‘Mountains Are Our Only Friends’

By Yara Kamaran: 

The AKP [Justice and Development Party] in recent years commenced what is called “The Peace Process” (a ceasefire between the PKK and the Turkish government) and Erdogan attempted at least to appear (for the sake of politics) to be trying to improve the Kurds’ situation.

However, all ameliorations officially came to an end this year, starting from the June elections, when the HDP [the political party of Kurds in Turkey] with 80 representatives made it to the parliament and the AKP lost its overall majority and became unable to form the government on its own. During the elections, Kurds and all the supporters of the HDP faced a lot of trouble, besides the daily offenses there were bomb attacks targeting them. Tens of tens of Kurds were killed; it is believed that they were killed by the government, even more specifically, by the AKP. The government didn’t consider any of this to be an attack on the security of the country but when, following the Suruc massacre, the PKK took responsibility for killing some Turkish policemen, that was considered a serious attack and Turkey requested an emergency meeting with NATO. ISIS was a neighbor to Turkey for two years but it did not consider this a threat to the country; yet it did when the YPG and the Kurds became its neighbor.

It was described as a significant move in the war against ISIS when Turkey at last promised to join the war by permitting the use of the Incirlik and Diyarbakir air bases. But, instead of really bombing ISIS, Turkey bombed the Kurds 1,000 times.

In one of the attacks conducted by Turkey on the Kurds, it bombed a civilian village in southern Kurdistan, causing at least 8 deaths and tens of people injured.

n one of the attacks conducted by Turkey on the Kurds, it bombed a civilian village in southern Kurdistan that caused at least 8 deaths and tens of people injured.

In one of the attacks, Turkey bombed a village in southern Kurdistan, causing at least 8 deaths and dozens of injuries.

Jon Stewart (a very well-known American comedian) was able to describe the situation with Turkey and the Kurds really well. In November, 2014, he criticized Turkey for not joining the war against ISIS:

In this video, shown in July 2015, he criticized Turkey for bombing the Kurds instead of ISIS, and he clearly explained the Kurdish case: “No matter what happens, the Kurds ultimately get F*****”

Meanwhile, with all these threats on Kurdistan from the outside, we are not able to unite and fight them together. It is unfortunately known that enemies unite the Kurds and politics separate them.

The PKK, saying it didn’t know that a particular pipeline transferred the KRG’s oil, bombed it. The KRG made a statement that the bombing had cost them one month’s salaries of the Peshmerga and Asaysh. Why make the tension rise even more with such a statement?

In the Kurdistan Region, we are having such serious troubles, because of the presidency problem, that some in the Parliament have declared that there may have to be two directorates in the country, one in Erbil and one in Sulaymaniyah.

Instead of democracy, we are experiencing dictatorship in all parts of Kurdistan. Each part and each party use their own flag! Let’s unite, at least let us use one flag!

#OneKurdistanOneFlag

Yara Kamaran Ismael is a Kurdish activist based in California and the director of ‘Help Akre Refugee Camp’ fundraising campaign. Yara is a student at Sonora High Sc

One Response to ‘Mountains Are Our Only Friends’
  1. Yara
    August 22, 2015 | 21:17

    I don’t think you got the real essence of the whole article! I did not mention anything good about Turkey! I am happy that we can see peace and coexistence concepts promoted in Rojava.

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