EFA and the Kurdish Institute of Brussels call on the international community to break the silence about the use of chemical weapons against Kurdistan

Both organizations recall the importance to respect human rights and the right to self-determination of Kurdish people

The European Free Alliance and the Kurdish Institute of Brussels call on the international community to break the silence about Turkey’s use of chemical weapons against Kurdistan. As Erik Vranken, spokesman of the Kurdish Institute of Brussels, explains, “many NGOs, journalists, academic people and human rights activists made notice of the fact that chemical weapons are broadly used” in the north of Iraq and the north-east of Syria, what is “the west and south of Kurdistan”. “We want to break the silence”, adds Mr Vranken, who requests: “The United Nations, the European Commission and the European Union need to come up with solutions”.

“The most important is to guarantee the respect for the human rights of the Kurdish people, as well as their right to self-determination”, continues the President of EFA, Lorena López de Lacalle. “The European Union cannot ignore a country’s aggression against the sovereignty of a nation”, adds Ms López de Lacalle. “What Turkey is doing now is launching an operation as what Russia is doing in Ukraine. It is a war, a real war, and they are breaking the international law and sovereignty of Iraq and Syria”, explains Mr Vranken.

The Kurdish Institute of Brussels attended last week EFA-Coppieters-EFAY General Assembly in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria as a member of the Coppieters Foundation. During the event, the representatives of the organization explained the situation in Kurdistan and warned about Turkey’s operations, the violation of human rights, and the use of chemical weapons in the region. The European Free Alliance will stand next to the Kurdish people and defend their right to self-determination in the European institutions.