Thirteen deputies from the Social Democratic Labor Party, the major partner of the Swedish Government, asks the parliament to take a decision to determine the Kurds' Right to Self-Determination in their motion titled "Kurds and Kurdistan".

The motion reminds that the Kurds are the fourth biggest nation in the Middle East and cites Minority Rights Group’s estimation that there are 15 million Kurds in Turkey, 7 million in Iran, 6-7 million in Iraq and 1.5 million in Syria.

It is stated that the mother tongue of the Kurds is Kurdish and is not related to Turkish and Arabic and belongs to the Indo-European language group, adding that the Kurds were divided into four parts following the First World War and Kurds in the Middle East live in an area of 500 thousand square kilometers. The motion discusses separately assimilation and oppression policies of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran against the Kurds.

The motion reviews on the current developments in four parts of Kurdistan.

BAKUR (NORTHERN KURDISTAN)

It is pointed out in the motion that the ceasefire announced by Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan in 2013 led to the initiation of a promising peace process, but the Turkish state changed its attitude in domestic and foreign policy after the Kurds strengthened their position in Kobanê.

It is stated that Erdogan's plans to replace the parliamentary system with an authoritarian presidency were blocked by the HDP, which exceeded the 10% threshold in the 2015 elections. The motion refers to the findings of Amnesty International that the violations of rights in the country have worsened after the elections in 2015 and the end of the peace process between the PKK and the Turkish state.

It is pointed out that since 2016, elected politicians, including HDP co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, have been arrested and that the decision taken by the European Court of Human Rights to release Demirtaş in 2018 was blocked by Recep Tayip Erdoğan.

ROJAVA (WESTERN KURDISTAN)

It is reminded in the motion that following the civil war in Syria, 11 Kurdish organizations came together in 2011 and started to build an autonomous administration in the north and northeast of the country. It is stated that the YPG / YPJ, which resisted the attacks of ISIS gangs in Kobanê with the support of the coalition forces in 2013-2014, won a great victory and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was later established. Hostile attitude of the Turkish state towards Rojava is mentioned with the following statements:

"Turkey considers the autonomous government of Syria as a threat to the unity of the country and equates the Syrian Democratic Forces with the PKK. Thousands of people migrated after the occupation of the Kurdish city of Afrin by the Turkish state on March 18, 2018. Turkey has threatened Rojava many times with extensive occupation.”

It is stated that the situation in Rojava is very serious, there is a shortage of food, water, medicine and electricity, and that active humanitarian support is required for the rebuilding of the country.

ROJHILAT (EASTERN KURDISTAN)

The motion remarks that because of the economic situation in Eastern Kurdistan and since unemployment and poverty are higher than in other regions of Iran, migration to other regions is reported.

It is pointed out that only one third of Kurds live in Kurdish regions, opponents of the regime are arrested and executed, and journalists and politicians are arrested each day. It is also stated that the sanctions of US President Donald Trump caused the prices of gasoline, food and energy to increase a lot.

BASHUR (SOUTHERN KURDISTAN)

The motion highlights that the disputes between the Kurdish Regional Government and the Baghdad regime have been going on for many years and these disputes are related to geopolitics, economics and the Kurds' right to self-determination.

It is reminded that the overwhelming majority of the Kurdish people voted for independence in the referendum held on September 25, 2017.

After summarizing the developments in 4 parts of Kurdistan, the deputies state that the right of nations to self-determination is a general principle in many international laws. They emphasize that this right is guaranteed in Articles 1, 76 and 55 of the United Nations Charter. It is indicated that the United Nations Security Council has made 3 decisions since 1960 to determine the rights of the peoples.

The last part of the deputies’ motion addresses the violations of freedom of expression and press in Turkey. Stating that the freedom of press and expression are fundamental to democracy, deputies remark that negative developments gradually increased in Turkey and government-dependent media narrowed down democracy, freedom of expression and press during the pandemic crisis and increased its attacks on different thoughts.

The deputies reminded of the attacks of the Turkish state-led media against MPs who signed a similar motion last year. Turkey’s partisan media launched lynching campaign against Turkish and Kurdish rooted Kadir Kasirga, Sultan Kayhan, Serkan Kose and Roza Güclü Hedin.

The signatories of the motion are: Dag Larsson, Abraham Successor, Anna Wikström, Ingela Nylund Watz, Leif Nysmed, Mattias Tegner, Serkan Köse, Alexandra Völker, Azadeh Rojhan Gustafsson, Lawen Redar, Markus Selin, Mattias Vespä, Teres Lindberg.