Kurdistan Institution for Families of the Martyrs and the Disappeared (KOMAW) is preparing to appeal to the ICC on the massacres committed by the Turkish army in Kurdistan, primarily in Cizre and Sur.
KOMAW representatives will submit a case file to the ICC headquarters in Den Haag, the Netherlands demanding an investigation against Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Ahmet Davutoğlu, Hulusi Akar and Efkan Ala. The families of the martyrs and the disappeared will also hold a demonstration in front of the ICC during the submission of the case file in the name of KOMAW.
The Turkish army’s massacres in Cizre are listed in the case file KOMAW will present to the ICC. The argument reads: “All the coordination of this war has been handled in person by the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He has taken the decision to wage a war against our people, used every means including hate speech to escalate the war, and has personally ordered the cities be hit. The then-Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and General Staff Commander Hulusi Akar are also directly responsible for this war against our people.”
The case file also states that the Kurdish people’s right to utilize judicial mechanisms in Turkey in the face of massacres is also obstructed. The reasons for a need for an investigation by the ICC are listed as “The judiciary is under Erdoğan’s orders despite the written law, and is in a position of submission. The separation of powers are nonexistent in Turkey and the judiciary is far from independence and neutrality, under Erdoğan’s influence.”
“We believe the events, oppression and massacres we have experienced as a people fall under the category War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity listed in the Articles 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute,” reads the casefile and continues: “In this framework, we as KOMAW demand that you step in ex officio regarding Turkish citizens Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Ahmet Davutoğlu, Hulusi Akar and Efkan Ala who we believe to be the primarily responsible for the serious crimes in Kurdistan launch the necessary inquiry on them. Other responsible parties will emerge concretely when such an inquiry is launched. And we believe during the inquiry you will be able to gather documents, information and evidence apart from those gathered by our limited research into the matter.”
The demonstration to be held in support of the committee submitting the case file will take place on June 3, at 14:00 in front of the ICC’s headquarters at the address Oude Wallsdorperweg 10, 2597 AK Den Haag.
