Error occured during this request! Please try again later.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Thousands of social media users around the world have taken to Twitter and other platforms to show their solidarity with Kurds during Turkey’s latest operations in the Kurdistan Region, which have thus far claimed the lives of five civilians in just over two weeks.
Turkey says it is only striking Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets in the Region, but many of those using hashtags including #TurkeyInvadesKurdistan say the campaign has had a wider cost on the general Kurdish population.
Ankara launched the air-based Operation Claw-Eagle on June 15 and the ground-based Operation Claw-Tiger two days later. The offensive’s civilian casualties have caused widespread anger across the Kurdistan Region, and even resulted in protests.
However, public fury reached a peak when a strike hit Kuna Masi resort in Sulaimani province on June 25, injuring six civilians.
Many blame Turkey for the unclaimed drone attack. However, the neighboring country has neither confirmed or denied its involvement in the strike, instead maintaining that it never targets civilians.
Kurdish Twitter users popularized several hashtags this week in response to the offensive, several of which have trended worldwide, especially in Western countries home to a large Kurdish diaspora.
#TurkeyIsBombingKurds has been used in more than 80,000 tweets, while #TurkeyInvadesKurdistan has been used in nearly 300,000 over the last couple of days, according to the social media analytics site getdaytrends.com.
Many Kurdish users took the opportunity to share past incidents and personal experience they claim are part of the Turkish government’s oppressive policy towards Kurds.
The only place I have ever feared or felt threatened to identify myself as a Kurd has been in Turkey. So don’t tell me that the killing of Kurdish civilians are targeted at PKK. Erdogan’s words, ‘A good kurd is a dead Kurd.’ #TurkeyIsBombingKurds
— Alka Aziz Salam (@aBoskani) June 27, 2020
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has asked the PKK to leave its land and Turkey to respect its sovereignty.
YourAnonNews, a Twitter account with 7.5 million followers claiming to be affiliated to the international hacker collective Anonymous - has also joined the campaign.
Get ready for todays twitterstorm re Turkey's invasion in Kurdistan with the hashtag below.
— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) June 28, 2020
10pm Kurdistan
9pm Europe
8pm London
3pm New York pic.twitter.com/ttvLJrwz5d
Youtuber Nuha Bahadeen shared a video on her channel, featuring several Kurdish women saying, “we are Kurdish and we are not terrorists” in different languages.
Bahadeen says that the video is a response to Turkey’s recent offensive in the Kurdistan Region.
“This attack and many [others[ like it in every way is a grave human rights violation,” she said adding that the targeted areas are “populated by peaceful residents and families, just like me, people like you, or the people shown in this video - people who want to live in safety and dignity.”
Dilshad, a Kurdish Twitter user, accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of using the bombing to rally voters.
Kurds are just an election challenge for Erdogan or any other Turkish leader who wants to win elections. Bomb the Kurds, kill them and win an election in Turkey. A democracy that is built in racism. #TurkeyInvadesKurdistan
— Dlshad (@dlshadothman) June 29, 2020
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment