İSTANBUL - Defining Sakine Cansız, who was murdered 10 years ago in Paris, as a woman who devoted her life to peace, İHD Co-Chair Eren Keskin said, "If this murder had been solved, the second Paris Massacre would not have happened."

 

It has been 10 years since Sakine Cansız (Sara) one of the founders of the PKK, Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) Paris Representative Fidan Doğan (Rojbin) and Kurdish Youth Movement member Leyla Şaylemez (Ronahî) were murdered in Paris, France, on January 9, 2013. In the last 10 years, the real perpetrators of the massacre have not been revealed.  Human Rights Association (İHD) Co-chair Eren Keskin spoke about Sakine Cansız whom sen met in 1991.

 

FIRST MEETING

 

Pointing out that Cansız visited her in her office after she was released from prison in 1991, Keskin said, "I never forget her words when she said, 'I want to get to know our fancy and brave lawyer' when she came to see me. That's how we met." Keskin, who said that she later met Cansız at the panels held abroad, stated that her friendship with her has strengthened afterwards.

 

'THE SAKİNE I KNOW...'

 

Keskin said, “The Sakine Cansız I know was a woman who always wanted peace against male domination, despite being in a war for a while. Sakine Cansız was one of the strongest women I have ever seen.  Reminding that Cansız was also present in Diyarbakır Prison, where torture and brutality took place during the 1980 military coup, Keskin stated that she listened to what happened in prison from Cansız.

 

HER DEVOTION TO THE YOUTH

 

Expressing that their communication with Cansız has never been interrupted after they first met, Keskin said that they often met and chatted with Cansız in the panels they attended in Europe. Keksin, who stated that the most distinctive feature she observed in Cansız was her strong devotion to the youth, shared a memory she had with Cansız in Europe as follows: “I went to the panel in the Netherlands. I stayed at a friend's house. Sakine was also there. We talked until the morning about women's rights and male domination everywhere. While we were chatting, there was a sound like the sound of a bomb. We looked outside, there was nothing. It turned out that the garbage had exploded, something that would happen once in 40 years in the Netherlands had happened to us, we laughed a lot that night…”

 

Pointing out that she called Fidan Doğan, who was murdered on the day of the massacre, Keskin said, “Rojbin was a person who served in the European Parliament and was known to everyone. After the massacre, I thought of calling Rojbin immediately. I strongly believed that she would know who died in the attack, but she was not answering. Then one of my friends said the names of those who died in the attack was being declared on TV..I saw that she was one of the people who died in the attack. It was an unforgettably painful day."

 

Stating that a Kurdish director wanted to do a film about three Kurdish women short time after the three women were killed, one of whom is herself and the other two are Sakine Cansız and Leyla Zana, Keskin said: "But because they could not get in touch with Leyla Zana, they preferred Aysel Tuğluk. Sakine said, "I can't come to Turkey, you come here and we'll shoot the film here." It couldn't happen while Sakine was still alive. The killer they found was a translator who translated my speech in a panel in France, someone probably serving other purposes."

 

'SHE DEVOTED HERSELF TO PEACE'

 

Keskin continued as follows: “Sakine was truly a person who devoted herself to the peaceful resolution of the Kurdish question. She was a person who had been oppressed, detained and tortured in prison throughout her life, yet she always fought for peace. I think the place of women in the peace struggle is very important. That was the most important aspect of Sakine for me. She was also an intellectual. Even though the Turkish state promoted her as a 'terrorist', she was always a peace activist."

 

'SAME MASSACRE, DIFFERENT DAY'

 

Pointing out to the similarities of massacre taken place in the Ahmet Kaya Culture Center recently in Paris with the one in which the three women were killed, Keskin said: "There is a state mind behind both massacres. Its the same massacre, but a different day. The fact that Evin Goyi was the target, tells us volumes." Keskin added that these massacres aim to intimidate the Kurdish civil politics, underlining that the Kurdish question is an international question.

 

'MASSACLES MUST BE ILLUMINATED'

 

Pointing out that the massacres in France should be illuminated, Keskin said, “Solving this murder is important for the peaceful resolution of the Kurdish question. I think the intelligence agencies are definitely involved in this case. These relations should have been revealed by the French judiciary. However, if this case had been resolved, it would have been an important step in the resolution of the Kurdish question, and a second Paris massacre would not have happened."

 

MA / Esra Solin Dal