In order to draw attention to Turkey’s ongoing military campaign in Zap, Metina and Avashin in Iraqi Kurdistan, which is led by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and to prevent a possible conflict between Kurdish forces in the region, 150 activists from fourteen European countries came together and formed the International Delegation for Peace and Freedom in Kurdistan.
A few members of the delegation, including academics, politicians, artists, journalists and members of anti-war groups, arrived in Iraqi Kurdistan despite the obstacles they faced due to the prohibitions of travel introduced by German and KRG authorities.
Peace activists shared their messages of why they came to Iraqi Kurdistan with video messages they released. Two German activists, named Marlene and Franzi, shared a joint statement. “The Turkish state has committed all kinds of war crimes, including the use of chemical weapons, in the war waged in the region,” they said.
“Despite the fact that the Scientific Committee of the German Federal Assembly described this war waged by the Turkish state as ‘contrary to international law’ in recent months, the German government prefers to remain silent,” the two activists added.
The German activists stated that they became a part of this delegation because they prefer not to remain silent about crimes committed anywhere in the world.
Feminist activists from the Ceni Kurdish Women’s Peace Bureau and the ‘Joint Struggle’ (Gemeinsam Kämpfen) women’s movement stressed the importance of women’s struggle for peace.
Stating that they came to the region to prevent a possible conflict between Kurdish forces, the German activists said, “An anti-war stance is an important stance for feminist activists.”
Feminist activists pointed out that women are the biggest victims of the war and urged for a joint struggle of women for peace.
