Israel Matzav

Turkish columnist calls for investigation into Turkey's use of chemical weapons

I'm actually quite surprised at this. Turkish columnist Orhan Kemal Cengiz calls for an investigation into Turkey's use of chemical weapons against the PKK (original in English):

Is the Turkish military using chemical weapons?

Der Spiegel International magazine has just published an article in its Aug. 12 edition that examines allegations of the use of chemical weapons by the Turkish military. According to the article, German forensic experts examined the photos that were allegedly taken of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) members who were killed in August of 2009. The experts, on the basis of the photos shown them, confirmed that these people were killed through the use of chemical weapons.

After reading this article I called the president of the Human Rights Association (İHD) to find out if they had any concrete evidence regarding such reports. Mr. Öztürk Turkdoğan told me that they had heard allegations of PKK militants being killed by chemical weapons, but in no case was a forensic investigation allowed. Therefore, there is no legal evidence available to bring any case against those who may be responsible for these incidents.

Der Spigel’s coverage goes on to say: “In Turkey, human rights advocates have long demanded an investigation. The army, however, has refused to comment on the issue. Similarly, the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been stubbornly silent or tried to portray the accusations of war crimes as ‘PKK propaganda’.”

I would like to urge Mr. Erdoğan to allow an independent commission to make an inquiry into these allegations. Not only these allegations, but also the alleged mutilation of the dead bodies of PKK militants -- which is somehow much more frequently talked about in different circles -- should be investigated thoroughly and diligently.

Erdoğan should show the same sensitivity to alleged human rights violations in his own country as he shows towards the ones carried out by Israel.

Nice, but don't hold your breath waiting for it to happen. It's been 95 years since the Armenian genocide and they haven't investigated that one yet either.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:58 PM