The International Kurdish Solidarity Collective said that they will try to create public pressure on NATO and related institutions to stop Turkish aggression.
MUHAMMED KAYA
BERLIN
Saturday, 13 Aug 2022
The International Kurdish Solidarity Collective, co-chaired by South African women's rights activist Fazela Mahomed and Left Party former MP Jürgen Klute, issued a call earlier this week warning both the relevant forces and the public against the Turkish occupation and its ongoing attacks.
Fazela Mahomed and Jürgen Klute spoke to ANF about the collective, the call and what they plan to do.
Erdogan receives green light from NATO
Pointing to the Turkish state's attacks in South Kurdistan and North-East Syria and the threat of a new invasion, co-spokesperson Klute said: “This is happening in the shadow of the Ukraine war. Erdogan used the request of Sweden and Finland to join NATO. It wants to exploit the NATO-Russia rift against the Kurds. NATO is also silent because it needs Turkey to fight Russia and support Ukraine. So NATO gave Erdogan the green light to attack the Kurds.”
Jürgen Klute noted that the International Kurdish Solidarity Collective requested NATO and the international community to put pressure on the Erdogan government to stop its attacks.
Request for a meeting with German Foreign Minister Baerbock
Klute, finding positive that German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock criticized Turkey's actions against the Kurds against international law during her last visit to Turkey, said: “We will contact her and of course request a meeting. Because as a member of the German government for decades, this is the first time someone has opposed Turkish politics. I don't remember when the last time was. As a German politician, she says 'no' and demands respect for human rights.”
Collective reaction to Turkish attacks
South African activist Fazela Mahomed, co-spokesperson of the International Kurdish Solidarity Collective, said: “The Collective started mainly in response to Turkey's ongoing attacks against the Kurdish people. It was an important response to the escalation of the war waged by the Turkish regime against the Kurdish people. We agreed to seek the support of high-profile people around the world for this initiative. In particular, it is unacceptable that the war in Ukraine gives Erdogan the opportunity to continue his attacks against the Kurdish people with impunity. For this, we have tried to ensure that sensitive voices around the world take a common stance. It is important to achieve this against the Turkish regime.”
Erdogan wants to continue the war
Fazela Mahomed said that they are trying to persuade NATO and other important organizations and create public pressure, and continued as follows: “They should stop supporting Erdogan's violence against the Kurdish people. He exploits the current situation in Ukraine. We know that Erdogan is not interested in bringing peace. His plan is to continue the war and actually increase his influence in the Middle East. That’s why we say he must be stopped.”
We will continue to campaign
The spokespersons of the International Kurdish Solidarity Collective said that they will continue their campaigns uninterruptedly and try to ensure the participation of more people and added: “We will enter into dialogue with politicians and other groups from civil society. We can hold a conference to put pressure on Turkey. Maybe we can send a delegation to Northern and Eastern Syria and the Federal Kurdistan Region.”
International Kurdish Solidarity Collective calls for an end to the Turkish attacks on Kurdish areas
More than 70 politicians, academics and cultural workers from several countries, who have joined together to form an International Kurdish Solidarity Collective, demand an end to the Turkish attacks on Kurdish areas contrary to international law.
ANF
NEWS DESK
Wednesday, 10 Aug 2022
In the shadow of the war in Ukraine, the Turkish army has once again intensified its attacks on Kurdish settlements, which violate international law. This time, mainly Kurdish settlements in northern Iraq are being attacked. In one of the attacks by the Turkish army, 9 Arab tourists were recently killed. Furthermore, there are clear signs that the Turkish army is currently preparing for further attacks on Kurdish areas in northern Syria.
More than 70 politicians, academics and cultural workers from several countries, who have joined together to form an International Kurdish Solidarity Collective, demand an end to the Turkish attacks on Kurdish areas, which are contrary to international law, in a joint declaration published 10 August 2022 in Brussels. Among the signatories are Shirin Ebadi, Human Rights Lawyer, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2003, Iran; Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 1997, USA; Elfriede Jelinek, Nobel Prize in Literature 2004, Austria; Yanis Varoufakis, professor of economics, Member of Greek Parliament and MeRA25 leader, DiEM25 co-founder; David Adler, General Coordinator, Progressive International, USA; Jeremy Corbyn, MP for Islington North, Former Leader of the British Labour Party, UK; Srecko Horvat, Philosopher, co-founder DiEM25, Croatian; Massimo D’Alema, Former President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic, Italy; Gregor Gysi, MP Germany, former Co-Chair of Die Linke and former Chair of the European Left, Germany; Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the Parliament of the German-speaking Community of Belgium; Zingiswa Losi, President of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), S-Africa; Amineh Kakabaveh, Member of the Sweden Parliament, Sweden; Ögmundur Jónasson, Former Minister of Justice, Iceland; Pierre Laurent, Vice-President of the Senat, President of the National Council of PCF, France; Jonas Staal, Artist, Founder New World Summit, Netherlands; Ken Loach, Film Director and Screenwriter, UK; Robert Daza, Senator of the Republic of Colombia; Vincenç Vidal, Member of Senate of Spain; Leo Gabriel, Anthropologist and Member of the Inernational Council of WSF, Austria; Paolo Ferrero, Former Minister, Vice President of the European Left party, Italy; Debbie Bookchin, Journalist and Author, USA.
