Massacre Commited By Turkish Regime

dublin | rights and freedoms | opinion/analysis Saturday December 31, 2011 14:36 by KSI - KURDISTAN SOLIDARITY IRELAND

Massacre commited by Turkish regime against Kurds

We strongly condemn Thursday’s massacre at Sirnak in which 36 civilian Kurds were killed by Turkish air strikes. This year more than 4,500 people have been arrested under nebulous “terrorism” charges in Turkey, including dozens of journalists last week. This AKP-directed pogram, known as the KCK Case, began in 2009 against any Kurdish dissent in Turkey. Mayors, local councillors, journalists, human rights activists and Kurdish party workers are targeted.

We strongly condemn Thursday’s massacre at Sirnak in which 36 civilian Kurds were killed by Turkish air strikes. This year more than 4,500 people have been arrested under nebulous “terrorism” charges in Turkey, including dozens of journalists last week. This AKP-directed pogram, known as the KCK Case, began in 2009 against any Kurdish dissent in Turkey. Mayors, local councillors, journalists, human rights activists and Kurdish party workers are targeted. Almost half of those arrested have been detained without trial. Heavy military operations against the Kurdish freedom movement have intensified, with at least 37 Kurdish fighters killed in November apparently by chemical weapons.

Since the beginning of the Arab uprising Turkey has been held up as a model for emerging Middle Eastern democracies. We question Turkey’s suitability for such an accolade. Western proponents of Turkey’s example remain silent in the face of massacres being committed by Erdogan’s government but they are very quick to condemn recent killings by the Assad or Kaddafi regimes earlier this year, and in fact to support and facilitate those tyrants’ removal from power. Why is there is so much hypocrisy involving strategic NATO-member and key western ally Turkey?

For the last three decades, both the US and EU member states have labelled the Kurds as criminal and terrorist in order to appease Turkey. They have remained silent and in cases aided Turkey in carrying out killings and evacuations of thousands of Kurdish villages. They have turned a blind eye to human rights abuses while continuing to arm Turkey with high-tech weaponry, including chemical weapons. Some have played Turkey’s game on the level of international diplomacy to the point of jeopardising the reputation of their own judiciaries and democratic values. At the behest of Turkey it seems any exiled Kurdish activist in France, Germany, Italy or Spain can be arbitrarily arrested or detained. There are many examples of this.

The hypocrisy of the global powers and the media that uphold them is revealed through the Kurdish situation. While the pro-democracy PKK is demonised we witness those who executed Kaddafi in cold blood described as “freedom fighters”. This shows us the type of democracy and justice that Britain, France, Germany and the USA have in mind for the people of Middle East.

Kurdistan Solidarity Ireland.