Over 170 intellectuals call on Turkish gov’t to stop Afrin assault, resolve issue through dialogue

Over 170 intellectuals have signed a letter which has called Turkish government to stop the military campaign in Afrin region of northern Syria immediately and resolve the issue through dialogue.

A letter, signed by more than 170 prominent intellectuals, journalists, politicians, writers, directors, actors, screenwriters and the representatives of the NGOs in Turkey, was sent to all members of the Turkish Parliament via e-mail.

“We the undersigned citizens call on you in the name of millions of our fellow citizens due to the authority and responsibility you hold. We want peace and quiet in our country and region, not war. We believe the best way to protect our borders and avoid survival problems is through reciprocal friendship and strengthening good neighbor relations,” said the letter and continued that “We know by experience that our security won’t be achieved through an arms race that costs billions, at the price of young lives and with a war that will displace tens of thousands of people, but through bilateral negotiations and cooperaion, and we know that this is possible.”

“We also know that an armed intervention on Afrin, which poses no threat to Turkey and is part of Syria’s territory, will not  bring peace and security to our country and our region, but rather bigger problems and more destruction and pain, and that it will create deep wounds in the hearts of our Kurdish citizens,” said letter.

The letter added that “Even the military presence of foreign states, who have turned the Middle East into a proxy war hell, is a violation of international law, but an intention to join them and steps taken in this direction will only create disappointment for our country, and cause irreparable social, political, economic and humanitarian losses for decades to come.”

The letter signed by at least 170 prominent figures, including Abdullah Demirbaş, Fatma Bostan Ünsal, Nimet Tanrıkulu, Abdülbaki Erdoğmuş,  Fethiye Çetin, Ahmet Faruk Ünsal, Nurcan Baysal, Ahmet İnsel, Fikret Ünlü, Füsun Ertuğ, Nurten Ertuğrul, Genco Erkal, Akın Birdal, Gençay Gürsoy, Orhan Alkaya, Gülriz Sururi, Oya Baydar, Gülseren Onanç, Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, Gülten Kaya, Ömer Laçiner, Ömer Madra, Aydın Selcen, Halil Ergün, Hasan Cemal, Ayşe Hür, Rakel Dink, Hüda Kaya, Bahattin Yücel, Hüsamettin Cindoruk, Sema Kaygusuz, Baskın Oran, İhsan Eliaçık, Beyza Üstün, Binnaz Toprak, Lale Mansur, Şanar Yurdatapan, Şebnem Korur Fincancı, Cihangir İslam, Taner Akçam, Deniz Türkali, Tarhan Erdem, Tarık Ziya Ekinci, Ece Temelkuran, Murat Belge, Ufuk Uras, Mustafa Paçal, Erol Katırcıoğlu, Nadire Mater, Yakın Ertürk, Ertuğrul Günay, Ertuğrul Yalçınbayır, Necmiye Alpay, Esra Mungan, Nesrin Nas,  Zeynep Tanbay, Eşref Erdem, Nil Mutluer, concluded with a strong call to stop war.

“With our identity and responsibility as citizens, we are warning you who hold the authority in front of our people and history to heed our call, act responsibly, immediately stop the war and resolve the issue through dialogue,” read the letter.

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