The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK) and the United Forces of Struggle (BMG) called for a “March of Humanity against Chemical Weapons”, Mezopotamya News Agency reports.
HDP, HDK and BMG made a joint statement at the Istanbul branch premises of the HDP regarding the “march of humanity” to take place in Istanbul on 6 November.
HDP MP for Izmir Serpil Kemalbay drew attention to the Turkish chemical weapons attacks in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), ongoing since 2021, and mentioned recent footage shared by the People’s Defence Forces (HPG).
“The pieces of footage show that Turkey has clearly acted in violation of the international conventions to which it is a party, such as the Geneva Conventions,” said Kemalbay.
Referring to Şebnem Korur Fincancı, who was recently arrested following her remarks on the chemical weapons allegedly used by Turkey, Kemalbay said that the Turkish government rejects these accusations and targets and makes accusations against respected scientists, politicians, intellectuals and journalists.
“The responsible institutions and organisations, such as the UN, the WHO and the EU, and especially the OPCW [Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons], need to take action. Otherwise, the anxiety of the people in the region will increase, causing greater massacres,” said Kemalbay.
Following these statements, Serpil Kemalbay said that the HDP and other institutions will hold the march of peace against war, life against death, in Taksim, Istanbul, on 6 November.
HDK co-spokesperson Cengiz Çiçek said that the government is trying to cover up allegations of the use of chemical weapons by arresting the people demanding that these attacks be investigated.
“The government bloc is trying to take over not only the Kurds, but all the peoples and their struggles,” said Çiçek, calling everybody to join the March of Humanity.
Meanwhile, BMG spokesperson Mürvet Küçük stated that the use of chemical weapons by the Turkish state is not just an allegation, but that there is much evidence to prove that they had actually happened.
The call for the “March of Humanity” on 6 November in Istanbul has been also repeated by political parties and civil society institutions in the cities of Van and İzmir.
In their statements, the organisations and party members stated that the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the party in power in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, must allow independent investigations, and called on European institutions to take action to prevent the use of banned weapons against Kurdish guerrillas.
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), winners of the Nobel Peace Prize have uncovered enough evidence to warrant further investigation on allegations that Turkey has been using chemical weapons in its military operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).
Moreover, when JinNews, a women-focused news website run by Kurdish women, posed questions to the OPCW on how any investigation could advance if relevant states failed to file appeals, the organisation responded by saying it had been “monitoring” allegations but could not launch an investigation without an application from a state party to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
