The Parliament Of Kurdistan In Exil

[kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu]

Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu
From: kcc at magi.com (kcc)
Subject: The Parliament Of Kurdistan In Exile And Its Aims

The Parliament Of Kurdistan In Exile And Its Aims

     As we approach the end of this century, the oppressed peoples
of the world are declaring their independence and freedom. In
today's world, one of those national and social upheavals is taking
place in Kurdistan. At the root of this war lies the denial of the
Kurdish national identity and the absence of democratic rights.
     Kurdistan was first divided by the Treaty of Kasri-Sirin in
1639 between the Ottoman and Persian empires. At the end of the
First World War, the issue of Kurdistan surfaced again, this time
among the Allies at Sevres in 1920. The founding of the Turkish
Republic put an end to this proposition, however, and the Treaty of
Lausanne divided Kurdistan among four countries.
     When the young Turkish Republic was being founded, it
solicited and received help from the people of Kurdistan. Later,
that same republic began to oppress the Kurds by means of force. A
campaign of assimilation became the official ideology of the
Turkish state. Many Kurdish uprisings were crushed and millions of
Kurds were forced to resettle elsewhere.
     In the 1970s, the Kurds began to develop their national
consciousness, partly because of internal developments and partly
because of developments taking place in other parts of the world.
The Turkish government's refusal to accommodate the democratic and
political rights of the people of Kurdistan forced the people to
take up a national liberation struggle. This led to the creation of
Kurdish political, military, economic, and cultural institutions.
     The situation of the people in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan and
in other counties in which the Kurds live is at variance with the
ideals of the free world. The war that is taking place in Kurdistan
is not an internal matter of Turkey but rather a regional and
global issue. A nation whose population is about 40 million people
are deprived of their rights that are enshrined by the United
Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The right of a
nation to self-determination remains a matter of necessity because
of scientific and historic reasons.
     In our world, peoples whose population do not exceed more than
one hundred thousand possess their own parliaments and organs of
political representation. But 40 million Kurds are deprived of this
right. The free will of the people of Kurdistan is being suppressed
by force.
 We believe the time has come, both in Kurdistan and abroad, to
have the Kurdish political institutions unite at the highest level.
There is no Kurdish representation in the countries in which we
live. In addition, a war of extermination is being waged against
the Kurds by the government in Ankara. Turkey's Grand National
Assembly does not represent the will of the people in Kurdistan.
That assembly, by using force, wants everyone to become a Turks.
     The Kurdish representatives who were elected in 1991 by
popular vote were harassed because they did not subscribe to
official Turkish state ideology and also because they raised the
Kurdish question of behalf of their constituencies. Mehmet Sincar
was murdered. The others had their constitutional immunity lifted.
Seven of these MPs were then given prison terms ranging from 3 1/2
to 15 years. The remaining MPs were forced to seek refuge abroad.
     At this stage, a national parliament is of necessity for the
people of Kurdistan. Our people want to express their political
will by means of a representative body. This body will tackle the
question of Kurdistan, speak on behalf of national concerns, and be
the voice of the people abroad. This issue has been discussed for
a long time now. It enjoys broad popular support among our people.
We also acknowledge the two-year experience with parliamentary
representation that is in effect in South Kurdistan.
     Our country is under military occupation. Our people are
waging a heroic war of liberation against the occupiers. The
Turkish government, which is losing on the military field, has
begun a campaign against our people. Villagers, shopkeepers,
students, intellectuals, politicians, writers, workers, women, men,
children, and people of all ages from every class and every
profession are murdered. This lives of our deputies who were
democratically elected are in danger. Because of these conditions,
more than half of the population has fled the country. It is
obvious that our people cannot represent themselves in their
country and therefore they must seek representation elsewhere. The
situations of Poland after the Second World War, Algeria in the
1960s, and the recent experiences of the Palestinians and the ANC
are similar to our own.
     As a first step, we are establishing a parliament that will
consist of representatives of our people who live abroad. In
addition, in our country, we would like to establish provincial
legislatures. The exile parliament and the provincial legislatures
will eventually merge to represent the will of the people in a
liberated Kurdistan.
     At this time, there are approximately 12 million Kurds living
abroad. About 10 million of these have been forced to relocate to
Turkish cities. The reason for this uprooting is the war that is
unfolding in our country. In Diaspora, there is a substantial
Kurdish potential. The population is intimately connected with its
roots in the country and they need unity and a voice: a parliament.
With this parliament, our people will determine their legal and
official status.
     The people of Kurdistan need to represent themselves in an
institution that will be recognized world-wide. They need to tackle
the questions of legal citizenship and they need to contribute to
the efforts of war and peace that affect them. These issues can
only be raised by a parliament that represents all the people of
Kurdistan.
     
     The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile rejects all forms of
foreign occupation of our country and approves of the legitimacy of
the national liberation struggle. The Parliament of Kurdistan in
Exile relies on the support of the people of Kurdistan and their
national liberation struggle. It protects the people of Kurdistan
abroad and makes decisions of their behalf.
     The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will act according to the
national will of the people when a referendum determines its
composition.
     The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will be a bridge between
the world public opinion and the national liberation struggle and
it will enter into dialogue to have better relations with
governments and international organizations and it will conduct
political and diplomatic relations. The parliament will be the
voice of the people of Kurdistan and its ultimate aim will be to
represent the legitimate and legal aspirations of the Kurdish
people. As an institution that will be the voice of the people of
Kurdistan, the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will implement and
monitor the decisions made by its members by way of
commissions and/or other necessary organs.
     The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will undertake the task
of politically, socially, economically, and culturally educating
the people of Kurdistan who live abroad and it will develop laws
for citizenship and represent its people. The official language of
the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile is Kurdish. The first act of
the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will be the creation of a
Kurdistan National Congress and determine a National Assembly. It
will be open to all national political groups and institutions. Its
aims will be to unite these forces and will be guided by national
interests.
     The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will not discriminate on
the basis of nationality, religion, or gender. It is open to those
who support the idea of a free Kurdistan and those who side with
the national liberation struggle.
     The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile will address the concerns
of the people of Kurdistan regardless of whether they live in
Kurdistan or abroad.

     In light of these aims, the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile
will select its members from those people who subscribe to these
principles and others who are representatives of the exiled Kurdish
community, including the parliamentarians and mayors who were
forced to seek refuge abroad, the people who were elected to the
Kurdistan National Assembly and who are now actively engaged in the
national liberation struggle, and the exiled members of the
Democracy Party (DEP).
     Because our people cannot freely choose their representatives
in Kurdistan, the representatives of the Parliament of Kurdistan in
Exile will be elected from national institutions located abroad.
Because of the above-mentioned reasons, the work of the Parliament
of Kurdistan in Exile will be undertaken by the Preparatory
Commission, which consists of people who are elected by Kurdish
people and others involved in the national liberation struggle.

The Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile
Preparatory Committee
January 2, 1995

-----
Kurdistan Committee of Canada		Tel: (613) 733-9634
2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203		Fax: (613) 733-0090
Ottawa, Ontario, K1V 8B9		E-mail: kcc at magi.com
-----