ANKARA - British lawyer Margaret Owen who reported herself to the prosecutor's office one more time with a photo of hers with YPG/YPJ members, told that there is an all out attack against Kurdish women. 

 

Margaret Owen, a human rights lawyer working within the Peace in Kurdistan and Freedom for Öcalan Initiatives among other initiatives and platforms, stated that the fact that Semra Güzel was stripped of her status as a member of the parliament is directly related with the all out attack against Kurdish women and aims ethnic cleansing.

 

The parliamentary immunity of Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Diyarbakır Deputy Semra Güzel who was targeted for her photos taken during the peace process in 2014 with a PKK member, was lifted on March 1. Güzel was arrested on September 3 as part of the lawsuit filed against her for "being a member of a terrorist organization" due to the said photographs. After the decision of the Parliamentary Joint Committee was brought to the General Assembly, Güzel was stripped of her status as a member of the parliament with the votes of AKP, MHP and IYI Party in the voting held on 22 December.

 

British lawyer Margaret Owen, an international human rights lawyer, women's rights defender and expert on conflict resolution, who protested the prosecution of international YPG/YPJ members and the harassment of the Kurdish people in her country, sent her photos taken with the YPG/YPJ members and filed a criminal complaint against herself. (http://mezopotamyaajansi35.com/search/content/view/153389) Owen evaluated the fact that Güzel was prosecuted and she was stripped of her status as an MP within the scope of the all-out attack against the Kurdish women and underlined that the situation could not be explained within law.

 

SHE REPORTED HERSELF WITH PHOTOS WITH YPG/YPJ

 

Stating that the internationalist youths who fought against ISIS in Northern and Eastern Syria were put on trial in the UK instead of being praised, Owen filed a criminal complaint against herself with her photos taken with the YPG/YPJ. Stating that keeping the PKK on the “terrorist” list led to pressures against Kurds, Owen said, “To protest this situation, as a 90-year-old human rights lawyer, I have repeatedly sent my photo taken with YPG and YPJ members in Rojava, to the British Prosecutor and filed a criminal complaint against myself. There is the principle of equality in the law, right? But those who are prosecuting the youth who are fighting ISIS, those who are prosecuting the Kurds protesting Turkey's allience with ISIS, did not raid my house, did not prosecute me. When I saw the news about Semra Güzel, I sent my photo to the prosecutor's office and demanded that I be arrested again. I have not yet received a response to my request."

 

AN ALL-OUT ATTACK AGAINST KURDISH WOMEN

 

Expressing that Kurdish women are constantly targeted, Owen emphasized that what she did was an act of solidarity. Stating that rape is being used as a weapon in war environment, Owen said that Turkey is especially targeting women in its war against Kurds and that the aim was ethnic cleansing. Owen said: "Three women returning from the celebrations of the 10th year of the women's revolution was slaughtered by a Turkish drone. Nagihan Akarsel was shot with 11 bullets in front of her house. TTB Chair Şebnem Korur Fincancı was arrested because she said the claims about Turkey's use of chemicals in Northern Iraq must be investigated. Dozens of Kurdish female politicians like Leyla Güven are being held in prisons. Our government is as sexist and racist as the Turkish government. We have a government that sees no harm in being sexist and racist for its interests, and does the dirty work of Turkey. We know what is done to women in prisons in Turkey. Look at what happened to Aysel Tuğluk and Garibe Gezer. If they want to harm a woman, they know very well that they can do it by attacking her dignity. There is a total attack against women, especially Kurdish women, we are aware of this and we are trying to do something about it. Unfortunately, the last example of this was Semra Güzel."

 

'WOMEN'S REVOLUTION IS A THREAT AGAINST TURKEY'

 

Owen drew attention to the female libertarian paradigm of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has not been heard from in Imrali Island for 21 months and has been kept under severe isolation conditions, and said, “Many privileged, well-educated people and many intellectuals in Europe do not know about Abdullah Öcalan. They know what Turkey sees as a danger, but they do not know that Öcalan is the first philosopher to have a woman-centred policy. If they knew, if there were no censorship, a lot would change. What is the real threat to Turkey? It is the Kurdish women's revolution that can be described as a miracle. So precious, so unique, so wonderful. It is a model for the whole world and this incredible model that puts women at the center should be adopted by all countries. Before Öcalan, no one said, “A society can not be free if the women of that society is not free. In a society where women are not free, the men are also not free."

 

'I WILL MARCH THE STREETS OF LONDON WITH TWO FLAGS'

 

Emphasizing that no concessions should be made against oppression, Owen said, "Concessions will lead to more oppression. As we make compromises, they will arrest us for photos or prosecute us for holding Kurdish flags in a demo in London like they did to Mark Campbell and Semra Güzel. England is an accomplice of the crimes Turkey commits against the Kurds. I can not walk right now because of the accident I had recently, but I promise, when I stand up again, I will march the streets of London with the flag of the Kurds and with a flag that has Öcalan's photo on it."

 

MA / Gözde Çağrı Özköse