100 years and Kurds still being killed by chemical weapons

[Anthea]

Chemical massacres in Kurdistan

History is full of atrocities against defenceless peoples by sovereign states. The biggest threat is the use of chemical weapons in these brutal practices against peoples

Chemical weapons which became widespread with the developments in the chemical industry are used by states against peoples.

International laws, mechanisms and organizations have been introduced to prevent the use of chemical weapons. Unfortunately, we see that chemical attacks still take place since these organizations do not fulfil their obligations. Especially when it comes to the Kurds…

CENTURY-OLD 'CHEMICAL MASSACRE' IN KURDISTAN

Kurdistan is one of the lands where atrocities carried out by states for their interests are seen permanently. Massacres with chemical weapons have been carried out since 1920 and war crimes have been committed in Kurdistan, which has been divided into four parts and subjected to the arbitrary policies of the states.

In the mid-1920s, the British forces killed 5-10 thousand Kurds with toxic gases dropped from warplanes to suppress the resistance of Şêx Mahmudê Berzencî in Sulaymaniyah.

During the 1937-1938 Dersim Genocide, 70,000 people were killed by poisonous gases used by Turkey.

The Saddam Regime attacked the city of Halabja, near the Iranian border in the Iraqi Kurdistan, with poisonous gases on March 16, 1988. At least 5,000 people, most of whom were women and children, were killed in that single attack. The attack was called the “Halabja Massacre” in recent history.

The Halabja Massacre was part of Saddam's Anfal Campaign that destroyed 4,500 Kurdish villages, during which time 182,000 Kurds were slaughtered. Many thousands of Kurds have died since from injuries received during the campaign

REPORTS REVEAL TURKEY’S USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS

A report released by the Human Rights Association (IHD) on August 26, 2011 and titled “On allegations of use of chemical and biological weapons during the armed conflict in Turkey” said that 437 PKK members were killed by chemical weapons used 46 times during the intense conflict between 1994 and 2011.

Chemical weapons injured dozens of people, including children, during the operations in the Afrin region in 2018-2019. This chemical attack was also reported in the UN reports.

It has also been revealed that the Turkish army used chemical weapons in an operation launched on April 23 2021 in the Zap, Metîna and Avaşîn regions in South Kurdistan. The chemical attack in question was reported by the British newspaper Morning, featuring images of PKK freedom fighters who lost their lives and interviews with KCK officials.

Furthermore, according to the press centre of the People's Defence Forces (HPG), the Turkish army carried out 138 chemical attacks in the last 5 months, which caused the deaths of numerous HPG fighters. On September 4, a family was seriously harmed in a chemical attack on the village of Hirore, and the Iraq Office of the Christian Peacemaker Teams reported that the family's health problems were the outcome of the chemical attack.

It is recently reported that the Turkish army is once again using banned weapons.

Women's organizations, politicians, writers and lawyers reacted to Turkey’s use of chemical weapons, urging the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to step into action. Statements are frequently made, and protests are staged in many parts of the world against Turkey's use of banned weapons.

WHY DOES OPCW REMAIN SILENT?

The biggest obstacle to dealing with the issue of disarmament is the incapacity of international institutions. Especially when it concerns the Kurds…

The OPCW remains silent on the calls of non-governmental organizations, including the HPG and KCK to “launch an investigation” after the Turkish army has frequently resorted to chemical weapons in Kurdistan.

The relations of the OPCW, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, with the Turkish state were criticized following the Turkish incursion against Gri Spi (Tal Abyad) and Serêkaniyê (Ras al-Ain) in October 2019. Turkey's Ambassador to The Hague, Şaban Dişli, was reported to have donated 30,000 Euros to the OPCW at a time when statements concerning the use of chemical weapons against civilians by the Turkish army in this attack were issued.

