Press Release # 31

October 23, 1997

For Additional Information Jennifer  Carnahan: 202.483.6444

Nobel Peace Prize Co--Recipient Jose Ramos-Horta Offers Support to Kurdish and American Fasters

Nobel Peace Prize Co--Recipient Jose Ramos-Horta Offers Support to Kurdish and American Fasters Outside of U. S. Capitol Building

 The 1996 Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate Jose Ramos-Horta sent a statement in solidarity with the Kurdish people on the night of October 20, 1997 from Lisbon, Portugal to the American Kurdish Information Network in Washington DC.  There have been two Americans and four Kurds fasting outside of the United States Congress since October 20.  A group of 12 Kurdish Canadians began fasting in solidarity on October 22.

The message of Mr. Ramos-Horta reads:

I wish to join in solidarity with all of you fasting for peace and the freedom of Leyla Zana in Washington DC.

The Kurdish people have been the victim of inhumane persecutions from the Iranian and Turkish governments, [and] from Saddam Hussein in Iraq for too long.  As human beings, we cannot allow such exaction to go on without raising our voices in outrage.

We cannot forget the Iranian and Kurdish women and children victims of Iraqi gas attacks in Halabja and Anfal; the destroyed Kurdish villages in Turkey, the all to frequent gunning down of Kurds by Iranian government squads.

Moreover, I urge the U.S. government to revise its policy toward the Turkish government, to stop providing it with the instruments of the Kurdish peopleís suffering.

Finally, I wish to send to Leyla Zana my heartfelt encouragement to stay strong, not to loose hope in her Turkish jail.  Leyla Zana, whose only crime was to peacefully stand for the rights of the Kurdish people, must be released.  She must be released without further delay.

 Mr. Ramos-Horta, a native of East Timor, was awarded the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize along with Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo for their efforts to non-violently end the suffering of the East Timorese people at the hands of the Indonesian army which invaded East Timor in 1975.  On receiving the Peace Prize, Mr. Ramos-Horta commented, ‘I was surprised for many reasons.  One reason was that I always thought Leyla Zana had a very strong chance, and deserved it more than [myself].’  Mr. Ramos-Horta has long been a supporter of the Kurds in their struggle for human rights in the Middle East and he has repeatedly called for the release of Leyla Zana, the first Kurdish woman to be elected to the Turkish Parliament.

 Thirty-seven year-old Leyla Zana, the mother of two children, is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence in Ankara, Turkey, for her peaceful efforts on behalf of the Kurdish people.  A recipient of the 1995 Sakharov Freedom Award, she has also been a finalist for the Nobel Peace Prize in recent years.