Fidan Doğan

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Fidan Doğan
Fidan Doğan in Strasbourg 2012
Born17 January 1982
Elbistan, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey
Died9 January 2013(2013-01-09) (aged 30)
Paris, France
Cause of deathAssassinated
OccupationKurdish rights advocate

Fidan Doğan (17 January 1982 – 9 January 2013) was a Kurdish activist who worked at the Kurdish information centre in Paris and also represented the Brussels-based Kurdish National Congress in France.

Biography[edit]

Born in Elbistan in southern Turkey, Doğan moved to France when she was young.[1] She grew up in Strasbourg, where she completed her university education. She was involved in the Kurdish Information Center in Paris which is considered a liaison office to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) by France Info.[1] She was also engaged in the Kurdistan National Congress.[2] In 2012 she was the speaker of a hunger-strikers who demanded the liberation of the imprisoned Abdullah Öcalan, the founder of the PKK.[1]

Death[edit]

Main article: Triple murder of Kurdish activists in Paris

She was assassinated in Paris on 9 January 2013, along with Sakine Cansız and Leyla Şöylemez.[3][4] On 17 January in Diyarbakir tens of thousands of Kurds remembered the three women in a ceremony.[5]

Fidan Doğa was buried in her family's village in the Elbistan district of Kahramanmaraş province, Turkey. The funeral, conducted by an Alevi dede, was attended by around 5,000 people, the coffin was wrapped in the flag of the PKK whilst mourners wore white scarves to symbolise peace. The mourners included Peace and Democracy Party co-chair Gülten Kışanak, and deputies Nursel Aydoğan, Ayla Akat Ata, Hasip Kaplan as well as the mayor of Diyarbakır Osman Baydemir. Speaking at the funeral, Kışanak is quoted as saying; "We promise to all Kurdish women and these three women: We will bring peace and freedom to this land,”.[6]

Aftermath[edit]

Tributes after her death revealed that she was well known in political circles.[1] The President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, made a point of receiving her family to pay his condolences in person. The rapporteur for Turkey of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, Josette Durrieu, also paid tribute in glowing terms.[7][8]

François Hollande's statement that he knew one of the three women assassinated in Paris (which provoked a strong reaction from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan), raised speculation that Doğan was also in regular contact with the French president.[9][10]

After her death, there was considerable speculation that the killing of the three women was an attempt to derail the fledgling peace process that had recently begun between the Turkish authorities and Öcalan.[11][12]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Fidan Dogan, l'une des trois militantes kurdes assassinées à Paris a vécu à Strasbourg". France 3 Grand Est (in French). Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  2. ^ "Drei kurdische Aktivistinnen in Paris ermordet". Die Zeit. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  3. ^ "Who Murdered Sakine Cansız?". Amnesty International USA. 2013-01-11. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  4. ^ "Kurdish activists shot dead in Paris". The Guardian. 2013-01-10. Retrieved 2013-01-12.
  5. ^ Reynolds, James (2013-01-17). "Calls for peace at slain PKK activists' funerals". Retrieved 2019-07-27.
  6. ^ "Paris killing victim buried with participation of thousands - Türkiye News". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
  7. ^ "FIDAN DOGAN'S FAMILY INVITED TO EU SESSION IN STRASSBURG". Mesop. 2013-01-15. Archived from the original on 2013-02-17. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
  8. ^ "Assassinat de trois femmes kurdes". La Dépêche du Midi (in French). Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  9. ^ "Erdogan queries Hollande links with dead Kurd". Al Jazeera. 2013-01-12. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
  10. ^ "ERDOĞAN CALLS ON HOLLANDE TO EXPLAIN WHY HE MET WITH A PKK TERRORIST". Sabah. 2013-01-14. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
  11. ^ "Kurdistan's Female Fighters". Roj women. 2013-02-15. Archived from the original on 2013-03-16. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  12. ^ "3 Kurdish women political activists shot dead in Paris". CNN. 2013-01-11. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
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