The Nobel Peace Prize Committee
Nobelinsintuttet
Drammensvein 19
N-0225 Oslo, Norway

Dear Committee Members:

As you are no doubt aware, Ms. Leyla Zana, Kurdish MP in the Turkish 
Parliament is currently serving the fourth year of a fifteen year prison 
sentence.  

Ms. Zana is not imprisoned for a crime of violence, passion or ill deed.  She is 
not imprisoned for a crime against humanity.  Ms. Zana is imprisoned for the 
crime of making a peaceful expression of her political and humanitarian 
opinions.

The Turkish government calls this treason.

As an elected member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, I believe that 
Ms. Leyla Zana is a Œprisoner of conscienceš and has been thus named by 
Amnesty International.  As well, I believe that Ms. Zanašs non-violent efforts 
to effect positive change for the Kurdish people has been a powerful force in 
bringing to the world stage a greater awareness of the human rights violations 
that are ongoing in modern Turkey.

She gives voice and symbol to the very issues of oppression that the world 
community strives to combat.

It is for these reasons and more that I put forward my recommendation that 
Leyla Zana be considered for the prestigious award of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Such an acknowledgment would not lessen her pain, nor the pain of the millions 
of suffering Kurdish peoples, but would indeed send a message that we are not 
blind to their suffering and that we value and respect those that are fighting for 
justice and peace.  Such an acknowledgment may predicate and offer a 
catalyst for much needed change.

Yours very truly,




Raj Pannu
Member of Legislative Assembly of Alberta