Kurds in Syria

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. I. Pnevmatikos:

That this council—

1. Condemns the military operation Peace Spring launched on 9 October 2019 by the President of Turkey, President Erdogan, and the Turkish military against the Kurdish people and calls on them to immediately cease their invasion and all military operations in Syria targeting the Kurdish population;

2. Notes the sacrifice of the Kurdish people in assisting Australia and its allies to defeat ISIS and calls on the international community to immediately send humanitarian assistance to the Kurdish population targeted by the Turkish military and their allies; and

3. Expresses its deepest sympathies to the South Australian Kurdish community on the senseless loss of innocent lives at the hands of the Turkish military.

(Continued from 16 October 2019.)

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (21:07): The irony of having a military operation called Peace Spring is lost in the tragedy that such an assault continues to be inflicted on the Kurdish people. So-called Operation Peace Spring, which was launched in north-eastern Syria in early October by Turkish President Erdogan, needs to be condemned across the globe. More importantly, it needs to be stopped immediately. I am compelled to add my voice to that message, as are my fellow members on both sides of the house, I am sure.

President Erdogan needs to know that this action is not just unacceptable; it is inhumane and wrong on a massive scale. Since the Turkish Air Force conducted its first strikes on towns along the Syrian border eight weeks ago, we have seen a humanitarian nightmare that has led to the displacement of more than 300,000 Kurdish people. More than 70 civilians have been reported killed, and that number can only be expected to rise.

While investigating widespread reports of human rights violations, Amnesty International gathered evidence of war crimes carried out by Turkish-backed military forces. Amnesty International said that the atrocities showed a callous disregard for civilian life and cited instances it referred to as 'summary killings' of civilians. These include the brutal execution of Hevrin Khalaf by Turkish-backed militants.

Hevrin Khalaf was a 34-year-old Kurdish civil engineer turned politician who gave her life trying to make a better Syria that was tolerant of various cultures and religions, all while helping to assist with the basic education of children liberated from the Islamic state. Her killing, after being dragged from a car carrying civilians, has already been listed by sources, such as The Washington Post, as a war crime. It is a terrible story and it is one of many.

This attack on an entire people came just three days after President Trump withdrew American troops from Syria. Before 6 October, the US had been supporting its Kurdish allies. These are the same people who sacrificed so much to help the US, Australia and our mutual allies fight to eradicate the scourge of ISIS, and their support in that effort cannot be understated.

When the attacks cease, the Kurdish people are going to need help from nations all around the world. To put it into perspective, a population a quarter of the size of Adelaide has been made homeless. Many have been brutalised and many more are starving. They do not have safe drinking water and they have virtually no medical care. I am not alone in calling on the international community to immediately send humanitarian assistance to the Kurdish population. We need to act now.

In closing, I take this opportunity to express my deepest heartfelt sympathies to the South Australian Kurdish community on what has been a senseless assault by the Turkish military on their people.

The Hon. C. BONAROS (21:10): I rise also to speak in support of the honourable member's motion condemning the Turkish military offensive in October. According to UNHCR—and Australian government, take note of this—Turkey continued to host the world's largest number of refugees in 2018, with 3.6 million Syrian nationals and close to 400,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers of other nationalities. Those figures are up to date, as at 27 June this year. That is a remarkable effort by Turkey and their efforts on this front should not, and cannot, be ignored.

But, sadly, by the same token, Turkish President Erdogan has not hesitated to use—some would say, exploit—Turkey's tremendous humanitarian efforts on the refugee front to his advantage. Turkey's offensive, which began on 9 October and is incongruously called Peace Spring, was aimed, according to the Turkish government, at removing Kurdish fighters considered terrorists by Ankara from the border region and establishing a safe zone to resettle some of the refugees in the country. Ankara had been in talks with the United States to create a jointly-controlled safe zone for months before the operation and blamed Washington for stalling the initiative, which it said was necessary for Turkey's security.

Days before the offensive, the US in a surprise move withdrew its forces from the Kurdish-controlled region that would be targeted by the operation, opening the door for Turkey to carry out the offensive. That operation, as we all know, received widespread international scorn from Turkey's NATO allies, as the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have been a loyal ally of the US-led coalition fighting against the Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) and played a key role in defending the group in Syria. This was of apparently no consequence to the erratic US president.

On the day the operation began, US President Donald Trump sent his Turkish counterpart, Erdogan, an unconventional letter, advising him not to be a tough guy and to negotiate with the SDF instead of carrying out a military attack. In response, according to media reports, Turkish presidential sources said Erdogan thoroughly rejected the letter and put it in the bin. Days later, Trump proceeded to impose limited sanctions on Turkey over the military action, but kept diplomatic channels open with Ankara.

Turkey's European allies expressed strong condemnation of the Turkish offensive, with French President Macron calling it madness and German Chancellor Angela Merkel calling it an invasion. Both countries suspended arms sales to Turkey, along with other European member states. The fighting between the Turkish and allied forces and the SDF continued for some 10 days until 18 October, when Mike Pence, the US Vice-President, announced that Washington and Ankara had agreed on a ceasefire over Turkey's offensive, but not before there was a senseless loss of life.

A recent report in The New York Times revealed an internal memo from a top diplomat in Syria, who accused Turkish-backed fighters of committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing, claiming that they killed prisoners during the operation, among other crimes. These crimes must be investigated by the international community.

