KNK calls for intervention against Turkish use of chemical weapons

In Hewlêr (Erbil), the Kurdistan National Congress (Kongreya Neteweyî ya Kurdistanê, KNK) appealed to the world public not to remain silent about the Turkish army’s chemical weapons attacks. KNK member Şukrula Hemedemîn stated that the Turkish state no longer knows any boundaries in its war against the Kurdish people and is openly committing war crimes. In the meantime, he said, a level has been reached where banned chemical weapons are continuously used: “This is to intimidate our people. The Turkish state is an occupying power. In Northern Kurdistan, the rights of our people are being trampled on, and the west [Rojava] and south of our country are being attacked on a daily basis. The Turkish state wants to destroy all the achievements of our people and occupy Kurdistan completely.”

This is only possible for the Erdogan regime because the international public does not object to it, he said. The Turkish army has been trying in vain for six months to break the resistance of the guerrillas and is violating international law in the course of the invasion of Southern Kurdistan, Hemedemîn said and warned: “If Erdogan’s war policy is not stopped, our people are threatened with a similar catastrophe as under the Baath regime. We demand that the United Nations, the U.S., the EU, China, Russia and the Arab countries stop turning a blind eye to these crimes against humanity because of their economic interests. A limit must finally be set to Turkey’s war policy.”

The KNK called for an independent investigation into Turkey’s use of chemical weapons in Southern Kurdistan and sanctions against the Erdogan government. The Iraqi government and the regional government of South Kurdistan were urged to intervene against the permanent violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and the displacement of civilians. At the same time, the KNK appealed to civil society to live up to its humanitarian responsibility and oppose the crimes of the Turkish state.