Aldar Khalil discussed Turkey's goals of occupying Afrin and its consequences

QAMISHLO

The first session of the International Forum on "Ethnic Cleansing and Demographic Change in Afrin" continues, and after the speech of David Phelps, the official of the Diplomatic Committee of the Movement for Democratic Society, Aldar Khalil spoke.

Khalil explained that the democratic revolution in the north of Syria restores authentic ties among the peoples and components and strengthens the links as in spite of diversity and pluralism, it meets people and adopts one project that it believes in and strives for it. It seeks to achieve their its goals in democracy and building the free will. This contemporary vision is considered by those who want the remaining of division, desperation and conflict among the peoples to be a threat to their existence and interests, so they strive to attack in various ways.

Khalil pointed out that what happened in Afrin is part of the plan to attack the democratic project, not only in northern Syria, but in Syria and the whole area, in addition to the extreme desire of Turkey to expand its sphere of influence, control over the Syrian situation and save the terrorist project from extinction.

Afrin province between the strategy of Turkey and its dangerous project in changing its identity

Khalil pointed out that the Turkish state sees the birth of any dangerous democratic project in the region and it is afraid of Afrin because it poses a threat to its strategy that is more than 100 years old as Afrin region has become a model for the implementation of the democratic project in a fused environmentin al-Zawiya Mount, Harem, al-Shahba, Iskenderun, Entab and others.

Khalil explained the objectives of the Turkish occupation of its occupation of Afrin region as follows:

1. The continuation of the genocide project through the application of the policy of ethnic cleansing and the terror of civilians.

2 - Finding alternative formulas for the organization of the Dahesh, which is in its final stages in order to ensure control of the Syrian situation in the absence of terrorism in Syria, the Turkish role becomes very limited.

3. Preventing any democratic project in northern Syria, based on democracy and the values ​​of coexistence, which represents an important solution to the Syrian crisis and the Middle East, which is a permanent obstacle to Erdogan's project wrapped in political Islam.

4 – The occupation of the territory of Syria, where the territory of Afrin remaining outside the control of Turkey in the area west of the Euphrates River, having completed control of the area of ​​Jarabulus and Azaz and al-Bab and even Idlib and Aleppo later, so the desire was very large to occupy Afrin.

5. Gaining more chauvinism, fascism and reactionary votes in the early Turkish elections.

6 - Playing a bigger role in the future of Syria, but the Turkish behavior caused a lot of differences between them, NATO and Russia, in addition to the desire to occupy Mosul and Aleppo and so, Afrin was a strategic target for it, as it completes its plans for demographic change and occupation. The obstruction of the democratic project of northern Syria and the whole of Syrian geography on a geographical basis, and the imposition of Turkey itself within the Syrian equation; thus, increasing its regional and international standing.

7. To ensure the continuation of the Syrian crisis until the interests of the Turkish state are guaranteed, regardless of the suffering of the Syrian people.

The motives for the aggression on the region of Afrin are:

1. The Territory is a socially significant factor in that there is a remarkable community diversity organized by the democratic project and the democratic self-management project. Afrin is the main link in the unification of the three regions, with only kilometers left to be connected with each other after the liberation of Manbij.

2. Fearing that the Syrian Democratic Forces and the International Coalition are making further progress in their battle on terror to include the presence of Turkish-supported mercenaries (Azaz, al-Bab, Jarabulus, etc.), and thus, it would be possible for these forces to liberate Idlib from the terrorist militias supported by Turkey.

3 - Removing the obstacles that stand in front of any possible domination or invasion of the city of Aleppo and its countryside and even the area located west of the Euphrates River, Idlib and the Syrian coast.

4 - Erdogan wants to secure Afrin for the terrorists and such as Jabhet Nusra and IS, and declare Afrin as a safe area for them and under their control, and then, use them to implement his agendas in Syria.

Erdogan's control of Afrin will make him a step forward toward the lines of contact with the Syrian regime, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Russian and American forces, and the Syrian Democratic Forces. This does not form a handicap to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, but serves its strategy of expansion and encirclement of Russian bases and allies. This may create serious repercussions, negatively affecting Erdogan's regime, and the occupation of Afrin will eliminate any opportunity or hope for Başûr Kurdistan to get rid of the Turkish hegemony on the routes of trade and oil in Başûr Kurdistan, as they control the crossing. All these things will lead to important developments in the region. Efforts of the parties threatened by Erdogan's regime may be united to resist his regime with intense violence, clash with yesterday's allies and the loss of today's friends.

The repercussions of the Turkish aggression on the territory of Afrin

Khalil pointed out that the project of demographic change represents a great danger to the identity of Afrin by targeting the civilians and their properties and displacing them, destroying service institutions, archaeological sites, field executions and mutilation, using lethal weapons, raising the Turkish flag, imposing the Turkish language on schools, changing the signboard of the institutions to Turkish and changing the villages' names and regions to in addition to symbolical places such as Kawa al-Haddad Square to Turkish names, destroying its statue.

Khalil added that the lack of morality during the aggression on Afrin and the killing of dozens of civilians and Turkish soldiers, Erdogan's exploitation of his aggression as an information tool to serve his Media  campaign to strengthen his authority and the coup against the weak democracy mainly in the Turkish state.

Khalil stressed that it is clear that the international silence encourages this. The Turkish state is working to grant legitimacy to settlements in a manner that is difficult to remove from Afrin. Trenches have been dug around several villages preventing the villagers returning to it, but the issue that poses a complex problem is international silence, and a clear disinformation of public opinion by the Erdogan regime although everyone is aware of the fact at their heart and are aware of the process of ethnic cleansing practiced on the territory of Afrin, as if there is a strong desire to create deep sedition among the Kurdish, Arab and Turkish peoples. And pushed the area into a devastating ethnic war that is easier to control with greater influence later.

Khalil said that Erdogan's regime, along with its massive military strength and the quality of its weapons and firepower, also used to rally the largest gathering of Middle Eastern terrorists trained in fighting in Grozny, Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. "The Erdogan regime has also exploited the evolving military technology of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization."

Khalil said that Turkish forces, terrorist gangs and its mercenaries committed violations of international humanitarian law, war crimes and serious human rights violations in the context of the campaign called the "Olive Branch" by the attackers. With the direct guidance of the Erdogan regime, these forces hit the only democratic project in Syrian geography and forcibly displaced thousands of civilians from their lands, homes, villages and towns to other areas lacking the most basic means of living.

Khalil said that the policy of forced displacement and demographic change threatens the Syrian social fabric and the national identity, as it deepens the crisis and tearing apart the country and society, and facilitates the passage of new agendas and the continuation of the crisis to eliminate more accounts among international, local and regional forces.

He added, "The Turkish aggression on the region of Afrin is a flagrant violation of international covenants which rise to high rank to war crimes based on the articles of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which was adopted on July 17, 1998, the Convention on the Prevention of Genocide in 1948, the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949, the Draft Code of Crimes against the Peace and Security of Mankind in 1954 and 1996; and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The peoples of the world must put pressure on their governments to support of Afrin.

He called upon the peoples of the world to put pressure on their governments and institutions and to put pressure the human rights and governmental institutions to help the people of Afrin and other peoples under the weight of the Syrian crisis, to consider the Turkish presence in Afrin as a violation of all international laws and customs and to call it the occupier directly.

Khalil said at the end of his report, "Whoever believed in democracy, wanted it to be a way of the solution and has resisted for years various kinds of attacks will win. Whoever has martyrs in their history, present and future will win because Afrin is that way, it is triumphed."

H/T

ANHA