Mass protests in London condemning assassination

Mass protests in London condemning assassination of Kurdish activists in Paris

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 January 2013, 02:01 GMT]
Thousands of Kurds from across the UK took to the streets in London on Sunday condemning the recent assassination of three Kurdish women activists in Paris. Demanding a proper inquiry and immediate justice for the brutal murders women of Sakine Cansiz, co-founder of the PKK, and activists Fidan Dogan and Leyla Soylemez, the protestors raised slogans of ‘”Turkey is a terrorist state” and “We want freedom”. Kurdish sources told TamilNet that the assassination was an attempt to sabotage the Kurds desire for peaceful negotiations and France should act soon, lest it portrays itself complicit by inaction. Large protests were also held in France and Germany on Saturday. These protests saw the participation of solidarity groups and Eezham Tamil activists, who had joined to convey their solidarity with the Kurds.

Sakine Cansiz, a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), was found shot dead along with two other Kurdish women activists, Fidan Dogan, Paris Representative of the Kurdish National Congress, and Leyla Soylemez, political activist working as women’s representative on behalf of the PKK, in execution style murders inside the Information Centre of Kurdistan, Paris in the early hours of Thursday.

Besides the participation of grassroots Kurdish organizations, the protests also saw the involvement of solidarity groups like the Turkish Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) and others.

The protest, which began as a march from Halkevi Centre, Dalston Lane, culminated at the Kurdish Community Centre, Haringey, with numerous Kurdish activists and others speaking to a massive gathering.

Condemning the assassinations as an attack on the Kurdish nation’s desire for peace, the Kurdish speakers unanimously called on the French government to expedite the process of investigation and justice.

Noting how the ‘terrorist ban’ on the PKK was used as an excuse to clamp down on Kurdish activism in the West, Margaret Owen, OBE, Barrister, called for the delisting of the PKK, contending that it was not a terrorist organization.

Dr. Andy Higginbottom, Principal lecturer in Politics and Human Rights at Kingston University, speaking for Colombia Solidarity, said that refugees have the right to organize free from fear of repression or murder. He further asked why the French government seems to have given impunity to assassinations of activists.

Tamil youth activist Sasithar Maheswaran and research scholar Karthick RM also spoke at the event, conveying solidarity with the Kurds on behalf of the Tamils.

Mr. Sasithar noted the similarities between the Paris assassinations of Eezham Tamil grassroots activist Parithi in November 2012 and that of the three Kurdish women activists, further criticizing the French government for its lethargic approach in dealing with such grave crimes. He opined that the ban and criminalization of organizations like LTTE and PKK encouraged such assassins to act with impunity.

Mr. Karthick, who said that France was becoming a safe haven for rogue states to murder activists working for peace, justice and freedom, urged for a strengthening of bonds between the Kurds and the Tamils. The deaths of the three Kurdish women activists will not intimidate, but will only strengthen the Kurdish nation’s desire for freedom, he opined.

The protests by the Kurdish diaspora in Germany and France also saw participation from Eezham Tamil activists.

Chronology:

14.01.13  Mass protests in London condemning assassination o..

10.01.13  Kurdish women activists, including PKK co-founder,..

Kurdish women activists, including PKK co-founder, assassinated in Paris

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 January 2013, 15:26 GMT]
Sakine Cansiz, a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), was found shot dead along with two other Kurdish women activists in an execution style murder inside the Information Centre of Kurdistan, Paris in the early hours of Thursday. Sakine Cansiz, a senior female member and former commander of the PKK, was a close ally of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan who is in jail in Turkey. The killers have targeted Ms Cansiz at a time when negotiations were taking place between Turkey and PKK. Sources close to PKK leadership have ruled out allegations of internal dispute and said the execution style killings and the use of silenced weapons indicated that the killers were professional assassins. A similar assassination had been carried out on a key Eezham Tamil activist in Paris in November last year and the matter is yet to be resolved.

Paris becoming a location for such political assassinations of activists working for national liberation struggles raises concern in human rights circles.

The other two Kurdish women who have been slain were identified as Fidan Dogan, Paris Representative of the Kurdish National Congress, and Leyla Soylemez, political activist working as women’s representative on behalf of the PKK.

The murders elicited immediate protests from Kurds in Paris, who gathered at the spot of the crime. Further mass demonstrations have been planned in London on Friday and Sunday and in Paris on Saturday.

