Zehra Doğan-Piroz Zırığ/JINHA

ŞIRNEX – Italian legal observers in the Kurdish town of Cizre reported that the nine-day blockade of the city caused damage comparable to that in the nearly-razed city of Kobanê.

A delegation of lawyers, journalists, doctors and civil society representatives from Italy has traveled to the Kurdish town of Cizre to make observations in the wake of a brutal blockade on the town. Over the course of nine days, Turkish security forces maintained a 24-hour curfew, killing at least 21 civilians and destroying many buildings.

The Italian delegation came to Cizre from the city of Kobanê, in the Rojava autonomous region in Syria. After Daesh forces largely destroyed Kobanê in a months-long siege eventually broken by the YPJ/YPG defense forces, a group of Italians had headed to the city to aid in reconstruction as part of the Kobanê Caravan. Hearing of events in Cizre, they headed across the border to Cizre, despite attempts by the Turkish government to stop them.

“What we see is that there’s another Kobanê happening in Cizre. We saw it with our own eyes,” said Martina Yanki of the Italian Democratic Lawyers Associaton. “These streets look like colonizing forces have attacked them for the purpose of occupation.” Martina called Turkey’s brutal attack on its own citizens a “mistake,” considering that it is a candidate for European Union membership.

“All of this will be documented,” said Martina. “I don’t think Turkey’s going in a good direction. If this goes on, there are worse days in store for Turkey and it won’t be good for this government.” Martina called for those responsible for human rights violatins in Cizre to be tried.

Sara Montinaro is a lawyer with the group YaBasta Bologna, also taking part in the Kobanê Caravan’s observations in Cizre. Sara worked with a group of journalists to record the stories of the victims of the massacre in Cizre, including that of the family who lost a 35-day-old baby after police blockaded all ambulance access in the town. She noted that international audiences were not likely to believe the reports coming out of Cizre without documentation.

“This is exactly the point when the government [of Turkey] needs to take a step in the right direction. Otherwise, the government could soon experience internal discontent that it doesn’t want,” said Sara, commenting on the conflict in Turkey.

“We will always be in solidarity with the Kurdish people,” Sara said.

(be/mg/cm)