Mehdi Zana

Mehdi Zana (born 1940, Silvan) is a former Kurdish politician from Turkey.[1][2]

Biography

Zana started to work as a tailor in Silvan after he graduated from elementary school. In 1963 he became a member of Workers Party of Turkey (TİP). Two years later he became the head of the party's Silvan branch.

In 1978 he was elected as the first independent socialist mayor of Diyarbakır. After 1980 Turkish coup d'état,[3] which made the Workers Party illegal, he was imprisoned in the Military Prison of Diyarbakır and incarcerated for 16 years.[1][2] Zana then lived in Sweden and Germany, at last returning to Turkey in 2004.

After his incarceration he refused to speak Turkish again and only spoke in his native Kurdish language.

Mehdi Zana has been married to politician Leyla Zana since 1975[4] and the couple has two children.

Bibliography

  • Zana, Mehdî (2006). Postal darbelerıyle uyanmak (in Kurdish). İstanbul: Medîsa Eğitim Basım Yayın Reklam. ISBN 978-975-9094-63-8. OCLC 542825389.
  • Zana, Mehdî (2005). Ay dayê. Weşanên Tevn; Roman (in Kurdish). Aksaray, İstanbul: Weşanên Tevn. ISBN 978-975-9094-03-4. OCLC 72801208.
  • Zana, Mehdî (2004). Parastina min (in Kurdish). Stockholm: Evra. ISBN 978-91-87662-51-5. OCLC 84678587.
  • Zana, Mehdî; Vauquelin, André (1997). Prison no. 5 : eleven years in Turkish jails (1 ed.). Watertown, MA, USA: Blue Crane Books. ISBN 978-1-886434-05-9. OCLC 260083915.
  • Zana, Mehdî (1995). Sevgili Leyla : uzun bir sürgündü o gece. Belge Yayınları, 243; Yaşam ve anılar (in Turkish) (1 ed.). İstanbul: Belge Yayınları. ISBN 978-975-344-086-8. OCLC 260193256.

References

  1. 1 2 "Mehdi Zana" (in Swedish). Stockholm Sweden: Foundation For A Kurdish Library & Museum. January 23, 2010. Retrieved April 25, 2011. At: "KORT BIOGRAFI ÖVER FÖRFATTAREN OCH POLITIKERN MEHDI ZANA"
  2. 1 2 "Mehdi Zana, a voice from behind the bars". The Middle East Magazine. Tel Aviv: Middle East Magazine Ltd. May 1996. OCLC 32187870. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  3. ↑ International Secretariat of Amnesty International (31 March 1992). "Document - UA 108/92 - Turkey: medical / health concern: Mehdi Zana" (in Spanish). London, UK: Amnesty International. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  4. ↑ "TURKEY : Leyla Zana, the only Kurdish woman MP". The Middle East Magazine. Tel Aviv: Middle East Magazine Ltd. October 1993. OCLC 32187870. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  • Filner, Bob (April 6, 2000). "A FUTURE OF HOPE FOR TURKEY: ONE OF PEACE AND JUSTICE FOR THE KURDS". Congressional Record. Washington, DC, USA: United States Government Printing Office. pp. H1953–H1954. Archived from the original (PDF) on date unknown. Retrieved April 25, 2011. Check date values in: |archivedate= (help) Congressman Bob Filner discusses Leyla and Mehdi Zana.
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