About AKIN
The American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN) is a non-profit, tax-exempt
organization established in 1993 to serve the information needs of this 
country
relative to the Kurds. It does this to fulfill two needs: ours, to hold a 
mirror
to the events that are taking place in the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iran, 
Iraq
and Syria and those of the American public, to enable them to have access to
collected materials on the subject.
AKIN hopes to function as a bridge over which friendships and knowledge are
exchanged to the benefit of both peoples. Its aim is to increase awareness 
about
the Kurds. AKIN is comprised of Americans of Kurdish origin and recent 
Kurdish
immigrants and refugees from all walks of life: entrepreneurs, blue- and
white-collar workers, students, and American supporters. AKIN collects,
translates, and disseminates information about the Kurds. It hopes to become 
a
valuable resource center for policy makers, scholars, and students of the
region. At the same time, it seeks to promote understanding between the 
Kurds
and the Americans. In Kurdistan, AKIN wants the killings to stop, peace to
prevail, and the will of the people to be respected and accepted.
  "One of the greatest tragedies in Turkey's history is happening now. Our
  Kurdish brothers are being slaughtered, and apart from a couple of 
hesitant
  voices, no one is standing up and demanding to know what the Government is
  doing...What will come of all this?"
  - Yasar Kemal, perennial candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature
AKIN:

  provides the latest news on the situation in Kurdistan;
  exposes every form of human rights violation and repression against the
  Kurdish people;
  informs the public about the political and cultural developments in 
Kurdistan.

AKIN aims:

  to disseminate information to the press and media;
  to solicit the support of human rights organizations;
  to secure the interest of Congress, political leaders, and other 
democratic
  and progressive forces;
  to publish documents, reports, and books related to the politics and 
culture
  of Kurdistan;
  to provide information and give advice to journalists, representatives, 
and
  human rights activists intending to visit the region.
AKIN publications include:

  press releases and newsletters;
  reports from government officials, lawyers, and human rights organizations
  concerning human rights abuses in Kurdistan.
  "We must never again leave millions of men, women, and children at the 
mercy
  of the Turkish army."
  - Danielle Mitterand, wife of the former President of France
AKIN calls for:

  an independent international human rights investigation into widespread 
human
  rights abuses committed against Kurds, particularly against Kurdish women;
  a UN special investigation into torture, arbitrary detention, and
  extra-judicial executions, and for the perpetrators of these grave 
violations
  to be brought to trial;
  the Kurdish people to be allowed to exercise their fundamental
  universally-acknowledged right to self-determination;
  a negotiated settlement to the Kurdish question, with the governments with
  jurisdiction over the Kurds agreeing to an open an unconditional dialogue 
with
  representatives of the Kurdish people;
  the U.S., Canada, and all European countries to immediately stop supplying
  weapons to Turkey;
  all nations to end the deportation of Kurdish refugees;
  tourists to boycott Turkey as a holiday destination.
  "...Kurdish people throughout southern Turkey, very ordinary, humble 
people,
  have decided they would rather die standing up than spend their lives on 
their
  knees...it was the most extraordinary and inspiring sight of my life...I 
hope
  one day they have the kind of freedoms we take for granted."
  - Michael Ignatieff, writer and broadcaster


American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN)
2600 Connecticut Avenue NW #1
Washington, DC 20008-1522
Tel: (202) 483-6444
Fax: (202) 483-6476

E-mail: akin@kurdish.org
Home Page: http://www.kurdistan.org



