />The public authorities must ensure that the offial bodies, organizations and persons concerned are informed of the rights and correlative duties arising from this Declaration.<br /><br />Third<br /><br />The public authorities must establish, in the light of existing legislation, the sanctions to be applied in cases of violation of the linguistic rights laid down in this Declaration.<br /><br />FINAL DISPOSITIONS<br /><br />First<br /><br />This Declaration proposes the creation of a Council of Languages within the United Nations Organization. The General Assembly of the United Nations Organization is to be responsible for setting up this Council, defining its functions and appointing its members, and for creating a body in international law to protect language communities in the exercise of the rights recognized in this Declaration.<br /><br />Second<br /><br />This Declaration recommends and promotes the creation of a World Commission on Linguistic Rights, a non-official, consultative body made up of representatives of non-governmental organizations and other organizations working in the field of linguistic law.<br /><br />Barcelona, June 1996Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-7730237830418226242011-02-03T03:39:00.001-08:002011-02-03T03:39:37.428-08:00Lies and conspiration against Kurdish prisoner in Iran02 February 2011<br /><br /><br />Father of Kurdish prisoner Moradi said authorities lied about his son<br /><br />Father of Loghman Moradi, a Kurdish prisoner who was found guilty of “moharebeh (enmity with God), and corruption-on-earth,” and sentenced to public hanging on 22 December 2010, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran about his son’s charges that, “he was accused of murder, and this accusation is a lie.”<br /><br />“He went to Iraq two years ago to join the Komalah Organization, but when he returned to Sanandaj, he was arrested. The court sentenced him to one year in prison, but my son was released on bail four months later. I took him home from Prison myself. But they called him a month later [and told him] that he would be arrested again. My son told them that he had not done anything wrong and that he was not afraid. They called again the next day and said again that he was guilty and he was going to be arrested, and he said that he had not committed any crimes. But on the third day, when he left the house, they arrested him. We did not hear from him for the first nine months. Wherever we went to Mariwan and Sanandaj, looking for him, we were told ‘your son is not here, we don’t know [where he is].’ Until he finally called home after he was transferred to prison and we found out where he was. Now it has been 18 months since he was arrested. At first he thought that he was re-arrested to finish his one-year prison term. He learned later what plans they have for him,” he said.<br /><br />Osman Moradi, father of the Kurdish prisoner who, along with Zanyar Moradi, have been convicted of armed activities and murder of the Mariwan Friday Imam’s son on 5 July 2009, described his son’s case for the Campaign. “During the first nine months when he was at the Intelligence Office Prison, there was no murder charge in his case. Later, during the next seven months when he was held in prison, there was no such talk, either. But they returned him to the Intelligence Ministry again, and held him there for 25 days. He was tortured and abused to the point where he accepted the murder [charge]. I mean he accepted it in order to save himself from those conditions. It took them 17 months to take that confession from him,” Osman Moradi said.<br /><br />“I implore those who work in the United Nations and human rights organizations to help my son, and to defend these kids. They have not committed any crimes. When you are under torture and abuse for several months, you would accept anything; they can take any kind of confession from you. If the authorities go to the prison now and ask my son again, if he admits to having done it, they are telling the truth,” he added.<br /><br />“When my son learned about his charge, he called and said “ask them what God they worship. I swear by that same God that I did not do this. On the day of the murder I was at work and I did not go in the direction of the murder location. I heard the news when I returned home.’ My son said ‘If I was a murderer, I would have fled during the month that I was out. I would not sit in my home to be arrested.’ If a person has committed a crime, he would not sit in his home for them to come and capture him. He was forced to make a confession under torture,” said Osman Moradi.<br /><br />“Our telephone contact with him has been caught off for the past eight days, and it’s not clear where he is. We have no information about my son. We don’t know whether he is well or sick. We don’t know. They have not allowed us to visit with him for the past three months. His mother always went to visit him. I have not been able to see my son for 18 months now, because I had liver disease and I was under treatment. I couldn’t go to visit him and to help him. Now that I can, they won’t allow me anymore,” said Osman Moradi about his son’s current conditions inside the Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj.<br /><br />“We don’t know why they transferred my son’s case to Tehran. He was arrested here and he was inside the Sanandaj Prison, but three months ago they transferred him to Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj, and he was banned from having visitors after that,” said Loghman Moradi’s father.<br /><br />On Wednesday, 22 December 2010, Branch 15 of Tehran Revolutionary Courts sentenced Loghman Moradi and Zanyar Moradi to death on charges of “membership in Komalah Party,” and “involvement in the murder of the Mariwan Friday Imam’s son on the eve of 5 July 2009. The two prisoners have stated that they were forced to admit to the murder under torture.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-28324552131148942812010-12-07T10:58:00.000-08:002010-12-07T11:02:14.857-08:00Wikileaks Reveals Iraqi Kurdish Secrets By Wladimir van Wilgenburg <br /><br />December 5, 2010<br /><br />AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands, — Kurdish affairs such as Kirkuk and drug trafficking are under the international spotlight with the recent release of hundreds of thousands of confidential US documents by whistle-blowing Wikileaks.<br /><br />In leaked US diplomatic cables the Turkish ambassador to Iraq, Murat Ozcelik, told US officials on January 11th that for the first time a Kurdish official understood that Kirkuk would not be included in the semiautonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region, indicating to Turkey that a compromise and a special 10-year status for Kirkuk was needed.<br /><br />Ozcelik said that, during tri-lateral negotiations on December 21st 2009 in Erbil involving Turkey, the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Kurdistan Interior Minister Karim Sinjari said the KRG had now understood that Kurdistan would not be incorporating Kirkuk into the region. <br /><br />The Turkish official claimed it was the first time a senior Kurdish leader had suggested that there could be some flexibility in the KRG's approach to the implementation of Article 140, which would determine the future of disputed multi-ethnic regions including Kirkuk.