Politicians call on intellectuals to say 'stop' the war

2024-09-15 10:34:50


	ISTANBUL - Pointing out that Turkey wants to dehumanize the region with the attacks against the Federated Kurdistan Region, politicians and intellectuals emphasized that intellectuals should say “stop” to war policies for a democratic country. 

	The attacks launched by Turkey against the territory of the Federated Kurdistan Region with the cooperation and partnership of the KDP continue. Following the “security agreement” signed between Ankara and Baghdad on August 15, attacks against the region increased. Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Marmara Representative Mehmet Karabağ and Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Istanbul 3rd Region Co-Spokesperson Gülistan Aydın made evaluations on Turkey's attacks. 

	 

	'KDP IS A PARTNER IN TURKEY'S MASSACRE'

	 

	Stating that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has been conducting intensive “diplomacy” to “occupy” Federated Kurdistan since 2022, Karabağ said that all the gains of the Kurds are wanted to be eliminated, especially in cooperation with the KDP. Emphasizing that after the “agreement” signed between Ankara and Baghdad, Turkey wants to make the region unmanned by targeting civilians, Karabağ said: “The people in Federated Kurdistan oppose Turkey's occupation policy. The people naturally do not want to leave their living spaces, agricultural areas and regions. Both KDP and Turkey are uncomfortable with these objections of the people. Those who are disturbed by these objections are carrying out these massacres. Turkey aims to achieve this through drone and UCAV attacks. KDP also supports these massacres.” 

	 

	'TAKING ÖCALAN AS AN INTERLOCUTOR WILL STOP THE WAR'

	 

	

	 

	Noting that dirty war policies have been put into action after the government ended the dialogue process in which PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan was the main actor, Karabağ said: “This dirty war, which was carried out with the isolation of Mr. Abdullah Öcalan in İmralı, continues to spread.  Children, women and civilians are the first degree affected by the war. While the AKP-MHP government is committing massacres against civilians in Federated Kurdistan, it is also provoking Turkish nationalism in Turkey. As a result of this provocation, racist attacks are taking place. Attacks against construction workers and seasonal agricultural workers who come from Kurdistan to work in western provinces have increased recently. As soon as the workers, who work for daily wages, demand their wages for their labor, a wave of nationalism is created there and they are subjected to racist attacks and cannot get their wages. When we look at the civilian massacres holistically, we see that this is not independent from the Kurdish question. In order to solve the Kurdish problem, the absolute isolation of Mr. Öcalan must be lifted and the Dolmabahçe agreement must be returned. Making Mr. Öcalan an interlocutor again will stop the war in the entire Middle East.”

	 

	'THE GATES OF I·MRALI MUST BE OPENED'

	 

	Underlining that there is serious poverty in Turkey, “Turkey has become a country ruled by sects, communities and gangs. There is no such thing as merit.  This war is part of the collapse plan and is still going on. This war does not give anything to the peoples and laborers of Turkey. It both physically massacres the people in Kurdistan and exploits the labor of the working people in Turkey. The people have nothing to gain from the war except the ruling and capitalist forces.  As DBP, we have to insist on democratic politics. The sine qua non for solving the Kurdish problem through democratic politics and paving the way for peace is İmralı and the doors of İmralı must be opened” Karabağ said. 

	 

	CALL TO INTELLECTUALS

	 

	Emphasizing that intellectuals and democrats in Turkey should take responsibility without fear, Karabağ said: “Otherwise we will all take our share from this dirty war. Our call to the intellectual and democratic public opinion in Turkey; if we want to live together in a democratic country, the construction of a democratic nation can only be achieved by saying 'stop' to this war together. We must raise a strong voice against war policies. Democratic mass organizations, professional chambers and civil society organizations in Turkey are obliged to fulfill their duties and responsibilities.”

	 

	'MASSACRES ARE THE CONTINUATION OF THE POLICY OF THE 90S'

	 

	

	 

	Gülistan Aydın, Co-Spokesperson of DEM Party 3rd Division, stated that Turkey's attacks against civilians date back to ancient times and said: “Thousands of villages in Kurdistan were burned down in the 90s. Thousands of our citizens were put in front of their doors without even being allowed to take out their belongings and their houses were burned in front of their eyes. And people were told 'go wherever you want'. The evacuation of villages in Federated Kurdistan and the targeting of civilians is a continuation of the policy pursued here in the 90s. Because for them, the Kurd has no South, North or West, the Kurd is the Kurd. When we talk about civilian massacres in Turkey, we can count Uğur Kaymaz, Ceylan Önkol, the Dedeoğlu family in Konya and thousands more. Now they want to implement the same policies in Federated Kurdistan.” 

	  

	'WE MUST ORGANIZE ON THE BASIS OF SELF-DEFENSE'

	 

	Aydın said the following: “The state wants to seize Kurdish lands. After forcibly displacing Kurds in Afrin, it settled gangs there. Now it wants to do the same policy in the territory of Federated Kurdistan. Turkey's goal is to destroy any gains the Kurdish people have made in any region. Their aim is for the Kurdish people to have no status anywhere. Kurds need to organize themselves on the basis of self-defense against the policies of total war. Turkey should learn lessons from the situation in Syria and give up these war policies as soon as possible.”