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


