On October 9, the Turkish armed forces initiated a military offensive against the Kurds in Syria, taking advantage of the withdrawal of U.S. armed forces from the northern part of the country. The first four days of military operation have caused dozens of civilian deaths, including several executions such as that of the leader of the Kurdish Future Movement in Syria Hevrin Khalaf, and about 20,000 displaced people. In light of these events, the Catalan National Assembly states the following:
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We strongly condemn the Turkish military aggression against the people of Kurdistan, a flagrant violation of international law which represents a further step in the imperialistic and repressive offensive by Erdogan’s government against the Kurds.
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We firmly condemn the Spanish government’s support for this new Turkish military aggression against the Kurdish people, once again supporting an authoritarian regime perpetrating a massive violation of fundamental rights. The attitude of the Spanish government is especially alarming as it contrasts with that of several European countries which have already announced an arms embargo against Turkey.
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We firmly condemn the repression and persecution of mayors and other Kurdish elected officials by the Turkish authorities, justified on several occasions by the Turkish government comparing this with the suspension of Catalan and Basque elected officials by the Spanish State. In this regard, we welcome the fact that the Council of Europe is investigating the cases of imprisonment of Kurdish and Catalan political leaders by the Turkish and Spanish authorities respectively, imprisoned in many cases for exercising their right to freedom of expression.
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We express our fraternal solidarity with the Kurdish people and our support for their right to self-determination, an aspiration fully shared with the people of Catalonia.
Catalan National Assembly
Barcelona, October 13, 2019