IRAQ ACTION ALERT: Respond to US-supported bombing of Kurds by Turkey
January 24th, 2008
in:
CPTnet
24 January 2008
IRAQ ACTION ALERT: Respond to US-supported bombing of Kurds by Turkey
"I don't understand why the U.S. supports Turkey when Kurds are the most loyal allies of the U.S. in the Middle East," said the father of a large family displaced from Laozha Village by the Turkish bombing on 16 December 2007. As another displaced family CPT visited in Rania said, "The PKK resistance fighters (the purported targets of Turkish attacks) are in the mountain regions, not in the valleys where our villages are." Under international law, the occupying power is responsible to care and provide for those under its control, not loose a foreign power onto its homes.
Members of the CPT Iraq team ask CPTnet readers to join them in a response to the US-supported bombing of Kurdish civilian sites by Turkey. CPT has written an open letter to United States officials that details CPT concerns (see below.) The Iraq team making plans to accompany displaced families back to their villages. CPT wants to open a space for that return and a space for diplomacy to replace military action in the disputes between the PKK resistance and Turkey. Readers acting with CPT Iraq will speed that process.
Below are some ways you might respond; we encourage you to find other creative responses to the situation as well:
1. Submit this letter to the opinion page of your local newspaper.
2. Study the issues carefully and write your own letter to the editor.
3. Call U.S. legislators to express your concerns. Two toll free Congressional numbers are 1-800-828-0498 and 1-866-340-9281. Ask for the House of Representatives or the Senate and give the name of your Representative or Senator.
5. International readers may want to contact their United Nations Ambassador to raise concerns on behalf of these Kurdish civilians. Google "United Nations contact information" and you can find the telephone number, email address, Fax number, and the name of your representative to the U.N.
____________________
CPT Iraq Open Letter
15 January 2008
An open letter to the United States Administration, United States Department of State, and United States Defense Department:
We are members of Christian Peacemaker Teams, presently living and working in the Kurdish north of Iraq. We have closely watched the news reports that detail the Turkish military invasions and bombings of Kurdish territory over the last five months. We note that the United States has provided intelligence for those attacks and has chosen to open Iraqi air space for those incursions.
We have had regular contact with the United Nations, the ICRC, and local Kurdish NGOs that have assisted the casualties from those attacks. Those attacks killed at least three civilians and injured at least six. CPT has visited two of the families who had a member killed or injured. Additionally, reports indicate those bombings have damaged or destroyed homes, schools, mosques, and hospitals.
CPT visited mayors of communities to which some of the 600-800 displaced families—approximately 3000 individuals—fled for refuge. Those mayors shared photos and videos of the damage to the villages and encouraged us to visit some of the families who are now unable to return home.
The bombings killed hundreds of sheep and cows, animals upon which families depend for a living. Other animals are uncared for because families are afraid to return as flights by Turkish military continue. Farmers now wonder how they can do spring planting.
As CPT talks to Kurdish people, we hear a call for the United States to abide by the standards to which it holds other countries: Do not kill or injure civilians and an occupying power is responsible to protect and care for the civilians who are under its control. The United States identifies the Kurdish Regional Government as a model of democracy, but it is clear that democracy is not served by opening air space to an outside military to attack civilian targets. These civilians had no voice in this decision.
On a larger scale, we have observed a dramatic change in the Kurdish population from unapologetic support for the U.S. military presence in Iraq to anger at the way in which the United States has dumped one of its most loyal allies in the Middle East. Kurdish people have experienced the Anfal assaults under the Saddam Hussein regime and fear U.S. support will encourage Turkey to move even more aggressively against Kurdistan.
Therefore, CPT in Iraq deplores the decision by the United States to aid these attacks on a civilian population. We beg you as U.S. officials to reverse this decision that assists Turkey in violence toward civilians. We encourage U.S. pressure on Turkey to pursue diplomatic solutions to the PKK/Turkey disputes and other underlying issues. We call on the people of the United States to learn more about these events and advocate for the safety of these Kurdish people.
