VOA: Turkey forced residents of Afrin to sell olives to it or to its loyalists

The Voice of America published a report on olive production and oil in Afrin, and pointed out to the suffering of the indigenous people of the region at the hands of the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries.

"In late October, Farhan and his two sons finished packing the olive harvest to transport it to Afrin city center, but before doing so, think about the possibilities that await them," the agency says in its report.

Farhan, who requested that his real name not be revealed for safety reasons, asked: "Will we be able to sell olives for a good price? Will the armed groups impose additional taxes on us?"

Farhan, 61, is a Kurdish farmer who owns an olive farm 16 km about Afrin, an area that Turkey and its mercenaries occupied in March 2018, an area known for its high-quality olive oil.

“We used to earn a good income by growing olives, but in the past two years, it was a real challenge to do our business without the interference of armed groups,” Farhan told Voice of America via a messaging app.

After Turkey and its mercenaries occupied Afrin canton, Western governments and international human rights groups accused Turkey's mercenaries of committing war crimes, including looting and stealing civilian property in Afrin.

“As a source of income”

Experts say that the olive farms in Afrin have become a main source of income for the various mercenary groups occupying the area.

In this context, the Syrian economist, who closely follows developments in northern Syria, Khurshid Aaliqa says, "There are about 18 million olive trees in the Afrin region."

"The militias impose high taxes on the local Kurdish farmers, and in the recent period, for example, the armed groups that control the village of Kokhra (in Afrin) imposed 2,000 20-litre oil metal containers as taxes on the villagers," he added.

Aaliqa said that the price of each olive oil container is currently equivalent to $ 30 in the local market, a figure that farmer Farhan confirmed.

Muhammad Bello, a journalist from Afrin who now lives in northeastern Syria, says that the mercenary groups that occupy different parts of Afrin have different ways to benefit from the production of olive oil.

"In my village, this season, the militias seized all the olives belonging to families who fled their homes and lands after the Turkish invasion," he said.

"In addition to imposing taxes, militias also impose fees on farmers at checkpoints to transport their olive harvest," Bello told Voice of America.

When Farhan and his sons finally decided to take their harvest to town, they were stopped at three mercenary checkpoints on the road.

Farhan said, "The points were managed by different groups, and most of the time they were at odds with each other, and we paid the price of this."

He ended up paying the three checkpoints to get into town.

Farhan added: "When we sold the crop, the money was insufficient for us for three months. I don't know how my family will live for the rest of the year."

“Exporting abroad”

The Turkish occupation and its mercenaries forced Afrin farmers to sell their oil crops to either mercenaries or representatives of Turkish agricultural credit cooperatives, according to the economic expert, Aaliqa.

"Turkey and its agents buy the olives from local farmers at half the real price, and collect them in a plant for extracting the oil near Afrin, then they export them to Turkey and eventually abroad." said Aaliqa.

Several news agencies reported that olive oil produced in Afrin was seen in stores in Europe and the United States.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Agricultural Credit Cooperatives did not respond to VOA requests for comment.

The deputy of the HDP, Ali Kinanoglu, says that Afrin olive oil has been discussed in the Turkish parliament several times.

"Most of the proceeds from these olives are diverted to those supported by Turkey, and they are used to finance them," Kinanoglu told Voice of America. "This has turned into a support resource for the rebels in Syria."

J.O