One of the heads of the PKK terrorist organization, Cemil Bayık, wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post on Wednesday. This is an unacceptable scandal because the terrorist group is an outlawed armed group, that has already been listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and EU member countries. The identified terrorist is on an internationally recognized wanted list with an award offered by authorities for information leading to his capture. Bayık has been given the opportunity to deliver outright propaganda for the outlawed People's Protection Units (YPG) terrorist organization – the PKK's Syrian militia. The YPG has openly been a military terrorist group which has actively carried out murderous plots and killed unarmed civilian citizens (including women and children) and government officials such as teachers and others to provoke fear among the peaceful Kurdish population who have been living in Turkey for centuries. Thousands of Turkish citizens have lost their lives over the years due to attacks by the terrorist group that aimed to destroy and destabilize the country and the region. The case in itself is a violation of U.S. law and cannot be explained as mere freedom of expression.
Since when has a terrorist been given the opportunity to publicly defend and advertise their criminal activity in a renowned newspaper?
The case has been compared by İbrahim Kalın, the spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as giving an opportunity to members of a terrorist organization such as, al-Qaida or Daesh, to write and have their article published in a prominent newspaper. Therefore, the opportunity has provided propaganda for a worldwide accredited terror group.
The case has also been an open insult to the Kurdish people in a vain attempt to try to make the head of a terrorist organization a falsified representative who cannot represent them in any possible manner whatsoever.
The majority of the Kurdish people have refused and denounced all acts of terrorism as they choose to live peacefully enjoying their rights just like every Turkish citizen. The fight against terrorism and its supporters has become an important part of Turkey's national defense strategy and security.
Unfortunately the turn of events have taken place within a matter of days following the discreet meeting of United Nations secretary and special representative Virginia Gambar, who signed an agreement with outlawed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) head representative Ferhat Abdi Şahin. The SDF is a derivative of the PKK and YPG, which encompasses all terrorist organizations that have used child soldiers kidnapped or lured into the organization with lies.
The exact number of children who have been abused and killed still remains unknown until today. A pact was signed on June 29 in the U.N. office in Geneva with a promise to reduce and nullify the number of child soldiers that have been used by terrorist organizations. The fact that the United Nations has acknowledged and agreed to formally address the terrorist groups has in itself become an unacceptable scandal within the international media as terrorists should never be taken into account and legitimized in any manner whatsoever.
* Istanbul-based freelance writer