The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its political wing, known as KONGRA- GEL, were removed from the European Union’s terror list by European Court of Justice on April 03, 2008.
To resist the aggressions of the Turkish military against Kurds, PKK (Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan) resorted to armed struggle in 1984 and has been fighting Turkish troops in its campaign for greater autonomy. With calls from the Kurdish population and many Kurdish and non-Kurdish entities to find a peaceful resolution, PKK has declared many cease fire unilaterally, but the Turkish government has yet to take political steps for a resolution to Kurdish question. Furthermore, Turkish state used violence against Kurdish people to terrorize them; as a result PKK had been put on the list of terrorist organization by the European Union unjustly. The recent verdict of the Luxembourg-based EU Court, the second highest court of the European Union, carries great significance to show that EU still bears and respect its own laws and the Kurdish struggle for freedom is not no be called terrorism.
We the Kurdish National Congress of North America would like to salute the recent decision of the EU court and congratulate the people of Northern Kurdistan for this achievement. The people in Northern Kurdistan not only convinced their military fighters to avoid violence, but showed the EU that these fighters deserve a chance to participate in the political process. We hope all other democratic nations do everything in their capacity to help PKK avoid further violence and become a participant in the political dialogue to solve the Kurdish question via peaceful means.
As a non-partisan, democratic, and peaceful Kurdish American organization we at KNC-NA expect our government in Washington DC to follow suit and consider removing PKK from the blacklist to further persuade and pressure Kurdish Political organizations and the Turkish government to seek peace and dialogue rather than violence.
Public Relations Committee
Kurdish National Congress of North America
P.O. Box 1663, Lake Forest , CA 92609 USA, Tel/Fax: 1-949-583-1417
P.O. Box 545, Millersville , MD 21108 USA
Date published: Sunday, April 06, 2008