The European Democratic Kurdistan Community Congress (KCDK-E) sent a letter to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), to underline the chemical weapons attacks in the Federated Kurdistan region of Turkey.

In a statement, the KCDK-E said: "For the past two years, Kurdish organizations and international organizations have been trying to draw attention to Turkey's use of banned chemical weapons, which constitute war crimes. We called on the Organization for the Prohibition of Weapons (OPCW) to investigate these reports. It is the responsibility of the OPCW, and in particular of its Director General, to hold member state Turkey accountable for these crimes. However, at present, the Director General and the OPCW member states, despite the Turkish Minister of Defense Hulusi Akar's public admission that banned weapons were used in attacks against Kurds in Iraq, continue to turn a blind eye, thus allowing the ongoing war crimes of the Erdogan regime with his silence.”

OPCW must act

Reminding that the purpose of the OPCW's existence is the elimination of chemical weapons and the threat of their use, the statement continued: "The OPCW exists to eliminate chemical weapons and the threat of their use, and should not allow itself to be influenced by political pressures. Earlier this year, the OPCW issued a statement commemorating the 35th anniversary of the 1987 chemical weapons attack on Kurds in Sardasht, Iran, calling for steps to be taken to ‘ensure that tragedies like Sardasht do not happen again’.

Ten years after this horrific attack, the OPCW was established and today 193 countries have committed to the Chemical Weapons Convention. In the face of ongoing war crimes, the OPCW must serve its purpose and act urgently, regardless of whether the perpetrator of today's illegal chemical weapons attacks is a NATO member."

Emphasizing that the OPCW took action following reports of chemical weapons use in Syria in Duma and Ghouta and sent a delegation there, the statement said: "International actions aimed at preventing war crimes and implementing international agreements should not be applied selectively. Political interests cannot be acted upon in human rights issues. It is time for the OPCW to listen to the call of the Kurdish people and international experts, including the IPPNW, and address the use of chemical weapons by the Turkish army. The use of chemical weapons by Turkey and all OPCW member states should be investigated, condemned and stopped immediately."

The KCDK-E requested that the letter be sent by everyone to the OPCW by e-mail and a call for action to be taken to prevent the use of chemical weapons.

The OPCW mail information is as follows:

“His Excellency Ambassador Fernando Arias. Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)”

[email protected]