Thursday, August 12, 2010
Well, well, well...seems Mr. Erdogan has some 'splainin to do:
Photographs that show PKK fighters killed by chemical weapons used by Turks have been confirmed by German experts, according to a Der Spiegel report, Thursday.
The German newspaper reported that the evidence puts added pressure on the Turkish government.
Turkey has long been suspected of using chemical weapons against Kurdish rebels.
German politicians are demanding an investigation into the claims.
According to the report Turkish-Kurdish human rights activists say that the photos show eight members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) underground movement.
The PKK members were thought to have been killed in September 2009.
The activists gave the photos to a German human rights delegation in March that comprised of Turkish experts, journalists and politicians from the far-left Left Party, according to the Der Spiegel report.
A German expert on photo forgeries, Hans Baumann, was able to confirm the photos authenticity, Der Spiegal reported...
Not implausible, but I'm not clear about the evidence here. The conclusion that the Turks are using chemical weapons against the PKK is based on exactly what? One can look at photos of bodies and know that they were killed by chemical weapons? I imagine there might be some suggestive signs, e.g., blistering like that seen with mustard gas, but how far could one go with only photos whose provenance you could not attest to? Perhaps they could satisfy themselves that the photos weren't faked, but how could they satisfy themselves that the bodies had not been tampered with, without taking the word of others for it?The "forensic report" relied on what? The word "autopsy" was used, but by whom, where and when, if indeed they were in fact done. Where are the names of reliable parties, e.g., pathologists, attesting to it all? Looks like muddled reporting lacking details.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,711536,00.html
All good questions, but only slightly beside the point, which is really a political one as to why this story should get more attention (and investigation -- perhaps an international panel is in order).