The Executive Council of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) has issued a written statement on Turkey's increasingly ongoing genocidal attacks against South Kurdistan (Bashur).

KCK offered condolences to the families of the civilians martyred in Turkish air strikes in Xakurke, Goshine and Kortek, and said the following;

“The Turkish state has increased its attacks against civilians after the launch of their invasion operation against Xakurke. They are killing civilians mainly by air raids. The bombing of residential areas and vehicles, which killed civilians in Xakurke, Goshine, Qandil and Behdinan, is part of the occupation operation. The aim is the depopulation of the occupied territories. The murder of civilians is justified by the presence of the PKK in an attempt to lead to a conflict between the PKK, KDP and PUK. The statements of South Kurdistan authorities and some Bashur media outlets reporting the massacre of civilians as the result of an “armed clash” legitimize and encourage the attacks of the Turkish state.

The killing of civilians in Kortek area has been covered as the result of a battle between the guerrillas and the Turkish army. In Kortek, however, there is not a single guerilla unit nor guerrilla base. Civil vehicles have been bombed on the paved road between the villages of the region and the city. With their deliberately distorted reports, some media in Bashur have proven to be a party to the invasion and attacks of the Turkish state.”

The statement by KCK Executive Council continued;

"The fact that the government of South Kurdistan, KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) and PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) are in no way opposed to the deadly attacks of the Turkish state against Medya Defense Zones and South Kurdistan is an unacceptable situation that is watched by the people of Bashur and entire Kurdish public with astonishment and regret. There can be no justification for the silence of government and the political forces that claim to be representing the Kurdish people on the killing of civilians. The policies of those who are silent on the massacre of their own people, would naturally be questioned. The legitimacy of a government and representatives of the people would become debatable as they remain silent on civilian massacres. The South Kurdistan government, KDP and PUK have put themselves in such a position by remaining silent on the massacres.

It is a historic negligence to judge the war policy of the AKP/MHP coalition and the invasion of South Kurdistan only as aimed at the PKK. We are dealing with an AKP government which has stated that it does not want to repeat in northern Syria the mistake made in northern Iraq. The memory of the independence referendum stance and the Kirkuk crisis is still fresh. The Turkish regime follows the logic that the Lausanne Agreement was no success, considering Mosul and Kirkuk, thus the South Kurdistan territory, a part to be annexed to their own lands. They express this desire of theirs in a manner that rejects Kurdish existence and considers entire Kurdistan an expansion area of ​​the Turkish nation. To this end, they seek to occupy South Kurdistan and subject the Kurds to genocide as in North Kurdistan (Bakur). In view of this fact, silence on the Turkish state’s invasion attacks and civilian massacres means being party to the policy of occupation, annexation and genocide.

The political forces in South Kurdistan are not only silent, they also work closely with the Turkish secret service (MIT) and provide information for targeted attacks on the guerrilla areas, thus being complicit in the death of hundreds of guerrillas. In close contact with MIT, the whereabouts of guerrilla units and the PKK leadership are determined and subsequently bombed by the Turkish Air Force. There have been dozens of such incidents. We have a wealth of information and evidence on intelligence cooperation in South Kurdistan with Turkish MIT. In the current situation we can no longer allow such situations. We will clearly take the necessary measures and bring those responsible to justice.

That a Kurdish political force has relations with and passes information on those who are at war with another Kurdish political movement, is unacceptable. As the Liberation Movement, we call on the political forces of South Kurdistan to position themselves against the occupation operation on Kurdistan and to stand in the way of those who provide intelligence information to the Turkish state. We emphasize once again that the attacks on the Kurdish liberation movement and the occupation operation of the Turkish state are directed against South Kurdistan and the entire Kurdish people.

We call on the South Kurdish population, civil society organizations and all democratic forces to raise their voices against the invasion, to position themselves against collaboration with the enemies of the Kurdish people and to support the struggle of the liberation movement against occupation and any form of attack.”

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