HDP calls for a halt to Turkey’s cross-border military operations

* Photo: HDP

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The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Central Executive Committee (MYK) has released a written statement about the Turkish Armed Forces' cross-border military operations called "Claw-Lightning and Claw-Thunderbolt" in Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) territory.

The written statement of the party has emphasized that "since 1983, Turkey has been conducting air and land operations into the Iraqi KRG territory in the name of 'border security'," adding that "such cross-border operations serve nothing other than escalating the war and conflict."

Indicating that the government has been "insisting on this mistake," the HDP has briefly stated the following about the issue:

"In the face of this, protests are raised from the residential areas and living spaces in the region, they want this military operation to be stopped. In a country going through an economic, social and political crisis and deprived of food, jobs and vaccines, allocating the economic resources to war, conflict and guns does not serve the people's good. Not only does this attitude destroy the yesterday of the peoples, but it also ruins today and future.

"Whenever the government is in an impasse in the foreign and domestic politics, it immediately resorts to cross-border operations. In response to the question, 'Where is 128 billion dollars,' the Central Bank Governor said, 'Our war planes do not fly for free,' which is, in fact, an important confession where something already known was expressed. 

"By insisting on its policies of securitization and conflict, the government has been aggravating all types of crisis."

Turkey on April 23 announced the start of the "Operation Claw-Lightning and Claw-Thunderbolt," a new chapter in the "Claw operations" it had been conducting in Iraqi Kurdistan against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) since May 2019. The new operation targets Metîna, Avashin and Zap. (RT/SD)