15 regional bar associations issue statement condemning increasing racist attacks on Kurds

15 regional bar associations issued a joint statement condemning the increasing racist attacks against Kurdish citizens in various cities.

15 regional bar associations condemned the increasing racist attacks against Kurdish citizens in a joint statement. They said that violence and polarizing language pave the way for racist attacks and added: "An immediate and effective investigation should be carried out on these latest attacks."

The joint statement also condemned the racist attacks in Konya and Afton.

Underlining that the attacks should not be seen as isolated and judicial incidents, the statement said: “Investigations are carried out for crimes involving physical violence and insults, killing people, attempting to kill people, intentionally injuring people, insulting, threatening, damaging property within the scope of hate crimes. News articles reflected that the attacks in question were prompted by the Kurdish identity of the people attacked and the use of the Kurdish language. In the last period, similar lynching attempts, hate speech and attacks have frequently targeted Kurdish identity and the use of the Kurdish language.”

The statement added: “The discriminatory language used by politicians in recent years has provided a basis for such attacks. The undersigned bar associations condemn these racist attacks, which lead to serious human rights violations, especially the right to life, and demand the abandonment of statements that set the ground for all kinds of racist attacks on Kurdish identity and Kurdish language. They harm social peace. We demand the attacks to be investigated promptly and effectively.”

The bar associations that signed the statement are as follows: Adıyaman, Ağrı, Bingöl, Bitlis, Batman, Dersim, Diyarbakır, Hakkari, Kars, Mardin, Muş, Siirt, Urfa, Şırnak and Van Bar Association.