<br /><br />However, Sinjari denied making any compromise on Kirkuk saying that his words were “taken out of their context.”<br /><br />“My words were neither like that nor in that context. They have been misinterpreted,” said Sinjari.<br /><br />“We insist on the implementation of Article 140 without any compromise on it. But we are ready to negotiate in order to facilitate the implementation of the article as it needs cooperation.”<br /><br />Ozcelik speculated that if the parties were able to buy enough time, the Kurds would understand that increased economic activity in the context of a more stable Iraq made administrative boundaries less important.<br /><br />Furthermore, Ozcelik said Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani had asked him to participate in Turkoman-Kurd and Sunni Arab-Kurd reconciliation efforts in Kirkuk and Nineveh respectively. He indicated that Kirkuk’s Turkomans realized the limit of their influence in the election law debate and were more receptive to work with Kurds.<br /><br />Ozcelik admitted that Kurds were seen in Ankara as troublesome and also noted that, despite recent progress in ties between Turkey and Kurdistan, Kurds feared the Turkish military’s hard-line elements could reverse Turkey's current policy of reconciliation. Ozcelik said it was important for Turkey to emphasize to the KRG that Turkey's long-term security and, critically, commercial interests lay in keeping Turkey-KRG relations on an even keel.<br /><br />Other secret cables leaked by Wikileaks alleged that Turkey’s Kurdish guerilla movement, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), was involved in drug trafficking.<br /><br />During a meeting between officers from the US and Iraq at the Trilateral Intelligence Sharing Office hosted by the KRG on November 25th 2009, Major General “Delshad” of the Kurdish Border Guard (Zerevani) said the “PKK/Kongra Gel is involved in narcotics trafficking through transportation and associated services, like protection.”<br /><br />“Safa”, an aide of Iraqi Major General “Fukaiki” added that “the PKK regularly uses the border seams to traffic narcotics from Iran through the mountains west to Turkey and onward to the European market.”<br /><br />Wikileak’s revelations are not new as the PKK has often been accused of being involved in the narcotics trade by Turkey and Europol. In October 2009 the US Treasury named PKK leader Murat Karayilan and two other PKK members as drug trafficking "kingpins", but the PKK denied this, claiming they were against drugs.<br /><br />But the leadership of the PKK dismissed the allegations as “baseless.”<br /><br />According to further leaked documents, published by Arabic language newspaper Al Akhbar, an outspoken critic of Kurdish security forces in Nineveh,www.ekurd.netYezidi Progress Party head Wa'ad Hammad Matto was arrested at his Nineveh home and then detained in Baghdad by Iraqi military intelligence for meeting with Baathists in Syria in October 2009.<br /><br />Matto, a former KDP-member, claimed the KDP orchestrated the arrest because he did not join the pro-KDP Ninewa Fraternity List led by a KDP leader, Khasro Gorran, in Nineveh in the Iraqi elections.<br /><br />But, according to the documents, US intelligence sources said he had meetings with prominent Baathist politicians in Syria and was not politically motivated by the Kurds, and this was why he was arrested.<br /><br />The document shows that Sheihk Abdullah of the Sunni nationalist al-Hadba party paid $20,000 for Matto´s defense in court.<br /><br />Yezidis are primarily ethnic Kurds, mostly living near Mosul, with smaller communities in surrounding countries. Their religion incorporates local Kurdish and Islamic Sufi beliefs.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-21234689381054214662010-11-15T09:39:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:41:07.023-08:00The whole Kurdistan is in fireSaturday, 13 November 2010 <br /><br />EAST KURDISTAN, -- According to the statistic there have been more 608 items of forest burning in Eastern Kurdistan – Iran- which resulted in burning of thousands of hectares of the Kurdish forests.<br /><br />According to the local reports the jungles of Meriwan were blazed in fire on Friday 12th November. “The areas of the villages of Deri, Dezle, Dereweran, Buriye and Niyawe burned in fire,” report said.<br /><br />The evidences indicate that the Iranian militaries set fire on the forest of the Kurdistan to fight against the Kurdish guerrillas of the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK). But none of the Kurdish guerrillas have lost their life as the result of the fire.<br /><br />The Iranian act of devastating Kurdistan nature is condemned by the environments groups as totally unacceptable and outrageous.<br /><br /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-73100457552815084292010-11-15T09:36:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:39:43.106-08:00Iran: 2 Kurdish prisoners executedSunday, 14 November 2010<br /><br />TORBETJAM, Iran, -- Despite the international denunciation of the medieval way of punishment of execution and death penalty, the Iranian regime is consistently executing its political opponents.<br /><br />Two Kurdish prisoners from Urmiye, were executed in the prison of Torbetjam, report said on Sunday.<br /><br />Abdul Xaleq Behmer and Abdullah Behmer from Urmiye city were executed in Torbetjam Prison on Saturday.<br /><br />The report also mentioned about the execution of 98 people that would be carried out before Qurban Fest.<br /><br /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-25918701534439438252010-11-15T09:35:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:36:32.789-08:00Family members arrested to force conscript to report for dutyNovember 13, 2010 by sks <br /><br />Syrian Committee for Human Rights – MAD has been informed by sources close to Mohammed Hanif, a lawyer, that his father and brother were arrested on 10 November 2010 following a raid on the house in Aleppo. The arrests were made in connection with the non-attendance of another brother for conscripted military service. The detained father and brother were released once the conscript turned himself in.<br />10 November 2010Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-43831388544480389512010-11-15T09:34:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:35:35.924-08:00Mustafa Shekho has been re-arrested in SyriaNovember 13, 2010 by sks <br /><br />Gemyakurda.net has published a report that a security patrol raided the house of Mustafa Mohammed Shekho on 9 November 2010 in the night, and arrested him and his brother. They brutally attacked the father of these men, Mohammed Waheed Shekhu, who is 65 years old and who remains in a critical condition in an Afrin hospital, as a result.