A joint delegation of Kurdish and foreign journalists living in European countries has been holding talks in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for three days to find out more about the background to the murder of journalists Gulistan Tara and Hêro Bahadîn.

Kurdish journalists Gulistan Tara (40) and Hêro Bahadîn (27) were killed on 23 August in a targeted drone attack by the Turkish state in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). Six other media workers who, like their killed colleagues, worked for the free Kurdish press were injured, some seriously.

Six media professionals from Europe, Alice Magar, Emma Audrey, Diler Akrei, Hendrin Faraj Mohamed, Jallan Ziaei and Devrim Alp, arrived in the metropolis of Sulaymaniyah on Sunday at the invitation of the Association of Kurdish Women Journalists (ROJIN). The delegation held a series of talks with various parties, including the Governor of Sulaymaniyah, the Chatr Production for which the slain journalists worked, METRO, the Organisation for the Protection and Defence of Journalists’ Rights, Rojnews Agency, JIN TV. On Tuesday, the delegation visited the site of the massacre and made examinations. Then they visited the monument built for Gülistan Tara and Hêro Bahadîn in Azadî Park in the centre of Sulaymaniyah.

Members of the delegation on Wednesday visited Kurdistan News, the official organ of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The delegation was welcomed by Kurdistan News officials Kajal Ahmed, Cemal Arez and Merwan Masud, who expressed their deep sorrow over the martyrdom of Tara and Bahadîn. Pointing out that the Turkish state threatens the security and peace of Sulaymaniyah, the officials emphasised that a common attitude should be taken against threats and attacks. The members of the delegation stated that they would follow the issue and that a joint work should be carried out to prevent such attacks from happening again.

The delegation then visited KNN, the official TV channel of the Gorran Movement. KNN officials called for a common attitude for the safety of journalists and expressed their support for the work of the delegation.  During the meeting, it was emphasised that the attacks of the Turkish state threaten the security of the whole Kurdistan, and that a common attitude should be taken in order to prevent the repetition of these attacks. KNN officials suggested that a study should be carried out to collect information about the martyred journalists.

The delegation then visited the Sulaymaniyah-based NRT television for the last scheduled meeting. The delegation was welcomed by NRT Officer Çiya Hesen. The delegation criticised NRT Television's attitude towards the massacre. Hesen Çiya accepted the criticism and stated that better communication should be established.

Having concluded their talks in the city, the delegation made a press statement on their observations and interviews in the city at METRO, the Organisation for the Protection and Defence of Journalists' Rights.

METRO Officer Diyarî Mihemmed condemned the attacks against journalists. Pointing out that journalists carry out important work, Mihemmed called for solidarity and struggle against the attacks against journalists.

Hendrin Faraj Mohamed, who read the press statement on behalf of the delegation, thanked METRO authorities for the facilities they provided and stated the following:

“As everyone knows, in our time, due to the expansion of the warring policies of regional and global powers and the conflict of their interests, war has overwhelmed many societies in the world in general and the Middle East and Kurdistan in particular. This means that societies in general and Kurdish society need access to information, to receive accurate news and to know the truth more than ever. At the same time, however, the pressures of totalitarian regimes on the media are increasing in various ways. According to the data and statistics of journalism organizations, especially Reporters without Borders, many governments around the world, through policies of pressure, arrest, detention and killing of journalists, prevent the right to access information in society and have made every effort to undermine free journalism.

Of course, the Turkish state is one of the states that puts pressure on journalists, arrests them and prevents them from doing their work. On August 23, 2013, the Turkish government targeted the vehicle of Kurdish journalists belonging to Chatr Media Production Company near Taparashi village in Said Sadiq district of Sulaimani province with drones and rockets. As a result of the attack, journalists Gulistan Tara and Hero Bahadin were martyred and another member of the company, journalist Rebin Bakr, was injured.

The attack followed an agreement on "military, security and counter-terrorism cooperation" signed on August 15, 2024, between the Iraqi government and the Turkish government. The attack on the depths of Iraqi territory directly holds the Iraqi government responsible. However, no serious statement was made by the Iraqi government after the attack and no measures were taken against the state responsible for this attack and terrorism, which is a flagrant violation of Iraqi sovereignty. Since the Iraqi government is not taking any steps against the attacks, this is evidence of cooperation between the Turkish and Iraqi states. In turn, journalists, the Kurdish people and the Iraqi people expect the Iraqi government to take significant steps against the attack, which falls under the category of war crimes.

Let us not forget that on July 8, our friend and colleague Mirza Murad Ibrahim, a journalist of Radio Chira FM, was martyred by a Turkish drone in Sinjar.

Both in the past and present, attacks on journalists, including pressure, torture, arrests, disappearances, massacres and obstruction of their work, continue. With the periods in which the politics of war have developed, journalists are targeted in many countries around the world. Regimes that want to hide their crimes and distort the truth promote policies of violence against journalists. The 2024 report of the IFJ (International Federation of Journalists) confirms this fact. According to IFJ data, in 2024, 120 journalists and media workers will be killed worldwide. As a result of these policies, on July 23, the Iranian authorities sentenced Kurdish journalist Pakhshan Azizi to death.

Wherever a journalist has been killed in the world, it is clear that there is an attempt to hide the truth. Therefore, killing a journalist is killing the truth and hiding crimes. At the same time, it is an attack on people's right to receive accurate news and information.

Journalists Gulistan Tara and Hero Bahadin were targeted and killed for revealing the truth and crimes committed by the militants against the Kurds.

The policies of war and the expansion of the Turkish state's occupation in South Kurdistan, besides killing journalists, cause the killing of civilians, evacuation of villages, burning of forests and deepening the economic, social and political crisis. The targeting of the two women journalists who are covering this situation is a cover-up of the facts and crimes of the Turkish state.

 In order to feel responsible for the difficult situation of journalists and free media in South Kurdistan, especially the attempt to abort the semi-free situation in Sulaimani, we visited Sulaimani with a large number of We met with media institutions, organizations, centers and unions defending the rights of journalists and the governor of Sulaimani.

During the meetings, we exchanged views on the martyrdom of journalists (Gulistan Tara and Hero Bahadin) and the attacks on journalists, to investigate the cases of both martyrs and solve the problems facing journalists and open it outside.

Our delegation thanks the organizations, centers and trade unions for their welcome and response to our demands.

At the same time, we announce:

Journalists face all dangers and threats to their lives to convey the truth to society. It is clear that the pressure, killings, attacks and arrests of journalists will not achieve the results that opponents of accurate news and information delivery want. We want to end the policy of war instead of silencing journalists.

Our appeal to the public is not to leave journalists alone and to own their right to news and information.

We call on women's organizations to take ownership of journalists.

In order to carry out a legal struggle against the criminal states in the domestic and international arena, we call on the Kurdish and international media and human rights organizations to fulfill their responsibility against any attack on journalists.

We also call on the Iraqi government, the Kurdistan Regional Government and international institutions:

- Ensure the safety of journalists and appropriate conditions for their work.

- The right of society to information must be protected.

- The killers of journalists should be punished so that we do not witness other assassinations like Gulistan and Hero.

- Journalists, wherever they are and whatever their opinions, should see themselves as a family and work together to defend their rights and convey the truth to society.”