An Australian nurse, identified as Cigdem Aslan, has been arrested in Turkey for alleged involvement with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) as she tried to board a flight home from Istanbul Airport. The PKK, considered a Kurdish militant political organization, is labeled as a terrorist group by various nations, including Australia, Turkey, the United States, and the European Union. Founded in 1978 based on Marxist and Leninist principles, the PKK has been linked to over 40,000 deaths. The group’s leader, Abdullah Ocalan, is currently serving a life sentence in Turkey.
According to reports, Aslan was said to have engaged in activities on behalf of the PKK in Australia and had connections with high-ranking members of the organization. Holding an Australian passport under the name Lenna Aslan, she was reportedly serving as a co-chair of a PKK-affiliated group in Australia and participating in events in Melbourne, where she allegedly represented the group. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is offering consular assistance to Aslan while detained in Turkey.
Sue Bolton, a Socialist Alliance councilor, expressed support for Aslan, describing her as a human rights activist and nurse. Bolton also mentioned another Australian detained in connection with the PKK following Aslan’s arrest. In November 2023, Bolton gained attention for a motion to fly the Palestinian flag over the Merri-bek council chambers in Melbourne, amid tensions between Hamas and Israel.
The Australian government attributes several incidents to the PKK, including a bombing that killed seven civilians and injured ten in September 2019, an attack on a natural gas pipeline in March 2020 resulting in the deaths of 30 Turkish soldiers, and the destruction of an oil pipeline in Turkey’s Mardin province in October 2020.
Source link
