Al-Jarniya farmers suffer from Euphrates water’s restraint

AL_TABQA

About 70 % of the population of al-Jarniya town and its countryside rely on agriculture as a main source of income, but a catastrophic fate awaits them if Turkey continues to restraint the water of the Euphrates.

Ramadan Mansour , a farmer in al-Tilla village said "We farmers in al-Jarniya suffer from the lack of Euphrates water, I have plowed and planted land and now stopped because of the lack of water Euphrates and we are almost 100 farmers in the village we stopped planting summer crops such as beans and cumin and other agricultural crops."

The Economy Committee of Democratic Civil Administration to al-Taqba area has warned that the Turkish state's monopoly on the Euphrates River is a danger to the people of the region who depend on the river to irrigate their crops and is the main supplier of drinking water.

Al-Mansour wondered why the Turkish state had seized Euphrates River" Why is the Turkish state fighting the farmers and the peasants what they are guilty of cutting off water? This water is the property of everyone. It has no reason why the Turkish state cuts off water from farmers and from people as well."

The Euphrates River flows from Turkey, Syria and parts of Iraq. The river is the main source of feed to large parts of Syria with drinking water and the Euphrates dam in al-Tabqa city which feeds much of the region with electricity and water to irrigate crops planted on the banks of the river.

One provision of the principles of international law calls for the sharing of shared water resources until states share their common resources in fair and equitable ways.

Agriculture is a major source of income for residents around the Euphrates.

Mohammed al-Mukhtar, a farmer from the same village "We are a group of farmers who rely on agriculture because of our proximity to the Euphrates River "We have no money but agriculture."

AL-Mukhtar added "The Turkish state has cut water on us after the farmers put a large financial cost, and now the water level is low and we now need water to irrigate crops."

Article 3 of the United Nations Charter on the Economic Rights and Economical Duties of States of (1974) affirms the principles of international law for the sharing of shared water resources. Article 3 states that "In the exploitation of natural resources shared by two or more states, each state shall cooperate with another on the basis of an information system and joint consultation with a view to optimizing the use of these resources, without prejudice to any legitimate interests of others. " This applies to international rivers and lakes passing by and shared by more than one country. "

"Where agreements with the United Nations and regional agreements to distribute water equally to all the countries through which the river passes, the Turkish state has been holding water for more than a month did not see the water in the increase, but decreasing and this harms the farmers and harms the people of the region and the whole country."

The Turkish state holds the Euphrates River through dams it has built on the river in areas under its domination such as the Ataturk Dam.

"We have been devastated by this shortage. Our children have been killed by hunger. We farmers have become miserable from morning till evening. We run here and there and we join every 20 farmers to bring 5 inches of water and do not take advantage of anything."

Al-Mukhtar called on "the parties concerned with compassion for the citizen and the peasantry, and in particular we call on the United Nations to activate the water sharing agreements in a fair and compassionate manner to support the country's economy."

T.S

ANHA