8. Plaid Cymru Debate: The Kurds in Turkey

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:29 pm on 20 March 2019.

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Photo of Bethan Sayed Bethan Sayed Plaid Cymru 5:29, 20 March 2019

Thank you to Delyth Jewell for opening this debate, and I'm pleased that we are standing here having these international debates, because this is the place to have them. This is our national institution and we should make no apology for that. 

To start off with, I wanted to react quickly to something that Darren Millar said. The Belgian Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that there was no terror activity from the PKK and instead it was an organisation in conflict with Turkey over their treatment of the Kurds. Terror designation is often a political question, not a technical one. That's the ruling by the Supreme Court in Belgium, and I am really sorry that you've used this debate to try and dilute what we are here today to do—to talk about the human rights of political prisoners who have not had access to a solicitor to even try and make a point about their political—