The People’s Defense Forces (HPG), a wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which the U.S. State Department has designated as a terrorist organization, accused the Turkish military of using chemical weapons during an operation in the Dargecit District of Mardin on February 23, 2006. [1] The Turkish authorities have not responded to the allegation.

Starting on February 26, 2006, multiple Kurdish news sources in Europe broadcast allegations byKurdish villagers that the Turkish military had used chemical weapons during a military operation against PKK rebels. According to the allegations, the Turkish military began an operation on February 23 between the villages of Bakwan and Guriza in the Dargecit District of Mardin. [2] Violent clashes between Turkish forces and the guerillas began on February 23 and continued until noon the following day. Kurds allege that during these battles, Turkish forces employed chemical weapons, although they have not identified the specific agent said to be used, nor provided evidence of such use. Allegedly seven PKK guerillas were killed in the gas attack. [3] These allegations motivated many Kurdish residents of the Dargecit District to take part in demonstrations condemning the Turkish military operation. [4] After thousands attended the funerals of the seven men, Turkish forces allegedly set up blockades within the Dargecit District and arrested 28 villagers. [5]

Murat Karayilan, chairman of the Democratic Confederation of Kurdistan, was quoted by Firat (a pro-Kurdish European news agency) as saying, “There is some evidence indicating that the [Turkish] government has used chemical weapons against our legitimate defense forces during the fighting that took place in Kerboran [Dargecit District]. We call on human rights organizations and pro-democracy organizations to investigate those reports.” [6] Official Turkish sources have not commented on the incident.

Turkey, as a member of the Chemical Weapons Convention, has sworn not to produce, stockpile, or use chemical weapons. In light of this commitment, the allegation of the PKK regarding the use of chemical weapons is serious. However, its failure to provide any evidence or details regarding the use of such weapons calls into question the validity of such claims. While the group has called for non-governmental organizations to investigate the matter, which is the only verification mechanism possible for such a claim by a non-state entity, the fact that the PKK is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, other states in the region, as well as much of the West, makes such an investigation an unlikely possibility. Turkey’s silence on the allegation, while peculiar, suggests a belief that, with the PKK’s lack of credibility, the issue will blow over sooner if it does not draw attention to it.

Editor’s Note: Under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention, if a member state alleges that it has been the victim of a chemical weapon attack, it can request a field investigation by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The right to obtain such an investigation does not, however, extend to non-state organizations or to regions or political units within a state that may be in conflict with the national government. Nonetheless, such entities, in addition to seeking an investigation by international human rights or pro-democracy non-governmental organizations, may request assistance from the United Nations, where a plea for aid could be presented to the President of the UN Security Council or to the UN General Assembly (UNGA). In addition, under UNGA Resolution 37/98D of December 13, 1982, the UN Secretary-General, at the request of a member state, can use his fact-finding authority under Article 99 of the UN Charter to initiate an investigation into the alleged use of chemical or biological weapons by dispatching an international group of experts to conduct an objective inquiry. [7] Resolutions passed by the UNGA in 1987 and the Security Council in 1988 also confirmed the right of the Secretary-General to launch a field investigation of chemical or biological weapons use under his/her own authority, rather than at the request of a member state. [8] However, the UN investigation mechanism has not been used since 1992, creating uncertainty as to its availability in cases such as that described above.

Sammy Salama and Peter Crail – Monterey Institute Center for Nonproliferation Studies