Afrinpost – Special
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria’s approach to the report of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria, which was issued on September 14, 2020, was characterized by a lot of objectivity and political rationality. It welcomed the positive points and invited them to visit their regions and investigate facts.
In an interview conducted by “Afrinpost” with the co-chair of the “Syrian Democratic Council”, Mrs. Ilham Ahmed, she confirmed Turkey’s characterization as an “occupying state”, and welcomed the report, referring to the invitation to the investigation committee to visit the areas of “the Autonomous Administration.” “Including Al-Hol camp, to know the facts closely, and on the report’s avoidance of characterizing Turkey as an occupation, she indicated that the commission’s work is for a specific mission, to monitor human rights violations, and that stopping the violations is the responsibility of the international community.
The following is the full text of the interview:
Afrinpost : The violations that occur in the areas occupied by Turkey are executive measures to change the nature of the regions, and they occur because of the occupation and under its supervision. Why did the report of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria issued on September 14, 2020, clearly avoid the description of the Turkish military presence in Syria as an occupation?
Mrs. Ahmed : “It is clear that the committee’s work is for a specific mission, which is monitoring and documenting human rights violations, and what is stated in the report confirms the crimes against humanity committed by Turkey and the terrorist factions associated with it. Turkey is an occupying power under international law, and it acts as a rogue state in the region. Without there being any international deterrent to stop the Turkish violations against the peoples of the region, and what it is doing in Afrin and Ras al-Ain of gross human rights violations against the Kurdish component in particular are nothing but systematic acts that come in the context of ethnic cleansing and demographic change, as these violations are crimes against Humanity must be held accountable by the international community.
Afrinpost : The facts that the UN report mentioned are proven and documented by a large number of documents, evidence, media testimonies and reports of human rights organizations, and the report did not bring anything new, except with some acknowledgment. Why did the committee adopt the probability formula in its conclusions and reduce its evidence?
Mrs. Ahmed :“This committee relied on documents, reports and testimonies submitted to it remotely. Therefore, we issued a statement welcoming the report of the commission and we invited them to visit the region to closely investigate the facts, as it was not allowed to visit the areas under Turkish occupation and the areas under the regime’s control. It is important for us that the investigation committee confirm all these crimes and violations against Syrians, and that justice reaches all criminals.
Afrinpost : It is common knowledge to describe Al-Hol camp as a “time bomb” and it is in terms of the size of its residents is very large and requires great service and security capabilities, and there are security incidents occur there from time to time, and the camp’s survival is a result of international deficiencies and states ’refusal to take back their citizens. Why did the report ignore this fact and it seemed sympathetic to ISIS families, criticizing the Autonomous Administration? Who does the committee compliment? What is the goal?
Mrs. Ahmed :Our invitation to the investigation committee to visit northern and eastern Syria also includes their visit to Al-Hol camp to see the real reality there and the size of the burdens that fall on the Autonomous Administration in light of the limited capabilities that we have, noting that the administration lists the names of those in the camp from the people of the region and periodically they are removed and handed over to their families.
“And due to the lack of seriousness of some countries in cooperating with us in receiving their ISIS citizens, and not bearing responsibility for meeting the benefits required of them, and not forming an international court to prosecute those involved in terrorism, this constitutes a great burden on the administration that requires the international community to cooperate with us in order to meet the needs of the camp from All sides”.
Afrinpost : In the recommendations, the report began by making the ceasefire a priority, and mentioned detailed recommendations. Why was ending the Turkish occupation of the Syrian areas not considered one of the most important recommendations, given that the party that leads the armed factions in Syria and is the incubator for them is the Turkish occupation?
Mrs. Ahmed :“The committee has recommended that the terrorist factions associated with Turkey stop their violations and crimes against the Syrians, and Turkey has also recommended that it fulfill its responsibilities to control these factions, and it is known that these factions obey Turkish orders, and to stop these violations, the international community must assume its responsibilities by taking urgent measures to end the Turkish occupation of all Syrian territory under international law ”.