<br />Mustafa Shekho was arrested with Ahmed Mohamed Ali Qalij on 27 July 2010 by a state security patrol in Aleppo and they were later released by decision of the military judge in Aleppo. They were sentenced on 27 October 2010 to three months imprisonment but have one month to appeal the sentence.<br />10 November 2010<br />Previous reports:<br />http://supportkurds.org/news/two-kurds-arrested-in-aleppo-syriaUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-89488066608292049902010-11-15T09:33:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:34:31.531-08:00Non-political Kurds at risk on return to SyriaNovember 13, 2010 by sks <br /><br />Gemyakurda.net which is a well-known Kurdish website was informed by sources close to the family of Faiz Adnan Osman that he was arrested with his wife, Adla Osman upon return from Cyprus in early August 2010. He was working in Cyprus, and decided to return voluntarily to Syria where he and his wife were arrested upon arrival. Adla Osman was released after a brief period of detention, but Faiz Osman remains imprisoned.<br />The intelligence services accused them of taking part in demonstrations and sit-ins held in Cyprus. They have both denied this.<br />Relatives of Faiz Osman have been trying to effect his release since his detention, but their attempts have failed, and at the time of writing his family have not yet been allowed to visit him. There has been no recent news but a source of this information has expressed concern for Faiz Osman’s life as there is information that he was subjected to physical torture, and the underside of his feet have open wounds inflicted in the early days of his arrest.<br />Faiz Osman was born in the village of Talki, and is a father of two children. He traveled with his wife to Cyprus for work purposes, and is known within the Kurdish community in Cyprus as a worker and family man, not as a political activist.<br />Human Rights organisations are urged to work for Faiz Osman’s immediate release.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-83615689334906477392010-11-15T09:32:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:33:22.861-08:00Muslim Hussein Abbas sentenced for holding a political opinionNovember 13, 2010 by sks <br /><br />Kurdish Organization for Defending Human Rights and Public Freedoms in Syria – DAD reports that the individual military judge in Qamishli sentenced Muslim Hussein Abbas on Tuesday 9 November 2010 in case no.5642 of 2010. He was sentenced to:<br />imprisonment for a period of six months under the provisions of Article 307 of the Syrian Penal Code;<br />imprisoned for three months misdemeanor for joining a secret association, and a fine of 100 Syrian pounds in accordance with the provisions of Article 288 of the Syrian Penal Code;<br />these sentences of imprisonment are consolidated to a period of six months in accordance with provisions of Article 204 of the Syrian Penal Code; and was reduced again to a period of four months under to the provisions of Article 244 of the Syrian Penal Code.<br />His detention began on 12 September 2010 and this time will be taken into account. He has the right of appeal.<br />Kurdish Organization for Defending Human Rights and Public Freedoms in Syria – DAD condemns the sentences imposed on these people, and consider the arrest and sentencing as unfair and in clear violation of the Declaration on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders,<br />10 November 2010<br />Previous reports:<br />http://supportkurds.org/news/muslim-hussein-abbas-brought-to-court<br />http://supportkurds.org/news/kurdish-man-disappears-after-a-raid-on-his-homeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-40491385252487242202010-11-15T09:30:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:32:08.312-08:00Prison sentence for protesting against Decree 49November 13, 2010 by sks <br /><br />According to Kurdish Organization for Defending Human Rights and Public Freedoms in Syria – DAD, the individual military judge on Qamishli sentenced four people on Tuesday, 9 November 2010 in case number 5641 of 2010. They are:<br />Luqman Hussein Ibrahim.<br />Salah Saeed Sheikhmous.<br />Abdul Ghafoor Hussein Hussein.<br />Saad Furman al-Hassan<br />They were each sentenced to one month imprisonment under the provisions of Article 336 of the Syrian Penal Code. They were previously detained between 15 September 2010 until 23 October 2010, and so their time had been served already, and judge was clear that the sentence can be appealed.<br />Kurdish Organization for Defending Human Rights and Public Freedoms in Syria – DAD condemns the sentences imposed on these people. They consider the arrest and sentencing unfair and a clear violation of the Declaration on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly resolution Public No. 52/144 on 12 September 1998, specifically in articles 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.<br />Kurdish Organization for Defending Human Rights and Public Freedoms in Syria – DAD said that this demonstrates the determination of the Syrian authorities to move forward in the continuing violation of the simplest of public freedoms, and the prosecution of writers, political activists and human rights activists, civil society and those interested in public affairs in Syria. These actions however clash with Syria’s international commitments on human rights through the ratification of relevant international conventions.<br />Kurdish Organization for Defending Human Rights and Public Freedoms in Syria – DAD calls upon the Syrian government to close the files on the trial and drop all charges against these citizens; to demand an end to the trial of Syrian citizens in front of special courts, including military courts, because it constitutes a violation of their right to a fair trial, They call for the commitment of the Syrian government to all international agreements on human rights that have been signed and ratified. In particular they call for the commitment of the Syrian government to recommendations of the Commission on Human Rights its 84th session of July 2005, and in particular the sixth paragraph on non-compliance with the provisions of the International Covenant regarding a State of Emergency – article 4, and to ensure these rights, including articles 9, 14, 19 and 22; and para.12 of these recommendations which require the State Party – Syria, to immediately release all persons detained because of their activities in the field of human rights, and to put an end to all practices of harassment and intimidation against human rights defenders. Dad calls for urgent measures to be put in place for the revision of all legislation that restricts the activities of human rights organizations, and private legislation on the State of Emergency that must not be used as a pretext for the suppression of activities designed to promote and protect human rights.