Kurdish women protest in front of OPCW in The Hague

At a rally in The Hague, Kurdish women called on the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to investigate allegations of chemical weapons use by Turkey. The People’s Defense Forces (HPG) regularly reports uses of chemical weapons by Turkish troops. In the first three months of the invasion launched on April 23 alone, the HPG recorded at least 67 attacks with chemical and/or banned weapons against guerrilla defense positions.

The rally in front of the OPCW headquarters was organised by the Kurdish Women’s Movement in Europe (TCK-E). Not only people living in the Netherlands participated in the protest. Activists from Germany and Belgium were also present. In a speech, a spokeswoman for the organizing committee emphasized that Turkey, with the help of NATO funds, is committing “war crimes against the Kurdish people” and using internationally outlawed warfare agents. Yet an “ignorant silence” prevails worldwide.

As an organization established by the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW has a duty to investigate the allegations made by the Kurds, the activist continued. If it did not monitor compliance with and implementation of the convention, the OPCW would be “complicit” in war crimes against Kurds, she said. At the end of the rally, a delegation had a personal conversation with an OPCW representative. In addition, a dossier with findings on chemical weapons use by the Turkish army in Southern Kurdistan was handed over to the organization.

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