SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The International Delegation for Peace and Freedom in Kurdistan said on Sunday it was “outraged” by the deportations of a number of international travelers at Erbil airport, saying their visit was to stand against “colonization” by external states.
On Saturday, a group of more than 20 people including journalists were banned by authorities at Erbil airport from entering the Kurdistan Region.
“We are outraged by the deportations of our international friends, carried out by the Kurdish Regional Government, and the travel bans on the grounds that these people ‘appeared to be political’, without any legal basis whatsoever,” the international delegation for peace and freedom said in a statement on Sunday.
“Free media coverage and engagement of civil society are components of every vital democracy, and there is no legitimate reason for this repression we are facing,” it added.
The delegation further said politicians, academics, human rights activists, syndicalists, journalists, feminists, and ecologists from over 14 countries wanted to “get direct impressions of the situation and stand up to end the war and destruction in the mountains of Kurdistan,” referring to the conflict between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
“The invasion by the Turkish military is a blatant violation of international law, and is without doubt unacceptable. We are sad to witness that the international community of states remain silent and inactive on this issue, taking no action to insist on Turkey’s compliance with international codes and human rights law,” it stated.
The delegation wanted to meet lawmakers, political parties and non-organizations so as to contribute to a dialogue between the parties, it said.
“The Kurdish Regional Government prevented the delegation from establishing dialogues with most political actors in South Kurdistan,” it added.
The international delegation also said 40 people had either been deported or were about to be deported, adding that at least 27 others were held at Germany’s Düsseldorf airport and prevented from traveling to the Kurdistan Region.
“We are internationalists, and we don’t represent any Kurdish parties or specific political movements,” it said. “We’re standing against the colonisation of Kurdistan by external states.”
“We are not here to stand against any Kurdish parties. Quite the contrary, we want to support a dialogue between all different views. It is not about a Kurdish problem, but aggression coming from the Turkish state and Turkish military, directed at the local people and the ecosystems of the Kurdish regions,” it added.
“This situation is a trap; creating tensions between Kurds, with the worrying potential to escalate into armed conflict, which would endanger peace and the future of the whole Middle East.”
The delegation called on Kurds to find a political solution and stand together against external threats.
It also called for the release of people who are still held at any airport and called on the Kurdish parties to return to dialogue to solve issues.
It also demanded that the Turkish military “must immediately withdraw from the South Kurdistan region,” referring to the Kurdistan Region.
