ANF, London — The Free Adem Uzun campaign has sent an open letter to French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira.
In the letter the signatories state that “The arrest of the prominent Kurdish peace advocate Adem Uzun in Paris last year came as a great shock to us all as it coincided with progress towards the opening of peace talks between Turkey and the Kurds”. The letter also points out that over 200 public figures, lawyers and politicians with expertise in the matter of the Kurdish question in Turkey and many community activists, grass-roots campaigners and trade unionists have come together to establish the “Friends of Adem Uzun” and support the call for Mr Uzun’s release.
“We kindly urge you – said the letter – to take note of their strong collective voice”.
The letter ends by stating: “We are convinced that Adem Uzun has a crucial part to play in these talks which have a long way to go before a settlement can be reached. As such we urge you to release him in order to enable him to resume his work that is beginning to bring about the lasting peace for which everyone is searching”.
BACKGROUND
Kurdish politician Adem Uzun was arrested in France on 6 October 2012. Having been denied bail, Adem remains in detention awaiting a trial which could be months away. Adem Uzun is a prominent activist working to achieve peace through the resumption of negotiations between Turkey and the Kurds. A leading politician with the Kurdistan National Congress, KNK, Adem is well-known to anyone involved in the Kurdish issue, especially in the European Parliament, and has been one of the main Kurdish negotiators in the so-called “Oslo Process” with high-level Turkish Government’s representatives.
The charge against Adem Uzun is not supported by credible evidence. At the time of his arrest, Adem Uzun was in Paris to take part in preparations for a conference on Western Kurdistan (Syria), which was scheduled to take place on 13 October 2012.
The prosecution intends to equate two separate organisations, the KNK with the PKK, in order to de-legitimise political efforts towards resolution of the conflict. This same tactic is today being used by Turkey to repress and silence the non-violent dissent of thousands of Kurdish politicians and activists.
The offence of belonging to a terrorist organisation in France and across the EU, is a highly politicised ‘crime by association’. It criminalises the entire Kurdish political movement by imputing activists to be the PKK, in the clear absence of any engagement in violence.
The EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) Conference, meeting in Brussels on 5th and 6th December, passed a special resolution calling on the French authorities to immediately release Adem Uzun. ‘’As a leading legitimate politician of the Kurdish political movement Mr. Uzun is well known for his advocacy of a democratic and peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem for which he was chosen to be one of the negotiators in the Oslo Peace Talks,’’ the EUTCC stated. The resolution urged the ‘’expeditious conclusion to his case by dropping the accusations against him’’.
Firat News Agency
(en.firatajans.com)