PRESS RELEASE, — On 88th anniversary of Lausanne Treaty which divided Kurdistan into four pieces, the Kurdish Association of Ireland launches a hunger strike in Dublin to protest against the division of Kurdistan and the oppression of the Kurds by Turkey, Iran, Syria and Iraq.
The hunger strike will take place on Wednesday 20th July outside of the European Union House in Dublin 2: All Kurds from Europe are invited to join!
Lausanne Treaty signed on 24rd July 1923 officially divided Kurdistan between Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. The Treaty denied the very existence of the Kurds and exposed them to some of the most horrendous state terror that one nation could ever be subjected to. It rendered the Kurds devoid of identity and aimed to wipe them off from the earth. Lausanne Treaty divided the Kurdish nation in a way that no other nation in the world has been divided; it surrounded it by the enemies from all sides.
Ever since then the Kurdish people have been subjected to the state oppression of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. Although the Kurdish population is estimated around 40 million their identity is not recognised by the occupying powers of Kurdistan, in Turkey Kurds are referred to as ‘Mountain Turk’, their very existence are denied. Kurdish language is prohibited in the public and anyone who comes out in the defence of their national rights is labelled as ‘terrorist’, 2000 Kurdish democratically elected politicians are currently imprisoned under the charge of ‘terrorism’, around 3000 Kurdish children are jailed under the charge of ‘terrorism’.
Since Lausanne Treaty numerous Kurdish revolts have taken place to end the occupation of Kurdistan. But as the Kurds are encircled by the enemies from each side, all these revolts have been suppressed and the Kurds were subjected to genocidal scale of state terror. During 1980s over 182000 innocent Kurds were massacred by Saddam’s regime. The Islamic Regime of Iran declared Jihad against the Kurds in 1979 and massacred thousands of them. In Syria, Kurds do not posses Syrian citizenship and lack any ID card; they are treated a refugee in the homeland.
The Kurdish Association of Ireland launches a hunger strike against the injustice and the crimes inflicted on the Kurds and demands:
- The Revocation of Lausanne Treaty or its replacement by another pact where the rights of the Kurds are recognised.
- The rights of the Kurdish people to self-determination as enshrined in the international laws must be recognised.
- While Middle East going through changes, there is an opportunity for EU to support the Kurds in finding a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue.
Kurdish Association of Ireland – 18/07/2011
Spokespersons;
Ekrem Yavuz, 0852114150
Kardo Bokani, 0858141424