KONGRA-GEL: Those silent on Turkey’s use of chemical weapons are partners in crime

The KONGRA-GEL Co-Presidency Council issued a written statement about the use of chemical attacks by the Turkish state in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq) and the silence of the international community towards it.

“The US, EU and NATO alliance are direct partners in the genocidal policy of the Turkish state against the Kurdish people. The Turkish state wants to destroy all the achievements of our people in Bakur-Rojava and Bashur (North, West and South Kurdistan),” the statement said.

‘PARTNERS IN CRIME’

The statement further included the following:

“The Turkish state commits crimes by using banned weapons including chemical agents in its war against the Kurdish people without complying with any international rules and conventions. Moreover, the Turkish state commits war crimes with the knowledge and support of the US, EU and NATO.

Those who support this crime against humanity committed by the Turkish state, which considers the existence and rights of the Kurdish people as a ‘terror’ problem and pursues a war of genocide to eliminate them, and those who remain silent towards it are partners in this crime.

The Turkish state which carelessly used chemical weapons against the Kurdish people during the previous Kurdish revolts, is using chemical weapons to overcome its deadlock against the guerrillas in Metina-Zap-Avasin regions, taking advantage of the silence towards the Kurdish genocide. The use of chemical weapons by the Turkish army reveals its desperation and defeat in its war against the guerrilla forces.

‘WE CAN FRUSTRATE ATTACKS; LET’S MEET IN THE HAGUE’

The Kurdish people and their friends have stood up everywhere in response to the use of chemical weapons by the Turkish army, protesting the Turkish state and the forces and institutions that have remained silent. The issue has been addressed in international institutions, parliaments and the press, yet the failure of the relevant institutions to act constitutes a crime.

On November 3, our people and friends will gather in front of the OPCW office in The Hague, the Netherlands to urge the OPCW to investigate into the Turkish chemical attacks in South Kurdistan. We can only break this silence through public pressure by our people and our friends.

To break the silence towards the use of chemical weapons against the People’s Defence Forces (HPG) which defends the people of Kurdistan, let’s meet in The Hague tomorrow and raise our voice to urge the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to do its duty.”