Turkey logs trees, burn Kurdistan Region forests, Parliamentary Committee calls for urgent action

Kurdistan 11:01 AM - 2021-06-01

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The Health and Environment Committee of the Kurdistan Parliament issued a statement in which it called for urgent action against the Turkish attacks on the Kurdistan Region areas and cutting and burning forests' trees.

 

The Turkish army cut down trees in the border areas in the region and burned thousands of acres of land in the borders areas of the Kurdistan Region. 

 

Photos of the Turkish trucks loaded with Kurdistan Region's trees sparked great anger among locals and authorities of the Kurdistan Region.

 

Regarding the matter, the Parliamentary Environment Committee issued a statement condemning the act.

 

"We, the members of the committee, condemn the Turkish state's act and stand against cutting down trees in the areas of Zakho and Amedi districts in Duhok Governorate," the statement said.

 

"The trees of the forests of southern Kurdistan (Kurdistan Region) are a national wealth and guarantee the provision of clean weather, as well as the environment of various animals involved in balancing nature," the statement added.

 

"Harming the climate and environment of Kurdistan is harming the health of the residents and citizens of Kurdistan," the statement pointed out.

 

"Therefore, we in the Committee on Health and Environment are strongly against this act and we call on the Turkish state and anyone involved in this illegal, unnatural and anti-environmental work to immediately stop this work and protect the rights of its neighbors," the statement said

 

The statement also holds Iraq responsible for letting Turkey continue the deforestation of the Kurdistan Region.

 

"According to Article 33 of the Iraqi constitution, the Iraqi state is responsible for providing and protecting the environment, diversity of the ecosystem and protecting it," the Environment Committee said.

 

The Environment Committee also called the KRG to act and prevent this crime. 

 

"The Kurdistan Region-Iraq's Environmental Protection and Improvement Law, No. 8, 2008, states that those who were involved in destroying the environment of these areas should be punished," the statement said.

 

"It is the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government's duty to speak to the Turkish state-related parties to stop the behavior," the statement added.

 

Kurdistan Regional Government expressed dissatisfaction with the Turkish army cutting down trees in the border areas in the region, calling on Ankara to end this matter.

 

Government spokesman Jutiar Adel said in a statement, "The Kurdistan Regional Government expresses its dissatisfaction with logging and damaging the nature of the Kurdistan Region", adding, "the regional government addressed Ankara with an official letter to stop cutting trees in the border areas."

 

Turkey must “respect Iraq and the Kurdistan Region’s sovereignty and not cause affliction, displacement and destruction," he added.

 

The Agriculture and Irrigation Committee of the Kurdistan Parliament has previously mentioned that the cutting process by Turkey in Kurdistan Region areas is hurting the region and has other reasons behind it. read more

 

The Turkish army began military operations inside the Kurdistan Region more than 40 days ago. The Turkish army's operations in Duhok's Mount Metin continue despite local and official appeals to Ankara to stop its aggression, which resulted in civilian casualties and emptying dozens of villages of their residents. read more

 

In April, the Turkish army launched a new ground and air offensive allegedly against militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) dubbed Operation Claw Lightning. 

 

Turkey has carried out cross-border offensives of varying magnitude allegedly against the PKK for decades. However, in recent years, it's begun to establish more of a sustained presence in a growing number of bases and checkpoints dotting the mountains of the Kurdistan Region despite calls from Iraqi authorities to stop these actions. 

 

Earlier in May, the Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar made an illegal visit to the Turkish soldiers at a military base in the Kurdistan Region without informing the Iraqi side which prompted the Iraqi Foreign Ministry to summon the Turkish embassy’s chargé d'affaires and hand him a memorandum which noted “strong dissatisfaction and condemnation of Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi’s presence on Iraqi territory without coordination or prior approval from relative authorities, as well his meeting with Turkish forces who are there illegally.”

 

Turkey has repeatedly bombarded areas within the Kurdistan Region claiming that it is targeting PKK in the area. It has launched air and ground military operations in the Kurdistan Region in mid-June last year, on the grounds of targeting alleged PKK positions. read more

 

Thousands of acres of land have been burnt and many villages have been evacuated due to Turkish bombings, and even civilian casualties have fallen due to the continuous Turkish operations in the Kurdistan Region. read more

 

According to Al-Monitor, Arzu Yilmaz, a Middle East scholar and visiting fellow at Hamburg University reckons that there are more than 5,000 Turkish forces currently deployed in Iraqi Kurdistan and Bashiqa, an area under Iraqi central government control lying east of Mosul.

 

KRG leaders have warned that the wave of Turkish incursions, which have caused dozens of civilian deaths has made advances, deploying troops within three kilometers of Duhok's Kesta village. Heavy clashes have terrified villagers and forced families to flee their homes. The Iraqi government frequently condemns Turkey’s operations but appears powerless to stop them.

 

Sherko Mirwais, head of the Foreign Relations Committee in the Iraqi Council of Representatives, said in a previous statement to PUKmedia that the Iraqi government, the Presidency of the Republic, and the Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee condemned the recurrence of the Turkish bombing more than once, explaining that Ankara must respect international laws and solve its problems inside its territories.

 

 

 

PUKmedia