Wuppertal, September 17^th 2008

To the President of the UN Security Council Mr. Kafando

Honorable Mr. Kafando,

As we have learnt, Turkey is planning to apply for a non permanent elected membership in the UN Security Council. For this reason Turkey is leading an intensive lobbying, especially in the United States and in the EU member countries.

The UN Security Councils central duty is to maintain international peace and security. We, the signing organizations, are convinced that the Turkish Republic is not capable of fulfilling this central duty of the UN Security Council.

You, the members of the UN Security Council, know very well that Turkey is denying the existence of its 25 Million Kurdish citizens since the foundation of the Republic.

Turkey is trying to destroy the Kurdish people by prohibitions, repressions and an incredible assimilation policy.

Not only the Kurds, Alevites, Christians and Yezides are also the target of this policy of extermination. Opponent groups, Turkish workers, women and poor people are also suffering these repressions.

Those, who dared to resist and oppose the policy of the Turkish state, suffered in the past as well as today repressions leading up to genocide.

Thousands of intellectuals have been tortured and sentenced to many years in prison. Thousands of Kurdish villages, fields and forests have been destroyed and burnt down. Thousands of Kurdish families have been victims of ill-treatment, deportation and forced resettlement. Hundreds of Kurdish national leaders were hung up.

Despite all these evil practices the Kurdish people never gave up its resistance and its fight for national and human rights.

As we can see today, this resistance was not in vain. Today, the Turkish rulers have to recognize the existence of the Kurds. This of course doesn’t automatically mean the acknowledgement of the rights of the Kurds. Since 20 years the Turkish state is leading a policy of assimilation and repression.

The Turkish state is leading this war not only in its own territory. Turkey is also violating the borders of neighbor countries, attacking and bombing Kurdish towns and villages in Iraq and threatening the lives of civilians.

Turkey is still not accepting the genocide of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire.

Despite all international claims Turkey is insisting on the existence of Turkish forces in the EU-Member Cyprus.

Turkey’s relationship to its neighbors is very difficult. Turkey is still not willing to put the Copenhagen Criteria into action, which has to be done for an EU-Membership.

All these examples prove that Turkey is not capable to fulfill the duties of a membership in the UN Security Council.

We strongly believe that a non-permanent membership of Turkey in the UN Security Council would be a wrong decision.

We hope you consider our worries and objections.

Respectfully

-        Union of Associations form Kurdistan – KOMKAR – Germany

-        HEVKAR – Hamburg – Germany

-        Kurdish Federation Sweden

-        Kurdish Women’s Office KOMJIN – Germany

-        Associations of the Youth from Kurdistan - KOMCIWAN – Germany

-        Kurdish Federation Austria

-        KOMKAR – Austria

-        KOMKAR – Belgium

-        KOMKAR – Denmark

-        KOMKAR – Netherlands

-        KOMKAR – Great Britain

-        KOMKAR – Switzerland

-        KOMKAR- Sweden

-        Kirmanci (Zazaki) Institute for Language and Culture – IKK-Berlin

-        Kurdish Institute – Brussels

-        Kurdistan Cultural Center – Karlsruhe

-        Kurdish Associations from Syria - Austria

-        Association of Democratic Students from Kurdistan Iran – Austria