HROs warn of a Turkish attack: its repercussions to be catastrophic

 The Turkish threats and attacks arouse the ire of the citizens of northern and eastern Syria, who see them as a threat to the security and peace of the region.

 In the context, the Human Rights Organization Afrin - Syria and the Bar Association of Afrin made a joint statement, while the Manbij Lawyers Union made another separate statement, condemning the threats and attacks that the Turkish occupation state targets the citizens of north and east Syria and its populated areas and villages.

 Al Shahba

 Dozens of members of the Human Rights Organization Afrin - Syria, the Lawyers Union of Afrin and members of the unions gathered in Sardam camp, in the village of Tal Susin in al-Shahba canton, to make a statement to public opinion in this regard.

 Ibrahim Sheikho, spokesperson for the Human Rights Organization Afrin - Syria, read the statement in Arabic, and in Kurdish, a member of the Bar Association of Afrin region, Lazgin Kur Naasan, read it.

 At the outset, the statement considered the demographic change pursued by the Turkish occupation state in occupied Afrin as "an extension of the Ottoman policy that was based on forced displacement and demographic change in the areas it occupied."

 Stressing that the violations and crimes committed by the occupying power in Afrin amount to war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, and among the most serious of these violations and crimes is the demographic change that has reached the level of cultural genocide.

 Demographic change among war crimes and genocide according to international humanitarian law

 The statement mentioned the definition of demographic change according to international law, and said that it "falls within war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity in accordance with international humanitarian law under Articles (6-7-8) of the Rome Statute," noting that "the Turkish state seeks  from its control over the Syrian territories to the Turkification of the entire region, especially what it is doing in Afrin, where it is changing the identity of Afrin and its landmarks and dyeing it with the Turkish identity by changing the names of streets, squares, public facilities and hospitals, and raising the Turkish flag over schools and public facilities.

 He added: "The Turkish occupation changed the names of the main squares in the center of Afrin city, such as Azadi (Freedom) Square to Ataturk Square, Nowruz Square to Salah al-Din, the National Roundabout to March 18 Roundabout, and Kawa al-Haddad Roundabout to Olive Branch Roundabout, and in the context of changing the names of the villages; the Turkish occupation changed the name of the villages.  The village of Qustal Miqdad to Seljuk Obasi and the village of Kotan to Zafer Obasi and Karzila to Jafar Obasi, and the change of the names of the Kurdish strategic places to Ottoman names, and the placement of the Turkish flag and Erdogan’s pictures everywhere and on signboards and in every village, district and city center, in addition to teaching the Turkish language in  schools and placing the Turkish flag on students’ clothes, not to mention changing the billboards of shops and streets and writing them in Turkish, in conjunction with the Turkish occupation’s tampering with the holy places and the destruction of religious shrines for Yazidis, Alawites and Christians.  The destruction of most of the archaeological sites listed on the UNESCO list during the attack on Afrin, such as the Temple of Ain Dara, the Prophet Hori and the Cave of Al-Dawdar and the tomb of Saint Maron, the looting and theft of archaeological finds and selling them in global black markets, as well as the Turkish occupation dismantled the railway extending from Ikbis Square in Rajo district, passing through Kafr Jannah and Qatma in Sharan district, and selling it to merchants from Azaz.”

 Settlement complexes are one of the motives for the continued Turkish occupation of the region

 The statement added, "The process of demographic change and the building of settlements in occupied Afrin continues with the support and funding of Turkish, Gulf and Palestinian organizations from the 1948 Arabs.  And the Qatari Bunyan Association and other associations that work in this field to perpetuate the Turkish occupation of the region, and the danger of this appears in bringing about demographic change and encouraging settlement, especially the armed factions and their families from the Arab and Turkmen components, targeting the unique privacy of Afrin as it is a center of Kurdish culture. What Afrin witnessed through the Turkish invasion and occupation was  existential and systematic targeting of the Kurds, so the aggression and forced displacement was the first step. The next step was to change the demographic composition of the Kurdish region in general and to bring in settlers and establish settlement complexes as one of the motives for the continued Turkish occupation of the region.

 The catastrophic repercussions of a new attack

 The joint statement also stressed that the latest Turkish threat "about launching a new military aggression against the areas of northern Syria, especially the areas of Tel Rifaat and Manbij, is nothing but a new aggression that will have catastrophic repercussions similar to the Afrin scenario of displacement of more than 150 thousand citizens of the displaced Afrin and the population."  Indigenous peoples and the consequent continuation of the process of new demographic change for the area under the name of the safe zone.

 Call

 The statement called on "all international and humanitarian organizations, all parliaments in the world and the Parliament of the European Union to take a serious stand towards what is happening and take the necessary measures to stop the extension of the Turkish aggression to the areas of north and northeastern Syria and not to allow the alleged project to create a safe area at the expense of the Syrian people and to ensure the safety and security of all the peoples of the region."

 Manbij

 In the same context, the Bar Association in Manbij and its countryside made a statement, which was read by the lawyer, Omar Barkal, in the presence of the union’s members in front of its headquarters in the west of the city.

 The Union affirmed that the "aggressions" carried out by the Turkish occupation on northern and eastern Syria "contrary to international laws and charters, and represent an attack on the territory of a neighboring country," noting that "Syria is for the Syrians and that the solution is through peaceful means, not aggression and occupation of the lands of others."

 He stressed confronting the Turkish occupation, and said: "We will confront with all our determination any aggression that threatens the security of the homeland and citizens. We also affirm that we are living in a phase of stability and construction in all fields."

 The Manbij Lawyers Union expressed its rejection of any threat that undermines "our security and stability, and we will struggle against any form of aggression with all our might," calling on the active forces and international organizations to take a serious and fair stance "for the continuous attacks we are subjected to, stressing that the land is our land and we liberated it with blood."  Our martyrs are continuing to liberate the land and the prosperity of the nation."

 The statement ended with the audience chanting slogans such as "Long live a free and democratic Syria" and "Long live the resistance of free peoples."

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ANHA