The International Delegation for Peace and Freedom in Kurdistan has protested against Turkey’s ongoing military campaign in the Zap, Metina and Avashin regions of Iraqi Kurdistan (which is under the governance of the KRG) and had organised the delegation visit in order to prevent a possible conflict between Kurdish forces in the region.
Among those activists who arrived in Erbil (Hewlêr) were two members of the Left Youth Solid, a youth organisation in Germany. The two young German activists stated that “by bombing the territory of Iraqi Kurdistan for more than a month, Turkey violates international laws.”
They added: “War crimes are committed every day in this region, as if it were a part of daily life. It was not possible for us to remain silent about this.” They urged the international public to engage in solidarity with the Delegation for Peace, especially via social media campaigns.
Another peace activist from the “Rheainmetall Entwaffnen”, an anti-militarist campaign group protesting against the arms and tank production sales of German arms company Rheinmetall, also drew attention to the war crimes that are being committed by the Turkish state in the region. “These crimes are being committed with German weapons,” he said.
“So we did not want to remain silent about it anymore. We are in favour of ending the wars in all parts of Kurdistan and for the Kurdish people to live in peace, and that’s why we wanted to come here to raise our voices.”