The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) has issued a written statement on the anniversary of the massacres in Halabja and Beyazıt.

The statement recalled the mass murder by poison gas in Halabja on 16 March 1988 by the Saddam regime, which was produced with the help of German companies such as the Nazi profiteer Züblin. More than 5,000 Kurds were killed.

The HDP's statement said: "The images of dead mothers who tried to protect their children with their bodies have been etched into humanity's memory. We will not forget how the children screamed; ‘Mother, I smell apples’. Even if the Saddam regime committed the massacre, we will not forget who supplied the chemical weapons and who simply ignored this mass murder.”

"We warn those who have learned nothing from it"

The statement stresses that the massacre could not stop the Kurdish freedom struggle: "Those who have not learned anything from this historical truth are now attacking the civilian population in Afrin, Girê Spî and Serêkaniyê. We warn those who are making the same mistake: You won't change the course of history, you won't stop the peoples' struggle for freedom.”

The massacre in Beyazıt

Regarding the Beyazıt massacre, the HDP said: "On 16 March 1978 seven students were killed in an attack by the counter-guerrillas. Despite years of legal struggle, the files were closed. Like many of the murders in Turkey, the Beyazıt massacre remains in the dark, and the perpetrators remain unknown. But the deceased and their dignified struggle were never forgotten. The history is not written by the murderers, but by this honorable fight. The murderers will remain as a black spot in the memory of mankind."