Hevin Ismail: Turkey's looting of archaeological sites to obliterate identity, civilization of region

4 September, 2020 07:47

Ain Issa

The co-chair of the Girê Spi canton, Hevin Ismail, commented on the Turkish occupation army bulldozing the most important archaeological hill recently in Girê Spi (Tal Sahlan), in preparation for its looting.

Hevin condemned "the criminal act aimed at obliterating the civilizational and cultural heritage of the region, which is a continuation of Turkey's criminal policies in Girê Spi after the forcible displacement of its people after the occupation of the city and its villages."

"Turkish occupation's practices aim to obliterate indigenous peoples' civilization"

Ismail noted that the Turkish occupation aims through these practices to obliterate the civilizations of the indigenous peoples that have inhabited the region for thousands of years, through looting sites and artifacts, and deliberate sabotage in a way that violates the laws of the International Organization for the Protection of Human Heritage (UNESCO).

The Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries recently dredged the most important archaeological hill in Girê Spi / / Tal Abyad, which is the hill known as Tell Sahlan, located near the village of Khirbet al-Raz in the canton as it dates back to according to the archaeological missions that visited the area to the third millennium BC.

"This policy is a continuation of ISIS mercenaries' during their control of the region"

Hevin Ismail explained that this policy is a continuation of what ISIS mercenaries did during their control of the region, as the artifacts crossed the Turkish borders with ISIS facilitation, and they were sold through Turkish intermediaries later, in a public and scandalous manner.

In the conclusion of her speech, she appealed to human rights and humanitarian organizations, such as UNESCO, to intervene to prevent these practices, and to take mechanisms to protect antiquities and archaeological sites under the control of the Turkish occupation.

It should be noted that the archaeological site of Tal Sahlan is not the only site that has been bulldozed and looted, as there are several sites in Girê Sp area, which have also been subjected to the same practices, including the ancient city of El Far and al-Sabi al-Abyad, in addition to their taking the site of Tel Kafifa as a military point.

J.O

ANHA