Sakine Cansız (Sara) was a co-founder of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party), Fidan Doğan (Rojbîn) a representative of the KNK (Kurdistan National Congress) and Leyla Şaylemez (Ronahî) an activist in the Kurdish youth movement. They were killed on 9 January 2013 by a killer from the Turkish Secret Service MIT. He shot the three women dead at the Kurdistan Information Center in Paris. To date, no one has been punished.

The fact that this was a contract killing by MIT has been proven by documents, audio recordings and witness statements. The French domestic Secret Service is still treating the case as a state secret and is blocking the release of information. The contract killer, Ömer Güney, who was arrested after the attack, died in prison under suspicious circumstances shortly before the trial began in December 2016.

Kurdish organizations have repeatedly warned the French authorities that further attacks were possible if those responsible for the triple killing and their accomplices were not punished. Ten years later, on 23 December 2022, Evîn Goyî (Emine Kara), Mîr Perwer (Mehmet Şirin Aydın) and Abdurrahman Kızıl were shot in front of the Ahmet Kaya Kurdish Cultural Center, in the immediate vicinity of the Kurdistan Information Office.

Kurds, their friends and elected French officials attended a commemoration event in front of the Kurdistan Information Center today. Highlights from the speakers at the event are as follows:

Berivan Firat (CDK-F Foreign Relations Spokesperson):

"It has been 11 years, and we know that the Turkish Secret Service is behind this political massacre. However, justice is being obstructed by the state secrecy order on the file. This prevents the court from receiving the documents in the possession of the French secret service. If these documents had been sent to the court, Evîn Goyî, Abdurrahman Kızıl and Mîr Perwer would be among us now. Because the Turkish intelligence, running wild on French soil, saw the field as free and carried out another massacre on 23 December 2022. We urge France to stop using Kurds for its political interests."

Elie Jousseain (Municipal Representative of the 10th arrondissement of Paris):

"Exactly 11 years after 9 January 2013, the confidentiality order on the file has not been lifted. Exactly 1 year after 23 December 2022, the anti-terrorism prosecutor's office has not been put into action. But despite everything, our search for justice will continue.

We clearly say that those who fought against DAESH and those who were injured for this cause will always have a place here. A few weeks ago, France passed a law against migrants. This same government rejected Evîn Goyî's asylum application. This is the same government that failed to protect Kurds here. Our demands and struggle on this issue will continue.

Yes, if the government had declassified the file 11 years ago, Evîn Goyî, Mîr Perwer and Abdurrahman Kızıl would have been among us today.

We will continue our struggle for the protection of the Kurds until the end.

I invite you all to a film screening tonight in the 10th arrondissement of Paris.

We will breathlessly demand the freedom of the Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan and an independent Kurdistan. We will continue our struggle for a society based on the equality of men and women."

Xanê Akdoğan on behalf of TJK-E and TJK-F:

"I commemorate all the martyrs with respect. The enemies of Kurds have been continuing their oppression and bloodsucking for thousands of years. However, their oppression makes us stronger and our struggle grows. The stronger we become, the closer we get to freedom.

France has not lifted the confidentiality order on this file for 11 years and continues to cooperate with the Turkish state. However, it should be known that the Kurdish people and Kurdish women have been continuing their struggle for thousands of years.

Kurds are getting closer to their freedom day by day under the leadership of Abdullah Öcalan and with his philosophy."

Vincent Boulet, International Officer of the Communist Party of France:

"Although we are here now in sorrow, our sense of justice continues with anger, dignity and honour. We demand justice for Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan, Evîn Goyî, Mîr Perwer and Abdurrahman Kızıl. Since 2013, 6 Kurdish militants have been murdered and it is a shame for France that justice has still not been served. We demand that the confidentiality order on the case be lifted immediately.  Fabien Roussel (Secretary General of the Communist Party of France) has conveyed this demand to President Macron. In our quest for justice, we must increase our struggle for the release of Kurdish prisoners held in Erdoğan's dungeons. We call for the lifting of the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan.

We condemn the double standard of the European Union, which favours some gas treaties over justice. We call on the Council of Europe to put pressure on Turkey to implement human rights and democratic rights in Turkey.

Erdogan, who has the second-largest army in NATO, is also a regional threat. He continues his brutal attacks on the Kurdish people without taking into account any international norms and criteria. The EU dishonours itself by remaining silent. France, which has the capacity, must mobilise for political change. We demand international protection for the Kurdish people.

For a hundred years the Kurds have been fighting for their national rights, which have been ignored by the great powers. They fought and defeated ISIS, and now they are again abandoned to their fate.

The Communist Party of France supports the Kurdish people's struggle for justice and national and cultural rights, as it has done throughout its history."

Renê Le Mignot of MRAT (Movement for the Elimination of Racism and Friendship between Peoples):

"If justice had been done, the other massacres would not have happened. If the PKK had been removed from the list of terrorist organisations, these murders would not have happened. We call on the French government to stop co-operating with the fascist regime that arrests academics, students and journalists. Previously, in Paris and Brussels, as well as in the decisions of international courts, it has been emphasised that the PKK is not a terrorist organisation. The PKK is fighting against terrorists and ISIS, and we owe them a lot. We will continue to stand by the Kurdish people until justice is served."

Sylvie Jan on behalf of the France-Kurdistan Association:

I want to underline two things. One is that the more we gather, the more difficult this cooperation by the French government will become. The other is long-term resilience. If they want to exhaust us by spreading this out over time, they are wrong because we will continue our struggle without exhaustion.

Keeping the PKK on the list of terrorist organizations is nothing but an attempt to criminalize the Kurds. Therefore, delisting the PKK is not only a struggle for Kurds, it is also essential for the establishment of international justice and peace. Because as long as this region is under the bombs, we and the whole world will continue to be under threat."