38 women’s organizations have released a joint statement addressed at women deputies in Turkey regarding the Iraq-Syria motion:
“We know and have studied on the field, what women experience during war times. As such, we are aware that women should not give way to policies that will fuel wars. Do not accept the motion, oppose the buffer or security zone.”
We insist on peace
The statement drew attention to the problems that are likely to be encountered during cross-border military interventions. Women’s organizations emphasized that buffer or security zones are only ever initiated in uninhabited geographical locations, and yet, the proposed buffer zone includes Rojava. [Translators' note: The population of Rojava is variously estimated as being between 2 and 3 million.]
Calling for peace, they noted that the proposal to institute buffer zones surfaced during the resolution process [between the Kurds and the Turks].
“You are the mediators of representative democracy and the position you will take during this critical junction is historical and will determine the destiny of a people. That is why we ask you to pay attention to our call for peace.”
What will be the consequence?
The women’s organizations stated that the motion will result in Turkish soldiers engaging in cross-border armed conflicts and asked the following:
“However, who will this armed clash be against? Has this been specified? Have the sufferings, the hostilities, and the feelings of revenge that this clash will give rise to been thought out? This engagement is likely to result in a backlash from ISIS. Has this been taken into account?”
“It is important to remember: When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, the United States retaliated, Taliban and Al Qaeda were born; when the United States invaded Iraq, ISID was born.”
The buffer zone
Demonstrators emphasized that buffer or security zones are only ever established in uninhabited geographical locations. A buffer zone in Rojava is likely to lead to the people of Rojava facing exile and mass migration:
“This means in turn the forced migration of hundreds of thousands of people, more deaths, more poverty, and more suffering. Even in optimal conditions, forced migration brings forth instability, not stability. It undoes, without recourse, civil life.
“It should be remembered: While Israel was settling in Palestinian lands, the world claimed that these lands were uninhabited. The United States massacred millions of native peoples as part of its expansion in the continent of America, claiming that the land was uninhabited, and attempted to cover it up. Australia was claimed to be uninhabited land when the British were sending in prisoners to this continent, leading to aboriginal children being stolen from their families and handed over to the settlers.
“The claim by some that a nation is uninhabited does not mean that that area is actually empty. On the contrary, it means that the region will be forcibly purged, resulting in blood and tears. Such an act saddles peoples’ conscience with the responsibility of massacres that cannot be met eye to eye, that cannot be answered for by multiple generations.”
The resolution process
The women’s organizations emphasized that both the motion [on military conflict] and the idea of a buffer or a security zone came up during the solution process:
“Peace will not come through a process that ignores the will of the other and that discounts as empty the regions that are inhabited by their sisters, brothers, and relatives. Peace will not come with the presumption that considering one’s demands unilaterally would establish peace.
“War ends only when the will of the peoples is attended to, when their suffering is ended, when their homes are returned back to them. Because women pay the price of war very heavily, they are heavily invested in bringing an end to war. As women, there is no other option for us but to work together towards bringing an end to war and to the establishment of a permanent state of peace. That is why, first of all, we women must oppose the motion [on military action] and the proposal for a buffer zone.”
* Courtesy of lgbtinewsturkey for the translation of this article.
* Click here to read the article in Turkish and view the petition signing organizations.