<br />10 November 2010<br />Previous reports:<br />http://supportkurds.org/news/kurds-in-court-for-protesting-against-decree-49<br />http://supportkurds.org/news/four-kurds-disappear-after-reporting-to-state-security-in-qamishliUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-74872003309507646462010-11-15T09:29:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:30:37.681-08:00EU Heads of Mission urge Syria to respect the Universal Declaration of Human RightsNovember 13, 2010 by sks <br /><br />EU Heads of Mission to Syria on the Martin Ennals Award presented to Mr. Muhannad al-Hassani in Geneva<br />The EU Heads of Mission welcome the decision of the Jury of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders to present the 2010 Award to Mr. Muhannad al-Hassani, for his dedication to fundamental rights and freedoms. Mr. Muhannad al-Hassani, a prominent Syrian lawyer has been detained since July 2009 and was convicted to a three-year term imprisonment in June 2010 on charges that are in breach of his fundamental rights and freedoms.<br />The EU Heads of Mission honour Mr. Muhannad al-Hassani for his exceptional courage for defending the rule of law and the right to establish a human rights organisation in Syria. We extend our support to the family, friends and activists, who are close to Mr. al-Hassani.<br />The EU Heads of Mission urge Syria to respect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and honour its international commitments, in particular under the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights, which Syria signed.<br />The EU Heads of Mission reiterate the EU commitment to the protection and support to Human Rights Defenders, according to the EU guidelines on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the European Council in June 2004.<br />The EU Heads of Mission recall the statement by High Representative Catherine Ashton on behalf of the EU issued on 27 July 2010 strongly condemning the sentencing of Mr. al- Hassani and calling, inter alia, for his immediate release.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-67741082561572677862010-11-15T09:28:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:29:24.140-08:00UK Foreign Office Minister expresses concern over human rights in SyriaNovember 13, 2010 by sks <br /><br />5 November 2010<br />Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt raised concerns during a telephone conversation with the Syrian Ambassador to the UK.<br />Following the conversation, the Minister said:<br />“I am deeply dismayed to hear reports of the severe physical assault by a fellow prisoner on Muhannad al-Hassani, a prominent Syrian lawyer and Human Rights Defender, in Adra Prison last week. I am concerned that the Syrian authorities have failed to protect him. In addition any suggestion that the attack may have been ordered by the Syrian security services and that he remains at risk are disturbing.<br />By condoning such abusive actions, Syria is doing nothing to repair its human rights record. It still detains both the oldest and youngest prisoners of conscience in the Arab world: Haitham al-Maleh is 79. Tal al-Mallouhi, who has been held without charge for over 10 months, is just 19. We recognise and respect Syria’s importance in the region and desire to play a more prominent role, and these issues influence world opinion.<br />Accordingly I call on the Syrian Government to meet its international responsibilities by ending its practice of arbitrary arrests and detention and to immediately release Muhannad al-Hassani, Haitham al-Maleh and Tal al-Mallouhi, and all who have been imprisoned solely for seeking to exercise their right to peaceful freedom of expression and freedom of association.”<br />http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/news/latest-news/?view=News&id=23159336Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-84056611750844593182010-11-15T09:27:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:28:15.841-08:00Kurdish show trial shames TurkeyNovember 12, 2010 by sks <br /><br />The trial of 151 Kurdish politicians, lawyers, mayors and leaders of Kurdish civil society is an affront to human rights<br />Margaret Owen<br />Wednesday 10 November 2010<br />A trial that would shame any democracy is now in its fourth week in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Named the KCK trial, its processes have been widely condemned by the several hundred independent observers who attended during its first few days.<br />Charged with “violating the unity of the state” and “abetting terrorism” are 151 Kurdish politicians, lawyers, mayors and leaders of Kurdish civil society. Of these, 103 have already been in detention for the past 18 months, but details of the charges were not disclosed until 12 weeks ago.<br />This Friday is “crunch day” when the judge will decide whether to accept the defence team’s argument that there is no case to answer and release those detained, or to let the trial continue with the “suspects” remaining in prison or released on bail.<br />The manner of gathering evidence and procedures in the courtroom breach all international and European standards on human rights and fair trials. I was a member of the independent UK delegation that attended the first week of this trial. It could last for months, even years. It is vital that those in prison are released on bail, and that the prosecutions are dropped for this is a “political trial”, not a legal one.<br />The pro-Kurdish political parties, and recently the PKK, have made repeated attempts to obtain a resolution of the 30-year-old conflict through democratic dialogue and negotiations rather than violence. The PKK has called for “ceasefires” on several occasions, and has just now declared that the present ceasefire, due to expire at the end of the month, will continue until the elections taking place next June.<br />But time and again the authorities have closed down pro-Kurdish political parties, imprisoned Kurdish political leaders and declared Kurdish civil society and human rights organisations illegal. Peaceful protests and demonstrations calling for an end to armed conflict and respect for human rights are subject to brutal harassment by the police.<br />The Democratic Society party (DTP) was the last of several parties to be closed in 2009. Today, legal-democratic Kurdish politics continues under the roof of the newly named BDP (Peace and Democracy party). Not only have many of its members been arrested and imprisoned, but its distinguished chair, Ahmed Turk, has been banned from all political activities for the next five years, and the brilliant and charismatic mayor of Diyarbakir, Osman Baydemir, faces not only prosecution but also assassination threats as he continues to speak out on behalf of the Kurdish population whose lives are wracked by persecution, extrajudicial killings, torture, displacement and extreme poverty.<br />Some 5,000 Kurds are in prison on charges of supporting terrorism, but this trial will reveal Turkey’s true status in the context of democracy, justice and the rule of law.<br />This trial of the 151 “suspects” is the most repressive action yet to shut down the lawful and democratic activities of Kurdish organisations and eliminate all political activity. The manner by which the evidence in the trial was gathered gives cause for extreme concern.