Over seventy intellectuals from South Kurdistan in exile demand in an open letter that the PKK be removed from the US terror list. 

The letter reminds that "there are many states and political/armed factions on the American 'Black List'; America uses the list to punish these actors for engaging in terrorist acts against US interests. On October 8, 1997, America added the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to the terror list with no evidence to show that the PKK had ever engaged in any violent act against the US interests anywhere in the world. America blacklisted the PKK only to appease Turkey. Turkey in its Constitution still denies the existence of more than 25 million Kurds and millions of other non-Turkish ethnicities in Turkey by declaring that all who hold Turkish citizenship are 'Turks' and not Turkey's citizens."

The letter continues: "Under Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey has become a state sponsor for terror groups such as ISIS, Ahrar Alsham, Alnusra, and other terrorist groups. Erdogan has been suing these groups in Libya for his expansionist ambitions and against the Kurds, the US allies, who have been fighting alongside the US forces to defeat ISIS in Syria.

The PKK has been struggling for the Kurdish God-given rights whose existence has been denied by the Turkish racist Constitution. To stop the Turkish aggression, the PKK has been struggling to stop the Turkish racist policies against the Kurds."

The intellectuals recall that "on July 3, 2019, Jameel Bayk, a top member of the PKK leadership, in his OpEd, in the Washington Post, reminded the US and world that in the past, Abdulla Ocelan, the founder and leader of the PKK, unilaterally ordered multiple ceasefires to seek a peaceful political solution for the Turkish-Kurdish conflict. Every time, Turkey rejected the Kurdish goodwill gestures and continued its bloody war.

To end this bloody situation, we implore the US to delist the PKK from the terror list as the Belgian Court of Cassation held the decision made by the Brussels Court of Appeals on January 14, 2020 that the PKK should not be considered as a terror organization."

The signatories ask that "the US serves as an honest broker between the Turks and Kurds to release Abdullah Ocelan from the prison, and establish a permanent political solution that ends the long bloody conflict. We believe that the US is the only country capable of bringing peace and a genuine coexistence between the Turks, Kurds, and other ethnicities in Turkey.

We further believe, keeping the PKK on the Terror list only legitimizes Turkish oppression against the Kurds."

The signatories are as follows:

1. Dr. Kamiran Barwari. University Professor. Duhok. Iraq

2. Dr. Jabar Kadir. Former Dean of College of Education. Koye University, KRG. Netherland

3. Dr. Seevan Saeed. Associate Professor, Middle East Politics. Shaanxi Normal University-China

4. Dr. Mohammad Kayani. Physician. Former Member of the Iraqi Parliament. UK.

5. Dr. Faeq Gulpy. Physician. Former Member of the Iraqi Parliament. KRG

6. Dr. Sarbast Nabi. Professor in political Philosophy- Koya-Iraq

7. Jani Diylan. Journalist. Washington DC. USA

8. Meki Amedi. Activist Human Rights – Germany

9. Fatih Abdulla Abbas. Former Minster KRG

10. Kazhal Hamarashid. Board member of the Toronto Kurdish Community Centre -Canada

11. Asiya Mejit. Banker Toronto - Canada

12. Goran Abdullah. Webmaster of dengekan online newspaper. Toronto, Canada.

13. Pocker Visitor. Social Justice, York University, Toronto, Canada

14. Nimat Abdullah. Former MP IRK

15. Shwan Chawshin. Member of Kurdish House Vancouver Canada

16. Mohammad Raniyai. Member of Kurdish House Vancouver Canada

17. Farooq Jamil Sadiq. Former Minster KRG-Iraq-Erbil

18. Karim Bahri Bradost. Former MP IRK-Iraq-Erbil

19. Sardar Abdulkarim. Former Member of High committee of election-Iraq-Iraq Erbil

20. Shex Fazl Hirani. Former General Director-KRG

21. Aram Rafaat. Expert in Middle East Politics - Australia

22. Kader Nader Kader. Activist Human Rights -Stockholm -Sweden

23. Kamal Jamal Mukhtar. Activist Human Rights -Uppsala -Sweden

24. Jabar Ahmed. Consultant Engineer. Irbil-Iraq

25. Nawzad Abdullah. Business Owner. Nashville, Tennessee. USA

26. Shwan Karim. Business Owner. Nashville, Tennessee. USA

27. Shereen Murad. Instructor. Denver, Colorado. USA

28. Bashdar Ibrahim. Banker. Nashville, Tennessee. USA.

29. Sarwa Botani. ESL Teacher. Smyrna, Tennessee. USA

30. Ali Karimi. Author and Human Rights Activist. London. UK

31. Dr. Hawjin Mala Amin. University Professor. Slemani. Iraq

32. Akram Mayi. Human Rights Activist. Canada

33. Dr. Faysal Salim. Physician. Iraq

34. Zakarya Hawrami. Activist. Iraq

35. Kazim Mayi. Human Rights Activist. USA

36. Arkawt Shamsadin. Member of Parliament. Baghdad. Iraq

37. Dr. Suad Abdulqadir. University Professor. Duhok. Iraq

38. Dr. Lazgin Wanli. Physician. Saudi Arabia

39. Dr. Muhammad Amin Shexo. Physician. Germany

40. Dr. Mustafa Abdi. Pysician. Syria

41. Dr. Abdulbaqi Muhammad. Physician. Syria

42. Dr. Muhammad Khalaf. Physician. Russia

43. Dr. Luqman Silo. Physician. Ukraine

44. Ibshkhan Miroyev. Journalist. Russia

45. Dr. Abdulsalam Musa. Engineer. Germany

46. Dr. Muhammad Ali Abdi. Physician. Syria

47. Dr. Abdulwahab Darwesh. Physician. Ukraine

48. Faysal Ghazi Muhammad. University Professor. Baghdad. Iraq

49. Yasin Ali Salih. Author and Politician. Iraq

50. Shorsh Ali Aubaydullah Mayi.Teacher. Netherland

51. Abdulaziz Taha. Attorney. Finland

52. Awat Husen. Activist. USA

53. Husen Bazirki. Activist. USA

54. Yusuf Galnaski. Activist. UK

55. Saman Nuh. Journalst. Iraq

56. Dr. Hakim Abdulkarim. Darbandikhan. Iraq

57. Dr. Yusuf Hasan. International Relations. Iraq

58. Adil Osman. Activist. Slemani. Iraq

59. Dr. Faruq Rafiq. University Professor. Slemani. Iraq

60. Dr. Haval Kwestani. Former Member of Iraqi parliament. Iraq

61. Dilovan Barwari. Attorney. Erbil. Iraq

62. Asima Mirza. Women Rights Activist. Duhok. Iraq

63. Dr. Hashim Zebari. University Professor. Duhok. Iraq

64. Salam Bosali. Activist. Denmark

65. Bahzad Slevani. Community Activist. Sweden

66. Bestun Barwari. Writer. Sweden

67. Bahzad Pirmusa. Teacher. Sweden

68. Pala Sarni. Writer. Switzerland

69. Syamand Harki. Writer. Sweden

70. Nuhad Rashavan. Activist. Hetherland

71. Sardar Omar Wahab. Activist. Finland

72. Sarkash Kawa Rahim. Activist. USA

73. Dr. Osman Ismael. Journalist. UK

74. Bahnam Hama Amin Arif. Activist. Iraq

75. Parwin Aziz Saeed. Activist. Slemani. Iraq

76. Niaz Hamid Braim. Co-President of Kurdistan Human Rights Observer. Canada

77. Dr. Kirmanj Gundi. Professor. Tennessee State University. USA