Kurdistan Communist Party protests against Turkey’s military attacks on KRG
ERBIL, KRG, Iraq (North Press) – On Monday, members of the Kurdistan Communist Party demonstrated in front of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq’s Parliament, condemning Turkish military attacks on the KRG.
The protestors called on the three presidencies (the President, Prime Minister, and Parliament) in the KRG to put an end to Turkish attacks, especially in light of the most recent Turkish bombing of Makhmur Refugee Camp in federal Iraq.
Makhmur Refugee Camp was formed when thousands of Kurds fled the Turkish government’s campaign of terror during which they burned thousands of villages in the country’s Kurdish-majority south.
Turkey’s first attempts to invade and occupy the region began in the 1990s as part of its war against the PKK. Today, Turkey has military presence in Iraqi territory tens of kilometers deep and has established several military bases there; Human Rights Watch has found that frequent strikes targeting civilians in the area may amount to war crimes.
“The three presidencies should reject this attack,” a statement of the Kurdistan Communist Party added during the protest.
“The Turkish ambition has been clear,” said member of the political office of the Kurdistan Communist Party Abdulrahman Faris, known as Abu Karwan.
“Turkey is against the formation of any Kurdish entity in any part of Kurdistan. Thus, any person who stays neutral in the face of Turkish assaults for some gains cannot see the truth,” he added.
Zakari Zebari, KRG Parliament member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), also participated in the protests.
“The Turkish occupier state is the same in KRG as in Afrin. For years, it has been trying to weaken the Kurds,” Zebari said.
The statement called for the necessity of stopping Turkey’s destruction of the environment of the Kurdistan Region and Turkey’s cutting of trees in areas of Dohuk governorate, considering this to be a “war crime,” and requested the Turkish government pay reparations for the damage to the environment.