By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
PARIS, France – The Kurdish community was stunned this past Thursday when three politically active Kurdish women were brutally murdered. The three bodies were found around 2 a.m. inside the Kurdish Information Center. The center was used to promote Kurds’ political and cultural agendas.
Although there are no claims of responsibility or any suggestion of suspects, it is quite clear that the killings were carefully planned. Since the building is not marked, investigators believe someone would have to know where the office was. Furthermore, the front door could not be opened without a digital code.
Center employee, Berivan Akvol, stated, “There is no doubt this was politically motivated.” Agnès Thibault-Lecuivre, a spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office, stated, “No hypothesis can be excluded at this stage” as per the motive. However, Kurdish activists believe Turkish forces committed the murders.
One woman who was killed is one of the founders of the Kurdish Workers’ Party, the PKK. Multiple nations, such as Turkey, believe the PKK is a terror organization because of their 28-year rebellion against the Turkish state, one of Middle East’s longest-running conflicts.
The PKK, a pan-Kurdish nationalist movement, is internationally known for the three decade war against the government of Turkey. As a result, an estimated 40,000 people were killed. However, suspiciously, the killings happened around the time the Turkish government entered into peace talks with Kurdish leaders.
French Interior Minister, Manuel Valls, told reporters that the three women were “without doubt executed” and described the killings as “totally unacceptable.”
Roj Welat, a spokesman for the PKK leadership in northern Iraq, said “It is an assassination, it is terror, it is ideological and political assassination, a terror attack against the Kurdish people. Sakine Cansiz has been actively involved in the peace and democracy struggle, freedom struggle, of the Kurdish people for a long time. She was one of the women who participated in the formation of the PKK.”
However, although many believe the Turkish government is behind the killings, Turkish political leaders were quick to express their shock and disgust. Additionally, Turkish government spokesman, Bulent Arinc, said the “savage” killing of the women was “utterly wrong.”
The BDP, the Turkish parliament, also stated, “We expect the French government to enlighten this massacre beyond a shadow of doubt. We want it known that these murders committed overtly in the busiest part of Paris cannot be covered up.”
For further information, please see:
BBC News – PKK Paris deaths: Turkey PM Erdogan blames ‘internal feud’ – 11 January 2013
CNN – 3 Kurdish women political activists shot dead in Paris – 11 January 2013
NBC News – Three women shot dead in ‘politically motivated’ Paris slayings – 10 January 2013
The New York Times — 3 Kurds Are Killed in Paris, in Locked-Door Mystery – 10 January 2013