The group’s co-spokesperson, South African activist and women’s rights activist Fazela Mahomed said, “We want to support the Kurds with this action and we stand with them against NATO’s support for the Erdogan regime’s policy of occupation and annihilation. Above all, we condemn the Turkish operations in Iraq, which are contrary to international law and murderous, and which aim to kill those who defended the world against IS in 2014, when no one else responded to the calls for help.”
Another point of criticism in the statement is that Sweden and Finland have given in to the demands of NATO member Turkey with regard to female clients and Kurds in the context of NATO accession negotiations. “We therefore demand,” says Jürgen Klute, a former MEP from Germany and co-spokesperson of the group, “that Sweden and Finland do not submit to Erdoğan’s anti-democratic policies and reject the illegitimate demands for the extradition of citizens of Kurdish origin. Our central concern is to defend democratic principles – our democracy matters!.”
On the other hand, Mahomed and Klute took a positive view of the fact that German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, during her recent visit to Turkey, sharply criticised Turkey’s actions against the Kurds, which are contrary to international law. “We call on Ms Baerbock,” they continued, “to stick to this foreign policy line and to put pressure on Turkey to withdraw its military forces from Southern Kurdistan and Rojava.
Similarly, both welcomed the Iraqi government’s intention to use the killing of the 9 Arab tourists in the northern Iraqi town of Zakho as an opportunity for taking the Turkish army’s abuses to the UN Security Council. “We hope”, say Mahomed and Klute, “that the political pressure on Turkey will continue to increase and that the killings will finally come to an end. Our joint declaration should also contribute to this.”
More than 70 politicians, academics and cultural workers from several countries, who have joined together to form an International Kurdish Solidarity Collective, demand an end to the Turkish attacks on Kurdish areas contrary to international law.
ANF
NEWS DESK
Wednesday, 10 Aug 2022
In the shadow of the war in Ukraine, the Turkish army has once again intensified its attacks on Kurdish settlements, which violate international law. This time, mainly Kurdish settlements in northern Iraq are being attacked. In one of the attacks by the Turkish army, 9 Arab tourists were recently killed. Furthermore, there are clear signs that the Turkish army is currently preparing for further attacks on Kurdish areas in northern Syria.
More than 70 politicians, academics and cultural workers from several countries, who have joined together to form an International Kurdish Solidarity Collective, demand an end to the Turkish attacks on Kurdish areas, which are contrary to international law, in a joint declaration published 10 August 2022 in Brussels. Among the signatories are Shirin Ebadi, Human Rights Lawyer, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2003, Iran; Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 1997, USA; Elfriede Jelinek, Nobel Prize in Literature 2004, Austria; Yanis Varoufakis, professor of economics, Member of Greek Parliament and MeRA25 leader, DiEM25 co-founder; David Adler, General Coordinator, Progressive International, USA; Jeremy Corbyn, MP for Islington North, Former Leader of the British Labour Party, UK; Srecko Horvat, Philosopher, co-founder DiEM25, Croatian; Massimo D’Alema, Former President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic, Italy; Gregor Gysi, MP Germany, former Co-Chair of Die Linke and former Chair of the European Left, Germany; Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the Parliament of the German-speaking Community of Belgium; Zingiswa Losi, President of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), S-Africa; Amineh Kakabaveh, Member of the Sweden Parliament, Sweden; Ögmundur Jónasson, Former Minister of Justice, Iceland; Pierre Laurent, Vice-President of the Senat, President of the National Council of PCF, France; Jonas Staal, Artist, Founder New World Summit, Netherlands; Ken Loach, Film Director and Screenwriter, UK; Robert Daza, Senator of the Republic of Colombia; Vincenç Vidal, Member of Senate of Spain; Leo Gabriel, Anthropologist and Member of the Inernational Council of WSF, Austria; Paolo Ferrero, Former Minister, Vice President of the European Left party, Italy; Debbie Bookchin, Journalist and Author, USA.
The group’s co-spokesperson, South African activist and women’s rights activist Fazela Mahomed said, “We want to support the Kurds with this action and we stand with them against NATO’s support for the Erdogan regime’s policy of occupation and annihilation. Above all, we condemn the Turkish operations in Iraq, which are contrary to international law and murderous, and which aim to kill those who defended the world against IS in 2014, when no one else responded to the calls for help.”
Another point of criticism in the statement is that Sweden and Finland have given in to the demands of NATO member Turkey with regard to female clients and Kurds in the context of NATO accession negotiations. “We therefore demand,” says Jürgen Klute, a former MEP from Germany and co-spokesperson of the group, “that Sweden and Finland do not submit to Erdoğan’s anti-democratic policies and reject the illegitimate demands for the extradition of citizens of Kurdish origin. Our central concern is to defend democratic principles – our democracy matters!.”
On the other hand, Mahomed and Klute took a positive view of the fact that German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, during her recent visit to Turkey, sharply criticised Turkey’s actions against the Kurds, which are contrary to international law. “We call on Ms Baerbock,” they continued, “to stick to this foreign policy line and to put pressure on Turkey to withdraw its military forces from Southern Kurdistan and Rojava.
Similarly, both welcomed the Iraqi government’s intention to use the killing of the 9 Arab tourists in the northern Iraqi town of Zakho as an opportunity for taking the Turkish army’s abuses to the UN Security Council. “We hope”, say Mahomed and Klute, “that the political pressure on Turkey will continue to increase and that the killings will finally come to an end. Our joint declaration should also contribute to this.”
No comments:
Post a Comment