Kurds invade Ecumenical Center

Christian Century, March 10, 1999

About 50 Kurds invaded the World Council of Churches' Ecumenical Center in Geneva February 19 to demand that the WCC lobby for the release of their leader, Abdullah Ocalan. Ocalan, head of Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party, was captured and smuggled out of Kenya by Turkish agents on February 16. Turkey had been tipped off by U.S. officials concerning Ocalan's whereabouts.

Since the rebel leader's arrest, vigorous protests by Kurds have been held in many cities--from Sydney to London--focusing unprecedented attention on their cause. A recent edition of the Economist magazine describes the world's 25 million Kurds, who have no lands of their own and are mainly divided into minority communities in Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq, as "the biggest ethnic group without a state."

Turkey has promised that Ocalan will be given a fair trial, but many Western observers are highly skeptical that that will happen, especially since he is generally described in Turkey as the nation's "most wanted man" and a terrorist responsible for the deaths of 30,000 people. Switzerland has been the scene of a number of protests by local Kurds, including an ongoing demonstration by hunger strikers outside the European headquarters of the UN, about a kilometer from the Ecumenical Center.

Almost immediately after the Kurds arrived at the Ecumenical Center, carrying the Kurdish flag and large banners with Ocalan's photo, WCC General Secretary Konrad Raiser met a delegation from the group. Then, at the Kurds' request, the WCC on short notice called a press conference at the Ecumenical Center during which the group's leader, Ismael, read out a list of demands by Switzerland's Kurdish community. Among the demands:

* That European countries take action to obtain the release of Ocalan and guarantees for his safety;

* That Ocalan's fights be respected in keeping with international human rights charters;

* That a delegation of lawyers, journalists, doctors, politicians and representatives of nongovernmental organizations travel to Turkey to observe the treatment of Ocalan.

At the press conference Kristine Greenaway, the World Council's communication director, said the WCC is calling "on its member churches in Europe to seize this opportunity and urge their respective governments to seek a peaceful political solution to the plight of the Kurdish people." In response to questions from the handful of journalists present, Ismael said the protesters had come to the Ecumenical Center because it is a "humanitarian place." He insisted that the Kurds in Switzerland have been engaged in "peaceful protest, not in aggressive action."

Asked to comment on the fact that while the Kurds' demands include an accusation that Turkey had engaged in a "terrorist act" against Ocalan, the Turkish government has accused Ocalan of multiple terrorist acts, Ismael replied: "If there is a war [between the Turkish authorities and the Kurds] it's because of them. We have ... no culture, no lands. We have been able to find no other solution. We have tried to have cease-fires several times, but the Turkish government will not hold talks with us. The Kurdish people didn't want a war, but we are forced to do this to gain our rights."

The protesters left the Ecumenical Center shortly after the press conference. During the demonstration the protesters blocked access to various parts of the center, but there were no violent incidents.