Turkey tries to eradicate cultural history of Afrin

SHARVIN MUSTAFA-GANDI ALO /AFRIN

Turkish ccupation state and its mercenaries in the Afrin district are waging a systematic campaign to loot the monuments of the canton and send them to Turkish territory in order to eradicate and obliterate the heritage of nations that lived in Afrin.

On January 20 this year, the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries launched an attack on Afrin canton , committing massacres against civilians and bombarding the archaeological sites existing in the canton .

When we return to history and research on the monuments in Afrin, most of which were included in the list of (UNESCO) it is clear that it lived different civilizations, sects and components in the area , but where the evidence after the destruction of Afrin!

In this dossier  we will review the stages of the civilizations and sects that passed through Afrin canton , and what is the solution to the effects left by these civilizations after the Turkish invasion of the area .

Horions were the first inhabitants of Afrin 's land

The Horions separated from their ancestors who are the ancestral Kurds of al-Hittites and called themselves Horions ,did not accept submission and live under the rule of others and go to new places, that is Afrin 9 thousand years ago, according to interested in archeology Mohammed Nuri Alo, stressing that the indigenous people of Afrin are Kurds.

Yezidi ..

The Yazidis people are existed in Afrin canton 22 villages, about 25,000 of Yazidi peopel living in Afrin , Hundreds of religious shrines of the Yazidis have been in the country for hundreds of years, Turkish attack against  Afrin canton caused massive destruction to these shrines, In Kimar village belonging to Sherawa district  Arch of temple  temple was looted, this Arch was sculpted with two peacocks are opposite between them  symbol to the sun is considered to existence Zardashit in Jabal Lyon, the shrine in of Parsha Khatoun existed in Qastal Jando  was totally destroyed and the Lalash dome was completely destroyed. The Turkish occupation also established mosques in the Yezidi villages in Afrin canton.

Christians

The Christians came to Afrin in the Roman era between the second and fifth centuries AD and built pagan temples such as the Julianus Church in Brad village, which is the oldest church in the world. It was built in the late 4th century, where the tomb of St. Marmaron, The churches are scattered throughout the area .There are also Byzantine monasteries, bathhouses, houses, contemporary houses and tombs all dating back to the Roman era.

According to people interested in archeology, Church dating to the second century AD was explored near Albaski village at Rajo area existed on its walls a mosaic painting with pictures of duck and geese and peacocks and geometric shapes in addition to the images of deer and horses, in addition to the presence of three tombstones and three wells In the form of a tractor and return this church, which covers an area of 900 m 2 to the Roman period.

Islam..

After the emergence of Islam in the Middle East, and in the period of the Islamic Caliph Omar Ibn al-Khattab entered the army led by Khalid Ibn al-Walid to Syria fully in 636 AD, which begins the history of Islam in Afrin.

There is an Islamic shrine in the cemetery west of the village of Mashla in Shara district .This shrine is considered holy to Muslims as they tie cloth strips with trees near the shrine in order to achieve their wishes.

This shrine is sacred to Muslims and Yazidi Kurds who tie cloth strips with close branches of trees in order to achieve their wishes, but after the occupation of the province of Afrin by the Turkish army and his mercenaries destroyed the shrine and burning trees nearby.

The Sheikh Zaid Islamic shrine, located in the cemetery of the city of Afrin, was destroyed by the occupation and burned on 18 May. It removed the contents of the tomb and desecrated it. The grave was dug inside and all the contents of the tomb were dug and desecrated.

The occupation and its mercenaries also destroyed the eastern part and the half-dome of the tomb of Sheikh Mohammed, which is located in Maska village belonging to Janders district , which dates back to the sixteenth century, and the occupation and its mercenaries to bury the tomb.

All these acts of the Turkish occupation army with mercenaries, but the aim of the acquisition of the effects or treasures to sell and get money in return.

Arabs ..

The majority of the Arab population resides in the villages of Basutah, Babilit, Kokbeh, Tel Hamo, Kefir, Feria, Nisriya and Deir Ballout . All of these villages are mixed and there are no Arab villages. According to statistics in 1998, there are about 1400 families in Afrin.

The Arabs in Afrin follow the tribes of Amiraat, Ajil, Poptus, Bubna and Bouassi.

However, after the outbreak of the Syrian revolution, many residents of the Arab provinces, cities and villages that witnessed bloody events headed towards Afrin canton,increasing in 15% of Arabs who are existing in the center of  Afrin                                 

16,000 pieces of antiquities have been plundered since the beginning of the Syrian crisis

The Turkish occupation and its mercenaries, in cooperation with Turkish soldiers and businessmen, under the supervision of Turkish intelligence, carried out archaeological excavations and smuggled at least 16,000 archaeological pieces from Syria, especially from Afrin. They are now deposited in the Directorate of Turkish Antiquities, according to the Director General of Antiquities and Museums in Syria Mahmoud Mohamed For International Agencies.

Pointing out that all the international museums have a collection of special Syrian artifacts obtained through illegal excavations or through smuggling and traded by traders during the past periods.

It is noteworthy that Syria is characterized by the existence of more than 4,500 archaeological sites discovered until the end of the last century, which has been destroyed and looted and stolen since the beginning of the Syrian crisis.

negligence the Turkish occupation of the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Relics

The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (14 May 1954) provides for the protection of cultural property, including "movable or immovable property of great importance to the cultural heritage of peoples, such as architectural, artistic, historical, religious or mundane buildings,

The Convention includes a special article on the state of occupation, which is the fifth article of the Convention, which applies to the situation of the Turkish occupation of Afrin. It states that "the parties occupying part or all of the territory of one of the other parties shall uphold the efforts of the competent national authorities in the areas under occupation to the extent possible Protect and preserve their cultural property.

But what has been witnessed by Afrin since the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries launched its attack on the area , the destruction of monuments, in addition to looting of antiquities and stealing the cultural and historical heritage of Afrin, aimed at eradication its cultural identity. It explicitly contravenes the provisions of the universal conventions on the protection of cultural property.

(T/S)

ANHA