Legal solutions, proposals to stave off genocide, prevent demographic change

The "Ethnic Genocide and Demographic Change in Northern and Eastern Syria" Forum resumed its activities with the lectures of the third and last session, under the direction of the member of the Administrative Board of the Dêrik Teachers Union Siham Dawood that took the title of "Solutions, Identifying Mechanisms and Means that Support Efforts to Resist Ethnic Genocide and Demographic Change.

The first lecture was for the member of the Council of Social Justice in al-Jazeera region, the lawyer Aynur Zaid Pasha, who stated in her lecture that the total crimes committed by the Turkish occupation violated the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and its Additional Protocols of 1977.

Aynur Pasha presented a series of solutions to prevent any demographic change in the regions of northern and eastern Syria, namely:

Documenting all crimes of forced displacement of civilians, collect all evidence, and present it to the Security Council and the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

Communicating with the United Nations Fact-Finding Committee to document violations against civilians, as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross and provide live testimonies of what is happening in the occupied territories, and other solutions.

She stressed that "these legal solutions require great efforts, continuous and tireless work, along with increased diplomatic endeavors.

The Co-chair of Kobanê canton, Anwar Muslim, discussed in his lecture all the violations committed by the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries against the peoples of northern and eastern Syria (Kurds, Arabs, Syrians, Assyria, Gagan, Turkmen and Armenians), and pointed out that these violations were crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes, and added, "As stated in Article Seven of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court:

Any of the following acts constitutes a crime against humanity when committed in the context of a widespread or systematic attack against any group of the civilian population, and is aware of the attack, including: Paragraph D - (deportation or forcible transfer of population).

Muslim also mentioned, for example, the targeting of civilian cars and humanitarian organizations and bodies where the Free Burma Ranger Organization was exposed to the fire of the Turkish state, and one of its members lost his life in the areas of Tel Tamr, and also a family in Qorfilah of Tel Abyad was exposed the fire of the Turkish state and two lost their lives, The rest were injured, in addition to targeting the children who were displaced from Afrin to Tel Refaat directly on 2/12/2019..

Muslim put forth a number of measures to preserve the privacy of the social structure of the region, and not subject it to demographic change; including that there would be a unified position in the Kurdish House and getting away from the differences that may help the occupier and the invaders to continue their occupation and violations of the Kurdish people. Also, adopting the autonomous administration as a solution for Syria in general, adopting a decentralized system based on the specificity of each region and at the same time participating in developing and building our country (Syria) in a participatory way away from the mentality of isolation or exclusion.

Finally, Muslim discussed the conditions of the displaced persons from Girê Spî, Serêkaniyê and Afrin, and called on the United Nations and all international community organizations, as well as the countries guaranteeing a ceasefire with the Turkish side to meet the demands of the displaced people to return to their homes under the supervision of the United Nations, and at the same time send a Fact-Finding Committee to find out and document the violations in the occupied territories by Turkey, and the abuse, displacement, forced displacement, and forcible appropriation of the civilians’ property.

The lecturer, Hassen Mostafa, discussed in his lecture the causes and objectives of the Turkish attacks in the region; the historical reasons, which were represented to revive the glories of the Ottoman Empire in the region and strive to implement the content of the Mullah Charter, which aimed to annex large parts of Syria, Iraq and some neighboring countries of Turkey.

And political reasons aimed at creating a new reality that formed a card of pressure and blackmail in order to achieve some political gains, and thwart the project of the Autonomous Administration which posed a threat to the old regimes in the region, as well as the fear of the Turkish regime from the birth of a project based on the principle of brotherhood of peoples and co-existence, in addition to social and economic reasons.

Mostafa mentioned that the Turkish occupation followed a number of means to achieve its goals, such as "supporting terrorist factions, supporting ISIS terrorist organization, direct intervention, and implementing the policy of killing, displacement, and demographic change by force, looting, and theft."

On ways to limit these endeavors, Mostafa called for developing and strengthening the Syrian Democratic Forces, creating a state of brotherhood and harmony between the people and the military forces, in addition to legal, human rights and diplomatic endeavors, as well as developing the Autonomous Administration, developing the societal management starting from communes to councils to civil and autonomous councils, uniting the ranks among all components, and to focus on the importance of co-existence among all components of the people in the regions of northeastern Syria.

The Forum will end its work shortly by holding a press conference and reading the closing statement.

D.H

ANHA