Mustafa: Turkish state is rogue state in accordance with international law

The Co-chair of the Lawyers' Union in Afrin region stressed that what Turkey and its linked mercenaries practice in occupied Afrin and the rest of Syrian regions is contrary to international laws and regulations, and that the Turkish state has become a rogue state under the international law.

15 November, 2020 00:56

AL-SHAHBAH-FIRAS IBRAHIM

The Co-chair of the Lawyers Union in Afrin region, Gabriel Mustafa, spoke to Hawar news agency (ANHA) about the latest violations and crimes committed against the indigenous population and the processes of demographic change by the Turkish state and its mercenaries, in violation of international laws.

Mustafa stressed that Turkey's crimes in Afrin violate the four Geneva Accords, which stipulate the protection of civilians at wartime, as Mustafa described it as the essence of international humanitarian law.

'Turkish occupation's practices in Afrin is contrary to the Hague Agreement and the Geneva Accords'

He stressed that the demographic change practiced in Afrin and theft of antiquities violate the 1907 Hague Agreement, Article 56.

He also noted that the crimes violate the two protocols additional to the Geneva Accords of 1949.

He said that through their monitoring for the crimes and violations committed by the Turkish occupation state with the participation of its mercenaries: "We find that what is happening in Afrin is applied to the articles of the first and second protocols, and that the Turkish state violates its rulings through its crimes."

'The Syrian National Army (SNA) are mercenaries according to international laws and regulations'

He pointed out that the so-called SNA, according to international laws and regulations, are hired mercenaries that Turkey uses to implement its agendas in Syria and other countries, including Libya, Azerbaijan and Yemen, where they are trained in camps inside the Syrian and Turkish territories.

On the settlement of the families of mercenaries and the displaced from other regions in Syria, the Co-chair of the Lawyers Union affirmed that there are associations and organizations that exploit humanitarian names and promote settlement in Afrin, including a German organization.

Regarding the property theft, he said that Turkish mercenaries stole and plundered civilian property in Afrin, in addition to unfairly cutting down old olive trees and imposing extremist religious beliefs on the communities in it, including the Yazidi community, Alawites and Christians, by opening schools to teach the religious rituals of the rest of the components and societies, thus violating the 1907 Hague Treaty by respecting religious rites and sanctities.

'Endangering the entire region'

Slogans and writings have been noticed in Afrin and the occupied areas by ISIS mercenaries and Jabhet Al-Nusra, and this poses a threat to the entire region.

He indicated that global peace and security are in danger due to the presence of ISIS mercenaries in Afrin and the occupied areas, which threatens the international community, and that the Security Council can intervene and hold the Turkish state accountable under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter related to the actions taken by the United Nations if peace is threatened, breached and civilians come under aggression in a country.

Mustafa held the international community and international organizations responsible for the crimes and violations against humanity committed by the Turkish state.

(A)

ANHA