British FO: "We are concerned about the plight of the Kurdish minority in Turkey"

Kurdish Media - Issue 1 February, 2000 - 249:

Homepage: www.kurdishmedia.com

1. British Foreign Office: “We are concerned about the plight of the Kurdish

minority in Turkey” Kurdish Media - Feb 1, 2000)

London (Kurdish Media) Feb 1, 2000 - Kurdish Community in the UK, on the Dec

6, 1999, wrote to the British PM, Mr Blair, to raise their concern about the

British government’s policy towards Kurds in Kurdistan.

Dr Kamal Mirawdeli, a top Kurdish intellect and respected community leader,

strongly criticised the British government for its anti-Kurdish policies.

“Your government contrary to its ethical foreign policy has been issuing

tens of licenses for sale of lethal arms to Turkey used exclusively in its

genocidal war against the Kurdish people.” Dr Mirawdeli wrote.

Regarding Mr Ocalan’s kidnapping, he said, “Your government gave tacit

support to CIA-led illegal kidnapping of the Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan,

an illegal act that contravenes international law and every principle of

human rights and human decency.”

After nearly 2 months, on January 27, 2000, Chris Rampling of “Foreign &

Commonwealth Office” replied politely in a carefully crafted letter. “We are

concerned about the plight of the Kurdish minority in Turkey.” Mr Rampling

said.

In order not to raise concern of the Turkish regime, Mr Rampling, insulted

45 million Kurds, by calling Kurdistan “southeast Turkey”, in-line with the

Turkish regime’s political-vocabulary. "It is like calling Scotland "north

England"; I am sure this insults Scottish people," a Kurd told Kurdish

Media. "What British see it fair for themselves, they must see it fair for

Kurds, too," he added.

He used words very carefully. Only used phrases to make both sides,

oppressed and oppressor happy: “Kurdish minority in Turkey”, “social and

economic problems”, “Kurdish community”, “rule of law”, “human rights”,

“respect for and protection of minorities” and “treatment of minorities”.

Never mentioned “Kurdish nation” or “political solution” to the Kurdish

issue.

He managed to keep his letter clear of two controversial words, “nation” and

“politics”.

However, he stressed, “We [British government] continue to stress to Turkish

authorities that they must look beyond a purely military solution to the

conflict there.”

Dr Mirawdeli’s (for the Kurds) letter and Mr Rampling’s (of the Foreign &

Commonwealth Office) published here.

London SW8 3DE

6th December 1999

Right Honorable Tony Blair Prime Minister

10 Downing Street

London SW1

Dear Prime Minister

I am writing to you regarding some great concerns the Kurdish community have

regarding your policy regarding the Kurdish people. I would be honoured if

your Excellency could reply.

Your Excellency

I do not like to enter into details, Sir. I will just refer to some aspects

of your Government's policy towards the Kurdish issue and the Kurdish

people.

Your government contrary to its ethical foreign policy has been issuing tens

of licenses for sale of lethal arms to Turkey used exclusively in its

genocidal war against the Kurdish people.

Your government gave tacit support to CIA-led illegal kidnapping of the

Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan, an illegal act that contravenes

international law and every principle of human rights and human decency.

You failed to support the frequent calls by Italy and Italian Parliament for

the convention of an international conference on the Kurdish problem in the

Middle East. Instead, you compromised and encouraged the Turkish hard-line

barbaric stance: continuation of repression of the Kurdish people, in order

to secure lucrative arms deals at the expense of Kurdish blood which it

seems is the last opportunity in this century for unlimited investment in

human suffering and tragedies.

Instead of pressurizing Turkey to put its house in order and show a more

human face as a member of NATO and European community, you have allowed

Turkey to influence your own internal policy here in Britain to an

incredible degree. In other words, you have dehumanized your own democratic

system to incorporate Turkish inspired and driven policies and practices

against the Kurdish community in Britain. I just give two examples:

Your government shut down the only Kurdish TV satellite station in the world

for a shameful arms deal between Aerospace and the Turkish government. This

repression of free expression in Europe is something that happened for the

first time in the history of UK. And it was directed against the Kurds. Why?

Because we are a stateless nation and cannot retaliate by stopping business

deals with British companies. Also we are a peaceful nation that cannot

resort to violence. So we have no bribes or bullets, the only languages

which Western democracies understand well.

