Water is Turkey's tool for blackmail, smelting processes, and demographic change against Kurds

A few days ago, the Turkish occupation state reduced the level of water flowing from the Euphrates River to Syria, from which hundreds of thousands of farmers benefit from along the stream of the river on the Syrian side.

Although the Turkish occupation state claims that it is a state of law, its actions confirm that it is a rogue state, leaving no room for doubt, and it is sufficient to shed light on the issue of water and the occupation state’s violation of international and bilateral agreements with Syria to clarify the practices of this state and its real goals in the region.

'A breach of bilateral agreements on sharing water resources'

In 1987, Syria and Turkey signed an interim agreement to share the waters of the Euphrates River during the period of filling the Ataturk Dam Basin, which extends to 5 years, and the agreement was concluded on July 17, 1987, and it stipulated that the Turkish side pledge to provide an annual rate of more than 500 cubic meters per second at the borders the Turkish-Syrian regime will be temporarily suspended until agreement on the final distribution of the Euphrates water between the three countries on its banks.

On April 17, 1989, Syria signed an agreement with Iraq stipulating that Iraq's share is 58% of the Euphrates water, while Syria's share is 42%. Thus, Syria's share of the Euphrates water is 6.627 billion cubic meters, Iraq's share is 9.106 billion cubic meters, and Turkey's share is 15.700 billion cubic meters per year.

In 1994, Syria registered the agreement concluded with Turkey with the United Nations to guarantee the minimum rights of Syria and Iraq to the waters of the Euphrates.

Despite this agreement, the Turkish occupation state has persisted, during the past years, especially after the liberation of the areas on the bank of the Euphrates from ISIS mercenaries, in reducing the flow of water from the Euphrates to the Syrian side, in an attempt to put pressure on the people of northern and eastern Syria and forcing them to bowing to the Turkish colonial intentions in the region.

The Turkish occupation state is practicing the same policy with Iraq, by deliberately lowering the level of the Tigris River, and not only doing so, but also intending to cut off drinking water from Hasakah canton, which contains about a million people, about 300,000 of whom were displaced from Serekaniye and Girê Spi as a result of the Turkish occupation.

'Violation of the 1997 United Nations Convention on International Rivers'

Article 5 of the agreement affirmed a very important principle, which is the absence of absolute sovereignty for any state over the international watercourse, and called for a joint use approach.

The Turkish state's policies are not limited to putting pressure on the people by cutting off water, but rather its practices extend to using water in the processes of displacement, changing the features of the areas it occupies, and sabotaging their historical monuments.

'Water is a Turkish way to melt the Kurds and demographic change'

The Turkish Ilisu Dam can be cited as an outstanding example of the use of water for the purpose of demographic change and displacement of the local population.

While the Turkish occupation state claims that the Ilisu Dam will generate electricity for millions of homes in Turkey, it will cause the displacement of about 80,000 people who live on an area of ​​125 square miles, according to environmental experts.

Observers confirm that the dam is a means in the hands of Turkey in order to force the Kurds to migrate to the Turkish interior, in a step consistent with the policies of smelting followed by the Turkish occupation state with all the Kurds and the rest of the components that live in the Turkish political borders.

The water is expected to submerge "Hasankeyf" archaeological site, which is about 12,000 years old.

J.O

ANHA