The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) of Turkey submitted a request on Tuesday to the Turkish Grand National Assembly for an exhaustive probe into the 2013 Paris assassinations of Kurdish women politicians Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez.
The appeal, made exactly 11 years after the incident, emphasises the need to unravel the unresolved case, citing potential involvement of undercover forces and an international conspiracy.
The murders took place in Paris on 9 January 2013, coinciding with the initiation of peace talks in Turkey, leading to speculation about their intent to disrupt the peace process. The lack of resolution in both Turkish and French legal systems has prompted calls for transparency and in-depth investigation by the DEM Party.
The party’s proposal suggests the involvement of secretive elements, potentially connected to the Turkish intelligence agency (MİT), as hinted by various allegations and evidence. Resolving this case is deemed vital for fostering peaceful solutions to the Kurdish issue and preventing future political violence.
The proposal states that the clarification of these murders, including the role of Turkey’s undercover forces and a behind-the-scenes international plot, will be a significant step forward. Despite the time elapsed, the case remains unsolved, with neither Turkish nor French courts making satisfactory progress. A commission established under the parliament could produce a report beneficial to the development of the case.
The proposal reiterates the public’s memory of negotiations starting on 3 January 2013 between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan and the Turkish state, aiming to democratically resolve the Kurdish issue. However, the Paris assassinations of Cansız, Doğan and Şaylemez on 9 January 2013, significant figures in the Kurdish movement and women’s liberation struggle, followed this historical meeting, suggesting a plot to sabotage the peace process.
The then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in a party meeting on 15 January 2013, acknowledged the importance of solving the assassination to safeguard the peace process. Despite calls from various parties, including the Kurdish movement, for an immediate investigation and exposure of dark forces against the resolution, neither French nor Turkish authorities have conducted a thorough inquiry.
The inquiry in France led to a legal process in Turkey, but the secrecy surrounding the Ankara Prosecutor’s investigation remains. Allegations have surfaced regarding MİT’s direct or indirect involvement in the massacre, reinforced by evidence such as audio recordings and confirmed telecommunication links to MİT. Statements from MIT officials, including the then chief, now Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, suggest internal factions within the agency and acknowledgement of their role in the crime. However, the legal proceedings in Turkey seem to have focused more on covering up the crime and its connections, rather than revealing the truth. The questionable death of the main suspect, Ömer Güney, further fuels concerns about the case’s obscurity.
The lack of progress in illuminating this atrocity and covering up other similar incidents has reportedly facilitated more violence. The shooting near the Ahmet Kaya Kurdish Culture Centre in Paris on 23 December 2022, resulting in deaths and injuries, reiterates the urgent need for clarity on these matters to prevent future political assassinations. The persistence of impunity policies encourages political murders both within and outside the country.
