NEWS CENTER - Stating that the soldiers who were left unattended on the hills during the Zap, Metîna and Avaşîn attacks were never reached again, Journalist Mervan Özdemir said: "We have footage of dozens of soldiers who lost their lives, we do not publish them because we find it against the ethics of war."
The attacks launched by Turkey against Zap, Metina and Avaşîn in the Federated Kurdistan Region on April 17 in partnership with the KDP continue with fierce clashes. Unable to make any progress in the attacks, the TAF used chemical weapons many times in the region. Journalist Mervan Özdemir, who followed the attacks, made evaluations about the developments in the region.
'THERE IS AN ORGANISED REACTION'
Stating that with the beginning of the attacks, an organised reaction developed among the people of the region and drawing attention to the fact that the reaction was not emotional but political, Journalist Mervan Özdemir said: "There is a social awareness in Southern Kurdistan like the previous attacks. We are faced with a social reality that is aware that the attacks of the Turkish state do not only cover the PKK. The public realised the condition more as a result of the latest attacks."
'KDP ESTABLISHED A CHECKPOINT'
Stating that there is concrete evidence that the KDP takes side with Turkey, Özdemir said: "Since the attack began, the KDP has not openly confronted the HPG. However, in the footage processed in the press, we see very well that; The KDP and its special forces are leading the Turkish state's attacks on media defense zones. Especially in the zones shared with the public, we see that the KDP forces are carrying out mine clearance activities. They set up checkpoints at many points that HGP members thought could be transit points. This is concrete data that clearly proves that KDP takes side with the Turkish state against the PKK. We see that the KDP is waging a special war on media defense zones within the framework of a literature with arguments imitating the Turkish state and even served in Turkey. They served news that masks were sent to the guerrillas. Although the KDP developed this on the basis of anti-PKK, we see that all the arguments that the KDP media developed against the PKK during this time turned against them.”
‘THERE IS A GREAT WILL AGAINST THEM’
'SOLDIERS ARE LEFT FOR DEAD'
Stating that the soldiers were left unattended in the region and died to death, Özdemir said: “Turkish soldiers are left unattended on the hills and they cannot be reached again. We see that the helicopters could not reach these soldiers again. HPG and YJA Star shoot the hills where the soldiers are left for dead, and the soldiers lose their lives. We have countless footage that we did not publish because we found them to be against the ethics of war. This footage is footage of dozens of soldiers who lost their lives. However, there is information that the bodies of dozens of soldiers are in the hands of the PKK. There is both information conveyed by the people of the region and footage. It is necessary to make a call to the Turkish public. Military families have to ask where their children are. They must condemn these conflicts. In these mountains, they are wasted in a war that will not get any results.”
‘THERE ARE MORE AWARENESS REGARDING NATIONAL UNITY’
Noting that the calls for national unity became stronger with the start of the attacks, Özdemir said: “We can say that the KDP is also exposed. There is a KDP that is not respected by the people of Southern Kurdistan and has lost its respect. KDP clearly reveals how it is trying to sacrifice the gains made in the four parts of Kurdistan to its own interests and power. Although the KDP has damaged national unity, all Kurds have a higher awareness of the realization of national unity except the KDP."
'KDP COVERS UP WAR CRIME'
Noting that the KDP has hindered research into the use of chemical weapons, Özdemir said: "Turkey knows no bounds in these attacks. There is footage of the use of internationally prohibited weapons. This footage is being tried to be carried to national areas. However, since NATO is a part of these attacks, no significant results can be obtained. There are traces left behind by chemical weapons. They are trying to be taken to Europe for analysing but KDP doesn't support the analysing of the traces. The main reason for this is that the KDP government in the region keeps all non-governmental organisations under its control and prevents them from exhibiting practices contrary to their own policies. There are calls from parliamentarians and institutions. However, there isn't practice work for that. The work of independent organisations, especially in Behdinan, is prevented. The area where these conflicts are most intense is Behdînan. Institutions are prevented from working here. This shows that Turkey is trying to cover up its war crimes. At the moment, the strongest objection to Southern Kurdistan in this direction came from the US-based Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT). The group announced that it has important findings on the use of chemical weapons. However, how much they can carry this international area is a bit of a mystery for now.”