The Defend Kurdistan Initiative, an international initiative that was launched this June and which aims to immediately halt the Turkish state’s attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan and demands a withdrawal of all Turkish troops and Islamist mercenaries from the region, met with Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Executive Committee member Şanaz Îbrahîm Ehmed regarding the ongoing clashes in the region and the political position of the PUK regarding these clashes.
In a press conference following the visit, Ehmed expressed her satisfaction with the meeting. “It makes me happy that so many people are visiting Kurdistan to prevent the war and the occupation. They are burning down our villages. They kill our people, they burn our forests, they cut down trees and sell them. It is good to know that so many people, from 14 countries, have come to try to prevent this,” she said.
Ehmed also emphasized that the PUK had made the decision that under no circumstances would it enter into any intra-Kurdish conflict: “All parties should be against an intra-Kurdish war and none should allow this to happen. If such a war would start, it would be very hard to stop it. In addition to this, such a war would be shameful for us: we would not again be able to hold our heads high and talk of freedom.”
She drew attention to the attacks by Turkey: “The Turkish state has laid out its strategy. What is important is that we should reject this plan. We will not make the peshmerga part of the Turkish army.”
Dilêr Hisên, the Goran Movement Group leader sitting on Erbil’s (Hewler’s) City Council, also condemned the attacks by Turkey in Iraqi Kurdistan. He said that there was no moral basis for Turkey to violate the borders and initiate such a massive attack. He also reacted to the plundering of Kurdistan’s natural resources. Hisên stated that Kurdish parties and political movements must solve their differences through dialogue.
