"All my activity is aimed at silencing the weapons and seeking a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish problem"
Leyla Zana in her defence speech at the State Security Court, 1994

Public Meeting

Freedom for the Kurds - Freedom for Leyla Zana
Turkey, its human rights record in the aftermath of the war and ongoing repression of the Kurds

5.30-7.30pm
Wednesday, 8 October 2003

Committee Room 4, Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh

Hosted and chaired by Frances Curran MSP

Speakers include:

• Akif Bozat, Kurdistan National Congress (KNK)


• UK representative, Mark Muller, barrister and Chair of Kurdish Human Rights Project

Leyla Zana, in jail since 1994, remains a potent symbol of Kurdish resistance and won many accolades for her stand for peace and reconciliation in a truly democratic Turkey. Recently, the unilateral ceasefire adopted by the Kurdish PKK in 1999 and upheld by its successor KADEK, the Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress, came to an end. Turkey had failed to respond in any meaningful way and instead sought to enforce a complete surrender on the Kurds through a so-called Repentance Law. Now KADEK has issued a “road map” providing a credible blueprint for peace and renewed hope for a resolution of the Kurdish question. This fragile hope needs to be encouraged and the proposals seriously discussed. The paper reforms adopted by Turkey need to be implemented. The reforms will only become credible for the Kurds when political prisoners like Leyla Zana and Abdullah Ocalan are freed.

Leyla Zana is an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience and her many accolades include the European Parliament’s Sakharov Peace Prize.

Supported by Peace in Kurdistan Campaign