While some in the French and Turkish governments have condemned the killings, others have tried to use the tragic event to pick fault with the PKK. These include Huseyin Celik spokesperson of Turkey's ruling party the AKP, who claimed that "it seems like an internal settling of scores within the PKK" and Hugh Pope, senior Turkey analyst for the International Crisis Group who said that the PKK "has a long history of killing its own people, too. So there's no way anybody can jump to conclusions," from CNN reports.

CNN reports also cited the Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) which demanded the French authorities to conduct a proper probe of the executions, as well as Roj Welat, a spokesperson for the PKK in northern Iraq, who had said that the PKK had not seen any claims of responsibility and was waiting for the results of the French investigation into the murders, as well as its own probe.

"It is an assassination, it is terror, it is ideological and political assassination, (a) terror attack against the Kurdish people," CNN reports quoted Roj Welat, who added that "Sakine Cansiz has been actively involved in the peace and democracy struggle, freedom struggle, of the Kurdish people for a long time. She was one of the women who participated in the formation of the PKK."

In a release following the assassinations, the Kurdish Federation in Britain called for an immediate “International Solidarity” for Kurdistan’s people. We appeal to the “International Communities” with our hearts and pain and urge them to take actions and put pressure on Turkey and French Government in order to solve those ruthless murders and bring peaceful solutions to the Kurdish question by dialogue and implementing democracy for Kurds not only in Turkey but in the Middle East too.”

Likewise, a release of the EU Turkey Civic Commission said “The reason of the killings and the forces behind are still to be unveiled – and they will be. These people should know that such killings or whatever provocation they might conduct in the future will not stop the ongoing peace process,” further appealing to France to stop the criminalization of Kurdish activists working for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question.

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Tamils in Paris, London protest France's inaction

Tamils in Paris, London protest France's inaction in Tamil activist's assassination

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 December 2012, 19:19 GMT]
Eezham Tamils in France and UK demonstrated at the capital cities of the two countries on Friday, condemning the French government’s lack of interest in bringing to justice the culprits behind the assassination of grassroots activist Nadarajah Mathinthiran alias Parithi. The demonstration in Paris being joined by hundreds of Eezham Tamils in France, also witnessed the participation of several solidarity activists, including members of the Kurdish diaspora. The protestors in the two countries were aghast at the absence of any action from the French government’s side, with many wondering whether the French authorities were colluding with the Sri Lankan intelligence, sources from London and Paris told TamilNet.

Protest in Paris

Protest in London

Mr. Parithi, a grassroots Eezham Tamil activist based in France who was well known among community circles in that country, was assassinated in Paris on 8 November. Eezham Tamil activists in France had alleged that this was a “psyop assassination” by the Sri Lankan intelligence targeting grassroots activists, with the intention of dissuading mobilization in the diaspora. Till now, no credible action has been taken by the French authorities to investigate the case, Tamil activists in France lament.

Speaking to TamilNet from the London protest, youth activist Sasithar Maheswaran said “One wonders how an individual on bail under surveillance could have been subjected to a sword attack in 2011 and shot dead in 2012 in public, with no one being charged. Eezham Tamils around the world are concerned about the possibility of French authorities colluding with Sri Lankan intelligence agents in this assassination.”

A protest march was conducted in Paris, which started from Gambetta Town Hall and finished outside the Tamil Coordinating Committee (TCC) office in Paris. In London, Tamil activists demonstrated outside the French Embassy in Knightsbridge.

A common petition submitted by the TCCs of the UK and France to the French Embassy and the French Justice Ministry respectively claimed that Mr. Parithi’s assassination was an indication of Sri Lanka to extend its genocidal campaign beyond the island.

Noting Mr. Parithi’s key role in mobilizing for protests for the UNHRC Sessions in Geneva in March and September 2012, the petition drew a link between Sri Lanka’s threats to activists in these sessions and the assassination.

“The assassination of Mr Mathinthiran is appropriately seen as the fruition of the threats noted during the UPR. It highlights the futility of the UN mechanism where even the most serious threats against those that have faith in the system are never taken beyond backroom documentation by member states, including permanent members of the Security Council such as France,” the petition said.

Protest in London

Chronology:

23.12.12  Tamils in Paris, London protest France's inaction ..

24.11.12  Emotion-charged homage paid to slain diaspora acti..

08.11.12  Tamil nationalist political organiser assassinated..