Turkey – Did Erdogan use chemical weapons against the Kurds in Iraq?
“After Turkish and international media published videos showing the Turkish military’s use of chemical weapons against Kurds in northern Iraq, the cycle of accusations continues to expand inside the Turkish parliament, most recently by Turkish parliamentarian Sazgin Tanri Kolo of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), who accused the army of using chemical weapons against members of the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the northern Iraqi Kurdistan region.”
Tanri Kolo tweeted that he will submit a question note to parliament regarding the authenticity of photographs in this regard, according to the Turkish newspaper Zaman.
“Tannery Kolo said he saw graphic images and videos of people killed in alleged chemical attacks.”
“Chemical weapons are a crime against humanity, and it is strange that the Turkish authorities have not made official statements about these allegations,” the parliamentarian said.
“In the same vein, the president of the Turkish Doctors Union, Şanpam Kurar Fincı, who participated in a live broadcast on a TV channel close to the PKK, claimed that Turkish forces had used chemical weapons.”
“I have already examined the bodies, and it was clear that one of the poisonous gases that directly paralyzes the nervous system was used. There are many chemical weapons, and despite the prohibition on their use, unfortunately we are monitoring their use in the confrontations. The Turkish authorities must be thoroughly investigated.”
The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, a non-partisan consortium of medical groups in more than 60 countries, sent a mission to northern Iraq in late September.
“Some indirect evidence of possible violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention has been found,” the Association said in a report published by Agence France Presse.
“The materials found near an area abandoned by the Turkish military included hydrochloric acid containers and bleach materials that can be used to produce chlorine, a traditional chemical weapons agent,” the report said.
According to news reports, at least 17 people were killed by chemical weapons in attacks in the Kurdistan region in the past two months.
On the other hand, the Turkish presidency and the ruling party denied the day before yesterday that the Turkish army used chemical weapons against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
“Those who accuse the Turkish armed forces of using chemical weapons are part of a despicable network of slander,” AKP spokesman Ömer Çelik said.
The Turkish Defense Ministry denied “allegations” that the armed forces used chemical weapons, which the PKK has promoted through pro-government media, Anatolia reported.
“Our armed forces do not use ammunition prohibited by law and international agreements, and this type of ammunition is not in the Turkish armed forces’ stockpile,” the ministry said in a statement.
