SUSPICION OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN TURKISH BOMBARDMENT

"One important question that needs to be resolved concerns the status of an alleged secret directive of the Turkish Army permitting the use of chemical and biological measures in counter-terrorist activities."
~ The Sunshine Project Country Study No. 3.

From yesterday's Özgür Gündem:

Suspicion of chemical weapons in TSK bombardment


In the Levce village of Qendil, hundreds of goats died in the area where Turkish aircraft bombed. As a result of the bombardment, 186 baby goats died and, according to the investigation, poisonous material has been found in the goats' milk.

Mam Hasan, who makes his living through animal husbandry in Levce village, said that he made his goats graze in the area where Turkish aircraft bombed on 16 December. After a while, he said, all the baby goats died, one after the other.

We made an analysis, medication did not cure.

Hasan Mecid said the ongoing events after the bombardment, as follows: "When Turkish aircraft bombed this region, nothing happened to my animals. However, when I grazed my animals in the region that had been bombed, almost 200 of my animals died. Some other animals also died in the village. But after my animals died altogether, we went to Dîyana, Hewlêr, and Silêmanî veterinarians, bought medication, and made the laboratory analysis. None of the medication given had cured them. The animals continued to be sick and die."

Poison found in goats' milk

For a more detailed laboratory analysis, we took samples of goat meat and milk. As a result, poison was found in the milk. However, Hasan Mecid said the doctors did not mention anything about the reason for the poison. Mecid continued: "Nothing like this has happened before in our village. There is only one reason, and that is the Turkish aircraft bombed the region where the goats were grazed, and those weapons spread poison. The expert veterinarians also asked where I grazed my animals, and I said the region where the airplanes bombed. They, too, mentioned that it might be the reason for the poison in the milk."

We cannot give goat milk to the children

Hasan Mecid's daughter, Şuno Mecid, said that the newborn goats became ill very soon after they started nursing, and later they died while they were convulsing. Because the baby goats died, they do not use goat milk and they do not give it to their children. Şuno Mecid said: "Now we milk the goats and we pour out the milk. Since the baby goats died, we are worried that this milk will harm people, too. We are also concerned about the occurence of any disease in children."

Earlier the KRG environment minister Dara Muhammed Emin had also mentioned that they have evidence that the Turkish state was using weapons that violate laws of war. This incident that occured in Levce village reminds us one more time of the suspicion of Turkey's use of chemical weapons. For that reason, the villagers called international institutions for a delegation of independent experts to investigate the matter.

The Levce villagers said that if their claim is corroborated, they will sue Turkey.

Gordon Taylor has an update on Cüneyt Ertuş. Surprise, surprise, surprise!! The police lied!

Yesterday the Emniyet of Hakkari province posted a press release on their website. [The Emniyet is the "Public Safety" or, rather, "State Security" office of the Turkish government. They're the police, in other words. Turkey is a rigidly centralized state; thus the Emniyet is everywhere. If you know the novels of Eric Ambler ("A Coffin for Dimitrios", "Journey into Fear", or "The Light of Day", from which the movie "Topkapi" was drawn), then you should know the word Emniyet.] Yesterday's press release dealt with Cuneyt, who was identified only by his initials, C.E.

The heading reads, "Release concerning the person whose arm was allegedly broken." This is in Turkish, of course, and I am very loosely translating. "Having been taken twice to the doctor," it says, "C.E. has no serious damage to his arm, according to their reports." C.E.'s arm, the report continues, has been X-rayed at the Hakkari State Hospital, and these have found no breaks. He remains in custody, etc., and the claims which have been made about his condition are untrue.

[ . . . ]

Hakkari, the remotest of Turkey's provincial capitals, is now, incredibly, a part of the global village. When I was there in 1977, I was astounded to find oranges from the Mediterranean coast on sale in the market. From the miracle of oranges, we now have digital video of a Hakkari kid's arm being broken, video that's flashed to Denmark, beamed up to a satellite, and then beamed back to the TV sets of the boy's relatives, who in the past would have known nothing about it. Thus a press release about a 15-year-old boy from police-state apparatchiks who formerly would never have bothered.

There is, moreover, new information. This morning I heard from a contact in Germany. He had just talked to Cuneyt's father. Cuneyt is still in jail, but lawyers from the Hakkari Bar Association have been allowed to visit him. The lawyers confirmed that Cuneyt's arm had indeed been broken. It is in a sling, swathed in bandages. In other words, the Emniyet's press release was a lie. My point is this: At least they were forced to say something. Once again, the digital revolution has made history.

Now, Hevallo has an interesting commentary on Gordon's post:

It also forcibly reminded me, like nothing else could, of all of the innocent Kurds, rounded up during Newroz and facing serious charges, not to mention torture, languishing in Turkish prisons, snatched from their loved ones and now suffering torture and a nightmarish future.

For what? Because they are Kurdish!

Nothing more, nothing less, many of the Kurdish people detained during Newroz will of set out on the day they ended up being detained, in their best clothes, hair made up, looking forward to a day of celebration, hoping to see some of the friends and listen to some nice music. A special day out.

But now, having been attacked by police, grabbed off the street and find themselves now locked in a cell, labelled as terrorists and facing a long prison sentence. A horrendous nightmare!

By the way, there's a fascinating backgrounder on Tibet that is a must-read. Did you know the Dalai Lama was on the CIA's payroll? That Indian intelligence also financed him? Isn't that just like a cleric?

Did you know what life was like under the rule of the religious and the secular Tibetan elites? If not, open your eyes.