Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about the great concern felt regarding the issue taking place in Syria, and that is the invasion of the north-eastern part. I take this opportunity today to recognise that the Kurdish forces were a key ally of the West in the defeat of Islamic State; we relied on them for that defeat in Syria and in Iraq. This is also an opportunity to honour the 11,000 Kurdish fighters who were lost in the coalition battle against ISIS.

It is with great concern that we see the withdrawal of Western assistance to the Kurds—it's tantamount to the abandonment of a key ally—which has left those Kurdish people vulnerable to ethnically motivated and targeted violence from the second-largest army in NATO. We recognise there is a ceasefire at the moment, but we want to make sure that any violence against the Kurdish people does not continue. There have been reports of aggression in the first 40 hours of the invasion, constituting a direct breach of the terms negotiated in the ceasefire agreement.

More than 300,000 civilian Kurds and other minorities in the region have been internally displaced as a direct result of the Turkish aggression in that area, and I note with concern that the Turkish military actions include indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas, which has been raised in international circles as well. It is of great concern that the Turkish backed militias are committing crimes against humanity, including, but not limited to, killing many, many Kurdish civilians. We want to make sure that the resurgence of Islamic State does not take place again, and recognise that vital role that these allies to the West have played. It was a vital role that the Kurdish forces played in the defeat and capture of Islamic State terrorists. The Turkish military action in north-eastern Syria has jeopardised that hard-fought for and fragile victory over Islamic State, and there are reports that 12,000 captured Islamic State terrorists and supporters have been freed as a direct consequence—as a direct consequence—of the Turkish invasion.

We have seen this operation take place previously. In 1974 Turkish forces invaded Northern Cyprus for the same reason and, nearly 44 years later, 40,000 troops are still there occupying the northern part. They shifted ethnic minorities out, moved people in and changed the whole ethnic mix. This is no different. We can see it taking place again with this. (Time expired)

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