Mondo
Turkey: The non profit world calls for peace
In Turkey, civil society says no to war and asks the government to seek dialogue and to promote democratic values: "War will not solve the Kurdish problem"
di Asli Kayabal
Turkish civil society is watching over the developing conflict between Turkey and the Kurdish population in the north of Iraq.
The Global Peace and Justice Coalition Kuresel-Bak has approached the premier Erdogan and clearly stated their opposition to using weapons. They highlighted that if the Turkish army were to intervene in what is known as Iraqi Kurdistan, as is stated in the decree that allows military operations to be conducted, all Turkish non profit associations would organise sit-ins in protest against the war.
According to the pacifist organisation resolving the Kurdish problem through military intervention will not be possible. Alternative, non violent means should be sought, said the Global Peace and Justice Coalition, and dialogue and democratic confrontation should be sought. According to the coalition, if the government in Ankara were to choose the path of military intervention, there would be ?no return? and Turkey would be dragged into a muddy war wanted and created by the United States.
According to another association, that has called itself the Parliament of Turkish Peace, the decision to approve the decree that authorises troops to move into the north of Iraq was one that was taken too quickly and one that was conditioned by an emotional reaction to the news of the killing of 13 Turkish soldiers by part of Kurdish militants. The Turkish Peace organisation do not believe that war will solve the conflict but rather that it would only worsen the problems in North Iraq, causing a war between peoples.
The Human Rights Association has asked the Turkish government to listen to what the Parliament of Turkish Peace has to say. The association?s leaders, criticised the military occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq, saying that fighting terrorism was just an excuse. They underlined the fact that the Kurdish problem cannot be linked to terrorism, but that it is, only, a matter of human rights and democratic values.
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