A campaign was launched addressed to the Iraqi people, government, parliament and the United Nations against the occupation and crimes committed by the Turkish state in South Kurdistan and Iraq.

The campaign, led by Nihad Al Qadi, is supported by a number of civil society organisations, lawyers, academics, activists and human rights defenders.

The petition, addressed to the Iraqi people, government, parliament, the United Nations and the international community, denounces the invasion attacks and crimes of the Turkish state and calls for the immediate expulsion of Turkish forces from Iraq and South Kurdistan.

"For some time now, the Turkish state has been carrying out military attacks with heavy, internationally banned weapons against the Kurdistan Federation in the Republic of Iraq,"the campaign text said.

"Occupying a dangerous depth, the Turkish state has established more than 70 large military bases and dozens of fixed and temporary points," the text said, adding that new attacks have been launched against Duhok and Zakho, 8 new military camps have been established, more than 300 military armoured vehicles and more than a thousand Turkish troops have been reinforced.

"In defiance of all international norms, the Turkish state has begun to control the movement of Iraqi citizens and residents by setting up checkpoints on main and vital roads, while displacing dozens of Christians and residents of Kurdish villages," the text said.

"We also appeal to international forces concerned with maintaining international peace and security to help stop the Turkish invasion before it extends into Iraqi territory and reaches Kirkuk," the signatories said, noting that the Turkish state is pursuing a clear strategy to occupy Iraqi territory, as it did in Afrin.

The signatories stated that the Turkish authorities dream of annexing the region they call Mosul Governorate and that Kurdistan, Nineveh and Kirkuk are included in these occupation ambitions.

"We are here on behalf of the signatories of this call with its legal and national content and we demand that the forces of our people be mobilized to provide a suitable platform for the advancement of the following issues," the text of the campaign said, listing the following items:

1. To unite the will of all social parties concerned with human rights and civilian forces around the demand for the establishment of security, safety and peace in the occupied and threatened territories, and to make their voices heard in order to establish respect for sovereignty and to prevent all forms of violations,

2. To make a joint general appeal for the official administration to lodge a complaint with the United Nations General Assembly,

3. To mobilise international support by exerting pressure to convey the voice of the people to the relevant Turkish authorities,

4. To work for the cancellation of agreements allowing Turkish forces to enter Iraqi territory under any pretext whatsoever,

5. To call for the immediate withdrawal of all foreign forces from Iraqi territory, within the framework of the demand for an end to the military presence of all foreign forces in Iraq,

6. To raise the call upon the Arab League to stand by the Iraqi people, its federalism, the sovereignty of its state and the integrity of its territory,

7. To ensure that the damages to the land and property of citizens are compensated.

SIGNATORY ORGANISATIONS

Iraq Human Rights Forum-Iraq

Sumerian Observatory for Human Rights – Netherlands

Iraq Canadian Centre for Human Rights / Canada

Al-Rafidain Human Rights Association in Iraq

Iraqi Citizenship Association for Human Rights

Iraqi Human Rights Association in the United States

Iraqi Pensioners Association

Human Rights Defence Committee / Australia

Iraqi Cultural Parliament in the Diaspora

Gilgamesh Kurdish Research and Study Centre

Community of Arabs Supporting the Kurdish Cause

Netherlands Institute for Kurdish Studies and Research

Committee for the Defence of Followers of Religion and Sects in Iraq

PERSONALITIES

Dr Ghaleb Al-Ani, human rights activist / Germany

Dr Tayseer Abdul-Jabbar Al-Alusi, academic, civil rights activist / Netherlands

Saad Kazem, Secretary of the Iraq Canadian Centre for Human Rights / Canada

Ali Hussein Abboud, human rights activist / President of Al-Rafidain Human Rights Association in Iraq

Halim Al-Asam, human rights activist / Al-Rafidain Human Rights Association in Iraq

Hamid Murad, President of the Iraqi Human Rights Association in the United States

Professor Muhammad Hassan Al-Salami, lawyer and human rights activist

Mehdi Al-Issa, President of the Iraqi Pensioners Association, Iraq

Dr Ahmed Al-Rubaie, specialist physician and human rights activist

Professor Judge Zuhair Kazem Abboud, retired judge / Sweden

Haseeb Sheikhani, lawyer / Kurdistan

Dr Sadiq Atemesh, retired university professor / Germany

Dr Hassan Halbous, doctor specialised in civil activism / Germany

Dr Sarbast Nabi, university professor / Kurdistan

Dr. Munira Amed, Gilgamesh Kurdish Studies and Research Centre / UK

Dr Saman Shali, academic and political researcher / USA

Suhail Al-Zahawi, writer / Norway

Ms Nawal Naji Youssef, civil activist and member of the Iraq Canadian Centre for Human Rights

Ms Majida Al-Jubouri, civil activist and member of the Iraq Canadian Centre for Human Rights

Dr Madih Al-Sadiq, civil activist and member of the Iraq Canadian Centre for Human Rights

Ms Mayken Adam, human rights defender / United States of America