The World is 'Turning a Blind Eye' as Turkey Targets Kurdish Communities
©
REUTERS/ Sertac Kayar
09:49
14.03.2016(updated 09:51 14.03.2016) Get short URL
Despite
Ankara's ongoing crackdown on Kurds, the international community has preferred to
ignore the problem, according to Kani Xulam, a Kurdish activist and director of
the American Kurdish Information Network.
© AFP
2016/ YASIN AKGUL
In an
interview with Sputnik, Kani Xulam, a Kurdish activist and director
of the American Kurdish Information Network, blamed the global community
for failing to respond to Turkey's incessant clampdown onKurds.
The
interview came after the Turkish government declared indefinite 24-hour curfews
for two more mostly Kurdish-populated towns in the country's east.
Media reports said that dozens of trucks carrying Turkish security forces
are heading to the towns of Yuksekova and Nusaybin.
"We
expect a confrontation that will most likely turn Yuksekova and Nusaybin
into ghost towns, which will be leveled to the ground. Unfortunately,
the international community is turning a blind eye to this issue as a NATO member wages a merciless war against the [Kurdish]
civilian population," Xulam said.
He
also drew attention to the fact that members of Turkey's Kurdish
minority are fighting for their country to treat them as equals,
while Ankara is struggling to maintain Turkish supremacy
over the Kurds.
"It
is racism at its core, yet no one has accused Turkey of apartheid,
regrettably," he pointed out.
Meanwhile,
the Governor of the province of Yuksekova was quoted by Turkish
media as saying that entering and leaving the city would be banned to
"ensure the physical and material safety of citizens
amid increasing incidents of terrorism."
In
summer 2015, Turkey initiated a military campaign against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the country's southeastern
regions, which are mostly inhabited by Kurds.
Since
the beginning of the campaign, Ankara has imposed several round-the-clock
curfews, preventing civilians from fleeing regions where the military
operations are taking place.
© AFP
2016/ ILYAS AKENGIN
At
least 198 civilians, including 39 children, have been killed in military
operations in the area since August 2015, according to the Human
Rights Foundation of Turkey.
The
Kurds have been instrumental allies of both Russia and the US-led
coalition in fighting Daesh, both in Syria and in neighboring
Iraq. However, Turkey fears their ascending power amid its ongoing
conflict with the PKK. Their political message, formulated by jailed
PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, calls for greater Kurdish autonomy, women's
rights and respect for the environment.
No comments:
Post a Comment