KCK Executive Council member Zübeyir Aydar appealed to the Iraqi central government to take a stance against the Turkish attacks on the southern Kurdish region of Metina.

The Turkish state has launched a new invasion of South Kurdistan. This invasion is directed against the guerrilla-defended Metina region in the Medya Defense Areas. The Iraqi government is in close diplomatic contact with Ankara and remains silent about the attacks. In parallel with the new attacks, Turkish regime leader Erdoğan visited Iraq.

Executive Council member of the Community of Kurdistan Societies (KCK), Zübeyir Aydar, told the Iraqi government: “Saddam and the previous Iraqi governments waged war against the Kurds and lost. Iraq has suffered great damage. We have to learn from these experiences."

Speaking to ANF, Zübeyir Aydar and the co-chair of the KONGRA-GEL People's Congress, Remzi Kartal, analyze the current Turkish attacks in the context of Erdoğan's visit to Baghdad.

The Iraqi government is under pressure through military operations

Zübeyir Aydar stated that the Turkish state is talking about further new military operations and is preparing accordingly: "These operations were launched at a remarkable time, a day before Erdoğan traveled to Baghdad. This operation creates pressure on two fronts. On the one hand, this is directed against the government in South Kurdistan and, on the other hand, against the Iraqi central government. In this way, it should be made clear to both that they should either accept Turkey's dictates or that they will implement them with their own army. It is a clear sign that he first sends his soldiers and then arrives himself. This is a form of blackmail. On the one hand he threatens military force; on the other hand, he makes economic offers. He puts the water issue on the agenda and makes promises in the areas of energy, the economy and the construction of a road connection. But everything is based on the Kurdish question and its war intentions against Kurdistan."

"Iraq must offer Turkey a solution instead of war"

Aydar further stated: "We address our appeal to the Iraqi central government. It should learn from the mistakes of previous governments. It should learn from the mistakes of Saddam and the other governments. They went to war against Kurds and got absolutely nothing out of it. All of these wars were to the detriment of Iraq. The Iraqi government should take this experience into account in its considerations. Turkey wants to drag Iraq into her war. The situation in Iraq is different. The Kurds are recognized as a federal structure in the country’s constitution. What Iraq should do is convey its experience to Turkey. Since the Kurds are recognized in Iraq, they should suggest the same to Turkey. If Erdoğan asks Iraq for military assistance, the Iraqi government should present him with its solution model instead."

Aydar emphasized that the stance among the Kurdish people is clear: "We, the Kurdish people, the freedom movement and all movements for Kurdistan, take a stance. We have a stance as a nation against this situation and this warmongering. We will defend the freedom of our people and our country. We will fight against this at the national and international levels. Any operations that go in this direction will be unsuccessful. No matter what happens, we will intensify our fight for freedom and liberate our people. The Turkish state has already lost the war in Kurdistan. We saw this in the Newroz celebrations and in the local election results. They may have troops there, but mentally and psychologically they have lost this war. The Kurdish people are rising up, defending their identity and protecting their rights. Turkey will lose this new war that has now started."

"The Turkish state will fail"

Remzi Kartal said that the AKP-MHP regime had toured the Middle East in preparation for war: "The Turkish government delegations have toured all the countries of the Middle East, especially Iraq, in order to obtain support for the new invasion. In this context, Erdoğan visited Iraq on April 22nd. He will use this operation to put pressure on Iraq. But we say very clearly that the Turkish state's attacks against the guerrillas were unsuccessful. They had high hopes of achieving results with the war concepts and new technology they had developed, but they did not succeed. The freedom guerrillas, the freedom movement, have destroyed these concepts and attacks with great historical resistance. For this reason, the Turkish state no longer has the means to achieve results against the guerrillas through military operations and new promises. He also no longer has any economic resources. Turkey can't afford it. That's why it's asking Iraq, Iran and other countries in the region for help; he is asking European countries and the US for help. It wants to achieve success with her help. But we say it clearly: these efforts by the Turkish state will also remain unsuccessful."

"The attitude of our people will make the attacks fail"

Kartal added: "The Turkish state, the AKP-MHP and Hizbulkontra cannot achieve results with these attacks. This process will lead to the end of the fascist Turkish regime. It is in this process that the General Assembly of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) took place. The KNK and all pro-Kurdish parties and movements within the National Congress are developing a stance and commitment against these attacks and have positioned themselves accordingly. All peoples, political movements, organizations, intellectuals, writers in the four parts of Kurdistan and in the diaspora should take a stand against the attacks of the Turkish state. The attitude of our people will nullify these attacks. The Turkish state has so far been unable to achieve anything with these attacks and will not be able to do so in the future. The results of the elections in Turkey show that this policy has failed. Our people opposed this policy and taught it a clear lesson in the elections. With the attitude of our people, this policy is doomed to failure."