<br />It is clear from the 7,500-page indictment and so-called supporting evidence that there are no grounds for suspecting any actual crimes have been committed, such as references to weapons, acts of violence, or conspiracy for terrorism. Most of the evidence is based on (unlawful) wiretapping and bugging to draw conclusions from private daily conversations, or on routine political propaganda and secret statements by anonymous prosecution witnesses.<br />Innocent conversations, for example, referring to the purchasing of “tomatoes” or “bread”, are construed as codes for bombs and grenades and have found their way into the indictment, along with intimate and personal conversations between family members and friends.<br />To prepare for this event, and accommodate not only the 151 defendants, but their 250 lawyers, the press, the many relatives of the accused, the members of foreign observer delegations, and more than 60 armed prison police, the Turkish government built a vast new courthouse in the yard between existing courts.<br />The joke went round that everyone should be grateful to the Kurds for this new courtroom, and will probably need to thank them again for a new prison. Security has been intense. There were more than 1,500 armed police on duty around the building and armed snipers on the surrounding rooftops. It took ages to get into the court, going through body searches and scanning. My purse containing some Turkish lira in coins was confiscated because I might “use them as missiles to throw at the judge”.<br />Many of the accused are lawyers. One is Muharrem Erbey, head of the IHD (Human Rights Commission), who has continually spoken out on the need for diplomacy and dialogue to end the conflict.<br />The trial began with the judge, Menderes Yilmaz, dismissing the defence lawyers’ submissions – firstly, that the defendants should be able to defend themselves in their Kurdish mother tongue.<br />On these opening days the accused lawyers argued ferociously and passionately that these proceedings were in fact a show trial, a political trial, that there were no victims of the alleged crimes, that the evidence was based on hearsay, and that the trial should be abandoned.<br />There is still time for Turkey’s AKP government to acknowledge that this trial has no basis in law, and order its closure and the immediate release of those detained.<br />http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/nov/10/turkey-show-trial-of-kurdsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-54894323107541827402010-11-15T09:25:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:26:58.489-08:00Syria: Transfer Women Out of Male PrisonNovember 12, 2010<br /><br />Female Prisoners Get Less Time Out of Cells; Family Visits Restricted<br />(New York, November 12, 2010) – Syria’s prison authorities should immediately transfer women detained in the predominantly male `Adra prison to a facility for women, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities are holding at least 12 women among an estimated 7,000 men.<br />Syrian rights activists in touch with families of some of the detained women told Human Rights Watch that the women are held in a section of the prison under the control of Political Security, one of Syria’s multiple security agencies. They are only allowed out of their cell twice a week and family visits are subject to the approval of Political Security. Two female guards reportedly supervise the women directly, but male guards for the other prisoners have verbally harassed the women, the activists said. Male prisoners are allowed out of their cells for at least two hours twice a day and can receive weekly visits without Political Security review, male former prisoners told Human Rights Watch.<br />“We don’t know why Syria is keeping these women in `Adra prison, but we do know that their situation is precarious and they are being treated worse than their male counterparts,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.<br />The United Nations-issued Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners say that, “Men and women shall so far as possible be detained in separate institutions,” and, “No male member of the staff shall enter the part of the institution set aside for women unless accompanied by a woman officer.” Syria has prisons for women, including a main facility in Douma, located in the suburbs of Damascus. Human Rights Watch has not been able to determine why some women are in `Adra prison.<br />Among the women in `Adra is Tuhama Ma`ruf, 46, a dentist detained there since February 10, 2010, to serve the remaining part of a sentence issued by the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC) in 1995 for membership in the unlicensed Party for Communist Action (PCA). Syria’s security services detained Ma`ruf in 1992 as part of a crackdown against the PCA, which no longer exists. Authorities released her on bail in 1993, but the SSSC sentenced her in 1995 to six years for “membership in an illegal organization.” At the time, Human Rights Watch criticized the trials against PCA members for due process violations and for criminalizing peaceful political activity.<br />Ma`ruf did not turn herself in after the sentence was issued in 1995 and lived clandestinely for the next 15 years. Security forces arrested her on February 6 and placed her in `Adra to serve the remaining five years of the sentence. Ma`ruf’s lawyers petitioned for her freedom, arguing that her sentence should be commuted because of the passage of time, but the SSSC prosecutor’s office rejected her request.<br />“Ma`ruf was sentenced to prison solely for her peaceful political activism, which is protected under international human rights treaties that Syria has ratified,” Whitson said. “The authorities should release her.”<br />The Syrian activists said that other female detainees in `Adra whose identities they know include Yusra al-Hassan, detained since January without any formal accusation or judicial referral. Her husband is being held by the United States in Guantanamo. Other female detainees in `Adra reportedly include members of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) as well as women convicted on drug or prostitution-related charges.<br />For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Syria, please visit:<br />http://www.hrw.org/en/middle-eastn-africa/syriaUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-55885244470810562682010-11-15T09:23:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:25:48.037-08:00Arrested and disappeared in SyriaNovember 11, 2010 by sks <br /><br />According to Human Rights Organization in Syria – MAF a patrol of the Political Security branch in Damascus raided the house of Farhan Haji Sello on 3 November 2010. Sources close to the family report that some personal items, papers and computer equipment were confiscated.<br />Farhan Haji Sello, born in 1977 and father of three children from Deyrick was taken to an unknown location, and his fate is not known. No information has been given to date as to why he was arrested., Farhan Haji Sello lives in the Mazza al-Jabbal province of Damascus.