Erdogan has not limited his assault on neighbouring Syria to attacking Kurdish troops that run the country’s northern region. He threatened to return 3.6 million Syrians to their own homes once northern Syria was wrenched from Kurdish control. When sanctions were placed on Turkey as a form of punishment for launching an offensive against US backed Kurdish militants, President Erdogan again responded by issuing a chilling threat to release Islamic State prisoners in Turkish custody.

Although not related, earlier this month, President Erdogan again, faced with the threat of sanctions over Ankara’s controversial plans to drill for oil off the coast of Cyprus, issued the same threat if the US persisted with imposing sanctions. These may be veiled threats, Mr President, but the reality is they have a very worrying impact on a global front. The potential for a humanitarian disaster capable particularly of enabling the resurgence of ISIS cannot be overstated.

I join with the honourable member in supporting her motion in expressing my deepest sympathies to the South Australian Kurdish community and the Kurdish community more broadly on the senseless loss of life by the incursion at the hands of President Erdogan and the Turkish military.

The Hon. J.S. LEE (21:16): I rise on behalf of the government to thank the Hon. Irene Pnevmatikos MLC for moving this motion. Australia, as a multicultural country, has welcomed more than 10,000 people with Kurdish ancestry. I would like to begin by expressing our deepest sympathies to the South Australian and Australian Kurdish community, who have been impacted by the tragic loss of innocent lives in the recent military operation.

The situation unfolding in Syria is an action that will have grave consequences not only for security in the region but also in terms of civilian suffering and the lack of humanitarian access. An article in the AustralianFinancial Review of 10 October 2019 states that the Prime Minister, the Hon. Scott Morrison, has joined other world leaders to condemn Turkey's invasion of north-eastern Syria following the US troops withdrawal, flagging that Australia will add its voice to an international response that could include some form of economic sanctions.

Honourable members would appreciate that it is a very complex situation and the commonwealth federal government is better placed to address the concerns and that the Australian government has come forth with various statements about Operation Peace Spring and have outlined their concerns and measures in assisting those caught up in the middle of this horrific situation.

The Australian government expressed in a media statement that Australia is deeply troubled by Turkey’s unilateral military operation into north-eastern Syria. Actions of this nature will have grave consequences for regional security and could significantly undermine the gains made by the international coalition in its fight against Da’esh, which remains a serious threat to regional peace and security despite its territorial defeat.

It will cause additional civilian suffering, lead to greater population displacement and further jeopardise humanitarian access. While Turkey has legitimate domestic security concerns, unilateral cross-border military action will not solve these concerns. In a statement issued by the Prime Minister, the Australian government has expressed this view directly to the Turkish government.

The federal government remains in close contact with our US, European, Middle East and other allies and security partners, including through our embassies and other officials. The Australian Prime Minister, together with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Women, has issued a joint statement with regard to this complex situation. They urge restraint and call for all parties to the conflict in Syria to avoid escalatory or opportunistic actions that cause further instability and humanitarian suffering.

The Australian government notes that the Syrian Democratic Forces have been steadfast partners for the international coalition in the fight against Da’esh and have borne a significant share of the sacrifice. They have also helped the international community by providing security support at internally displaced persons camps. The full implication of the Turkish military operation on these camps and the people residing in them is difficult to assess at this early stage and will depend in part on subsequent actions taken by Turkey and the Kurds.

We offer our thoughts and prayers to those affected by this horrific situation. We hope the international community will provide the necessary humanitarian assistance and we call on all parties in the conflict to come up with urgent and peaceful resolutions.

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (21:19): I thank the honourable members for their contributions to this important motion calling for the Turkish military to immediately cease all invasive and armed operations in Syria targeting the Kurdish population. It is a matter I feel passionate about. As a woman of Greek descent, I, too, well know the devastation caused by the actions of Turkish regimes. The loss is real and cannot be forgotten, as I would assume is the case for the Greek Pontians, the Armenians, the Kurds, the Assyrians and the Cypriots, who also have felt the destruction of culture and identity, thanks to Turkish forces.

However, it is happening again: videos are emerging, showing fleeing Kurdish civilians being dragged from their cars and shot and reports from hospitals of children dying from the effects of white phosphorus that eats into the flesh, which had allegedly been dropped or fired by the advancing Turkish forces. It is atrocious. The actions taken by the Turkish should not be seen as anything other than ethnic cleansing and it is something the world should care to do something about. At the very least, as an international community, we have a responsibility to immediately send humanitarian assistance.

There are over 900,000 people out of the three million living in north-eastern Syria who are in acute need, and the situation is only worsening. For example, 400,000 people, mostly Kurds who rely on the Alouk water station near Ras al-Ayn, are currently deprived of drinking water. The station was damaged in the fighting at the time of the invasion and is under the control of Turkish proxy forces who are preventing it from being repaired. I have read reports that the UN is making attempts to restore the water supply from Alouk but has so far failed to do so. This cannot go unaddressed.

We must unify and support our allies, as they have done for us. They sent their sons and daughters when the West was confronted with the Isis caliphate so that we did not have to. They worked with the United States, who now appear to have turned their backs on the very forces that fought to secure democracy in the East, allowing the Assad regime, with its Russian and Iranian-allied influence, to spread.

The motion is about acknowledging that we have a responsibility to take action. It is a fundamental human right to seek asylum from violence and persecution. We must do something as a matter of urgency.

Motion carried.