Famed Kurdish mathematician laments international silence on Turkey’s incursion in Syria
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Caucher Birkar, a famed Kurdish Iranian mathematician, has lamented the international community’s passive response to Turkey’s ongoing military offensive against Kurdish forces in northern Syria.
“The world is very strange,” Birkar, 41, wrote in a post on his Facebook page, when “a number of people were killed in Paris, half of the world stood by in solidarity.”
“But for years, the cities of the Kurds are destroyed, their inhabitants are abandoned, our children are killed, and the world is silent as if watching a movie,” he added.
“A trivial world; this is how it is, and so it will continue. The blood of those who do not have power will flow because it is cheap.”
Birkar’s comments came in response to Turkey’s operation in northern Syria, which has entered its eighth day.
Turkish warplanes and artillery began bombarding Syria’s predominantly Kurdish northeastern town of Serekaniye on Oct. 9, the beginning of an offensive Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called “Operation Peace Spring” that has since spread to several other areas.
The military incursion has caused a catastrophic humanitarian situation, forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes and seek refuge in southern areas or the neighboring Kurdistan Region.
Read More: Humanitarian crisis in northern Syria worsened amid intensified Turkish bombing
Birkar was born in Mariwan in Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhilat) in 1978. The mathematician sought asylum in the United Kingdom in 2000 and went on to become a professor at Cambridge University.
In 2018, Birkar was awarded the prestigious Fields Medal, also known as the Nobel Prize for Mathematics. The prize is presented every four years to candidates under 40 years old who are recognized for their significant contributions in the field of mathematics.
Earlier this year, Birkar was presented an honorary doctorate from Erbil’s Salahaddin University. He also received the People’s Award at a ceremony in London in June 2019.
In September 2019, he topped Prospect Magazine’s 50 world thinkers list with more than half of the total vote.