.jpg)
By Amy L. Beam, Ed.D:
Sirnak, Turkey, Oct 7, 2014 – Although Kurds have begged Turkey and the world to defend the town of Kobanê against a possible genocide by the Islamic State, the Turkish government continues to refuse, making some observers accuse Turkey of aiding and supplying the Islamic State.
Kobanê is in Rojava in northeast Syria on the border of Turkey. It is an autonomous Kurdish-controlled area of Syria. By allowing Kobanê to fall under the control of ISIS, Turkey can succeed in destroying the Kurdish powerbase.
Turkey’s tanks sit lined up on its border preventing Kurds from Turkey from crossing the border to defend Kobanê . Some Turkish tanks have fired tear gas at the Kurds. The battle for control of Kobanê continues.
As a result of Turkey’s refusal to defend Kobanê against the Islamic State gangs, protests erupted in cities across Turkey and Europe. In Sirnak, at 18:15, on October 6, Kurdish protestors threw Molotov cocktails on the statue of Ataturk, engulfing the statue in flames while police fired dozens of tear gas canisters throughout the city. The tear gassing continued for two hours. Tanks were still guarding the Ataturk statue at sunrise. The gutters were littered with dozens of tear gas canisters.
Is Turkey more interested in defending a statue than living, breathing human beings?
Ataturk statue fire bombed, Sirnak town center last night. Police tear gassing
Tear gas attack
The morning after – tear gas cannisters
Ataturk statue – stll standing …
..though showing signs of last night’s attack
Fresh graffiti
Dr. Amy L. Beam promotes tourism in eastern Turkey (North Kurdistan) and writes in support of Kurdish and Ezidi human rights. Read her stories at KurdistanTribune.com. She is writing a book, “Love and Betrayal in Kurdistan.” Follow her on Twitter @amybeam or contact her at amybeam@yahoo.com or 240-696-1905 (U.S.) or 0090 537 502 6683 (Turkey).
Sirnak businesses and shops were shuttered today Oct 15, 2014. One businessman told me because it was Oct. 15, the deadline PKK had given the Turkish govt. to defend Kobani or allow Kurds to cross the border to defend it. Another businessman told me it is because 3 young Kurdish men from Sirnak were killed yesterday defending Kobani against the Islamic State attack. Their bodies were being returned to Sirnak today for their burial. I went today as usual to the Ezidi refugee camp outside of town. When I returned to the Sirnak town center at 9 PM, 4 police tanks were there (increased from the normal 2 tanks) and a dozen police officers with helmets, black face masks, bullet proof vests and rifles for firing tear gas canisters were standing around. It has become now a routine for me to get home to have to get past them. I walk over to one tank and ask an officer to please not shoot any tear gas for ten minutes so I can walk down the deserted street (“their” street) and round the corner onto my street hidden by tall buildings and go home. By now they recognize me and shrug. If I want to go through the contested no-man’s zone from one side to another, I can. But tonight there is something different. One police officer is wearing neither a helmet nor a black face mask. He has blond crew cut hair and speaks to me in perfect English. He tells me repeatedly I CANNOT walk home down that street. “Why?” I ask. “I want to go home.” This polise officer is the only one who does not recognize me. He is adamant that I cannot walk 150 feet down the street. “Are you crazy? You have to ask? You don’t have eyes? It is not safe.” He does not want to let me go. The other officers exchange some words with him. He is a newcomer. He does not recognize me. I look at his rifle. It is not for firing teargas canisters. It is for firing bullets. Has Turkey cranked up the conflict and brought someone from outside? Who is this blond-haired, English speaker?
I tell him “I am not afraid of the boys,” pointing down the empty street. “I am only afraid of you. Please don’t shoot me in the back.” The other officers gesture for me to go quickly. “Don’t shoot gas for 10 minutes,” I repeat and jog down the street calling out “Sercheva”
I am not a supporter of the ruling party in Turkey. But what makes you think Turkey should give arms to the PKK? That would be suicide. PKK would then go riot around cities, burn shops down, break into storefronts, destroy public property, bomb resort towns, bomb cities, and so on. What about how PKK’s youth wing YDG-H killed an off duty soldier, cut his body and massacred him execution style, infront of his wife like a bunch of a low life cowards! Or what about how YDG-H (PKK’s Youth Wing) massacres members of other pro-Kurdish groups. You need to wake up to the facts and understand PKK and ISIS have the same mindset of brutality, corruption, and bloodthirst. It is better if both PKK and ISIS get eradicated of the planet for world peace.