<br />Human Rights Organization in Syria – MAF calls for the ending to the arbitrary arrest of citizens, and the seizure of their liberty which is in violation of the most basic rights of human beings. It is contrary to the covenants and international conventions and the law and the Syrian Constitution, which does not allow arrests of a person without a warrant, but this is done against the framework of the State of Emergency that has been in force for several decades. MAF calls on relevant authorities to clarify the fate of Farhan Haji Sello, and to submit him to trial quickly if he has committed an offence. MAF calls for the abolition of the State of Emergency.<br />10 November 2010Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-3942223508933413382010-11-15T09:22:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:23:48.673-08:00Two more murderers of Banaz Mahmod face justiceIKWRO - Press Release<br /><br />The Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation welcomes the news that the remaining two suspects in the Banaz Mahmod murder trial, Mohammed Ali and Omar Hussain, have been found guilty at the Old Bailey today. Ali was sentenced to a minimum of 22 years and Hussain to 21 years.<br /><br />Initially the Iraqi and Kurdistan Regional Governments were reluctant to hand Ali and Hussain over to the UK authorities, but they became the first suspects ever extradited to Britain from Iraq after sustained campaigning to bring them to justice by the London based Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation (IKWRO).<br /><br />Diana Nammi, Director of IKWRO today said:<br /><br />“Today marks a major step forward in the campaign for Justice for Banaz. We would especially like to thank Detective Chief Inspector Caroline Goode and all of her team for their hard work in bringing Mohammed Ali and Omar Hussain to justice. We would also like to thank all of the individuals and organisations in the UK and in Kurdistan whose enormous support enabled this to happen.”<br /><br />“The extradition and conviction of Ali and Hussain sends out a strong message that there can be no safe havens for those who kill in the name of ‘honour’. We call on all countries to protect women from this brutal practice and to ensure that all those who commit ‘honour’ killing face justice, where ever they are in the world.”<br /><br />In January 2006 Banaz Mahmod was tortured and strangled, and her body stuffed into a suitcase which was found buried under a Birmingham patio three months later. Before her death Banaz had told police several times that her family were planning to kill her because she had fallen in love with Rahmat Suleimani, a man of whom they did not approve, but police failed to protect her.<br /><br />“IKWRO was unable to make a complaint to the Independent Police Complaints Commissioner because the rules only permit victims’ families to do so. IKWRO has called for a change in the rules so that in honour killing cases, where the family is responsible for the murder, organisations like IKWRO will be able to make complaints in the public interest” said Diana Nammi today. <br /><br />“While strongly welcoming the successful prosecution of Ali and Hussain today, it is also important to learn from the failings in this case.” <br /><br />For further information and comment please contact:<br /><br />Diana Nammi, 07862 733511<br />Director<br />IKWRO<br />Tel: 0207 920 6460<br />Fax: 0207 920 6495<br />email: diana.nammi@gmail.com<br /><br />www.ikwro.org.uk<br />www.stophonourkillings.com<br /><br />--<br />Firmesk Abdullahi<br />Finance & Administration<br />Iranian & Kurdish Women's Rights OrganisationUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-44596479718732198212010-11-15T09:19:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:22:10.226-08:00Diaspora, work, employment and community: A report on Kurdish workers in LondonWorking Lives Research Institute<br /><br /> 13/11/2010<br /><br />The report presents key findings of our research on the social and economic lives of Kurdish migrants in London (mainly Hackney, Haringey) and it looks at where Kurdish workers turned for help, support and representation when they had problems at work. It explores the linkages between Kurdish minority ethnic workers and workplace community (managers, colleagues, trade unions), local community (e.g. CABx, law centres), ethnic communities (family, friends) and community organisations (e.g. cultural, political, social and faith). We interviewed a total of 61 workers – 29 individually and 32 in 5 focus groups and 21 interviews with ‘key respondents’ who were officials from trade unions, advice agencies and community groups.<br /><br />This report offers high-quality and rich empirical data and provides detailed insight into the relationship between Kurdish ethnic minority workers and different advice agencies.<br /><br />Kurdish Employees Face Advice Crisis<br /><br />Workers from Kurdish community in the UK face an advice crisis that can ruin their lives, a study by the Working Lives Research Institute shows.<br /><br />Researchers found that people facing bullying, racism, withholding of pay and even violence and sexual harassment, were unable to get practical help and advice in particular the lack of English language skill amongst first-generation Kurdish workers cause ‘exploitive community solidarity’ in the ‘ethnic economy’ where the long work hours (up to 72 hours), lack of holiday entitlements, low payment without any proper contract, overtime, sick pay or holiday pay become normalised. Outside the ‘ethnic economy, Kurdish workers are at a greater disadvantage in the labour market as a result of prejudice, racism, xenophobia, ethnic penalties.<br /><br />Finding useful employment advice from sources other than trade unions was very difficult – very few workers interviewed know about or used government or voluntary sector advice available online or by phone.<br /><br />When advice was available – from the Citizens Advice Bureau or law centres – there were problems with access, restricted opening hours and ineligibility for legal aid. While workers talked about the using Kurdish community advice services for issues of immigration, housing and language, this was not really the case for employment problems due to lack of specialist employment advisors in advice surgeries and other issues<br /><br />Workers who approached ‘no-win-no-fee’ solicitors could be asked for £2,000 up front or were pressed to settle their case so that the solicitors’ fees would be paid. Researchers found that people experiencing problems at work want to talk through the details of their problem and to have someone represent them in dealings with managers.<br /><br />Dr Jane Holgate, who coordinated the research, said: “The research showed how the problems that people face at work can have a serious impact on their personal lives in terms of ill-health, unemployment and poverty.