Rt. Hon. Dominic Raab MP

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

King Charles Street

Whitehall

London SW1A 2AH

 

Copy to

Rt Hon Lisa Nandy MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

OPEN  LETTER

 

TURKEY USES WATER AS A WEAPON IN WAR AGAINST KURDS

Dear Foreign Secretary,

We write to highlight the deliberate disruption of the water supply to the civilian population of North East Syria by the Turkish state. The use of water as a weapon is jeopardising the lives of thousands of children and families, including refugees and displaced people. Water is essential not only for basic survival but also to help in combatting the spread of Covid-19  through good hygiene and sanitation measures. We ask you to raise this matter with your Turkish counter parts and call for a cessation of this essentially criminal act.

Turkish forces turned off the Alok pumping station on 13 August, as they have done previously in March, April and July of this year. This pumping station supplies approximately 500,000 people with water, plus those people living in makeshift camps of al-Hawl, al-Areesha and Washo Kani, according to Human Rights Watch* and the International Committee of the Red Cross. In the context of the growing regional spread of Covid-19 the action of the Turkish forces will almost inevitably cause the deaths of multiple civilians.

The water supply to the north east of Syria and the Alok water station should not be subjected to political and military strategy. We ask you to intervene with your Turkish counterpart as a matter of urgency.

Yours sincerely

Peace in Kurdistan

* https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/31/turkey/syria-weaponizing-water-global-pandemic

Peace in Kurdistan

Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish Question

Email: estella24@tiscali.co.uk

https://www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.com

Contacts Estella Schmid: 07846 666 804 & Melanie Gingell: 07572 430903

 

Patrons: John Austin, Baroness Blower of Starch Green, former GS NUT, Prof Bill Bowring, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, Jeremy Corbyn MP,  Prof Mary Davis, Lord Dholakia, Simon Dubbins, UNITE International Director,  Jill Evans, former MEP, Desmond Fernandes, Lindsey German, Convenor STWC, Melanie Gingell, Christopher Gingell, Prof Dr. Michael Gunter, Secretary-General, EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC), Rahila Gupta, journalist, Nick Hildyard, policy advisor,  Dafydd Iwan, Former President Plaid Cymru, James Kelman, Bruce Kent, Jean Lambert, former MEP, Dr Les Levidow, Open University, Elfyn Llwyd, Aonghas MacNeacail, Scottish Gaelic poet, Mike Mansfield QC, David Morgan, journalist, Doug Nicholls, General Secretary, GFTU, Dr. Jessica Ayesha Northey, Sinn Fein MLA Conor Murphy, Dr Thomas Jeffrey Miley, Kate Osamor MP, Margaret Owen OBE, Ali Gul Ozbek, Former Councillor and Mayor of Haringey; Gareth Peirce, Dr Felix Padel, Maxine Peake, actor, Dr Thomas Phillips, Liverpool John Moores University, Trevor Rayne, writer, Joe Ryan, Tony Simpson, Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation, Stephen Smellie, PIK Trade Union Liaison Officer, Jonathan Steele, journalist,  Steve Sweeney, journalist,  Gianni Tognoni, General Secretary Permanent People’s Tribunal, Dr Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, Dr Tom Wakeford, Dr Derek Wall, Julie Ward, former MEP, Kariane Westrheim, Chair, EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC); Hywel Williams MP.