Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent comments on human rights violations in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have drawn criticism from pro-Kurdish circles, as Turkey faces increasing scrutiny over its own attacks on civilian infrastructure in North and East Syria.
Erdoğan said on Tuesday: “No water is being supplied to Gaza, there is no electricity, no electricity is being supplied. We don’t know the condition of the hospitals, whether they can function. Unfortunately, places of worship, hospitals, schools, they are all being ruthlessly bombed and the world is silent. Nobody says anything. Where are the human rights?”
Saliha Aydeniz, co-chair of the Democratic Regions Party (DBP), responded to Erdoğan’s remarks in a press statement on Tuesday: “You bombed a mosque in Makhmour (Mexmûr), a hospital in al-Malikiyah (Dêrik) and injured five women working in a cotton field. You killed two children, aged 9 and 10, in Ayn Issa (Eyn Îsa). Where is the justice, where are the human rights?”
Turkish forces carried out an attack on the Makhmour refugee camp in Iraq on Saturday. The drone fired on a house and a mosque within the camp, injuring a woman and two children.
Erdoğan repeated his remarks on social media on the following day, denouncing actions that cut off essential services and infrastructure, destroyed places of worship and prevented access to basic human necessities. “A conflict conducted with all these kinds of shameful methods is not a war, it is a massacre”, he said.
Erdoğan’s comments come as Israel faces criticism for its disproportionate and morally questionable attacks on Gaza, which Erdoğan said could “put it in an unfavourable position in world opinion”.
Stressing the importance of speaking out against Turkey’s continued attacks, Aydeniz called for the resolution of the Palestinian and Kurdish issues in order to democratise the Middle East. She also urged the United Nations to go beyond mere reports and take concrete action, particularly in the face of attacks on life in Kurdish-controlled areas in Syria. She also called on Russia, America and France to close the airspace over northern and eastern Syria.
Referring to three days of national mourning in North and East Syria, Aydeniz said that it was a collective experience. She also said that the people of the region would not would not remain silent. She expressed unwavering support for North and East Syria and pledged to continue her efforts.
