Nadine Maenza: US, international community must stand against Turkey

Nadine Maenza stressed that the United States and the international community must not accept the crimes of the Turkish state, saying, "It is important that independent organizations be able to visit Afrin and other areas occupied by the Turkish state and document the real situation." The US Commissioner for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Nadine Maenza spoke to ANHA about the attacks and crimes of the Turkish state and its mercenaries.

The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on individuals and entities affiliated with the Damascus government and mercenaries affiliated with the occupying Turkish state.

 Commenting on these sanctions, Nadine Maenza said, "We at the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) applaud the State Department for acknowledging the human rights abuses and crimes being committed in the areas Turkey has invaded and occupies in northern Syria by following USCIRF’s recommendation to impose sanctions on Turkish-backed militias for severe violations of religious freedom. They have rightfully sanctioned militia Ahrar al-Sharquiya as well as two of their leaders (Abu Hatem Shaqra and Abu Ja’afar Shaqra) for “serious human rights abuses, including abduction and torture” and “the unlawful killing of Hevrin Khalaf."

Nadine Maenza mentioned that the Syrian Coalition must have been sactioned as well, as she said, " I was especially encouraged to see Abu Hatem Shaqra personally sanctioned as he was present when Hevrin Khalaf was murdered yet has been welcomed by Nasr al Hariri of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC). I recently re-shared the Rojava Information Center photo of them together on Twitter. This should shock and give pause to anyone considering the SOC as the answer for Syria, as they clearly are aligned with a sanctioned militia."

On the reason for her visit to north and east Syria, Nadine Maenza commented, "Part of the reason I visited northeast Syria in my own capacity was to draw attention to the positive religious freedom conditions under the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and also the horrific conditions in the areas Turkey has invaded and occupies. It is time for the U.S. and international community to stand up to Turkey and follow USCIRF’s recommendation to pressure Turkey to provide a timeline to withdraw from Syria. These crimes should be unacceptable to the US and the international community."

Concerning the crimes of the occupying Turkish state and its armed gangs in the occupied territories, Aldar Khalil said in an interview with ANHA that an independent delegation should be sent to the occupied territories. In response to Adar Khalil's call, Nadine Maenza said, "It is important that independent organizations are able to visit Afrin and other areas occupied by Turkey and document the true conditions."

With the recent bodies exhumed in Afrin, Turkey should welcome a fact-finding mission if they have nothing to hide. We have welcomed the independent reports about conditions in Afrin and other occupied areas from the United Nations, Amnesty International, the Wilson Center, the European Union that have already documented the crimes of killings, rape, abductions, forced conversion, destruction of religious sites and cemeteries targeting Yazidis, Kurds, and Christians.

Nadine Maenza called on the US government to take a stronger stance and added, " With this recent action by the US government, we hope that there is now stronger engagement to use all the tools available to deter Turkey from further actions against religious and ethnic minorities."

Nadine Maenza shared her views on the rapprochement of the US government with the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and said, "As the US government continues to evaluate their policy for Syria, we hope they will follow USCIRF’s recommendations to support the people of northeast Syria by giving political recognition to AANES as a local legitimate government, lift sanctions on the area they govern, expand engagement with AANES, and include them in all activities for a political solution per UN Resolution 2254."

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ANHA