The founder and chairman of the Contemporary Istanbul art fair, Ali Güreli, has written a strongly worded defense of Turkey’s invasion of Syria.

Last week, the Turkish military began undertaking air strikes against Kurdish-led militias in northeast Syria to create what it calls a “safe zone” for Syrian refugees. The operation, which has since led to the escape of nearly 750 ISIS militants, has been condemned by the European Union, which has demanded that Turkey act with restraint.

Reports from the ground indicate that Turkish forces have been targeting Kurdish settlements—a claim Güreli, whose fair is backed by the state, is vigorously denying.

In a letter to fairgoers, Güreli chides the international media for “totally inaccurate reporting” and says the primary target of the military operation is the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a primarily Kurdish component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Since October 2015, the YPG and SDF have been fighting against the Islamic State and the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country’s protracted civil war.

“Turkey’s current operation does not target any ethnic group, nation, or country; rather, it purely and simply aims to neutralize the elements that pose a terrorist threat on a regional and global scale as well as to our country,” he writes.

Syrian National Army members patrol as they continue the streets of Tal Abyad. Photo by Omer Alven/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images.

“This very ruthless organization that in the years has acquired the fame of ‘baby-killer,’ is abducting children and young people, using armed threat to recruit them as their militant[s],” Güreli writes of the YPG, adding: “As is the case in any asymmetric conflict, the black propaganda is on the scene again with disinformation and fabricated news and comments. We kindly ask you, our esteemed friend, that you do not take such manipulative news, comments, and posts seriously, and not allow to spread the information pollution.”

Contemporary Istanbul is sponsored primarily by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. It is also backed by Turkish Airlines, which is owned in part by the state.

artnet News shared Güreli’s letter with Naren Briar, a photographer and human rights activist who is the daughter of two Kurdish refugees.

“I can confidently say that what you have received is malicious propaganda,” Briar says. “These are unarmed religious and ethnic minorities that Erdoğan, the dictator of Turkey, hopes to kill in order to enact violent demographic changes.”

Author and cultural critic David Levi Strauss, who has co-edited a book about Syria’s Kurdish revolution, says the letter sounds like a press release from the Erdoğan regime. “It is not surprising that a functionary like Güreli, who depends on funding from this corrupt authoritarian regime, would be called upon to spread their propaganda, but this time, the world is watching,” he says.