Turkish state official admits Paris murders

In a television broadcast aired on CNN-Türk on February 16, the former head of the General Staff’s Intelligence Department, Ismail Hakkı Pekin, admitted that the Paris killings on January 9, 2013, were an operation by the Turkish state. On January 9, 2013, a hitman had murdered three Kurdish revolutionaries Sakine Cansız, Leyla Şaylemez and Fidan Doğan in Paris. All traces pointed to the Turkish secret service MIT.

Ömer Güney, the arrested murderer, died in French prison under dubious circumstances before the trial was opened. Authorities in France and Germany did everything they could to let the investigation fall asleep. Now, former high-ranking government official Ismail Hakkı Pekin is setting the ball rolling anew with a remark on a Turkish television program. In a television broadcast on the attacks on the Gare region in the Medya Defense Zones, he said there must be targeted liquidations of KCK leaders in Iraq, Syria and Europe. “They also have their elements in Europe,” he said and added, “We have to do something in this direction in Europe. I mean, it was already done once in Paris …”

The European Kurdish Democratic Societies Congress (KCDK-E) and the Kurdish Women’s Movement in Europe (TJK-E) released a statement calling on European governments, especially France, to act.

“Statements in state media are tantamount to murder orders”

The statement by KCDK-E and TJK-E includes the following:

“After the heavy defeat of Gare, a representative of the Turkish state admitted the massacre in Paris in front of running cameras and spread new threats and dirty propaganda against Kurds in Europe. With threats, the Turkish state wants to cover up its defeat and responsibility for the massacre of captured Turkish soldiers and MIT agents. These statements in the media of the fascist state are tantamount to murder orders against the representatives of the Kurdish freedom movement and its leadership.”

With the admission by the former intelligence officer, the associations see their demands for justice and clarification confirmed once again. The statement continues, “Former intelligence chief Ismail Hakkı Pekin has openly announced in his words that new massacres like the one in Paris can and will be committed.

“The French state is an accomplice”

The dictator Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ordered the massacre of the three Kurdish revolutionaries. It was his killers who carried out the assassination. The French state has prevented the investigation of the massacre, scandalously disregarded international law and made itself an accomplice of the perpetrators. The French government should consider this public confession as concrete evidence and reopen the trial on the murders. This must create the basis for bringing Erdoğan and the other culprits before an international court and convicting them. Against the background of this statement, all European states must take measures due to the threats of the fascist Turkish state against the people from Turkey and Kurdistan living in Europe.

The European countries and France know the work of the intelligence networks of the Turkish state. The remarks of the former intelligence chief Ismail Hakkı Pekin represent concrete proof that the Turkish state is preparing new murders.

As KCDK-E and TJK-E, we once again call on the French government to use this opportunity to take responsibility. Our struggle for freedom, equality and democracy against AKP/MHP fascism will continue with determination.”