The OPCW prohibits the use of all kinds of chemical gases, including tear gas used by the police in public events in closed areas such as military caves. However, after the Turkish army's invasion attack on Garê between February 10-13, 2021, Turkish Minister of National Defence Hulusi Akar confirmed that the Turkish army only used “tear gas”. The OPCW did not launch any investigation after Akar’s confirmation.

[Anthea]

Turkey violates Chemical Weapons Convention

Turkey signed the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1997. The claim that Turkey has not used chemical weapons can be easily refuted when we look at just a few years following its endorsement of the convention

The Turkish army has been using chemical weapons in Zap, Avaşîn and Metina regions in Medya Defense Zones in South Kurdistan (North Iraq) since April 23. The People’s Defense Forces (HPG) announced that Turkey has carried out 323 attacks using chemical weapons in the last 6 months. Despite repeated calls, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), to which Turkey is a party, has yet to take a step to halt it.

TURKEY STARTED TO USE CHEMICALS THREE YEARS AFTER IT SIGNED THE CONVENTION

Turkey signed the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1997. The convention prohibits to produce, stockpile and use chemical weapons for the signatory countries.

According to the Turkish media, Turkey has never used chemical weapons. This claim can be easily refuted when we look at just a few years after the convention was signed by Turkey.

Several reports prepared by the Human Rights Association (İHD) reveal that Turkey started to use chemical weapons systematically after the signing of the convention and international organizations have ignored it.

Three years after signing the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1997, Turkey used chemical weapons during a prison attack on December 19, dubbed “Return to Life”, in which 30 prisoners were killed and many others injured. Although a court decided to examine evidence after 15 years and accepted a report of the Forensic Medicine Institute that said “no chemical weapon was used”, it has remained unclear what the substance was that caused many prisoners to burn alive and die.

EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS AFTER FOUR YEARS…

Witness statements showed that Turkey used chemical weapons 4 years after the signing of the convention. A report prepared by the İHD, which relied on witness statements, crime scene investigation and preliminary autopsy reports, said that Turkish security forces used chemical weapons during the armed clashes in the rural area of ​​the Yedisu district of Bingöl province on May 12-23, 2001. “We find it worrisome that chemical weapons were used for extrajudicial executions that “killed 20 members of the organization.”

BODIES NOT DELIVERED TO THEIR FAMILIES

Another violation of the convention took place in the Eruh district of Siirt in 2004. According to a report prepared by the İHD Siirt Branch, the dead bodies of 6 guerrillas were not delivered to their families. The report said that the guerrillas were buried and not delivered to the families, and the autopsy and chemical weapons findings were not submitted to the forensic medicine institution. The IHD wrote the following in the opinion part of the report: “The Human Rights Delegation believes that the possibility that the guerrillas were killed by prohibited weapons remains strong since their bodies were not delivered to their families.”

SIGNS OF USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS

A statement made by the IHD Amed Branch in 2010 pointed out that cases such as ill-treatment of guerrilla bodies, torture and traces of chemical weapons use had become systematic. “The images imply that chemical weapons may have been used in addition to the destruction of the corpses. These practices against the remains of the fighters of the organization are a 'crime against humanity', and the hatred and intolerance of the authorities who disfigured the bodies manifests the current situation of the country,” the statement said.

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY REPORTED TURKEY’S USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS

It has been reported that Turkey has used chemical weapons myriad times in the conflict with the PKK since 1997. Concerns have been raised, but no steps have been taken against Turkey.

Turkey's use of chemical weapons was reported to the world public opinion in 2019.

Amnesty International reported that Turkey used chemical weapons in its invasion attacks in Afrin.

The Kurdish Red Crescent announced that 6 patients including civilians were hospitalized with burns caused by “unknown weapons”.

YPG, Syrian Human Rights Watch and Syrian state media reported that Turkey attacked a village in Afrin with chemical weapons, while Iranian state-run television revealed that the Turkish army used chemical weapons.

Although it was later confirmed by local sources that “white phosphorus” had been used against civilians, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said that they were aware of the alleged use of chemical weapons and that they were gathering information about the issue.