Avrupa Parlementosunda Irak Turkmenler insan Haklari (gorusler1)

·                                 Avrupa Parlementosunda Irak Turkmenler insan Haklari (gorusler1)

Turkmen killed in an explosion in Kirkuk

Mourners comfort a woman during the funeral of a fellow Shia Turkmen killed in an explosion yesterday in Kirkuk



AFP/Baghdad

A spate of gun and bomb attacks across northern and central Iraq yesterday killed seven people and left four others wounded, security officials said.

In the disputed northern city of Kirkuk, a Shia Turkmen chemicals specialist for the state-owned North Oil Company was killed by a magnetic “sticky bomb” attached to his car.

Hussein Mohsen Maqsud, a member of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s Dawa Party, had just left his home when the explosion occurred, a police officer and a party official said.

Also in Kirkuk, a civilian was killed in a gun attack in the north of the city, 240km north of Baghdad, the police officer said

Landmark Turkmen Hearing at European Parliament

Landmark Turkmen Hearing at European Parliament

UNPO in coordination with the office of Metin Kazak MEP have organized the first hearing which will focus on the debilitating abuses facing this subjugated community including kidnappings, assassinations, and questions over the management of Kirkuk’s natural resource wealth.



Below is a press release issued by the Office of Metin Kazak MEP and UNPO:



At the initiative of Mr Metin Kazak MEP, Vice-Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights, the European Parliament will convene the first hearing to examine the human rights situation of Turkmen communities in Iraq when the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights meets on 5 December 2011 at 15h30. The hearing comes amid the withdrawal of American combat forces from Iraq, continued debate over the long-delayed implementation of Article 140 of Iraq’s Constitution, and the ongoing targeted assassination, discrimination and marginalization of Turkmen in Kirkuk and throughout Iraq.



Caught in the midst of disputes between Iraq’s communities, the Turkmen of Kirkuk live atop the vast oil wealth of Kirkuk that makes resolution of the disputed territory politically contentious but also key to the economic development of Iraq as a whole. Overlooked but caught up in the instability and insecurity of Kirkuk and other Turkmen areas are questions of reparations for dispossessed Turkmen, kidnapping of civilians and minors for ransom – all of which has contributed to a debilitating brain-drain of Turkmen from Iraq that is undermining the country’s recovery and historic cultural heterogeneity.



Mr Kazak noted his belief that “a constructive discussion is urgently needed, both to deepen understanding and to raise the level of debate so that new policies and new thinking can meet the challenges facing Iraqi Turkmen.” The hearing will complement the EU’s growing interest and capacity in Iraq, something Mr Busdachin, General Secretary of the UNPO, believed “builds upon a cross-party interest – our past conferences on Kirkuk, Article 140, and the situation of Iraq’s communities have proved this, and for the Subcommittee to take this further is incredibly valuable at this time.”



The hearing will include perspectives from Professor Stefan Wolff (University of Birmingham), Mr Hasan Özmen (Member of the Iraqi Council of Representatives), Professor Ibrahim Sirkeci (Regent’s College), and the European External Action Service, before closing remarks by Ms Barbara Lochbihler, Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights. The hearing is organised by the Office of Mr Metin Kazak MEP and the Secretariat of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights, with the collaboration of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization and supported by Iraqi Turkmen organizations from the European Union and Iraq.



This press release is issued by the Office of Metin Kazak MEP

and the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization


For more information on the situation facing the Iraqi Turkmen, please contact the

Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization
Avenue Louise 52
Brussels
B-1050
Belgium

Telephone: +32 (0) 251 31459
Fax: +32 (0) 251 31495
Email: unpo.brussels@unpo.org

Hearing on Human rights situation of Turkmen in Iraq at the European Parliament Brussels

 

Subcommittee on Human Rights

 

Public Hearing on

Human rights situation of Turkmen in Iraq

5 December 201

15.30 – 16.30

Room: Altiero Spinelli (ASP) 1 G 2

 

European Parliament, Brussels

 

Draft Programme

1. Introductory remarks by Mr Metin Kazak, MEP



2. Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security at the University of Birmingham,

On minority rights in Iraq and prospects for the Iraqi Turkmen within Iraq




3. Mr Hasan Özmen, Member of Parliament, Council of Representatives of Iraq,

On the plight of the Iraqi Turkmen since 2003



4. Professor Ibrahim Sirkeci, Director of the Centre for Transnational Studies at Regent’s College,

On the effects of migration and the future security of the Iraqi Turkmen



5. EEAS Representative



6. Discussion



7. Concluding remarks by Ms Barbara Lochbihler, Chair





The hearing can be followed online:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/activities/committees/homeCom.do?language=EN&body=DROI