An emergency appeal has been released by delegates of a recent meeting in Brussels on the imminent threat of Turkish military operations in the Kurdish-populated northern regions of Syria and Iraq. Read the statement in full:
From the Joint Diplomatic Committee of Kurdistan’s Political Parties and Organisations, the Treaty of Lausanne Centenary Committee, and independent personalities of Kurdistan;
An Urgent Appeal to the Public and Government
On 23 March 2024, with the participation of representatives of Kurdistan’s political parties and organisations, the Joint Diplomatic Committee held its twenty-seventh meeting with Treaty of Lausanne Centenary Committee and a group of independent personalities of Kurdistan at the headquarters of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) in Brussels.
This meeting was well attended in light of the state of emergency in Kurdistan. The detailed results of this meeting will be shared soon, but, because of the threats and attacks by hostile forces against Kurdistan, we share this urgent call with the public now. The Turkish state is preparing for major military operations in the South (Iraq) and West (Rojava/Syria) of Kurdistan. Turkish President Erdoğan and the Turkish authorities are threatening the Kurds and openly saying that they will carry out large operations against the Kurds at the first opportunity. The aim of the Turkish state is to erase all the achievements of the Kurdish people, and they are using all means at their disposal to accomplish this. They have initiated diplomatic efforts to find support, sending delegations to the US, European countries, Russia, and Arab states.
At the same time, since autumn, every month or every few weeks, Turkish state representatives either visit Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) or invite delegations from Iraq to Ankara. It is clear from these visits and meetings with policymakers of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) that the aim of the Turkish state is to make the state of Iraq and the government of the Kurdistan Region complicit in their plans to wage war and cause more bloodshed. The Turkish state is taking an aggressive stance against the Kurds and waging war against the Kurdish people, and wants to bring the Iraqi government into this war to also participate in this war.
The Turkish state stands against all of the achievements of the Kurds and the accomplishments of the KRI. Erdoğan and other representatives of the Turkish state have said many times that “the mistakes we made in the north of Iraq will not be made in the north of Syria.” Every Kurd should understand the meaning of this statement. The policy of the Turkish state is to reverse the achievements of South Kurdistan. This fact should be seen by all Kurds, and all Kurds should stand together against the plans of the Turkish state. The administration of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) should be aware of and sensitive to these threats, which have the primary goal of disrupting and eliminating the status of the Kurdistan Region.
At the same time, on a daily basis the Turkish state authorities threaten the administration of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), putting intense pressure on the province of Sulaymaniyah. These threats and pressure cannot be accepted in any way and every patriotic Kurd must stand against this aggression.
Regarding this, the participants of the meeting:
- Urgently draw the attention of all Kurds and Kurdistanis and their supporters to the Turkish state’s threats, attacks and preparations for a military operation against South Kurdistan and Rojava and call on all Kurdish forces and friends of Kurds to oppose these attacks.
- Consider the PUK’s stance against the Turkish state’s illegitimate demands as a patriotic and national position and condemn the pressure and threats of the Turkish state against the PUK.
- Call on all of Kurdistan’s parties, organisations, institutions, and forces to unite in the spirit of Newroz, strengthen national unity and stand against the occupiers’ attacks with one voice.
- Call on the government of Iraq to oppose the attacks and operations of the Turkish state in Iraq and remove Turkish military bases and outposts from Iraq and end the Turkish military occupation of Iraqi territory.
- Call on the Turkish state to immediately stop these threats and attacks and the return to a process of peaceful dialogue for a political solution.
- Call on the United Nations, the main global powers, and the international community to stand against the Turkish threats and attacks against the Kurdish people and ask for support for the Kurdish struggle for freedom.
Kurdistan is one country, and the Kurdish people have the right to self-determination!
Long live resistance against occupation!
Long live national unity!
Jin-Jiyan-Azadî!
