Report into Turkish war crimes and use of chemical weapons

Report into Turkish war crimes and use of chemical weapons

Below is the full report: “Collusion, Conspiracy & Corruption: An “on the ground” report into Turkish war crimes and use of chemical weapons” by Steve Sweeney, International Editor of the Morning Star newspaper, member of the Coalition Against Chemical Weapons in Kurdistan (CACWK) and patron of the British organisation Peace in Kurdistan. Sweeney published the report in May 2022, after returning from over a year’s stay in Sulaymaniyya, Southern Kurdistan.


In the report, he goes into great detail about the effects of the Turkish invasion of Southern Kurdistan, which is against international law, starting with the first attack in April 2021, up to developments today. The report focuses on the use of poison gas by the Turkish army. Several conversations Sweeney had with people affected by this poison gas, as well as with doctors treating them (who are sometimes forced to falsify reports in order to cover up the use of poison gas) can be found in the report. Sweeney, who has been working on the subject of Kurdistan/Middle East for the Morning Star for years, also goes into earlier experiences of the use of poison gas by the Turkish state in other regions of Kurdistan.
Sweeney also summarises the attempts to create publicity for the issue here in Europe, or the attempts to contact government agencies. He describes how they have tried to contact the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the European Union, as well as governments of various countries, but these either did not answer or avoided the issue. On the contrary, they have refused to allow soil, clothing and hair samples to be tested for chemical substances.
At the same time, poison gas is not the only topic of the report; other consequences of the war of aggression, which is contrary to international law, such as depopulation, occupation and the strengthening of the so-called “Islamic State” are also addressed. The situation in places where civil society in particular is affected by the war, such as Mexmûr, Şengal and Qendîl, is also assessed. Sweeney also reports on the drone attack on Kuna Masi in 2020 and the situation of the “Behdînan activists”.
As the initiative “Defend Kurdistan” we strongly recommend to read the report, to spread it further and above all to hand it over to official bodies.

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