International Human Rights Day, but not for Kurds
International Human Rights Day, but not for Kurds
Arrests and imprisonment of Kurds sees no pause under Turkish ruling party AKP (Justice and Development Party). Today is International Human Rights Day. Yet in Turkey human rights are far from being respected.
Figures speak clearly and it is always worth it to remind that figures mean people, human being with a name and a surname.
The number of politicians and human rights defenders who were arrested within the scope of so-called KCK (Kurdish Communities Union) operations has reached about five thousand. The main target of this operation has been the BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) which still has five deputies in prison. One legally elected deputy, Hatip Dicle, was stripped off of his legal mandate after being elected. Five MYK (Central Executive Board) members, 12 PM members, 28 provincial and district chairs, 46 executives, 13 mayors and deputy mayors and 29 provincial council members of BDP have been arrested within the last seven months. An average of nine Kurds were taken into custody per day (since May 2011) and among them five were arrested as a result of the KCK operations carried out across the country.
The pressure and destruction operations of the Turkish state against Kurds have remarkably increased in the period of the AKP government for the last ten years. This policy, which showed its face as unidentified murders in 1990’s, continues with intense arrests of the AKP government. Besides deputies, almost all executives and representatives of the BDP have been exposed to legal proceedings within this process.
According to data by the party, 3,894 out of 7,748 detainees have been remanded in custody since 14 April 2009. Arrests, notably increasing in the post-election process of this year, mainly targeted the members of BDP municipalities and provincial councils.
Figures speak clearly and it is always worth it to remind that figures mean people, human being with a name and a surname.
The number of politicians and human rights defenders who were arrested within the scope of so-called KCK (Kurdish Communities Union) operations has reached about five thousand. The main target of this operation has been the BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) which still has five deputies in prison. One legally elected deputy, Hatip Dicle, was stripped off of his legal mandate after being elected. Five MYK (Central Executive Board) members, 12 PM members, 28 provincial and district chairs, 46 executives, 13 mayors and deputy mayors and 29 provincial council members of BDP have been arrested within the last seven months. An average of nine Kurds were taken into custody per day (since May 2011) and among them five were arrested as a result of the KCK operations carried out across the country.
The pressure and destruction operations of the Turkish state against Kurds have remarkably increased in the period of the AKP government for the last ten years. This policy, which showed its face as unidentified murders in 1990’s, continues with intense arrests of the AKP government. Besides deputies, almost all executives and representatives of the BDP have been exposed to legal proceedings within this process.
According to data by the party, 3,894 out of 7,748 detainees have been remanded in custody since 14 April 2009. Arrests, notably increasing in the post-election process of this year, mainly targeted the members of BDP municipalities and provincial councils.
