An open letter to UN Secretary General over alarming developments in Turkey

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Photo: AFP

Dr.Amir Sharifi | Ekurd.net

His Excellency Ban Ki-moon

Secretary General of the United Nations

United Nations
First Avenue at 46th Street
New York, NY 10017

An Open Letter to UN Secretary General Bak Ki-moon about the One-sided Approach of the International Community to the Alarming Developments in Turkey

Dear Mr. Secretary General:

The Kurdish American Education Society and the Kurdish community in Southern California are deeply concerned about the escalating violence in Turkey, sparked by the interim Justice and Development Party, AKP government to reverse the June 7 elections in which the party lost its majority for the first time. We hereby express our concern about the international community’s one-sided response to the tragic developments in Turkey-expressing solidarity with the AKP and not denouncing the brutal attacks of the Turkish state on the Kurdish population, incursions into Kurdish Regional Government territories in Northern Iraq, and political dissent.

We are profoundly dismayed by the reticence of the international community in the wake of the massive military operations and indiscriminate targeting of civilians, and widespread acts of violence against political parties, critics of Mr. Erdogan, and opposing media. The fact that- there has been no condemnation of curfews in Kurdish towns, nor any inquiry into the deliberate attacks on civilians and political organizations, particularly, People’s Democratic Party (HDP) offices many of which have been vandalized, incinerated- is the cause of great concern for us. The position of the international community is neither morally justifiable nor acceptable given AKP’s total disregard for civil liberties and international law. Such a one sided stance in support of the Turkish state has emboldened AKP establishment to impose draconian censorship, to arrest and deport even foreign reporters, and to fuel ethnic and political tensions in the hope of regaining its lost power in the November elections.

As the international community has failed to take any action, racist mobs have been mobilized and provoked to assault the Kurdish citizens in multiple cities. As the result of military operations several towns have been brought under curfew and a growing number of civilians have been killed in addition to an increasing number of security forces and PKK fighters. Over the past week, the town of Cizre, access to and exit from which was blocked by the security was besieged as the residents reportedly suffered from lack of food, water, sanitation, and medical care. Under the guise of terror charge, the Ministry of Interior has arbitrarily removed Ms. Leyla Imret from her post as the elected mayor of the town.

According to HDP at least 22 women, children, and men, have been killed and scores of residents have been injured and many homes destroyed . Such actions are brazen violations of the Geneva Conventions and cannot be justified by using the Turkish official designation of PKK as a terrorist organization or using the manufactured state of emergency to criminalize civic and political dissent. Kurds have suffered immensely at the hands of the Islamic State, which as it is well known to the international community, Turkey continued to support until recently. The fact that Kurds do not have an internationally recognized state to effectively defend themselves, does not imply that the AKP’s anti-democratic and belligerent policies should be overlooked. It is the moral obligation of the United Nations and Western democracies to unequivocally condemn AKP for its violence against Kurds and for bringing the country to the brink of a civil war in which more innocent people from both sides will lose their lives. The only meaningful effort by the international community is to stand for peace and justice by exerting both concrete and symbolic pressure on Turkey to resume the settlement process before the tragic history of the past threatens even more lives.

We look forward to hearing from you about this issue of great concern.

Cordially

Dr. Amir Sharifi
President of the Kurdish American Education Society Los Angeles