Sincerely,
Peggy Gish, Anita David, Michele Obed-Naar, and Cliff Kindy
24 January 2008
IRAQ ACTION ALERT: Respond to US-supported bombing of Kurds by Turkey
"I don't understand why the U.S. supports Turkey when Kurds are the most loyal allies of the U.S. in the Middle East," said the father of a large family displaced from Laozha Village by the Turkish bombing on 16 December 2007. As another displaced family CPT visited in Rania said, "The PKK resistance fighters (the purported targets of Turkish attacks) are in the mountain regions, not in the valleys where our villages are." Under international law, the occupying power is responsible to care and provide for those under its control, not loose a foreign power onto its homes.
Members of the CPT Iraq team ask CPTnet readers to join them in a response to the US-supported bombing of Kurdish civilian sites by Turkey. CPT has written an open letter to United States officials that details CPT concerns (see below.) The Iraq team making plans to accompany displaced families back to their villages. CPT wants to open a space for that return and a space for diplomacy to replace military action in the disputes between the PKK resistance and Turkey. Readers acting with CPT Iraq will speed that process.
Below are some ways you might respond; we encourage you to find other creative responses to the situation as well:
1. Submit this letter to the opinion page of your local newspaper.
2. Study the issues carefully and write your own letter to the editor.
3. Call U.S. legislators to express your concerns. Two toll free Congressional numbers are 1-800-828-0498 and 1-866-340-9281. Ask for the House of Representatives or the Senate and give the name of your Representative or Senator.
5. International readers may want to contact their United Nations Ambassador to raise concerns on behalf of these Kurdish civilians. Google "United Nations contact information" and you can find the telephone number, email address, Fax number, and the name of your representative to the U.N.
____________________
CPT Iraq Open Letter
15 January 2008
An open letter to the United States Administration, United States Department of State, and United States Defense Department:
We are members of Christian Peacemaker Teams, presently living and working in the Kurdish north of Iraq. We have closely watched the news reports that detail the Turkish military invasions and bombings of Kurdish territory over the last five months. We note that the United States has provided intelligence for those attacks and has chosen to open Iraqi air space for those incursions.
We have had regular contact with the United Nations, the ICRC, and local Kurdish NGOs that have assisted the casualties from those attacks. Those attacks killed at least three civilians and injured at least six. CPT has visited two of the families who had a member killed or injured. Additionally, reports indicate those bombings have damaged or destroyed homes, schools, mosques, and hospitals.
CPT visited mayors of communities to which some of the 600-800 displaced families—approximately 3000 individuals—fled for refuge. Those mayors shared photos and videos of the damage to the villages and encouraged us to visit some of the families who are now unable to return home.
The bombings killed hundreds of sheep and cows, animals upon which families depend for a living. Other animals are uncared for because families are afraid to return as flights by Turkish military continue. Farmers now wonder how they can do spring planting.
As CPT talks to Kurdish people, we hear a call for the United States to abide by the standards to which it holds other countries: Do not kill or injure civilians and an occupying power is responsible to protect and care for the civilians who are under its control. The United States identifies the Kurdish Regional Government as a model of democracy, but it is clear that democracy is not served by opening air space to an outside military to attack civilian targets. These civilians had no voice in this decision.
On a larger scale, we have observed a dramatic change in the Kurdish population from unapologetic support for the U.S. military presence in Iraq to anger at the way in which the United States has dumped one of its most loyal allies in the Middle East. Kurdish people have experienced the Anfal assaults under the Saddam Hussein regime and fear U.S. support will encourage Turkey to move even more aggressively against Kurdistan.
Therefore, CPT in Iraq deplores the decision by the United States to aid these attacks on a civilian population. We beg you as U.S. officials to reverse this decision that assists Turkey in violence toward civilians. We encourage U.S. pressure on Turkey to pursue diplomatic solutions to the PKK/Turkey disputes and other underlying issues. We call on the people of the United States to learn more about these events and advocate for the safety of these Kurdish people.
Sincerely,
Peggy Gish, Anita David, Michele Obed-Naar, and Cliff Kindy