PDKI’s Head of Foreign Relations Disappointed with the SI’s Council Meeting in Istanbul

19-11-2013 – The PDKI’s Head of Foreign Relations, Loghman H. Ahmedi, expressed disappointment with the Council meeting of the Socialist International, which was held in the city of Istanbul on 11-12 November.

The meeting’s main themes were: “Current crises related to the struggles for democracy, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, and conflicts threatening peace and security in that part of the world” and “Reaffirming the centre-left vision for the global economy with an emphasis on growth, jobs and equality, and for a new development agenda”

After the meeting, Ahmedi expressed the PDKI’s disappointment with the lack of attention paid to the Kurdish people’s struggle. “It was very disappointing that despite the fact that the main theme of the meeting was related to the struggle for democracy in the Middle East, the council meeting did not raise the plight of the Kurdish people’s and our struggle for democracy in the region,” Ahmedi said.

“Unfortunately, the SI devoted several hours of the meeting to the events of Gezi Park and the CHP’s views on these events, but no attention was paid to the Kurdish people. Moreover, our party was not even allowed to address the meeting on issues related to Iran. Both the President and Secretary General of the SI praised the recent negotiations between the Islamic Republic and the P5+1, but the PDKI, which is a member of the SI, did not get the opportunity to raise the issue of human rights abuses and the surge of executions of political prisoners in Iran,” Ahmedi added. Ahmedi also underlined that “ it is highly disappointing that an international organization like the SI, which is supposed to show solidarity and support democratic movements in the world, sidelines the important struggle of the Kurdish people for democracy and freedom, which affects the entire Middle East”.