The Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) has alleged that a Turkish army patrol, operating inside Iran, killed seven of its members in an unexplained encounter, despite the fact that the Kurdish group made its non-hostile intentions known to the Turkish officers in charge of the operation.
The clash occured at approximately 3 PM on Saturday, June 22, when an armed patrol of Iranian Kurdish activists on a political mission was intercepted by Turkish army troops in northern Iran. According to a KDPI statement issued in Europe on June 29, two members of the Kurdish patrol approached the Turkish forces unarmed when contact was made, to announce their non-hostile intentions. The two Iranian Kurds had been instructed to convey to the Turkish officers that they were Iranian nationals, and were in no way involved with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the Turkish terrorist group that has been the target of Turkish military operation in northern Iraq and the border zone inside Iran. Despite these instructions, the two emissaries were "executed on the spot," the KDPI claims.
Turkish troops allegedly then attacked the Iranian Kurdish group, killing five more and taking one person prisoner, the KDPI claims. KDPI sources said that the area where the attack took place was "extremely remote," and survivors had no communications equipment, which is why it took a week to get the information out.
If confirmed, this attack, and the alleged attack by a Turkish helicopter on an Iranian village near the border zone city of Urumiyeh on Wednesday, June 26, constitute an unacceptable violation of Iranian territorial sovereignty and an intervention in domestic Iranian affairs.
The Foundation supports the legitimate, non-violent expression by all Iranians of their political views, and strong opposes the use or advocacy of violence as a means of effecting political change. Without condoning the possible military activities of the KDPI, the Foundation is concerned that the Turkish government may have cooperated with the Islamic Republic authorities in deliberately attacking the KDPI because of its opposition to the Tehran regime. The Foundation is also concerned that the Islamic Republic may be planning further unprovoked military attacks against the KDPI.
The Foundation calls on the government of Turkey to fully investigate these two alleged incidents to determine what exactly took place, and if the attacks are confirmed, to take appropriate action against those responsible.
The Foundation for Democracy in Iran is a private, non-profit corporation registered in the State of Maryland. Contact: Kenneth R. Timmerman, Executive Director (exec@iran.org). FDI materials, including the FDI Newswire, are available free-of-charge via the Internet at http://www.iran.org/.