The Kurdish National Congress of North America P.O. Box 1663, P.O. Box 7033, Lake Forest, CA 92630 Windsor, ONT Tel/Fax: 949-583-1417 USA N9A 2N9, CANADA www.kncna.org.
Press Release
For years and with more frequency in the past few months the Turkish regime and its intelligence services have generated vicious and false media propaganda to silence voices speaking against their human rights abuses and the invasion and attack on the peaceful people of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The Turkish regime has repeatedly labeled the Kurdish National Congress of North America (KNC) and other US based organizations of being fronts for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). We strongly condemn these smear tactics and false accusations.
The KNC is a patriotic American organization whose members originates from different parts of Kurdistan or has close ties with the people there. The KNC is a non-profit, member-driven organization representing Kurds from all parts of Kurdistan living in the United States and Canada. The KNC was founded in 1988, soon after Iraqi chemical weapons attacks on Halabja and other Kurdish cities and villages. The KNC has been a voice for all the oppressed and suffering Kurds throughout the world by bringing their plight and oppression at the hands of their occupiers to the attention of the world community. The KNC is an independent organization and is not affiliated with any other organizations, including the PKK. The KNC has been built on the principle of advocating human rights and self-determination for Kurds through peaceful and democratic means. We do not advocate nor condone the use of violence to resolve conflicts.
We repeatedly have denounced any form of violence between the Turkish military and the Kurdish people. We have called on the Turkish regime and the Kurdish opposition to solve the Kurdish question within its territory in a peaceful and democratic way. Fortunately, at times, the Kurds have responded positively to our plea and unilaterally declared a cease-fire. Unfortunately, Turkey has not been willing to do the same, and has used every means to discourage our people from pursuing their human rights. The Turkish government not only continues its aggression against the Kurds in Turkey, but also interfering with the future of the Kurds in other parts of Kurdistan and around the world.
We might not be able to control what Turkey does in its territory, however we expect our governments in the United States and Canada to send a strong message to Turkey, that is, to stop these irresponsible and false accusation against peaceful and democratic American organizations and to start a dialogue with the Kurds and find a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish question. That is the only viable and lasting solution that will bring peace and stability for them.
Without a doubt some of the closest allies of the Kurdish people are the secular, democratic, and peaceful Turks. We continue to extend our hand of friendship to those people and hope together we will promote real democratic changes in Turkey and the rest of the Middle East.