Protests in Kurdish areas of Turkey condemn Turkey's killing of journalists

Protests broken out in several Kurdish regions on Monday and condemned the killing of Kurdish journalists Gülistan Tara and Hêro Bahadîn by Turkish forces in the city of Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî) in Iraqi Kurdistan. Protesters accused Turkey of trying to silence the free press and strengthen its control over Kurdish areas.

In Adana, the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) and the Free Women's Movement (TJA) led a protest rally where participants carried banners reading “The free press must not be silenced.” Despite police attempts to disperse the gathering, DEM's Adana party co-chair Helin Kaya criticized the Turkish government's policies. “The attack on these journalists is a targeted and organized attempt to cover up war crimes and advance Turkey's expansionist ambitions in Kurdistan,” she said.

Kaya also stressed that such attacks are aimed at suppressing the international outcry against Turkey's actions in the region. “The aim of this attack is to deepen the annexation policy and suppress international reactions,” she said, calling for solidarity against the ongoing violence.

Similar protests took place in other cities, including Van (Wan), Iğdır (Îdir) and Mardin (Mêrdîn). Activists there condemned the killings and accused the Turkish government of targeting Kurdish women and journalists. In Van, TJA activist Edibe Babur condemned Turkey's actions as a continuation of its colonial and expansionist agenda and accused the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of complicity. “The KDP must stop its involvement in these crimes against the Kurdish people,” she demanded.

Protesters in Mardin, led by TJA spokeswoman Hatice Öncü, described the killings as part of a broader strategy to eliminate Kurdish resistance and suppress women's achievements in the region. Beritan Güneş, a DEM party MP, warned: “These attacks are not isolated cases. Turkey and the KDP are trying to commit genocide against the Kurds in Başur and are trying to silence the free press to cover up these atrocities.”