Sütun 1
Sütun 2
Sütun 3
Medya News
Daily News
Breaking News
Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • All News
  • Opinion
  • Kurdistan
  • Women
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
  • INTERVIEW
  • More
    • SPECIAL REPORTS
    • ECOLOGY
    • WORLD
    • AUDIO ARTICLES
    • JOURNALISM
    • ECONOMY
    • CULTURE & ART
    • LONG READS
    • NEWSLETTER
    • DAILY NEWS
MULTIMEDIA
PODCAST
LIVE BLOG
  • Home
  • All News
  • Opinion
  • Kurdistan
  • Women
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
  • INTERVIEW
  • More
    • SPECIAL REPORTS
    • ECOLOGY
    • WORLD
    • AUDIO ARTICLES
    • JOURNALISM
    • ECONOMY
    • CULTURE & ART
    • LONG READS
    • NEWSLETTER
    • DAILY NEWS
MULTIMEDIA
PODCAST
No Result
View All Result
Medya News

“We are afraid another village massacre will happen”

12:34 pm 02/08/2022
A A
“We are afraid another village massacre will happen”
Share post

https://medyanews.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/02082022-N62-FREDERIKE-KAMERAN-OSMAN-AudioVersion.mp4.mp3

by Fréderike Geerdink

In a podcast interview with Medya News, the representative of the Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT) in the Kurdistan Region called on the international community to stop military support to Turkey because war crimes are being committed with these weapons. “Turkey has armed drones, but would not be able to carry out operations and war crimes without the arms of Canada, the UK, Germany and other states.” He and his CPT colleagues fear that another massacre like the one in which nine Arab tourists were killed last month, is imminent.

The CPT is the only independent civil society organisation active in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, and the only international one with a very visible presence at locations in the region where human rights violations take place: in the mountain villages alongside the Turkish border, and in Kurdistan’s courts. The CPT (also active in Greece, Palestine and Colombia), says Kamaran Osman, “advocates for people who are impacted by the war between Turkey and the PKK and defends the rights of peaceful activists and journalists in jail”.

The CPT has been active in the Kurdistan Region since 2006. They have been increasingly engaged with local communities in the mountains since the peace process between the Turkish state and the PKK unravelled after two years in the summer of 2015. Since then, CPT has documented 129 civilian deaths in Turkish operations, and counted 64 new military bases in the mountains since 2017. What can they do for the people and communities affected? Osman: “We go to villages that are targeted and we talk to the people, so they feel supported. We collect data, spread the stories of the villagers, and advocate for their rights.”

Non-violent resistance

The CPT fiercely spoke out against the massacre at the holiday resort where tourists were killed on 20 July. They had been visiting the affected village, Parakhe, many times already since when in June 2020, Turkey built two big military bases in close vicinity. “The shelling started immediately to pressure the people to leave. There are eleven villages in the area and ten of them were emptied but the people of Parakhe refused to leave. They stayed as a non-violent resistance and became a big obstacle for Turkey to advance its military operations on the ground.”

He noticed Turkey stepping up its pressure by knocking the villagers’ doors and telling them to leave: “If they wouldn’t leave, the army would consider them to be PKK members. Still, the people stayed.” On 15 June, shelling inside the village started, injuring a father and a son. CPT visited them in hospital. Osman: “When we asked if they wanted to return to Parakhe, they said they would definitely go back after their medical treatment. And they did, and opened new places for tourists. Tourists from the South of Iraq came to visit, and then unfortunately Turkey targeted them.”

Mountain village

But the story of Parakhe is also the story of Hurure, a mountain village some 100 km further to the east, Kamaran Osman warned. “Hurure is surrounded by four military bases, and it is the only village in the area of which the inhabitants refuse to leave despite Turkey’s pressure. We are very worried that a same kind of massacre can happen there.”

Osman and the whole CPT hopes that if such an event happens, the government of the Kurdistan Region, the government in Baghdad and the international community will speak out again, like they did for the nine victims last month. But previous deaths, Kurdish deaths, have hardly triggered reaction. Not even the government of the Kurdistan Region spoke out, to Osman’s disappointment: “Maybe they can not stop Turkey’s operations and protecting Iraq’s sovereignty is Baghdad’s task, but they can at least advocate for their people.”

What particularly bothers him, is that the Kurdistan authorities often don’t give accurate death certificates of civilians casualties of Turkey’s aggression. “When people die in a bombing, the certificate says ‘explosion’ as cause of death”, Osman said. “When they are targeted in their car, they write ‘car accident’, or they say people die of a stroke of heart attack.”

Village heads

The Kurdistan Regional Government has become more authoritarian in the last couple of years, which makes the work of CPT both more important and more difficult. They are protected because of their status as an international NGO, but their work on the ground, connecting with village heads for access, isn’t getting easier. The increased authoritarianism is also shown by the number of political prisoners, both activists and journalist, often those who protest against or report about Turkish operations and the bad economic circumstances in Kurdistan.

In its good contacts with foreign representatives, CPT always calls on them to pressure the KRG to release political prisoners. Osman: “There is space for that because the Kurdistan Region is well connected and has good relations with foreign representatives. The authorities must be pressured.”


Share post
Tags: Trending

Related Posts

Daily News : 06 November 2024

Daily News : 06 November 2024

November 6, 2024
Daily News : 05 November 2024

Daily News : 05 November 2024

November 5, 2024
Daily News : 03 SEPTEMBER 2024

Daily News : 03 SEPTEMBER 2024

September 3, 2024
Fifty more detainees released under amnesty for internal peace in North and East Syria

Fifty more detainees released under amnesty for internal peace in North and East Syria

September 3, 2024
Uncle of missing child in Turkey arrested as case exposes broader child safety issues

Uncle of missing child in Turkey arrested as case exposes broader child safety issues

September 3, 2024
Turkey’s bid to join BRICS raises questions within NATO

Turkey’s bid to join BRICS raises questions within NATO

September 3, 2024

The news content on our website cannot be quoted without permission, even by citing the source. It cannot be copied or published elsewhere, contrary to the law or without permission.

Follow Medya News

Categories

  • All News
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
  • Opinion
  • Kurdistan
  • Human Rights
  • Interview
  • Women
  • Audio Articles
  • Special Report

Quick Menu

  • Daily News
  • Live Blog
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Breaking News

About

Impressum

About us

Privacy Policy

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT

Add New Playlist

[email-subscribers-form id=”1″]

Contact

[contact-form-7 id=”18690″ title=”Contact form 1″]

No Result
View All Result
  • All News
  • Kurdistan
  • Women
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
  • Interview
  • Long Reads
  • World
  • Journalism
  • Ecology
  • Economy
  • Culture & Art
  • Daily News
  • Breaking News
  • Newsletter
  • Opinion
  • Authors
  • Podcast
  • LIVE BLOG

© 2020 Medyanews. All Rights Reserved