Turkish Kurd Leyla Zana's Statement to the Congressional Human Rights Caucus.

[baslamak]

 FRIDAY, 10 OCTOBER 2008
 Turkish Kurd Leyla Zana's Statement to the Congressional Human Rights Caucus
 
Below is a statement issued by Leyla Zana to the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, Leyla is a veteran of the political struggle of the Kurdish people who live in the Republic of Turkey. She became active politically when at the age of 14 she was married to Mehdi Zana, who was the mayor of Diyarbakır, a mainly Kurdish city in south east Turkey. After the military coup of 1980, he was arrested and became a political prisoner for the following 16 years.  The couple remain married to this day.

In 1991 Leyla Zana became the first Kurdish woman to win a seat in the Turkish parliament. She created a scandal when she spoke the Kurdish language, after being sworn in on the floor of the parliament, as speaking Kurdish in the public arena was then a criminal offense in Turkey. 

 read more--
http://www.organizedrage.com/2008/10/turkish-kurd-leyla-zanas-statement-to.html
 
Organized Rage
http://www.organizedrage.com/