Doves of peace needed instead of hail of bombs
Since the evening of 23 October 2024, Turkey has been bombing the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Şengal and northern Syria, also using drones. At least a dozen civilians have been killed and dozens injured. The attacks have targeted civilian infrastructure, including grain silos, a health centre and power plants.
Turkey is labelling the attacks as anti-terror measures against PKK positions in the context of the attack on Turkish Aerospace Industries, which took place on 23 October in Ankara.
On the same day, DEM Party MP Ömer Öcalan was allowed to visit Kurdish Political Leader Abdullah Öcalan after more than three years of total isolation on the prison island of İmralı. Abdullah Öcalan asked him to convey the following message to the public: “The isolation continues. I have the theoretical and practical power to move this process from the basis of conflict and violence to the legal and political basis when the conditions are right.”
This is exactly where we need to start. The isolation must be ended immediately. The 2014 judgement of the European Court of Human Rights in the context of the legal principle of hope must be implemented without any delay, as also demanded by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. Abdullah Öcalan’s freedom is essential so that he can fully play his key role in finding a political solution to the Kurdish question, democratising Turkey and bringing peace to the Middle East.
Turkey must immediately stop its attacks in Iraq and Syria, which violate international law. This requires condemnation, clear measures and immediate sanctions from the international community, above all the United Nations and the European Union, against Turkey.
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EU Turkey Civic Commission
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