Kurds and their friends continue their protests against the increasingly ongoing attacks of the Turkish state in Kurdistan.
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ANF
ROME
Saturday, 14 May 2022,
Kurdish and Italian youths staged a civil disobedience action in Rome, Italy in protest at the Turkish state’s genocidal attacks in various parts of the Kurdistan territory.
During the demonstration at Fiumicino Airport, the activists also protested against the betrayal of the Iraqi Kurdistan government’s ruling party KDP, which cooperates with Turkey in its invasion operation against guerrilla-held Medya Defense Zones in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq), ongoing since April 14.
British delegation heads to OPCW with report on Turkey’s use of chemical weapons in Iraqi Kurdistan
A delegation from Britain is heading to the headquarters of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague to press for action from the watchdog.
ANF
LONDON
Saturday, 14 May 2022, 09:40
A delegation from Britain is heading to the headquarters of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague on Tuesday to press for action from the watchdog.
The delegation has requested an appointment with the OPCW on the afternoon of Tuesday May 17.
Steve Sweeney, who has spent more than a year documenting Turkey’s alleged use of chemical weapons in Iraqi Kurdistan, will launch a report into his findings which includes damning testimonies from Kurdish villagers, medics and security forces.
He will deliver this, along with soil samples, video footage and other evidence, directly to the OPCW which has so far ignored letters, petitions and requests from Kurdish organisations and politicians.
A letter calling for a fact-finding team to be sent to the region as a matter of urgency will be hand-delivered.
Steve will be joined by Margaret Owen OBE, Andi Kocsondi and Melanie Gingell who will also address a rally at a protest event organised by local Kurdish groups at 1pm.
He said: “Turkey is alleged to have used chemical weapons hundreds of times since it launched its illegal invasion codenamed Operation Claw Lightning in April 2021.
“Banned munitions have been used in guerrilla tunnels and also against Kurdish villagers for more than a year, many of whom I met and are clearly suffering the effects of exposure to chemicals months after exposure.
“Medics and peshmerga have also confirmed this to me but have been threatened by both Turkish intelligence and security forces affiliated to the regionally dominant Kurdistan Democratic Party.
“While all eyes are on Ukraine. Nato’s second-largest army is committing war crimes in Iraqi Kurdistan.
“33 years ago the world remained silent and 5,000 Kurds were gassed by Saddam in Halabja.
“Now history is repeating itself once more. The OPCW must investigate as a matter of urgency and the international community must break its silence on the attempted genocide of the Kurds.”
Turkey blasts Swedish, Finnish support for rebels at NATO meeting
Turkey’s foreign minister described Swedish and Finnish support for Kurdish rebels as ‘unacceptable and outrageous’.
Published On 14 May 2022
Turkey’s foreign minister has described as “unacceptable and outrageous” the support that prospective new NATO members Sweden and Finland give to the PKK, a Kurdish rebel group designated a “terrorist” organisation by Ankara and its Western allies.
The PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) has waged a rebellion against the Turkish state since 1984 that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people, and Ankara’s criticism of Sweden and Finland has potentially complicated plans for NATO’s enlargement.
“The problem is that these two countries are openly supporting and engaging with PKK and YPG [People’s Protection Units],” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday as he arrived in Berlin for a meeting with his NATO counterparts.
“These are terrorist organisations that have been attacking our troops every day,” Cavusoglu said.
“Therefore, it is unacceptable and outrageous that our friends and allies are supporting this terrorist organisation,” he said.
“These are the issues that we need to talk about with our NATO allies, as well as these countries [Sweden and Finland].”
Latvian Foreign Minister Edgar Rinkevics said that NATO will find a “sensible” solution to Finland and Sweden’s acceptance as new members despite Turkish concerns.
“We have had those discussions in the alliance many times before. I think that we have always found sensible solutions, and that we will find one this time also,” he told reporters in Berlin.
“Swedish and Finnish membership is of paramount importance to the whole alliance, and ultimately also to Turkey,” he said.
Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen, reporting from Berlin, said Sweden and Finland’s application to join NATO is expected in the coming days.
“It’s a big historical moment for both nations who have been neutral for such a long time,” Vaessen said, adding that Russia’s action in Ukraine had “pushed them towards NATO”.
All 30 NATO members must approve their application and the acceptance process is likely to take several months, Vaessen said, explaining that it is during the “so-called grey period”, between application and membership, that is most concerning for both countries. During this period, Sweden and Finland will not have the collective defence protection of NATO’s Article 5, which stipulates that “an attack on one, is an attack on all”, she said.
Negotiations
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said earlier on Saturday that Turkey had not shut the door to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, but negotiations are needed with the Nordic countries and a clampdown on what Ankara views as terrorist activities.
Turkey considers YPG, the US-backed Kurdish fighters based in Syria, a “terrorist” organisation. Ankara views YPG as a PKK affiliate.
“We are not closing the door. But we are basically raising this issue as a matter of national security for Turkey,” Kalin, who is also the president’s top foreign policy adviser, told Reuters in an interview in Istanbul.
Kalin said the PKK was fundraising and recruiting in Europe and its presence was “strong and open and acknowledged” in Sweden, in particular.
“What needs to be done is clear: They have to stop allowing PKK outlets, activities, organisations, individuals and other types of presence to … exist in those countries,” he said.
“We will see how things go. But this is the first point that we want to bring to the attention of all the allies, as well as to Swedish authorities,” he added.
Erdogan surprised NATO members and the two Nordic countries by saying on Friday that it was not possible for Turkey to support enlarging the military alliance when Finland and Sweden are “home to many terrorist organisations”.
