Members of the Free Press in Şengal (Sinjar) gathered at the “Leader’s Garden” in the Kersê Valley and issued a press statement on Friday’s deadly Turkish attack that killed two female journalists in the city of Sulaymaniyah in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.
Yazidi journalists carried photos of their fallen colleagues Gulistan Tara and Hêro Bahadîn, condemned the attack by the Turkish state and its collaborators and called on media institutions and organizations to protect the rights of journalists.
Freelance journalist Rojbîn Hebabî said here: “Journalists are being targeted by the Turkish occupying state because they reveal the truth. We hereby declare that the attacks of the Turkish state will not stop us. On the contrary, every attack will strengthen us. Every martyrdom strengthens our willingness to fight and makes our voices resound even stronger.”
Journalist Ibrahim Êzidî stated that the KDP was involved in the attack in Sulaimaniyya, which was a consequence of the agreement between Iraq and Turkey.
“We hereby renew once again the promise of struggle that we made to our martyrs. While the free press is based on the democratic nation system, the KDP’s media organizations are based on slavery and the occupation of Kurdistan. The fact that the KDP’s media reported the attack before anyone else shows that they were complicit in the attack. Our struggle for the truth will continue until the end. We know that all journalists who express the pain of society and try to be the voice of their people will be targeted. With these attacks, they cannot make us back down. We will always follow in the footsteps of our martyrs,” he stated.
Ibrahim Êzidî concluded: “These attacks on journalists are the beginning of a new phase. The targeting of journalists shows the dirty and dangerous plans behind the attack. Those who do not accept the KDP government and the occupation of the Turkish state will be the target of the attacks.”
