Ilham Ahmed: Components must stand together to face expansionist Turkish policy

The head of the Executive Committee of the Syrian Democratic Council, Ilham Ahmed, spoke during a dialogue seminar held in the city of Aleppo to discuss the occupation of Afrin and the efforts of the Turkish state throughout history to expand its occupation in the region.

Ilham Ahmed, at the beginning of her speech, referred to the importance of Afrin, which is characterized by a mosaic of components in the region.

“Occupation and obliteration of culture”

Regarding the occupied areas, Ilham Ahmed said, "When we address the issue of Afrin, we mean all the Syrian regions under Turkish occupation, such as Jarablus, al-Bab and Azaz, but Afrin had a lot of forced displacement, as well as blowing up and striking all the historical monuments in it."

"The Turkish state seeks, through the Turkish policy of Turkification, to erase the indigenous culture of the people of the region and to exploit the components in it," she added.

Ilham Ahmed referred to the seminars that the Syrian Democratic Council holds, and indicated that they highlight the Turkish crimes against the Syrians, and said: “The policy Turkey follows, since ancient times until now, makes it clear that it is still seeking to implement the policy of its Ottoman ancestors.”

“Ottoman Turkish policy”

Regarding this policy, Ilham Ahmed stated, “We cannot address the Turkish state’s policy in isolation from international policies, because they are interrelated. When talking about it, it becomes clear to us that the expansionist policies of the Turkish state reach all of the Middle East, and we must come to ideas to confront the Turkish occupation project. "

She explained, "The Turkish state entered the Middle East in the name of Islam, and for four centuries practiced a policy of torpedoing the indigenous cultures and melting them in the region under the banner of Islam, and everyone knows that the Turkish state from that period until now uses Islam with the aim of imposing its control over the peoples of the region, placing them under its control and occupation."

Ilham Ahmed compared what the Ottoman Empire and the current Turkish state committed, "We see now that Turkey is seeking to reach the borders where the Ottoman Empire was located, and currently it uses the Islamic religion as a banner and seeks to lead the Sunni Islamic alliance in the world."

“Intervention in the division of Syria”

Regarding the Turkish state’s interference in the Syrian affairs, she said: “We remember Erdogan’s statements in the beginnings of the Syrian crisis during the demonstrations that started in some Syrian cities, and Turkey’s attempts to intervene with the support of the opposition and seek to control the Syrian state in the name of opposing the Syrian regime.”

She added, "We saw later how this support turned into intentions to divide the Syrian territories, but as a result of agreements between Turkey and other countries, their support for the opposition decreased until the latter reached the borders of Idlib."

“Occupation and consolidation of Turkification”

Ahmed went on to talk about the Turkish state's targeting of the Autonomous Administration areas such as Afrin, Tal Abyad, and Serêkaniyê / Ras al-Ain, explaining that "the management system in these areas was aimed at gender equality and reliance on management and self-capabilities, away from the centralized system."

She added, "Therefore, the Turkish state attacked this model, violated human rights standards and the principles of freedoms in all respects, exposed these areas to massacres and ethnic cleansing, and entrenched the Turkish culture in them."

“Damascus and Ankara.. security cooperation”

Ilham Ahmed explained, "The reality of the Turkish state is not opposing the Syrian regime, and it is not against dictatorships as it claims, but rather it seeks to impose its control and authority within the Syrian territories and to be influential in the administration of Damascus."

Ilham Ahmed did not show any surprise during her speech about the security cooperation between the governments of Ankara and Damascus, and she said in this regard: “We are not surprised by dialogue between the Turkish state and the Syrian regime regarding security cooperation between the two parties.” She added, “After these dialogues, the Damascus government imposed a siege on its people, who were displaced and live in refugee camps, must coincide with the Turkish state's intention to bomb the town of Tal Rifaat and commit massacres against unarmed civilians, the last of which was the bombing that killed 4 people, including children and women.

“Kurdish issue is gateway to world issues”

Ilham Ahmed touched on the Turkish state’s arguments for its attacks on Syria, that it is “fighting the PKK on its borders,” and wondered, “Is there the PKK in the islands of Greece, Armenia, and even in Libya! Until it finds it has the right to interfere in the internal affairs of Libya, and is there a threat to Turkey and its internal security in order to transfer its mercenaries from Syria to Libya to fight there? "

Ilham Ahmed emphasized, "the Libyan issue differs from the entire issue of Syria, as there is a wide geography between them, but the Turkish state has made the Kurdish issue a phobia in order to transcend the borders of states."

She pointed to the changes that occur in international policies, and stated that it is "the main reason behind the development of Turkish expansion policies in the countries of the Middle East and Europe, as the existing crisis in Syria reflects the structural crisis of the global system, which can no longer continue with its old policies."

She added, "even the borders of states were not drawn by the will of the peoples of the region. Rather, these borders were imposed on them, and they do not suit the peoples of the Middle East."

“Creating conflict among the Kurds”

At the conclusion of her speech, the head of the executive body of the Syrian Democratic Council, Ilham Ahmed, referred to the visit of the Turkish Foreign Minister, Hulusi Akar, to Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region, and said that it “falls within the framework of the Turkish expansionist policy in the region, as it seeks to increase its control in the Kurdistan region, and seeks to elevate the status of a Kurdish party at the expense of another to create conflict and internal strife between them, by following a policy of divide and rule.

J.O

ANHA

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