No offer made to veteran Kurdish politician Leyla Zana to return to politics: news agency

Veteran Kurdish politician Leyla Zana has not been offered return to Kurdish politics in Turkey.

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2023/12/23 00:03

Leyla Zana was the first Kurdish woman elected to Turkey’s parliament, in 1991 (Photo: Tarik Tinazay/AFP/Getty Images)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Veteran Kurdish politician Leyla Zana has not received an offer to re-enter Turkish Kurdish politics, as reported by a local news agency.

The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEP), a pro-Kurdish political party, has refuted claims suggesting that they extended an offer for Leyla Zana to assume the co-chairmanship of Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality.

According to statements from DEP officials to Mezopotamya News, no formal offer has been communicated to Leyla Zana. This clarification comes amid preparations for the upcoming municipal polls in March 2024 in Turkey.

Leyla Zana gained prominence as a symbol of Kurdish national consciousness in Turkey in 1991 when she, as the first female Kurdish lawmaker, took the parliamentary oath in the Kurdish language. However, in 1994, she faced a 15-year prison sentence on charges of "treason and membership in the PKK" due to a speech she delivered on Kurdish rights during a visit to the United States. This led to her removal from the legislative branch and subsequent imprisonment.

In 1995, recognizing her peaceful advocacy for human rights, the European Parliament awarded Leyla Zana the Sakharov Prize.