Kurdish politician Dr Mahmur Osman has urged the Unites States to put pressure on Turkey in order to ensure peace, as Turkey’s assaults in northern Iraq continue following phone calls between US and Turkish officials.
On 23 April Turkey launched assaults against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Metina, Zap and Avaşin regions in northern Iraq.
The assaults came after a phone call between US president Joe Biden and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the same day.
Also on 23 April, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğlu and US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken spoke on the phone. In addition, Blinken made a phone call to Kurdistan Regional Government president Masrour Barzani.
The US Foreign Ministry has targeted PKK leaders, including Cemil Bayık, Duran Kalkan and Murat Karayılan. The US had previously put prices on the heads of some PKK leaders.
The Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) Foreign Relations department made a statement claiming that talks between the US and Turkey were dirty negotiations made with the blood of Kurdish people and other communities in the region.
Kurdish politician Dr Mahmut Osman said some had expected that the new US administration would reject former president Donald Trump’s policies on the Kurdish people, but so far nothing has changed.
“The US should put pressure on Turkey to ensure peace,” he said. “Turkey can wage such a war against Kurdish people thanks to the support of the US.”
Osman condemned the attitude of the US towards PKK leaders and asked, “What has the PKK done to America?” He reiterated that the PKK aims to establish relations with the US.
Osman said the current strategy of the US would not work and no one would say anything regarding the locations of PKK leaders. Urging Kurdish people and political parties to condemn the decision, Osman called on all Kurds to make an appeal to the US to put pressure on Turkey.
