Afrinpost – Special
Yesterday, Saturday, the “National Army” militia of the Turkish occupation and the Muslim Brotherhood issued a decision to prevent the imposition of taxes on fruit trees for this year’s season, in light of the continuation of its formations by imposing royalties on farmers in the occupied Afrin region in northern Syria.
The militia leadership directed its armed formations not to take financial taxes on fruit trees and return the money that was taken to the owners of fruit trees for the current year’s season under the name (tree protection taxes), and within a maximum period of ten days from the date of issuing this circular, indicating that any complaint will be submitted to the “Repaying the Injustices” committee will be duly followed up.
This comes at a time when the armed men of the Turkish occupation militias and their settler families are continuing widespread campaigns to plunder and steal olive crops, whether the owner is present or displaced, in addition to imposing royalties.
In the context, the “Afrinpost” correspondent in the Bulbul / Bulbul sub-district said today, Sunday, that “Failaq al-Sham” militia imposed in-kind royalties on the olive harvest in the villages of Dikiya and Kila, under the pretext of “guarding the olive trees.”
The reporter confirmed that the militia imposed on the people of the village of Dikiya to pay about 160 tanks of oil, while it imposed on the village of Kila to pay 200 tanks of oil, under the pretext that it provided protection for the season, noting that the royalty ranged from one tanks of oil to 5 tanks according to the number of trees owned by each citizen in the two villages.
Commenting on the circular issued by the “National Army” militia, the Kurdish writer Azad Shikaki said, “It is clear that the circular is for propaganda and beautifying the image of the militias after international reports, media and human rights organizations, as the thefts that took place during this year’s olive season, while looting and theft did not stop during the 31 months of the Turkish occupation and the militias loyal to it. The circular also did not take into account the theft of two previous seasons, other theft of houses, shops and other tree seasons, nor the theft of antiquities.
Shkaki added, “who closely follows the situation in Afrin, the circular came late, after a comprehensive theft of the season, making it difficult to conduct statistics and obtain data, in addition to the fact that it is not known when this committee was formed, nor the scope of its actual powers, indicating that the circular legalizes the “royalty” imposed by force and under threat, calling it “taxes”.
For its part, the Kurdish Legal Authority commented on its Facebook page on the militia’s decision to prohibit taxes on fruit trees, and considered it and described it as “official recognition of the so-called Syrian Interim Government of the criminal practices of the armed mercenary factions that occupy Afrin region against Kurdish citizens from theft, looting and pillage of the olive season. And the imposition of taxes and royalties on citizens.
The commission added, “The fascist Muslim Brotherhood government is trying to beautify its ugly face and whiten its black record by issuing this circular, which is not worth a single penny within the mercenary factions, and no one cares about it and the party that issued it has no value or consideration, and its fate will be the trash.”