The Kurds were the first ethnic minority in the world to take advantage of

the revolution of information technology and start our own independent

satellite TV to revive our national culture and reverse 70 years of Turkish

linguicide and cultural and national assimilation. The Kurdish people in

Diaspora paid for this station from their own labour and sweat. It was 30

million peoples' only access to their language and civilization, to free

expression, to being part of the modern world. It brought the Kurdish

communities in Kurdistan and dispersed parts of the world such as Georgia,

Kazakhstan, Khurasan. Baluchistan. Ukrania, Lebanon, Israel and Europe

together to create a strong sense of Kurdishness and Kurdish nationality.

But you succumbed to Turkish pressure and stopped all this just to sell more

arms inspite of thousands of appeals and representations by the Kurds around

the world and demonstrations and appeals by hundred s of Kurdish children

here in London who happen to be British citizens as well.

Where is the British sense of fair play, decency and respect of freedoms?

Sir Robert Biggam the Chairman of the Independent Television Commission who

on 23 April 1999 took the decision to close down MED-TV is a non-Executive

director of British Aerospace, a company which in the same month struck a

deal through its subsidiary Heckler and Koch to provide facilities for the

production of 500,000 assault rifles - known as HK33s - for the Turkish

armed forces to more effectively wage their military operations in the

Northern (Turkish) Kurdistan and in Southern Kurdistan. Thus, on the one

hand we were deprived from access to our language, culture and free speech

through our own satellite channel; on the other, you rewarded us for this by

facilitating better killings of our children.

Kurdish community in London has been subject to racial discrimination.

Kurdish community centres, which are really a model of genuine effective

participatory self-help community centres, have been raided by police,

denied adequate funding, and suffered arson attacks without adequate

investigation by police. Peaceful demonstrations by the Kurdish community

attended by over 20,000 people in support of peaceful democratic solution of

the Kurdish problem in Turkey have been ignored by the government and the

media.

Your government continues to keep quiet about various Turkish invasions in

South (Iraqi Kurdistan). Although that area is supposed to be a safe haven,

Turkish planes, tanks, army and mercenaries can kill and destroy at will.

Turkey is using Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq to create excuse to

interfere in the region and fight PKK. KDP leadership collects between one

million and 1.5 million dollars every day from border revenues of sale of

Iraqi oil, while most of the population are starving and the continuous

exodus of Kurdish refugees from the safe haven area to Europe and UK (most

of the present wave of refugees to Dover are young Kurds from Iraqi

Kurdistan and thus a direct product of your own policy in the region) is

largely the result of this unjust situation. Your government could do more

to rectify this situation by putting the area under the mandate of

UN-sponsored administration to safeguard equal distribution of resources to

all parts of South Kurdistan pending new elections.

It is also surprising that you totally ignore the golden opportunity

provided by Abdulla Ocelan's peace project and PKK to put an end to Kurdish

conflict in Turkey through peaceful democratic settlement. PKK have taken

genuine radical steps including their readiness to surrender their arms once

Turkey recognises Kurdish identity and cultural and political rights through

a change of its racist constitution.

Britain could play a leading honorable role, with US and its European

partners, to bear pressure on Turkey to initiate a peace process similar to

the one taking place in North Ireland now.

Your Excellency

Given the fact that Britain bears a great deal of historical and moral

responsibility for the continued plight and tragedies of our people

throughout the twentieth century, we hope that with the dawn of a new

millennium, you will not allow the same tragedies to continue into the new

century. You told the Kosovans that on the eve of 21st century Britain (and

NATO) could not tolerate ethnic cleansing and national oppression practised

by despotic regimes against defenseless peoples. We trust that you will take

the same stand towards the Kurdish people who are the largest stateless

nation in the world.

Yours sincerely

Kamal Mirawdeli (Dr) - Kurdish Writer

Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s reply

Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Southern European Department

London SWIA 2AL

Telcohone- 0171-270- T

27 January 2000

Dr Kamal Mirawdeli

London

SW8 3DE

Thank you for your letter of 6 December to the Prime Minister about the

Kurdish population in Turkey. I apologise for the delay in replying.

We are concerned about the plight of the Kurdish minority in Turkey. The

British Government believes that the Turkish Government must address the

social and economic problems of south east Turkey and the aspirations of the

Kurdish community there if that region is to enjoy stability. We continue to

stress to Turkish authorities that they must look beyond a purely military

solution to the conflict there.

Following the decision of the European Summit at Helsinki to confirm

Turkey's EU candidate status, Turkey must now work with EU institutions and

member countries to improve its record, so that it can meet the

well-established ("Copenhagen") criteria for membership. These criteria

include stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law,

human rights and respect for and protection of minorities. We will want to

see substantial progress on democracy, human rights and the treatment of

minorities before accession negotiations can begin.

Chris Rampling

Southern European Department

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