Former President François Hollande addressed foreign interference by Turkey and the 2013 assassination of three Kurdish activists in Paris, during a lecture on European defence at the University of Bretagne Sud in Lorient on Wednesday. The event, attended by 300 students, featured a significant discussion initiated by a question from student Dagan Dogan.
Dogan questioned Hollande about Europe’s defence and foreign interference, specifically referencing the triple assassination on 9 January 2013. The victims were Sakine Cansız, a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK); Fidan Doğan, Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) Paris Representative; and Leyla Şaylemez, an organiser in the Kurdish youth movement. Dogan referred to the French justice system’s connecting of the murders to the Turkish intelligence services, implying Turkey’s involvement.
“This was indeed the intervention of a foreign state,” said Hollande, addressing the gravity of the situation and the role of Turkish operatives. He acknowledged that the incident was more than mere interference; it was a serious operation. “We don’t know exactly at what level of the Turkish state the decision for the operation was made, but it is clear that it was the intervention of operators who contributed to the killing of a Kurd with a very strong personality in France,” Hollande added.
Hollande pointed out the complexity of managing such incidents given Turkey’s current status. “This is a much more serious situation because it was the intervention of a foreign state, a member of NATO and a candidate for membership of the European Union,” he stated.
He further criticised Turkey’s international policies, referring to its continued relations with Russia despite its NATO membership, its arms sales to Ukraine despite its circumventing sanctions against Russia, and its stance on the refugee deal and Syria. “The Turkish state pursues an ‘ambiguous’ policy,” Hollande explained.
The 2013 assassinations occurred at the Kurdistan Information Office in Paris. Documents, audio recordings and testimonies have implicated the Turkish intelligence organisation MİT, but there has been no significant progress in the case. Both the Turkish and French states have withheld information, with the French Domestic Intelligence Service (DGSI) calling it a “state secret”, giving this as the reason for their silence.
Further attacks in December 2022, resulting in the deaths of Kurdish leaders and activists in Paris, have intensified calls for accountability. Kurdish organisations continue to urge the French authorities to act against those responsible for these murders to prevent future attacks.