Any country seeking to join NATO requires the unanimous support of member states. The United States and other member states have been trying to clarify Ankara’s position on Finland and Sweden.
Sweden and its closest military partner, Finland, until now have remained outside NATO, which was founded in 1949 to counter the Soviet Union in the Cold War.
The two countries are wary of antagonising Moscow, but their security concerns have increased since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
‘Mutual point of view’
Turkey, the second-largest military in NATO, has officially supported enlargement since it joined the US-led alliance 70 years ago.
Turkey has criticised Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, helped arm Kyiv, and has tried to facilitate talks between the sides, but has opposed sanctions on Moscow.
Asked whether Turkey risked being too transactional at a time of war, and when Finnish and Swedish public opinion favours NATO membership, Kalin said, “If they [Finland and Sweden] have a public concerned about their own national security, we have a public that is equally concerned about our own security,” he said.
Kalin said Russia’s sharp criticism of Finland and Sweden for their plans to join NATO was not a factor in Turkey’s position.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin told his Finnish counterpart on Saturday that joining NATO would be “a mistake”.
“Putin stressed that the end of the traditional policy of military neutrality would be a mistake since there is no threat to Finland’s security,” the Kremlin said in a statement on Saturday.
Turkey’s foreign minister described Swedish and Finnish support for Kurdish rebels as ‘unacceptable and outrageous’.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Berlin,
Germany, on Saturday, May 14, 2022 [Michael Sohn/AP]
Published On 14 May 2022
Turkey’s foreign minister has described as “unacceptable and outrageous” the support that prospective new NATO members Sweden and Finland give to the PKK, a Kurdish rebel group designated a “terrorist” organisation by Ankara and its Western allies.
The PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) has waged a rebellion against the Turkish state since 1984 that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people, and Ankara’s criticism of Sweden and Finland has potentially complicated plans for NATO’s enlargement.
“The problem is that these two countries are openly supporting and engaging with PKK and YPG [People’s Protection Units],” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday as he arrived in Berlin for a meeting with his NATO counterparts.
“These are terrorist organisations that have been attacking our troops every day,” Cavusoglu said.
“Therefore, it is unacceptable and outrageous that our friends and allies are supporting this terrorist organisation,” he said.
“These are the issues that we need to talk about with our NATO allies, as well as these countries [Sweden and Finland].”
Latvian Foreign Minister Edgar Rinkevics said that NATO will find a “sensible” solution to Finland and Sweden’s acceptance as new members despite Turkish concerns.
“We have had those discussions in the alliance many times before. I think that we have always found sensible solutions, and that we will find one this time also,” he told reporters in Berlin.
“Swedish and Finnish membership is of paramount importance to the whole alliance, and ultimately also to Turkey,” he said.
Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen, reporting from Berlin, said Sweden and Finland’s application to join NATO is expected in the coming days.
“It’s a big historical moment for both nations who have been neutral for such a long time,” Vaessen said, adding that Russia’s action in Ukraine had “pushed them towards NATO”.
All 30 NATO members must approve their application and the acceptance process is likely to take several months, Vaessen said, explaining that it is during the “so-called grey period”, between application and membership, that is most concerning for both countries. During this period, Sweden and Finland will not have the collective defence protection of NATO’s Article 5, which stipulates that “an attack on one, is an attack on all”, she said.
Negotiations
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said earlier on Saturday that Turkey had not shut the door to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, but negotiations are needed with the Nordic countries and a clampdown on what Ankara views as terrorist activities.
Turkey considers YPG, the US-backed Kurdish fighters based in Syria, a “terrorist” organisation. Ankara views YPG as a PKK affiliate.
“We are not closing the door. But we are basically raising this issue as a matter of national security for Turkey,” Kalin, who is also the president’s top foreign policy adviser, told Reuters in an interview in Istanbul.
Kalin said the PKK was fundraising and recruiting in Europe and its presence was “strong and open and acknowledged” in Sweden, in particular.
“What needs to be done is clear: They have to stop allowing PKK outlets, activities, organisations, individuals and other types of presence to … exist in those countries,” he said.
“We will see how things go. But this is the first point that we want to bring to the attention of all the allies, as well as to Swedish authorities,” he added.
Erdogan surprised NATO members and the two Nordic countries by saying on Friday that it was not possible for Turkey to support enlarging the military alliance when Finland and Sweden are “home to many terrorist organisations”.
Any country seeking to join NATO requires the unanimous support of member states. The United States and other member states have been trying to clarify Ankara’s position on Finland and Sweden.
Sweden and its closest military partner, Finland, until now have remained outside NATO, which was founded in 1949 to counter the Soviet Union in the Cold War.
The two countries are wary of antagonising Moscow, but their security concerns have increased since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
‘Mutual point of view’
Turkey, the second-largest military in NATO, has officially supported enlargement since it joined the US-led alliance 70 years ago.
Turkey has criticised Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, helped arm Kyiv, and has tried to facilitate talks between the sides, but has opposed sanctions on Moscow.
Asked whether Turkey risked being too transactional at a time of war, and when Finnish and Swedish public opinion favours NATO membership, Kalin said, “If they [Finland and Sweden] have a public concerned about their own national security, we have a public that is equally concerned about our own security,” he said.
Kalin said Russia’s sharp criticism of Finland and Sweden for their plans to join NATO was not a factor in Turkey’s position.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin told his Finnish counterpart on Saturday that joining NATO would be “a mistake”.
“Putin stressed that the end of the traditional policy of military neutrality would be a mistake since there is no threat to Finland’s security,” the Kremlin said in a statement on Saturday.
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