Ali assesses policies of Ankara and Damascus… earthquake is opportunity to show reality

A member of the executive body of the Syrian Democratic Council, Hassan Ali, evaluated the approaches of the governments of Damascus and Ankara and their exploitation of the earthquake disaster, and said, "The earthquake was an opportunity for people to know reality of their governments."

8 March, 2023 23:13

Newsdesk - Ahmed Samir

A member of the executive body of the Syrian Democratic Council, Hassan Muhammad Ali, evaluated the policies of the Turkish occupation state and the Damascus government after the devastating earthquake that struck northern Kurdistan and Turkey, and affected Syria on February 6.

Despite the earthquake, the Turkish occupation army did not stop its attacks on northern and eastern Syria. Instead of providing relief to those affected by the disaster, it sent its drones and directed its artillery towards the area to bomb it and displace its affected people.

"They had no idea or plan to face the disaster."

In an interview with our agency, Hassan Muhammad Ali, described the earthquake that struck northern Kurdistan and Turkey as a "humanitarian catastrophe," and said: "In Turkey, there was no willingness to provide aid to the population, nor was the state ready for such an earthquake, as it placed its weight on war and militarization. So they had no plan to face the earthquake disaster."

And Ali indicated that Turkey has put all its economic capabilities at the service of the war to exterminate peoples and the Kurdistan freedom movement.

He noted, "most countries provided a lot of aid to Turkey, but it did not reach the affected people. The disaster brought together the peoples, but Turkey made a big difference between the peoples. In Janders, the population did not receive aid, on the contrary."

They have one goal, which is how to exterminate the Kurds and other peoples

Regarding the Turkish approaches and its attacks on northern and eastern Syria despite the catastrophe of the earthquake, Ali said: "Turkey did not stop its attacks. They have one goal, which is how to exterminate the Kurdish people and other peoples, and expand their occupation plans in the Middle East, especially in Syria and Iraq.

Government corruption and demographic change

Ali pointed out that "the earthquake revealed the reality of the government of the Justice and Development Party to the people. This government that used to say we provided a lot of services for the sake of the people. We watched many videos that show the tragic situation of the people, and they do not have tents."

He explained, "In the earthquake, great corruption occurred. The state did not construct buildings according to the required standards, especially since the region is seismically active. The buildings of the engineers that were built according to the earthquakes were not damaged. As for the residents' homes, they were destroyed and leveled to the ground. The material capabilities provided to serve the state were also invested. Politics want to bring about a new demographic change."

We opened the doors of the crossings to aid

Ali pointed out, "We, the Syrian Democratic Council, since the first day of the earthquake, we said that the earthquake is a humanitarian catastrophe and that it should not be politicized. We opened the gate corresponding to the Turkish occupation areas and the Damascus government. We emphasized the necessity of delivering aid provided from any party."

He noted that the Autonomous Administration provided great capabilities, but the Turkish occupation refused to enter its aid, which was at the Umm Jalud crossing, and said: "The regime also put this aid in the bazaars without thinking about the people."

They can't offer anything to the people

Ali added, "We saw the popular initiatives in northern Kurdistan and Turkey through the Peoples' Democratic Party, as well as in Syria. This revealed the face of the regimes that cannot offer anything, but suck the blood of the peoples and live on the people's sustenance."

It has no moral and human principles

Ali explained, "The mentality of the Turkish state is based on genocide and its history is full of massacres. It is a state that does not have any moral and humanitarian principles. All Kurdish uprisings were suppressed and confronted with genocide, so human and moral principles cannot be measured in a state like this."

The Kurds and other peoples want their rights and to live in peace and democracy

Ali explained, "The Kurds and other peoples want to obtain their rights and live in peace and democracy," and asked, in return, "What is Turkey doing? It uses internationally banned chemical weapons. Turkey has nothing to do with humanity. It does not know the laws of war. It kills people with poison and burns them with napalm bombs. It is a state based on genocide and occupation. It commits these massacres before the eyes of the world.

The military operations of Guerrilla and SDF stopped

Ali noted, "Guerrilla stopped their military operations because there is a humanitarian catastrophe and they must not be invested. On the other hand, military operations in northern and eastern Syria also stopped, while Turkey insists on fighting."

bombed 86 times

Ali pointed out, "According to the reports of the research centers that we received, since February 6, Turkey has bombed 86 times, with drones, shelling and various attacks, while tens of thousands lost their lives as a result of the earthquake and millions were damaged. Without anyone saving them. Now they are pulling people out from under the rubble, is there anything more brutal than that? These are savages and dictators!"

"The Syrian regime put aid in a bazaar"

Regarding the policies adopted by the Damascus government regarding the aid that it received to provide relief to the affected people, Ali explained, "The earthquake was an opportunity for the people to know their governments that do not serve them. The Autonomous Administration wanted, out of a humanitarian standpoint, to send aid to al-Shahba and Sheikh Maqsoud, while the Syrian regime put this aid in a bazaar, conditioned obtaining a large percentage to enter this aid. This shows that these regimes have nothing to do with humanity.

A mechanism and alternatives must be found for aid distribution

On how the international forces dealt with the Turkish occupation state, which obtained the aid and did not distribute it to the affected people, Ali said: "A mechanism must be found to monitor how the aid is distributed. There are many reports confirming that the aid does not reach those affected by the earthquake, so a mechanism must be found."

A member of the executive body of the Syrian Democratic Council, Hassan Muhammad Ali, called for finding alternatives to distributing aid in Syria and Turkey, after the failure of the governments of Damascus and Ankara to deliver aid to the affected people, stating: "There must be pressure on the two countries to distribute aid to the affected people, and sanctions must be imposed." They should, in the event that it is not distributed appropriately, because this humanitarian issue should not be invested politically.”

ANHA