The Co-Presidency of the KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) Executive Council released a statement on the policy of the Iraqi government regarding Turkish occupation and massacres in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq).

The KCK statement on Friday includes the following:

“As a result of the increasing attacks of the genocidal colonialist Turkish state against southern Kurdistan, many civilians and patriots have been murdered and many have been wounded. We commemorate those martyred in these attacks with respect and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded. Our people, patriots, and democratic institutions must show their support.

We once again strongly condemn these dastardly attacks by the Turkish state, and we also condemn the Iraqi government, which creates the ground for these massacres with its relations and agreements with the Turkish state. It is very clear that the increasing attacks, the massacres, and the occupation by the Turkish state are the result of those. It should be known that from now on, the Iraqi government will be held responsible for all attacks, occupations, and massacres in southern Kurdistan and Iraq as much as the Turkish state. Again, the forces that stand behind the Iraqi government, who are partners in this historical mistake or who do not openly take a stance, are also under this shame.

We once again warn the relevant powers, especially the Iraqi government, and reiterate our call for an end to the wrong and dangerous relations with the Turkish state. This dirty relationship of interest, which aims at the occupation and genocide of Kurdistan and will put Iraq under the hegemony of the Turkish state, jeopardizes the democratic, free future of the peoples of the Middle East. The aim of the expansionist, neo-Ottomanist, fascist AKP-MHP government is to occupy according to the Misak-ı Milli ((The so-called ‘National Pact’ refers to a political declaration made by the leaders of the Ottoman Empire in 1920 during the First World War. The oath defined the territorial borders – including Kurdish settlement areas in present-day Iraq and Syria – and the basic principles for Turkey’s future policy. Today, Turkish nationalists often refer to the ‘National Pact’ to formulate their aspirations for Turkey’s territorial expansion) and establish sovereignty over the region by massacring and pitting the peoples against each other. This policy poses a threat to Iraq and its unity. Iraq must be aware of this reality. But still, Iraq is rapidly drifting in a wrong and dangerous direction as a result of these relations that the government has entered into, and the forces that state that they are against this course must take stronger positions. There is a need for open and strong attitudes, not coyly and tacitly. All patriotic and democratic Iraqi forces and intellectuals who are in favor of the unity and sovereignty of Iraq must develop a clear and strong position to prevent the government from the continuation of this course.

The KDP and the Barzani clan are mainly responsible for the occupation and massacres in southern Kurdistan. For the sake of profit, they have become partners in the genocide of Kurds and have become the biggest threat to Kurdistan. The Barzani clan has forced and put the Iraqi state into such relations in order to cover up and legitimize their collaborative and treasonous behavior. This danger must first be recognized, and strong attitudes must be developed against this danger. Kurdish politics, patriotic forces, and Kurdish intellectuals must act with this responsibility and lead the way. Our people should not remain unresponsive to these attacks; they should strongly express their reaction against the massacres and the collaborator treacherous line, strengthen their unity by holding up the legacy of the martyrs strongly, and raise the struggle for freedom.”