Emergency motion on the Kurdish situation
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"In view of:
the attack by paramilitary forces in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir on 13th September in which 11 people died and 13 were injured;
the continuing social unrest and violent repression by military forces in south-eastern Turkey, including action against women and children;
the recent adoption by Turkey of new anti-terrorism legislation which criminalises basic civil rights such as freedom of expression and political activities by minority groups;
the total failure of the Turkish Government to follow up the promise given to the Kurds by Prime Minister Erdogan in a speech in Diyarbakir in August 2005 that more democracy, and not repression, was the answer to their long-running grievances and his acknowledgement that the Kurdish problem could not be solved by purely military means;
the Turkish Government's refusal to comply with the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights in May 2005, which calls for a retrial of the Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan following the manifest unfairness of his original trial,
this conference deplores violent action against civilians whether by the Turkish authorities or by groups claiming to represent the Kurds, and instructs GPEx to call for:
an immediate independent investigation into the 13th September bombing incident,
and immediate ceasefire and cessation of military build-up on both sides,
the UK Government to stop arms sales to Turkey monitoring the effects of the new anti-terrorism law and other legislation in violation of international laws and conventions,a retrial of Abdullah Ocalan,
the political and legal/constitutional recognition of Kurds,and the opening of negotiations for a democratic and political solution to the Kurdish question.
