Many villages have been destroyed and emptied, and hundreds of people have been forced to flee their homes, since Turkey launched Operation Claw-Tiger in the Haftanin (Heftanîn) region of Kurdistan on 16 June. However, Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) Executive Board member Ekrem Hiso said that Turkey has failed in Haftanin and for that reason it has begun to use mercenaries in the region.
According to the ANHA, after the United States removed the Turkistan Islam Party from the terror organisations list on 20 November at the behest of Turkey, Turkey has begun to deploy Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (former name Al Nusra) and Turkistan Islam Party units to Iraqi Kurdistan where Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) forces are located.
Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) Executive Board member Ekrem Hiso commented on the deployment of those Turkish-backed mercenaries: “With that attempt, Turkey has indicated that it has failed in its attacks against Haftanin”.
‘All their plans will fail’
Noting that areas with guerilla forces were not like Karabakh, İdlib or Libya, Hiso pointed out that the Turkish state’s plans to target these areas would fail.
Hiso stated that Turkey used Uyghur, Chechen, Uzbek and Tajik mercenaries to encircle Qandil (Kandil) and guerilla areas in Northern Iraq and added that It used same mercenaries in occupations of İdlib, Jarablus, Afrin, Tal Abyad (Girê Spî), Ras al-Ayn (Serêkaniyê), and lastly in Libya and Karabakh.
Policy of demographic change
Hiso said, “The Turkish state aims to change the demography of the regions it has taken over in order to displace Kurds. It indicated this ambition by placing Turkmen mercenaries (gangs) tı Kirkuk, Uyghur and Chechen mercenaries to Afrin and Tal Abyad”.
Stating that Turkey had positive relations with US president Donald Trump, who removed the Turkistan Islam Party from terror list, Hiso said that Turkey attempted its genocidal goals by using mercenaries. “The Turkish state could not achieve that goal”, said Hiso. “Kurdish people, who are keen on their land, have always lived in their lands despite policies targeting them”.
‘Kurds should work together’
Noting that Kurds have become popular across world, Hiso said , “For that reason, Turkey, Iraq, Iran and even Russia wants to bring about a clash among Kurds. It is a fact that there are contradictions among Kurdish political forces. However, the Kurdish mindset has solved this conflict. Each part of Kurdistan has distinctive features. The main point is that features in one area should not stand in the way of features elsewhere. Kurdish forces should achieve common goals and respond to current processes. I salute the forces who struggle for the national unity of the Kurdish people”.
