The Peace Delegation to Defend Kurdistan which consists of Hafız Ahmet Turhallı, head of the Civaka Îslamiya Kurdistanê (CIK), Prof. Dr. Salar Basira, Dr. Zeynep Binici, head of the Kurdish Medical Association, Ronak Azîz, refugee and women's rights activist, Artist Glorioso Jun Saturay from the Linangan Foundation (Netherlands), Daniel Kopp, Progressive International spokesperson, and political observer Yılmaz Pêşkevin Kaba, travelled from Europe to Bashur (South Kurdistan, North Iraq) for a series of talks with the political groups in the region.

During their three-day visit, the peace delegation met the KDP, the PUK, the Gorran movement, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria representative, the Kongra Star, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Yazidi Freedom and Democracy Party (PADÊ) and the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Hewler (Erbil) representative.

Philippine artist Jun Saturay, Progressive International spokesperson Daniel Kopp and Hafız Ahmet Turhallı, head of the Civaka Îslamiya Kurdistanê (CIK) spoke to ANF about their meetings and observations.

'FATE OF MILLIONS OF PHILIPPINES LINKED TO THAT OF THE KURDS'

The Philippine artist Jun Saturay explained his reason for being in the delegation and going to Bashur. “I am based in the Netherlands. I am a migrant worker. I joined this peace mission because I am concerned about the safety of Philippine migrants here in this region. There are more than two thousand Philippine workers in this region. Several thousands more are in countries such as Iran, Turkey and Sudan. There are around 2.5 million Filipinos in the entire region. If this conflict intensifies, it will affect the lives and safety of millions of Filipinos. It will certainly affect Filipinos back home. It will affect the Philippine economy. Our economy depends on the migrant workers. I’ve come to solidarity for the Kurdish people. We have same interests. The safety and fate are tied to the fate of our Kurdish brothers and sisters. We call on the international community to support the struggle of Kurdish people for peace, democracy and their own self-determination. Because it is legitimate and there can’t be no question that they have the right to defend their own territories and lives there.”

'IF CONFLICT IS INTERNATIONAL, RESISTANCE SHOULD BE INTERNATIONAL, TOO'

Peace delegation member and Progressive International spokesperson Daniel Kopp maintained that the Turkish state has increased its invasion attacks against Kurdistan by citing its geopolitical concerns. Kopp added that the Turkish state used its NATO membership to justify the invasion attacks.

According to Kopp, if conflict is universal, then resistance should also become universal. “I am the spokesperson for the Progressive International, which represents millions of people from Latin America to North America, Asia and Africa around the world. We joined this delegation because we stand up for the rights of oppressed peoples. We fight for freedom and peace for everyone in the world. That's why we joined this Peace Delegation to demand the withdrawal of the Turkish troops that are illegally invading South Kurdistan and the withdrawal of all the Turkish military in Kurdistan. We joined this delegation because we are concerned about four different things that are intimately tied together. We are worried about the illegal invasion of South Kurdistan. We are worried about the increasing threats of another invasion in Rojava. We are worried about the continuous oppression and repression of the Kurdish people and opposition politicians in North Kurdistan. We are worried about the Turkish state’s attempt to suppress Kurdish solidarity, whether it is from a person like me or the Kurdish people themselves in Europe and other places around the world. We are also worried about how the Turkish state uses the current geo-political situation with the war in Ukraine and the NATO expansion in Europe with Finland and Sweden set to join the organization to buy the international community’s silence in the face of Turkish aggression. As Turkey is trying to internationalize this conflict by bringing it to all four parts of Kurdistan but also to Europe and the US, we also need to internationalize the resistance. That's why we joined this delegation. We have so far talked to different political parties and civil society actors. All were open to discussing the issue of the illegal invasion that’s happening right now. We got very different responses. Some see it as  legitimate self-defence, and some clearly condemn what also the German parliamentary research service has termed an illegal contravention of international law. We will continue to speak with political representatives in Sulaymaniyah in the coming days. We will report our findings when we return to Europe.”

KDP CRACKDOWNS ON HDP MEMBERS, FORCES THEM TO BECOME SPIES

CİK head Hafız Ahmet Turhallı spoke about the meetings: “Our main concerns are the invasion attacks, how they can be stopped and the unity of the Kurds. Some of the people we spoke to stated that they were against the occupation, but the parties within the government remained reluctant to defy the occupation. Also, in our meeting with the HDP, we observed that the KDP crackdowns the HDP and forced its members to become spies on behalf of the KDP. We talked to the UN human rights officers. We conveyed the concerns of the HDP members to them as well. We asked if chemical weapons were used during the Turkish invasion attacks and if they had any knowledge about it. Moreover, we raised concern over the mistreatment of the Bakur migrants. We also met with the UN Kurdistan Regional Government Political Affairs Desk Chief. We conveyed their concerns to him.”