Jurist considers condoning Turkish war crimes as international hypocrisy

Syrian Kurdish human rights defender Farhad Baqer stressed that the Turkish occupying state violates all United Nations laws and international treaties, specifically the articles stipulated in the Fourth Geneva Convention, which was concluded to protect civilians and their property in times of war.

5 June, 2021 22:59

Kobani - Nohad Karao

Since its occupation of the Syrian areas, specifically the occupied city of Afrin in 2018, the Turkish occupation state has followed the dimorphic change, settling them with their families in civilian homes and controlling their property, and daily kidnapping civilians under pretexts flimsy arguments.

'Operations of demographic change take place under the supervision of organizations claiming to be relief'

With the crimes in the occupied areas, Turkey proves once again its lack of respect for the laws, specifically the articles of the Fourth Geneva Convention concluded in 1949, and its provisions were recognized in 1993 by the United Nations Security Council as a binding agreement for non-signatories to Convention and those involved in armed conflict.

Human rights defender Farhad Baqer believes that, "Unfortunately, international laws go through a complex bureaucracy that sometimes deprives the right holders of access to their rights, and even the conditions for filing lawsuits with the courts are complex incapacitating conditions, and Turkey carried out operations of demographic change in the region, and pursued activists, with the support of its mercenaries of the armed radical Islam that pushed them into the occupied territories, and settled their families there.

Farhad Baqer added, "What is happening in the occupied territories violates all United Nations laws and international treaties, specifically the principles of the Fourth Geneva Convention signed in 1949, which states that in time of war, when a country occupies another region, it must abide by international laws, and maintain security and safety of the components in the occupied area, securing the necessities of life and health care for them and not prosecuting them for their political affiliations, or belonging to a certain component, according to the articles of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the United Nations overlooks its laws in favor of countries and agendas on the ground and contributes to demographic change processes .

The jurist adds that “Article 70 of the Geneva Convention of 1949 explicitly states that the occupying power is not entitled, in time of war, to prosecute people of any component, and they may not be legally prosecuted for their political affiliations, or for belonging to a particular party, but unfortunately Turkey It contravenes the Geneva decisions, and holds the peace by show without reference to the laws.”

Baqir pointed out that "unfortunately, even the demographic change in the occupied areas takes place under the supervision of organizations after the United Nations and international organizations turned a blind eye to that area, such as the White Hands organization, which receives support from 50 international organizations, and the Turkish organization AFAD, which supervises the associations that contributed to the construction of these settlements, and each settlement includes approximately 50 housing units.”

'Organizations should pursue criminals'

He drew attention to the fact that "from a legal point of view, human rights organizations, especially those associated with the United Nations, must pursue those criminals on Syrian soil. But they turning a blind eye to the key role countries regarding Turkish actions, it is considered international hypocrisy related to their agendas, and all this is at the expense of Syrian blood.”

'The displacement is a war crime'

On the mechanism of standing up to the demographic change taking place in the occupied territories, the human rights defender Farhad Baqer said that "what can be done is to document the practices of the occupying state and its mercenaries, and to bring them to the center of the international political decision and relevant international organizations, as well as to deliver them to the honest international institutions with the decisions issued by them as Human Rights Organization Watch and remind organizations on the ground of their duties towards civilians."

He added, "The change processes taking place in the occupied areas, specifically Afrin, must be documented with the dates and places in which the change operations take place, and document the names of the real owners of the land and where they are, why they were displaced, and by the actions of those who were displaced, because it is a war crime against humanity, especially when radical armed factions impose their authority and pursue Civilian people who own the land, this is a war crime, and Turkey must be held accountable and stop it alone because it is responsible for them.”

On the role of the Kurdish political parties in standing up to the demographic change, Baqir believes that “what is happening in the occupied territories places a great responsibility on the shoulders of the political parties with the need to unify their visions politically to convey the tragedy of our people there to international forums. As for the jurists, every human rights organization or human rights organization must raise their voice. Standing tall to stand up to this human tragedy.”

ANHA