International Alliance for the Defense of Liberties and the Kurdistan Conference calling to ban Turkey from international organizations
The Turkish state is trying to implement a strategy of occupation, with the goal of neo-Ottomanism, at the expense of Arabs and Kurds.
Step by step, Turkey occupied since 2012 many regions in North and East Syria/Rojava. Neither the UN, nor any other international organisation has named Turkey’s acts as an occupation. This is one of the main reasons why Turkey has been able to expand its invasion and expansion strategy to Iraq, Libya, and other countries in North Africa. After occupation, the Turkish state is changing the demography of the areas. Many Arabs, Uyghurs, and Turkomans are being settled in Kurdish areas. Most of them are families of ISIS mercenaries. With the settlement of Arab tribes in former Kurdish homes, the Turkish state is creating the potential for future Kurdish-Arab conflict.
Turkey is currently carrying out a ground and air invasion in Southern Kurdistan – Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). In the locations of the Turkish bases on occupied hills in the northern mountainous regions of KRI, the border lines of the Misak-i Millî (National Pact) are clearly visible. This National Pact laid down the new borders of the Turkish state after World War I as the basis for negotiations with the victorious powers. The old provinces of Mosul (today’s South Kurdistan up to the Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah on the Iranian border) and Aleppo (the region of Aleppo plus the whole of Rojava/North and East Syria) were claimed as Turkish territory.
To support this intervention and invasion in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the Turkish state is inciting the Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan) to divide societies and politics. As a pre-occupation step, the Turkish state needs to weaken and destabilise these countries internally, as was seen in Libya, and now in South Yemen and other Arab countries.
In the lands it occupies, the Turkish state follows a policy of Turkification, including forced education in Turkish, and naming streets and municipalities after nationalist Ottoman historical figures.
Since early June, Turkish banknotes have been put into circulation in occupied areas in North and East Syria.
In Turkish occupied areas, women are taken as slaves and sold. Torture and rape by Turkish-backed mercenaries are becoming a part of daily life.
Most dangerous and threathening – the Turkish state is recruiting, promoting, developing, and financing mercenaries such as ISIS and similar groups against the people of Middle East.
Turkey is a member state of the UN, NATO, and the Council of Europe, and it is a candidate for membership in the European Union. Yet, the Turkish state is flagrantly, systematically and continually violating international law and agreements and committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. The silence of these international organisations and institutions is allowing the Turkish state to broaden its expansion strategy. There haven’t been attacks targeted at Turkey from the Syrian, Iraqi or Libyan territories. There are no grounds on which Turkey could justify its use of military force. However, Turkey is repeatedly attacking other countries.
It is clear that the current Turkish military attack on the Kurdistan region of Iraq (operation “Tiger-Claw”) and the occupation of Libya will not be Turkey’s last acts of aggression if the international organisations continue to keep silent.
We, the undersigned Arab and Kurdish organisations and individuals, call for:
- An immediate stop to the ongoing Turkish military aggression, invasion and occupation. The unconditional and immediate withdraw of all Turkish forces and their jihadist proxy militias from North and East Syria, KRI, and Libya.
- Diplomatic, political, economic, and legal sanctions of the UN, NATO, EU and the Council of Europe against the Turkish government for violating international law and human rights conventions, and for pursuing policies of military aggression and occupation aimed at destabilising the Middle East.
- The Arab League to take concrete action in international bodies against Turkey.
- The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to suspend Turkey’s membership, since Turkey is misusing Islam for the purpose of occupation and aggression against the people of the Middle East.
