PRESS RELEASE: September 5, 2011
Stop Iran and Turkey's War Against the Kurds
Kurdish Peshmergas and US soldiers fought and died alongside each other in a blood sacrifice during the Gulf War to oust Saddam Hussain, which eventually allowed the Kurds to develop an autonomous entity in 'Kurdistan’. Now Iran and Turkey are threatening the Kurds’ homeland as they launch a fresh military invasion of Kurdistan. The Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region in federal Iraq that has enjoyed relative stability and security for many years. Since the invasion of Iraq in 2001, not one US or coalition solder has been killed, or any foreigner been kidnapped in the region that has been referred to as “The Other Iraq” and “The Next Dubai”. That stability is now being threatened, as in the past months, both Turkey and Iran have intensified aerial and ground operations across the border into the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
Without regard for civilian lives, or the sovereignty of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Iran has again begun ground operations in the region. Since July 16, 2011, the Iranian regime has conducted major operations along the Iraqi border under the pretext of fighting the Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK*). Numerous Kurdish civilians have been killed and injured by the shelling of villages and civilian areas in the autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq. Countless villages have been damaged, along with homes and livestock, leaving hundreds of people displaced.
The recent military attacks follow decades of oppression and persecution of Iran’s own Kurdish population. Daily life for Kurds in Iran is dictated by unlawful detentions, torture, harassment and executions. Kurdish activism for social, political, and the most basic of human rights is generally treated as separatism and, thus, systematically targeted by authorities. In an attempt to silence the Kurdish movement, the Iranian government regularly closes down publications in the Kurdish language. It is now common knowledge that with respect to Iran’s population, it has the highest number of executions in the world. In most cases, execution sentences are given without a trial. Kurds in Iran live in constant fear of being accused by the government of “enmity against God”, condemned to be hanged, severely tortured or ending up as another “disappeared” person.
On August 17, 2011, Turkey also launched a campaign of intensive cross-border aerial attacks into the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Turkey claims that it is targeting the bases of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK*), however, only three days into the operations, a family of 7 (including 3 children) was killed while trying to escape the bombardment. At least 124 Kurdish villages have been emptied or destroyed as a result of Turkey’s irresponsible attacks on the region. Despite international pressure to end the attacks, thousands of Turkish soldiers are being moved into positions for what many observers are predicting to be a full scale Turkish invasion of Kurdistan.
Meanwhile, the situation inside Turkey’s borders can be described as grim at best. From the beginning of the year, the Turkish authorities have been intensifying attacks against the Kurdish people in all spheres of Kurdish political life. Detentions almost doubled from the previous year. Even the historical election victory of the Kurds was marred by grenade attacks on the night of election celebrations, and compounded by the Turkish state's continued imprisonment of Kurdish political prisoners elected from jail. The 36 elected pro Kurdish MPs were effectively locked out of parliament by the state, whose real intentions have become blindingly clear. Kurdish, as well as Turkish, citizens have organized demonstrations all over Turkey urging the government to put an end to the attacks. The peaceful demonstrations have, in almost all cases, been dispersed violently by Turkish forces using water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets.
While both Iranian and Turkish officials claim that military operations are targeted at armed militants operating from the Kurdistan region of Iraq, when representatives of US Human Rights groups** visited the area in August, Iraqi residents and officials said most of the attacks have occurred in "purely civilian" areas that are not being used or controlled by the armed groups.
Kurds and friends of the Kurds worldwide have stepped up their efforts to raise the alarm in the international community and appeal to foreign governments in an attempt to dissuade Turkey and Iran from this disastrous path.
Elie Wiesel once said, “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” We, the Kurdish community of Dallas, Texas, urge you to break the silence about Iran and Turkey’s war against the Kurdish people.
Join our demonstration!
John F. Kennedy Memorial
646 Main Street
Dallas, TX 75202
Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 1pm
Note for photographers: Kurdish attendees are invited to attend demonstration in colorful Kurdish national dress. Everyone is welcome!
Contact Ms. Xende Biradostî: khenda_m@live.com or on Twitter @Wekhevxwaz for more details.
*Contrary to Turkey and Iran's claims, PKK and PJAK enjoy the mass support of the Kurdish populations in Iran and Turkey, and are considered “freedom fighters”.
Note to editors: Please find attached statement of Xende Biradosti
Xende Biradosti arrived with her family in the United States in 1993, having been uprooted from their ancestral homeland of Kurdistan as Saddam Hussain’s troops advanced on their farmland, having already carried out mass genocide of hundreds of thousands of Kurds. Below Xende explains her feelings as Iran and Turkey again begin military operations against Kurdistan:
“I grew up hearing tales of destroyed villages, and corpses strewn in the streets.
I was less than a year old when my family was forced to flee our village in Kurdistan because of bombardment by Saddam’s military.
Although I was too young to remember the difficult journey through the mountains or the 27 brutal months spent living in tents in a Turkish refugee camp, the stories of the horrific experiences my parents continue to relive everyday, the illness, the hunger, the death and suffering that seemed to surround us, haunt me still today.
As I reflect on all that the people of Kurdistan have endured, even in my short life time, I am overcome with consuming feelings of sorrow and terror at the thought of my beautiful homeland once again being destroyed by bloodthirsty war criminals.
I am haunted by images of children and elderly men and women, whose only crime was having been born Kurdish, again being condemned to wander the land that once belonged to them in search of refuge.
Even more appalling, and perhaps most disappointing, is that it appears the United States, along with the international community, has once again turned a blind eye to the atrocities committed against the Kurdish people.
The time has come for the International Community to break the silence and acquiescence that surround Turkey and Iran's brutal suppression of the Kurdish people.
I ask myself how many burned villages and innocent casualties it will take for the world to take notice of the plight of the Kurds. “
