David Shoebridge, Greens Senator for New South Wales, released a message expressing his solidarity with the Kurdish people in the face of the increasingly ongoing Turkish attacks against North-East Syria.

“As a Greens Senator, I am deeply troubled by the Turkish Government’s continued and ongoing military assault and human rights violations against the Kurdish people and the communities living in the autonomous region in North and East Syria,” said Shoebridge in his message on Wednesday.

Shoebridge stated: “Reports that civilians and essential facilities and infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, residential areas, power stations, mosques and refugee camps are being targeted is profoundly distressing and I condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms.”

“I am also concerned that the Turkish Government is using the devastating developments in Palestine and Israel to advance its own agenda and escalate the military assault against the Kurdish people. While the public attention is focused on the former conflict, I want to make it clear that Turkey’s violations against the Kurdish people are not going unnoticed and I urge the Turkish Government to stop these brutal attacks immediately,” said the Australian Senator.

Shoebridge called on the international community to call these attacks out and demand accountability for the human rights violations and war crimes committed by Turkey against the Kurdish people.

“Today and every day, I stand in solidarity with the Kurdish people and the Kurdish diaspora in Australia during these difficult times. I call on the Australian Government to use its alliance with the US and the Coalition on the ground to urge them to use their diplomatic ties with Turkey to raise this matter urgently and demand an end to these attacks,” stated the Greens Senator.

Background

Since last Thursday, the Turkish state has been carrying out a so-called "air-ground offensive" against north-eastern Syrian autonomous territory, justifying this aggression with an attack by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Ankara on 1 October, when two PKK guerrillas carried out a sacrificial action in front of the Turkish Interior Ministry in the highly secured government quarter.

The Turkish air terror, which Ankara justifies with the right to self-defence, is specifically targeting the vital infrastructure of the civilian population of northern and eastern Syria. More than two million people are currently cut off from basic services, and the energy infrastructure of Hesekê, Qamişlo and Amûdê has been almost completely destroyed.

Attacks on the civilian population or civilian infrastructure constitute war crimes. The international community ignores this open breach of international law and lets Ankara have its way in its war against the Kurds without consequence. Not only in Syria, but also in Iraq, Turkey is given a permanent green light for war crimes.

According to a balance sheet prepared by ANHA (Hawar News Agency), at least 47 people were killed and 59 others injured as a result of Turkish attacks between 4-11 October.  The victims include 10 civilians, among them 2 children.