German deputy demands investigation into Turkey's chemical warfare allegations
A German member of parliament applied to an international body demanding an investigation into the chemical warfare accusations against Turkish armed forces in their fight with the PKK militants in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), Mezopotamya Agency reported.
German Die Linke deputy Gokay Akbulut, said she wrote a letter to the OPCW (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) to demand that allegations of Turkey’s usage of chemical weapons be investigated, referring to the video posts on social media showing the alleged effects of those weapons on PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) militants and a report by the International Association of Doctors Against the Atomic War (IPPNW.)
"We demand that delegations be sent to the region and that research be carried out independently," Akbulut said in an interview with Mezopotamya, adding that she sent the letter to evoke action from Germany, the UN and the OPCW.
Akbulut said her party planned to meet with OPCW's German Representative Thomas Schieb next week, as well as SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany) and Green Party over the chemical attack allegations.
"War crimes are being committed systematically against the Kurds. An investigation needs to be made. On the one hand, the German government demands investigations into Russia's war crimes, but unfortunately it is silent about Turkey's war crimes," she said.
According to Akbulut, the OPCW has been ineffective because this organization only investigates attacks against national armies.
“We do not accept the quietism of the EU, the German government and the UN. As the Left Party, we will support the protests across Germany in the near future,” she said.
After videos posted on social media showing PKK militants who allegedly suffered from attacks with chemical weapons, many rights groups from in and out of Turkey called on international institutions to investigate the allegations concerning the use of chemical weapons by the Turkish military in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).
But Turkish authorities denied allegations and started an oppression campaign against those who demand independent investigation over the matter.
Renowned forensic science expert Sebnem Korur Fincanci has already been jailed and another lawyer was detained over their remarks about the chemical attack allegations.
