NEWS CENTER – The so-called Geneva Protocol (full title: Protocol on the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Similar Gases and of Bacteriological Agents) is an international treaty signed in the Swiss city of Geneva on June 17, 1925. Fascist Turkey ratified this treaty, which prohibits the use of chemical and biological weapons, on 1929.
Regarding the prohibition of the use of asphyxiating and poisonous gases and comparable liquids or other substances, the text of the protocol explicitly refers to their outlawing under customary law, which was already accepted at the time of the signing of the treaty, by mentioning the “general opinion of the civilized world” as a standard for condemning the use of these substances. In addition, the “conscience and action of nations” is mentioned as the basis of the prohibition. This protocol is a treaty text opened for signature to prevent mass killings and, in a sense, prevent wars from getting out of control.
Eight years after fascist Turkey signed the Geneva Protocol, they ordered 20 tons of chemical gas from Germany. This chemical weapon was used in the Dersim massacre in 1938. Despite the many testimonies of witnesses and the documents found in the archives bearing the signature of M. Kemal, no investigations were initiated. The Turkish state committed a war crime by killing people with brutal methods in Dersim and did not comply with the requirements of the treaty it signed. Despite the large number of testimonies and evidence, no investigation has been launched. Genocidal Turkey has not been held accountable for this by international oversight institutions.
The Geneva Protocol banned the use of chemical and biological weapons, but did not include requirements for their development, production, and stockpiling. For this reason, the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention and the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention were two other treaties that contained corresponding provisions on arms limitations and disarmament obligations. The Turkish occupying state signed the latter in 1997. At a time when the use of chemical weapons against the guerrillas of the Freedom Kurdistan was on the agenda. This treaty also suffered the same fate as that of the Geneva Protocol. The binding provisions of the agreement were set aside and the use of chemicals against the Kurdistan Freedom Movement continued. The international arena hid behind the treaty, although its requirements were not respected, fascist Turkey faced no accountability obligations.
Until today, this practice of fascist Turkey and international institutions continues. The use of chemical weapons against the Kurds leads to general silence in the international arena, a tragic tradition that continues since the Dersim massacre until today.
Let us recall some of the massacres in which the Turkish state used chemical weapons:
- On May 17, 1994, 28 people, including 22 elementary school students, were murdered with chemical weapons on Adıyaman Bêzar Mountain. Although the testimonies of witnesses and relatives and the findings on the bodies proved the use of chemical weapons, the relatives’ complaints were not taken into account and the files were shelved.
- In 1999, 20 guerrillas were killed by the use of chemical gas near the village of Bilika in Şirnex. As a result of the investigation conducted in the laboratory in Germany, it was found that a lethal gas was used in the massacre. However, no action was taken and the brutality was ignored.
- In 2009, 8 guerrillas were murdered in Çukurca, Hakkari, as a result of the use of chemical gas. Evidence obtained on the incident was examined at the University of Hamburg, in Germany, and it was reported that chemical weapons were used. Despite this, the Turkish occupying state did not face any sanctions. Because the issue was not included in the mechanisms of the supervisory bodies.
Officially, the HPG stated that chemical weapons were used against them in Garê from February 10-14, 2021, and the affected regions could not be entered for days. In several statements, they called on independent bodies to investigate the matter.
The Turkish state has used chemical weapons many times, not only against guerrillas but also against civilians.
In 2019, evidence of the use of phosphorus gas against civilians in Serêkanî in Rojava was made public. However, despite the obvious examples of the Turkish occupying state violating the treaties it signed, no investigation was launched by the UN and no sanctions were imposed.
States allow Turkey to commit war crimes as long as he makes concessions based on their interests.
Just as against Saddam Hussein the Halabja massacre, in which there was a massive use of chemical weapons against Kurdish civilians in 1988 and a massacre was committed, the American forces did not bring up this chemical weapons use until 1991 when they launched their invasion against Iraq.
HPG’s comments state that the Turkish state has been continuously and systematically using chemical gas in the guerrilla defense areas since April 23, 2021. War crimes are committed in this region by plundering nature, destroying village habitats and massacring people. For example, on September 3, 2021, three guerrillas were murdered by the use of chemical gas in the Girê Sor area.
Since the renewed invasion operation on April 14, 2022, chemical weapons and banned bombs have been systematically used by the Turkish occupying state without any response from international organizations responsible for compliance. The Kurdish public has protested several times in front of the OPCW building, evidence has been sent to the OPCW, footage and photos have been published through Kurdish media, international delegations have been called to investigate the chemical weapons use in the affected regions. However, the international arena maintains its tradition of silence, towards the massacres of Kurds, as long as the Turkish occupying state serves its interests.
The Turkish state continues to commit war crimes … If these crimes against people and nature are not stopped, there will continue to be great disasters and destruction that will spread to other parts of the country. However, these past experiences also show that the Kurdish people cannot rely on laws and legal regulations, nor on any states and international organizations. Those who have to prevent these war crimes are the people, the people, the society, political activists, artists, intellectuals, famous people, but especially the youth and the young women, who through their self-organization, their actions and the creation of a broad public, force the general public to react to the massacre policy of the Turkish occupying state.
