ROBOSKI MASSACRE

The date of December 28, 2011 is a dark day in the history of Kurdistan and for humanity as a whole. Under the dead of night, the Turkish army, under the authority of the AKP, bombed the village of Roboski near Qilaban resulting in the deaths of 34 people. Roboski village is officially on the border between Turkey and Iraq. However, on the maps of Kurdistan, it is placed centrally in Kurdistan. According to the Turkish army, the area surrounding Roboski is an alleged ‘’war zone” therefore justifying its bombing. The AKP government and Prime Minister Tayyib Erdogan confirmed this claim and did not initiate any investigations, neither administrative nor legally.

The Turkish army holds to the view that the Kurdish people as a whole are rebellious for which it is free to bomb as such. In fact, it has not refrained from bombing all over Kurdistan even today. It is without doubt that Roboski village is not a field of battle but is rather a region of civilian life. Following from the militaristic assimilating and colonialist politics of the Turkish state and the AKP government, the people of Roboski as well as people of many other regions of Kurdistan have been suffering from poverty and extreme circumstances. For this reason the people of Roboski have been trading between their villages and Zaxo, a city of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

The Turkish state, the AKP government, and the military battalion around Roboski are fully aware that the people of the village perform trading “on the borders”. And those doing this on that very day were mostly youths. Without any work or opportunities in Turkey, they had been forced to do business of their own. The reason for these young people doing this kind of work is a result of the basic injustice and unequal politics of the Turkish state and the AKP government. Yet, those who killed the youths are the very same state and the same government. Those killed were aged between 19 and 25. In a savage attack hidden from view, 34 youths and 40 mules were bombed to death by combat flights.

On the day of December 28, 2011 at 9.37 pm the combat flights obediently followed directions from their military commanders and the AKP government and released a rain of bombs over the youths resulting in the total destruction of the bodies of 34 youths and that of their animals.

Two years have passed since this painful and tragic event. Yet, the AKP government has not revealed the names of the assassins of this massacre nor brought them to justice. The pilots of the aircrafts and those responsible for the verdict have not been brought to light. This is due to the AKP government’s reluctance to expose those administratively responsible for this massacre and to bring the murderers to justice. Since the AKP government and the prime minister are politically and administratively responsible and share the main responsibility for this crime against humanity, they are covering up the incident as much as possible and will not allow the facts of the incident to be fully disclosed.

However, the Turkish state, the commanders of the Turkish army, as well as the AKP government and Prime Minister Tayyib Erdogan are to blame for this massacre and are guilty in the eyes of the Kurdish people and all humanity. They must be held fully accountable and are the major culprits in this catastrophe.

The Kurds have passed sentence on the President, the Commander-in-chief and the Prime Minister of the Turkish state in their hearts and their conscience and hold them to be guilty against the court of humanity. Kurds, the people of Kurdistan and all humanity will not acquit them. Kurds, the people of Kurdistan and hence all humanity condemn them in anger and outrage. Kurds, the people of Kurdistan and humanity will not forget nor allow the memory of this massacre to be forgotten.

The massacre of Roboski is not only the cause of the grief of its inhabitants, it is the grief of all Kurds, the people of Kurdistan and hence of all humanity.

We call for all Kurds, the people of Kurdistan and all human beings with a conscience to pursue the truth of this incident, and to continue the pressure on the Turkish state until those responsible are brought to light, to justice and are punished.

Kurds and the people of Kurdistan must work to bring the Roboski massacre to the attention of international law so that it is recognised as a massacre of a group of youths and is always remembered.

On the anniversary of this terrible massacre, we once again send our blessings and condolences to those killed, their families, all people of Roboski and all of the people of Kurdistan.

Executive Council of KNK

December 28, 2013

Brussels

 

Kongreya Neteweyîya Kurdistanê
Kurdistan National Congress
Congrès National du Kurdistan

Rue Jean Stas 41
1060 Bruxelles
tel: 00 32 2 647 30 84
fax: 00 32 2 647 68 49