The action was claimed by the Barbara Kistler Brigade, composed of people from Lucerne, Bern and the Jura mountains. They have stated that they want to target the economic interests of the Turkish state in Switzerland. They explained that they want to put pressure on the Turkish state but also on the Swiss government to stop the ongoing massacre in Northern and Eastern Syria.

 

The STBC is an association for the promotion of economic relations between Switzerland and Turkey founded in 2000 on the initiative of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO, at a time when many dam projects were planned in Turkey. Representatives from the financial sector, industry, consulting firms and law firms gathered in the hope of securing their profits through bilateral trade relations.

 

In a statement the group said: "The dam projects themselves already represented ecological crimes in total violation of human rights. Huge areas have been flooded, people have been forcibly displaced and the Turkish state has massively reduced the flow of rivers flowing into Syria and Iraq." 

 

The statement added: "All this with Swiss money and technology, thanks in particular to the support of the STBC. A huge dam has just been built in Hasankeyf. Many people have been displaced and major archaeological sites will be destroyed. Such practices are widely used by Erdogan's dictatorial government. All forms of opposition are fought, minorities are oppressed, nature and humans are exploited and the country is rapidly moving towards a fascist dictatorship."

 

The statement continued: "The autonomous administration of North and East Syria, known as "Rojava", is an oasis of stability and coexistence in the Middle East. Thousands of women and men gave their lives to liberate their region and protect the world from the barbarism of Daech. They have created a system based on participatory democracy, women's liberation and social ecology and are now facing the bombs of Turkish aviation. This invasion is also creating the conditions for the reactivation of Daech, as demonstrated by the attacks carried out yesterday by sleeper cells in Raqqa."

 

Behind this war machine lies an entire economy that depends on funds and investments.

 

"Through their activities, - said the statemenrt - STBC members directly support the Turkish State and its wars. When banks and companies meet quietly in central Switzerland to discuss Turkey's business, people look at profits and turn a bling eye on the dead."