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

I move:

That the House:

(1) notes with great concern:

  (a) Turkey's military operation targeting Kurds in northern Syria;

  (b) Turkey's actions which are causing further destabilisation in the region, worsening the humanitarian disaster in Syria, and risk undermining progress against ISIS;

  (c) evidence that innocent civilians are being killed and injured by Turkey's military operations and forces associated with Turkey in Syria;

  (d) reports of possible war crimes being committed by forces associated with Turkey; and

  (e) reports of Turkish intentions to resettle refugees from Turkey into northern Syria outside of UN-sponsored mechanisms;

(2) recognises that the Kurdish forces in Syria have:

  (a) been instrumental in fighting Daesh as an ally of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS; and

  (b) lost over 10,000 fighters in the fight against Daesh in Syria; and

(3) calls on the Government to:

  (a) urge Turkey to cease its unilateral military operations in Syria; and

  (b) support international efforts to hold Turkey to account for its actions.

It was of great concern late last year when we saw the fallout in October 2019 from the US forces moving out of Syria. There have been deep concerns about the fallout from back then, October 2019, around the Turkish military operation which targeted Kurds in northern Syria following the decision, as I said, by the Trump administration to withdraw US forces from the area. I suppose what we can say is that most governments around the world have called on Turkey to permanently cease unilateral action which is having devastating consequences in the region.

We know that Turkey's operation risks further destabilising the region and undermining further progress against terrorism—Daesh, ISIS and those forces that had total control of that area. We know that the Kurds were our allies in this war against the forces of evil—Daesh, ISIS et cetera—and fought shoulder to shoulder with Western forces to ensure that that part of the area, once again, became safe. Unfortunately, though, for those Kurds, I feel that we have let them down in the Western world.

The most important priorities right now are halting that fighting, the protection of the civilian population and the unrestricted access of humanitarian actions to the population of that region. These are important factors that should be taken into account, and I think our government should call on all parties to investigate reports that we have heard of, and which are very concerning, of human rights violations in the region, including violations of international humanitarian law.

We know that more than 30,000 civilian Kurds and other minorities in the region have been internally displaced as a direct result of the Turkish aggression in that area. I note with concern that the Turkish military actions have included the indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas, which has been raised in international circles—in the UN and many other places. It's of great concern that there have been reports that the Turkish-backed militias in that area are committing crimes against humanity, including but not limited to killing many, many Kurdish civilians, and we want to make sure that the resurgence of Islamic State does not take place again—that this is not the right way of going about it.

We also need to recognise what vital allies the Kurds were to the West and the role they played in securing the ousting of ISIS and others. The Kurdish forces played a vital role in the defeat and capture of Islamic State terrorists. The Turkish military action in north-eastern Syria has jeopardised that hard-fought and very 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 of this Turkish invasion.

We have heard Erdogan, the leader of Turkey, say the reasons why this action was taking place. I have to say it brought back memories of 1974, when the exact same excuse was used to invade northern Cyprus, where 40,000 troops still are today, having not left since 1974. This action and the excuses that are being used are exactly the same as in 1974, so this should be of great concern to the leaders of the world. We want stability in that region. We want to ensure that there is peace in that region. But I cannot see it, with the meddling of Turkey in places like the eastern Aegean, Libya and, of course, this horrific event which is taking place at the moment.

We have to speak out. I urge the Australian government to talk to Turkey and to ask them to cease their unilateral military operations in Syria. I urge us to support international efforts to hold Turkey to account for its actions in this region. We want a stable world. We want a world with peace. But we know that, at the current point of time, this is not happening, with people meddling in politics in that entire region. We want to make sure that the Kurdish people are safe and we need to support them as the good Western allies that they were.

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