The Democratic Society Congress (DTK), Free Women's Movement (TJA), Democratic Regions Party (DBP), Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Peace Mothers Assembly, Association of 78’ers, Aid, Solidarity, Unity and Cultural Association with Families Who Lost Their Relatives in the Cradle of Civilizations (MEBYA-DER), Med Legal and Solidarity Associations Federation for Families of Detainees and Convicts (MED TUHAD-FED), Mesopotamia Language and Cultural Research Association (MED-DER), Dicle Fırat Culture and Art Association, and GÖÇ-DER made a joint statement on Tuesday in response to the invasion operation launched by the Turkish state in cooperation with KDP in the Kurdistan Region.

 

DBP Co-Chair Saliha Aydeniz, HDP Vice Co-Chair Feleknas Uca and representatives of many non-governmental organizations attended the press conference held at the DBP Amed headquarters.

'PREPARATION FOR A LARGE-SCALE ATTACK ON SHENGAL'

HDP Vice Co-Chair Uca said that the Turkish operation was launched right after the meeting between the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Masrour ​​Barzani and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Uca noted that the Iraqi Army's attacks on Shengal started simultaneously with the Turkish attacks. “Once again, preparations are being made for a large-scale attack on Shengal. We condemn these attacks,” she said.

'REFUSING WAR IS AN IMPORTANT STEP'

DBP Co-Chair Saliha Aydeniz said that the operation is a continuation of the Turkish hostility towards the Kurds.

“We know that this attack is a continuation of the hostile policies against the Kurdish people that have been implemented for a century. The very reason for the crises and the chaos in Turkey is the continuous Kurdish hostility, and the policies of war, isolation and trustees. These war policies have brought nothing to Turkey.  Refusing this war will be an important step for Turkey's democratization. It will be important in terms of building peace in Turkey.

'KURDISH GAINS ARE TARGETED'

The recent Turkish offensive is literally an invasion of South Kurdistan, an attack to destroy the gains of the Kurdish people in the region.

The people of South Kurdistan must raise their voices against this war so that they do not lose their status that they have achieved with a lot of effort. Everyone has a responsibility to raise their voice against this war. We will oppose this war to the end, and we will fight for unity to protect the gains of the Kurdish people. We will always condemn those who do not speak out against it.

‘KDP WILL CAUSE TO KURDS TO LOSE’

The KDP only promotes the interests of Turkey and regional states and the family. Maintaining the status of South Kurdistan should be the primary responsibility of all peoples of Kurdistan and the peoples of the Middle East. I would like to express very clearly that the Barzani family and the KDP will cause the Kurds to lose, targeting the gains of the Kurdish people.”

'LET'S PROTECT KURDISH INTERESTS'

After speeches, a joint text concerning the AKP-KDP's cross-border attacks was read out. The joint text read out in Kurdish by Uca and in Turkish by Aydeniz includes the following:

“After the termination of the Dolmabahçe Agreement first, and then the June 7 coup, the AKP-MHP government continued the policies of war, denial and annihilation against the Kurdish people and the peoples in Turkey. Instead of resolving the Kurdish issue, which is Turkey's main issue, through democratic negotiations, the AKP-MHP government is insisting on war policies. This process started with the isolation (of Abdullah Öcalan) on Imrali, the occupation of Afrin, Serekaniyê and Girê Spi in Rojava, the arrest of elected deputies, the replacement of HDP mayors by government-appointed trustees, torture and massacres against political prisoners, crackdown on democratic politics and the Kurdish people and the closure case against the HDP. Since this year’s Newroz, thousands of our citizens in Kurdistan have been detained or arrested as a result of intimidation operations.

We also strongly condemn the Iraqi Army's attack on Shengal yesterday, along with this dirty war, and we state that we stand by the struggle of the Shengal people. On this basis, we urge political parties, non-governmental organizations, intellectuals and artists, religious groups and opinion leaders in Kurdistan to take a common stance against this dirty war, all the forces involved in this war and the KDP.

Turkey will never be a democratic country unless those who oppose the occupation attacks and hegemonic wars in Ukraine and Palestinian lands take a stand against the policies of conflict and denial against Kurdistan and the Kurdish people.

CALL FOR SOLIDARITY

We call upon all revolutionaries, socialists, democrats, intellectuals and artists in Turkey to show solidarity with the Kurdish people against these war policies. This war affects Turkey’s society the most, and will continue to do so. With each passing day, the dictatorial regime will develop, democracy will weaken, and the economic crisis will continue. Therefore, we urge all peoples of Kurdistan and Turkey to develop a policy of peace and manifest their democratic reaction against these dirty war policies.”

'BARZANI IS INSPIRED BY SADDAM'

Havva Kıran from the Peace Mothers Assembly criticized the Barzani Family, saying, “Did they forget Halabja? From Saddam they learned about chemical weapons, deaths and arrests. They are inspired by Saddam, not by humanity. Until now, we have considered Barzani as a Kurdish leader. When Saddam was overthrown, the Kurds thought that the Barzani family formed a Kurdish territory in South Kurdistan. Unfortunately, we did not realize that he was the biggest enemy of the Kurds. Today, the children of the Kurds are fighting for the freedom of their own people. The Barzani family, on the other hand, is allying with those who bomb the children of this people. We condemn them, who forgot Halabja and Saddam's cruelty, and became another Saddam themselves. No one becomes a leader by violence. You are killing Kurds under the pretext of protecting the Kurds, yet your hands are covered with the blood of Kurdish children. We will not accept this.”