The Co-Presidency of the KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) Executive Council published a statement criticizing the international silence in the face of the continuous use of chemical weapons by the Turkish state against the guerilla forces in South Kurdistan.

The statement published on Monday reads as follows:

“The HPG (People’s Defense Forces) stated in an official statement that the Turkish state has been attacking the guerrilla areas in South Kurdistan with chemical weapons for almost five months. Videos proving this have also been released. As genocidal colonialism gets increasingly in trouble and becomes more and more cornered, it resorts to using chemical weapons against the guerrilla. It has already used chemical weapons against the guerrilla`s mountain caves in the past. In the war that has been raging for five months in South Kurdistan in the vicinity of the guerrilla tunnels, the Turkish state is continuously using chemical weapons to annihilate the guerrilla and capture their tunnel positions.

In its statements, the HPG has repeatedly pointed out that the Turkish army uses chemical weapons and accordingly commits war crimes. Nevertheless, not a single state or responsible international organization has taken action so far. Europe and the U.S., as well as UN organizations, immediately bring the use of chemical weapons onto the agenda when it involves countries against which they take a position. But when chemical weapons are used by their own allies, they ignore these crimes and take no action. By doing so, they make it clear that they are neither serious nor consistent in their stance against chemical weapons.

When it comes to Turkey, the UN, Europe, the USA and many other countries think only of their own interests. It does not matter to them that Turkey is committing a genocide against the Kurds, subjects its own population to complete dictatorship, and that oppression and tyranny of unparalleled proportions prevail in the country. Only their own interests count. This attitude encourages the genocidal-colonialist Turkish state to use all conceivable forms of oppression and inhuman measures against the Kurds. More arrests are taking place in Turkey than in any other country in the world. It almost seems as if the Turkish state wants to throw everyone in prison who stands by their Kurdish identity and resists against the policy of Turkification and assimilation! Numerous democratically elected deputies, mayors and members of city councils have been arrested for insisting on the Kurdish people’s demand for a free and democratic life. Everywhere, pre-trial detention has been turned into a place for oppression, torture and rape. By threatening them with tyranny or imprisonment, many people today are forced to work as agents and betray their own people.

Although the AKP-MHP government has committed numerous human rights crimes, Europe and the US still consider Turkey a normal, democratic country and a legitimate interlocutor. They support Turkey militarily, politically and diplomatically. The AKP-MHP government relies on this attitude and support from Europe and the US. It uses this to strengthen and continue its tyranny against the peoples of Turkey. It also keeps bombing Rojava and Sinjar and threatening them with occupation. And it continues the oppression against the people of the Maxmur-Camp, who had to flee from the pressure of the Turkish state. Europe, the USA and the UN are jointly responsible for the crimes, the occupation and the massacres perpetrated through air strikes against the Kurdish people and the peoples of Turkey. All the Kurdish people, all the peoples of the world and all the democratic forces must be aware of this.

Every day the Turkish army sets fire to the forests of Kurdistan with its warplanes, tanks and artillery and destroys the nature there. As if this were a natural right of the Turkish state, everybody is simply watching silently. As if it was allowed to use chemical weapons against the PKK-guerrilla and as if the Turkish state had the right to use such weapons, everybody is simply keeping silent. There is really nothing more to say about the attitude of Europe, the USA and the UN. They disregard all conceivable human values just to secure their own interests. At the same time, they encourage all forces that actively act against human values.

The HPG Central Command stated a few days ago that three guerrilla fighters fell as Şehits due to the use of chemical weapons in the guerrilla tunnels in the Girê Sor area of South Kurdistan. The guerrilla fighters actually protect themselves with gas masks and other precautions. If they did not do so, hundreds of guerrilla members would have already died as Şehits as a result of such attacks. Probably, Europe, the USA and the UN would like all guerrilla fighters to be killed with chemical weapons. If this was not the case, they would take a public stance against the Turkish state. In the past, the U.S., Europe, and the U.S. have called any use of chemical weapons a red line. They have declared this a highly sensitive issue, warning numerous forces. But their stance today stands in stark contradiction to their own words. They do not warn the Turkish state or actively intervene, but rather play an important role as its political supporters.

Active action must be taken against the Turkish state in order to stop it. This state is using chemical weapons, setting fire to forests and oppressing the Kurdish people and the peoples of Turkey. Europe, the USA and the UN cannot cover up their current hypocrisy, lack of attitude, lack of morals and conscience by protesting only against the unjust treatment of certain individuals.

We call on all the Kurdish people, all the peoples of Turkey, Europe, the USA, all democratic forces worldwide and all moral democrats in the UN to protest everywhere against the use of chemical weapons against the guerrilla and to bring the Turkish state to court for its crimes against humanity. We strongly believe that the International Tribunal (Permanent People`s Tribunal) will take important steps in this regard. The AKP-MHP government is committing crimes against the Kurdish people and all humanity. It will definitely be brought to justice and held accountable for this.”