<br /><br />“The consequences for companies in terms of increased costs and for wider society in terms of picking up the pieces is much greater than most people perhaps realise. “The lack of support for employment problems is a serious issue. Current advice agencies are seriously underfunded and this is likely to get worse because of forthcoming cuts. “If the Big Society is to be meaningful, resources need to be directed at community level to provide the advice and support that is needed. Trade unions and voluntary sector organisations are best situated to protect the interests of workers. “Some of our interviews revealed bullying, racism, withholding of pay and even violence. Yet many of these workers had no place to turn when they desperately needed help and advice. “A number had developed mental health problems and others had lost their jobs.<br /><br />For some, trade unions were able to provide the help they needed, but many interviewees did not have unions at their workplace and voluntary sector organisations like Law Centres and Citizens Advice were unable to provide employment advice. Trade union membership is very low amongst the Kurdish workers interviewed and only nine interviewees held union cards.<br /><br />If the Big Society is to be meaningful, then resources need to be directed at community level to provide the advice and support that is needed. Trade unions and voluntary sector organisations are best situated to protect the interests of workers as they are positioned where local people can reach them<br /><br />Notes for editors:<br /><br />The research focused on ethnic groups in three London boroughs: Kurds in Hackney, South Asians in Ealing and Black Caribbeans in Lambeth.<br /><br />Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 185 people – 100 individually and 88 in16 focus groups. They represented a fair cross-section in terms of age, sex and type of work.<br /><br />One aspect of the research was the use of photography to express the sense of collective identity in the groups surveyed. Some images are available at:<br /><br />Diaspora, work, employment and community: A report on Kurdish workers in London<br /><br />All reports are available for download:<br /><br />Diaspora, work, employment and community: A report on Kurdish workers in London<br /><br />For more information contact<br /><br />Dr Jane Holgate<br /><br />Work and Employment Relations Division, Leeds University Business School, Maurice Keyworth, Building University of Leeds, LS2 9J, email: j.holgate@leeds.ac.ukUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-88831770770730720652010-11-15T09:18:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:19:48.625-08:00US consul visited Maxmur refugee camp15 November 2010<br /><br /><br />The consul of the United States in Arbil visited Maxmur refugee camp today.<br /><br />The consul Christfer Henzil met with camp's mayor Ahmad Shenbaz and representative Pola Chele and exchange information about the camp and its status.<br /><br />Speaking after the meeting Chele said that the meeting was positive.<br /><br />Chele and Shenbaz told the consul about the circumstances in which more than 10 thousand Kurds left their homeland in North Kurdistan and took refugee in Maxmur.<br /><br />After the meeting Henzil visited the school and social institutions.<br /><br />Henzil said he was very impressed by the developments in Maxmur and thanked the refugees for their hospitality.<br /><br />Maxmur refugee camp is situated about 60 kilometers north of Arbil, where just over 10000 of the refugees (75 percent of them women and children) have been living since 1998.<br /><br />ANF NEWS DESK /<br /><br />ANF NEWS AGENCYUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-23571584098636080702010-11-15T09:17:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:18:41.891-08:00Turkish army continues cross-border bombardment15 November 2010<br /><br /><br />Turkish artillery is bombarding Iraqi territories continuously for the last three days, armed wing of Kurdistan Workers Party said.<br /><br />"Turkish army is continuously bombarding Zap area for the last three days" People's Defense Forces (HPG) said in a statement.<br /><br />According to HPG Howitzers are mortar rockets hit Kokere and Bircela villages and Ciyaye Resh (Black Mountain) area. A forest fire broke out in result of the bombing.<br /><br />HPG reported no causalities.<br /><br />HPG also reported that Xakurke's Sehid Beritan, Sehit Kurtay and Karker areas were also hit by the artillery fire yesterday.<br /><br /><br /><br />ANF NEWS DESK /<br /><br />ANF NEWS AGENCYUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-3016575853636667032010-11-15T09:16:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:17:31.223-08:00UN: Access to health services 'severely hindered' for Kurds in Syria15 November 2010<br /><br /><br /><br />United Nations special rapporteur Annand Grover said Kurds in Syria has limited access to the health services.<br /><br />Special rapporteur appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council Groves announced the results of his nine day visit to Syria yesterday. He praised the accomplishments of the Syrian governments health services in non-Kurd parts of the country and added that access to health services in Kurdish region is "severely hindered".<br /><br />"The situation of one of the vulnerable groups in Syria, currently some 300,000 persons of Kurdish origin, is of particular concern to me," Grover said in a statement issued at a news conference in Damascus.<br /><br />"Originally, over 100,000 persons of Kurdish origin were rendered stateless by decree in 1962, and as a result they have been deprived of the enjoyment of many rights, including the right to health," he said.<br /><br />Grover said that "access to health care for these vulnerable individuals is seriously hindered." <br /><br />He noted that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "has committed to resolve the issue."<br /><br />"I urge the government to follow up on that resolve, as it otherwise casts a shadow over the many remarkable accomplishments in the context of the enjoyment of the right to health," Grover said.<br /><br />He refused to make detailed public comments, saying his findings would be presented to the Human Rights Council in June 2011, as part of a detailed report on the human-rights situation in Syria.<br /><br />In 2007 Assad said that concrete measures would be taken to grant Kurds Syrian nationality. Nearly 2 million Kurds live in Syria, mainly in the north bordering Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan region. They comprise ten percent of the population and have long sought official recognition of the Kurdish language and their culture.<br /><br />Kurds in Syria also suffer severe discrimination because of their ethnicity. Many of them are denied Syrian nationality and therefore do not receive the full provision of education, employment, health care and other rights enjoyed by Syrian nationals.