561 intellectuals call for action against Turkey's crimes in Kurdistan

Intellectuals, writers, activists, journalists, artists, politicians, scientists and environmental activists strongly condemn the occupation, attacks, killings, and the use of banned and chemical weapons by the Turkish state in Kurdistan.

The Turkish state continues its attacks against the guerrilla-held Medya Defense Zones in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq) where its army has been conducting an invasion operation since mid-April. The Turkish military has since remained unable to break the resistance of guerrilla forces who are mostly acting in mobile groups in the scope of the “new-era guerrilla warfare” in response to the increasingly ongoing airstrikes and attacks with chemical and banned weapons.

According to Rojnews agency, 561 intellectuals from Kurdistan and abroad condemned the Turkish state’s invasion attacks, calling for a clear stand and action against the use of chemical weapons and banned bombs.

“As intellectuals, writers, activists, journalists, artists, politicians, scientists and environmental activists, we strongly condemn the occupation, attacks, killings, and the use of banned and chemical weapons, said the joint statement released on Saturday.

Pointing to the Turkish state’s vicious war against the pro-freedom population and revolutionaries, the statement continued, “The Turkish state, on the one hand, uses chemical and banned weapons, while it, on the other hand, arrests journalists, civil and political activists in North Kurdistan. In Rojava, it carries out UCAV (unmanned combat aerial vehicle) attacks against civilians, and in South Kurdistan, it slays freedom fighters thanks to the collaboration of traitors. 80 freedom fighters have been martyred as a result of Turkish use of chemical weapons.”

The statement cited Turkey’s genocidal aggression on the Kurdish people and the nature of Kurdistan as proof of the Turkish state fascism and invasion, and an attempt to change the demography of Kurdistan.

In the face of the war crimes and inhumane crimes committed against the Kurdish people and freedom guerrillas, the UN, human rights advocates, international bodies against the use of banned weapons, parliamentarians, Europe and world countries remain silent, said the statement which continued, “The governments of Iraq and Kurdistan Region have failed to take a stand against these attacks. The KDP aids the Turkish state’s war against our people and revolutionaries. The KDP does not only prevent gas masks from reaching the guerrillas but also blocks journalists and international bodies that want to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons on the ground.”

Appealing to international bodies, the intellectuals called for action against the Turkish state’s ecocide and dirty war against the freedom guerrillas in Kurdistan.

“With these terror attacks, the Turkish state violates the sovereignity of the soil of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region and harms nature. This crime is a part of the strategy to occupy Iraq and the Kurdistan region within the AKP-MHP government’s neo-Ottoman project. This silence and inaction only cause the Turkish state to increase its attacks,” the statement said.

Intellectuals urged all political parties and civil society organizations to adopt a stand against the Turkish state’s war crimes in South Kurdistan.