HDP and DTK: Turkish soldiers deliberately burn forests

The committee inspecting the forest fires caused by the Turkish army in Amed stated that the villagers report use of barrel bombs. The committee said, “We won’t let our people go through this alone.”

Diyarbakır MP Musa Farisoğulları from the committee inspecting the forest fires that started due to bombings in the rural areas of Lice and Kulp stated that people are not allowed to fight the fires, and added: “There are practices based on animosity against Kurds by government officials that could lead to deaths.”

The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) and the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) issued a statement after a committee inspected the forest fires caused by Turkish army bombings in Amed’s Kulp, Hazro and Lice districts on July 28.

HDP Amed MPs Musa Farisoğulları, Dersim Dağ, Remziye Tosun, Saliha Aydeniz and Semra Güzel, Free Women’s Movement (TJA) activists, DTK Co-Presidential Council members and party members participated in the demonstration in front of the HDP offices. DBP Amed Province Co-chair Naşide Toprak said the forest fires have become routine each year, and that it is a deliberate policy.

“VILLAGERS REPORT USE OF BARREL BOMBS”

HDP MP Musa Farisoğulları said: “From Dersim to Amed, there are severe fires due to bombings. They said the state of emergency was over, but that was just for the name. On the day that the SoE was supposedly lifted, forest fires started in the Kurdish lands. The fires spread to areas with houses and people. We went to Kulp and Lice for inspections. The villagers couldn’t fight the fires in the bombed areas due to the curfews. The fires in the Eskar and Dorshin regions in Kulp went out on their own. The villagers report use of barrel bombs. On our way back, we went to the Kerwas and Helhel villages in Lice. The people there said there had been a severe bombing at 04.00 in the morning. The fire started there then spread to a wide area. The villagers couldn’t fight the fire immediately, as we arrived we attempted to put the fire out with primitive measures together with the people. Of course the danger is far from over.”

“COULD LEAD TO DEATHS”

Farisoğulları stressed that these practices had been tried for years and it is now apparent that they don’t work, so the state should abandon them, and added: “There are practices based on animosity against Kurds by government officials that could lead to deaths. We won’t let our people go through this alone.”