<br /><br />ANF NEWS DESK /<br /><br />ANF NEWS AGENCYUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-7960348031276402622010-11-15T09:15:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:16:31.825-08:00Republican People's Party's 'Kurdish opening'15 November 2010<br /><br /><br />Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu will visit Diyarbakir next week.<br /><br />Kilicdaroglu's visit will be the first to the Kurdish region after he was elected leader of the main opposition party in Turkish parliament.<br /><br />Kilicdaroglu will meet with Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) officials in Ankara on the second day of Aid Al-Atha. He will fly to Diyarbakir on 20th November.<br /><br />He is expected to carry messages to Kurdish voters about CHP's policy change about Kurdish Question.<br /><br />BDP officials said that they will welcome the leader of CHP in Diyarbakir. Kurdish mayıs Baydemir will also meet with him at the municipality office.<br /><br />BPD boycotted Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Diyabakir last September.<br /><br /><br /><br />ANF NEWS DESK /<br /><br />ANF NEWS AGENCYUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-1252481286513443512010-11-15T09:13:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:15:10.730-08:00Syria: Kurdish attorney sentences to two and a half years imprisonment14 November 2010<br /><br /><br />A Kurdish attorney was sentenced to two and a half years of imprisonment for his published articles.<br /><br />Mustafa Ismail, a Kurdish attorney and writer stand against a military court on November 7. The court sentenced him to seven years imprisonment but reduced it to two and a half years due to mitigating circumstances.<br /><br />He was convicted of Article 267 in Penal Code which says: Any Syrian who acts, speaks, writes texts or undertakes or tries to undertake similar actions with the purpose of partitioning off a portion of Syrian territory in order to annex it to a foreign state or to provide a foreign state with rights to which the Syrian state alone is entitled, will be punished with a sentence of no less than five years in prison. <br /><br /><br /><br />ANF NEWS DESK /<br /><br />ANF NEWS AGENCYUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-56692668507537877532010-11-15T09:12:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:13:51.098-08:00Iran detains three women lawyers14 November 2010<br /><br /><br />Iranian authorities have arrested three women lawyers at an airport in Tehran after they arrived on a flight from Turkey, media reported on Sunday.<br /><br />The three detained at Imam Khomeini airport Saturday were identified as Sara Sabaghian, Maryam Kianersi and Maryam Karbasi, reformist newspapers Arman and Shargh said, without providing further details.<br /><br />Sabaghian reportedly represented a detained opposition blogger and Kianersi was on the defence team of Kobra Najjar, a woman sentenced to death by stoning who was acquitted and freed about two years ago.<br /><br />Several human rights lawyers have been targeted in Iran's ongoing crackdown on dissent, which saw scores of activists, journalists and government critics jailed since the disputed 2009 presidential election and the ensuing unrest.<br /><br />ANF NEWS DESK /<br /><br />ANF NEWS AGENCYUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-29337592392526398562010-11-15T09:11:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:12:45.424-08:00Ocalan called for creation of a Truth Commission14 November 2010<br /><br /><br /><br />Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan called for creation of a "Truth Commission" to end the 30 year old armed conflict between Turkey and the PKK.<br /><br />He said the guerilla forces may withdraw to South Kurdistan only if the "Truth Commission" become functional and a reconciliation is reached between Turks and Kurds.<br /><br />During his weekly meeting with his lawyers Ocalan said he wants to end the armed conflict in principle. But the creation and work of a "Truth and Reconcialition Commission" is vital to move the peace process forward he insisted.<br /><br />He said the creation of such a commission is possible only if the Turkish parliament takes initiative.<br /><br />He pointed the experience in South Africa where the "Truth and Reconcialition Commission" led by prominent cleric Desmond Tutu played a key role in peace building process.<br /><br />Ocalan mentioned the commission can be on the agenda of the negotiations which are held by Turkish officials with him in Imralı High Security Prison. Ocalan said if the negotiations processes he might help to withdraw Kurdish guerillas to South Kurdistan.<br /><br />"Everybody has to acknowledge that the decision to withdraw guerilla forces is a critical decision. Nobody can take responsibilty for this decision except me" Ocalan added.<br /><br />Ocalan there is no agreement between him and Turkish officials about withdrawing Kurdish guerillas.<br /><br />He said Kurdistan Workers Party's (PKK) and Peace and Democracy Party's (BDP) public messages carry a significant importance in the peace process.<br /><br />He called the Kurdish politicians who are standing trial in so-called KCK case "political hostages" and said Turkish state is trying to degenerate Kurdish legal movement.<br /><br />He also gave support to the Kurdish politicians who insist to speak Kurdish at the courtroom.<br /><br />152 prominent Kurdish politicians are standing trial in Diyarbakir for being a member of an illegal organization. They demand to make their defense speeches in Kurdish which Turkish judges repeatedly denied.<br /><br />Ocalan also called for creation of a democratic autonomy constitution and said that Kurds need to organize themselves in every aspect to govern themselves.<br /><br />Ocalan said "democratic autonomy" is a self-governing model for Kurdish people.<br /><br /><br /><br />ANF /<br /><br />ANF NEWS AGENCYUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941810943913739101.post-21451852582089628222010-11-15T09:09:00.000-08:002010-11-15T09:11:45.407-08:00BDP officials sentenced to prison for propaganda13 November 2010<br /><br /><br /><br />Head of the Van provincial office of Democratic Society Party (DTP) Muhittin Aksin who transferred BDP after DTP was banned by the constitutional court and Member of BDP Party Assembly M. Zahir Sarıtaş have been given 10 month-imprisonment on account of disseminating propaganda for an outlawed organisation. <br /><br />Aksin and Sarıtaş both spoke at the opening ceremony of the BDP office in Van during which the DTP mayor also transferred to BDP. Following the ceremony they were both prosecuted. Van Heavy Criminal Court Nr. 4 sentenced each defendant to 10-month imprisonment. Muhittin Aksin reacted against the judgment and said he spoke Kurdish at the ceremony and his speech was translated wrong by the police. Although he said this before the court his objection was rejected by the court panel. He further said that the judiciary in Turkey is political rather than legal and he will appeal the judgement.<br /><br />ANF NEWS DESK / <br /><br />ANF NEWS AGENCYUnknownnoreply@blogger.com