Eduardo González
The Republican Parliamentary Groups (ERC), EH-Bildu and Mixed (specifically, the BNG) have asked the Government of Pedro Sánchez to “publicly” reject the military attacks of the Turkish Government against the Kurdish people in Syria and northern Iraq. and to go to “the different international bodies” to stop the attacks, establish a peace process and “oblige the Turkish State” to respect human rights and International Law.
In a Non-Law Proposal presented on January 18 for debate in the Foreign Affairs Committee, the three parliamentary groups denounce the “new violent attacks” committed by Turkey against “the regions where a good part of the Kurdish people live. in northern and eastern Syria and between January 13 and 16, 2024.”
These ground and air attacks included “oil facilities and services, civilian areas, security centers, checkpoints and power stations” and caused “significant damage, affecting hundreds of villages, towns and cities”, in addition to injuries to twelve civilians and the death of five members of the Syrian regime forces.
Approximately 1,095,450 people were affected in the border strip from Derik to Kobani and the attacks disrupted the activities of NGOs, aid programs and medical services in the region, the motion continues. Separately, and as a result of the attacks, the water supply was cut off due to the lack of electricity, in addition to damage to grain mills, ovens, medical centers, hospitals and other vital facilities, the text adds. “In summary, the Turkish attacks in the northern and eastern regions of Syria between January 13 and 16, 2024, resulted in significant civilian damage, infrastructure damage, power outages, water shortages, and disruption of humanitarian efforts,” he says.
According to the motion, “Turkey’s quest to control territories beyond its southern borders, adjacent to Syria and Iraq and including Kurdish territory, is nothing new,” nor is it “a mystery” that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, “does not hesitate to unite his electoral base around the agendas of Turkish and anti-Kurdish exaltation.”
“The legitimation of their own positions based on an enemy and hatred towards it is a constant strategy used by the extreme right at an international level,” warn the three groups, who consider that “it is not acceptable, therefore, for the community “The international community remains impassive with the rights of the population of Kurdistan and allows violations of fundamental rights in the area, illegalization of parties, ideological persecution and repression, indiscriminate physical violence, etc.”
For this reason, the motion urges the Spanish Government to “publicly reject the military attacks of the Turkish Government of Erdoğan towards the Kurdish people in Syria and northern Iraq”, to “denounce the violations of human rights by the Turkish State” and to denounce, “in different international bodies, the violations of human rights suffered by the Kurdish people by Turkey, as well as the violation of International Law by the Turkish State so that they take necessary initiatives to stop the attacks and establish a process of peace and force the Turkish State to comply with the legislation.”
