The Turkish government’s bombardment of the autonomous Kurdish administration in northeast Syria (Rojava), which began two days ago, amounts to the collective punishment of the Kurdish people in the region.
Erdogan’s Islamist regime is targeting infrastructure facilities and civilian settlement areas in Rojava.
“The infrastructure in the north and east of Syria is a legitimate target for the security forces, the military, and the intelligence service,” said Hakan Fidan, the foreign minister of the country on Wednesday.
Fidan was known for his leaked recording of a discussion of a possible military action in Syria back in 2014 when he was the head of the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT). Back then, he was saying that if there is a need for justification to attack Syria, “the justification is, I will send four men to the other side. I get them to fire eight missiles into empty land. That’s not a problem. Justification can be created.”
This time, Fidan justified the recent bombardments after the attack on the interior ministry in Ankara on the first of October, just hours before Parliament was set to reopen after its three-month summer recess with an address by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) claimed responsibility. Fidan alleged that the militants who conducted the attack had trained in Syria. The Kurdish-led autonomous administration in Rojava and the PKK denied the allegation and said that militants did not enter Turkey from Syria.
Following Fidan’s allegations and a fierce declaration of war, Turkish drones conducted multiple strikes in northeast Syria, and one of the unmanned aircraft reportedly operated by Turkey’s intelligence (MIT) was shot down by US forces.
Meanwhile, the Turkish government is increasing its crackdown on dissidents, including prominent journalists and politicians, allegedly for conducting “terrorist propaganda” and having “terror links.”
As SPOT, we demand an end to these attacks on Syria and call for solidarity with the Kurdish people.
