august 23, 2021
Let’s Break the Silence on Turkish War Crimes!
We hereby condemn the attack by Turkish warplanes on a hospital in the village of Sikêniyê in the Sinjar region, where civilians were being treated. On August 17, 2021, the hospital was bombed three times in a row. We express our condolences to the families of the victims, all health workers and our people and wish a speedy recovery to all the wounded.
According to the International Law of War, it is a crime against humanity to bomb or damage health facilities and hospitals. This includes the killing of health care workers. By attacking a hospital, that is, a place that is clearly not a military target, a village, and also a civilian vehicle, war crimes have been committed before the eyes of the entire world. This is not Turkey’s first crime. In the past, the Turkish state’s bombardments in North Kurdistan, South Kurdistan, Sinjar, Maxmûr and Rojava have led to massacres of civilians, destruction of nature and displacement of entire populations, for example in Afrin. In recent years, numerous airstrikes on the South Kurdish region of Kandil have resulted in the complete destruction of a hospital and an elementary school, the loss of a young woman’s leg, the death of a mother, and the murder of an entire family when their car was bombed on August 24, 2011. Each airstrike has resulted in the death of hundreds of animals of the civilian population and damage to the property of the population. Ten civilians were killed in several Turkish airstrikes on the village of Zergele, located in Kandil, in 2014. A closer examination of all the crimes committed by the fascist AKP government reveals that this is a systematic policy of extermination and genocide against the Kurds which is not limited to recent history. Because the Turkish state has not been held accountable for all these crimes on the international level so far, it has now committed another crime in Sinjar on August 17, 2021.
The lives, rights and freedom of people are clearly more important than any political interests. Therefore, we invite all international institutions to fulfill their responsibility as soon as possible. At the same time, we call on the international public not to remain silent on the war crimes committed by the fascist Turkish state. As long as this terrible silence continues, the massacres will also continue. The silence of the international institutions and the involvement of international powers, especially the USA, create the basis for the continuation of the horror for which the fascist Turkish state is responsible and for its disregard of international law. It is the duty of every human being to put an end to this immoral policy.
Silence kills. And silence only incites new massacres. It is time to put an end to this. The war crimes committed by the Turkish state are a clear violation of the Geneva Convention. We therefore call on all international institutions and organizations to take immediate action.
The voices of the hospital workers and doctors who were martyred in the attack on the hospital in Sinjar are now the voices of our conscience. In order to keep the memories of them alive and demand accountability for this massacre, we call on everyone to unite under the slogan `Stop Turkish War Crimes` and to fight together for freedom and the defeat of fascism.
KCK Health Committee