The Second Human Rights Forum on human rights crimes in occupied Afrin was held in the city of Qamishlo, with the participation of more than 150 people from Syria and abroad and resulted in several recommendations and decisions.

A member of the preparatory committee, Mizgin Ahmed, spoke to ANHA (Hawar News Agency) and evaluated the mechanism of conducting the forum's work, and the recommendations and decisions issued in the coming periods.

The First Human Rights forum that addressed the situation in occupied Afrin, was held on May 6, 2018, organized by several human rights organizations at the level of northeast Syria, and abroad. About this, Ahmad compared between the two forums, saying: “The first was a months later of the occupation of Afrin, It was newly occupied, and the Turkish occupation army crimes were limited to the occupation only, but later, the crimes escalated and were documented from several sides, as the Turkish occupation has a long-term plan in Afrin.

'The crimes in Afrin are ethnic cleansing'

Ahmed talked about the policy of the Turkish occupation in Afrin and said: “We can analyze them as follows: First, it displaced the people of Afrin, then resettled the families of its mercenaries there. All this was carried out under a joint Russian-Turkish agreement regarding the genocide against the Kurdish people in Afrin."

She stressed that the crimes of the Turkish occupation in Afrin have no parallel in the history of the global revolutions but under ISIS, as there is no difference between them because they are of the same approach and mentality. Therefore, the participants in the forum and the lecturers came to label the policy of Turkey as ethnic cleansing because the demographic change, destruction of the nature of the region, and the continuing killings and kidnappings of civilians, all of them have become exposed before the eyes of the whole world, but unfortunately there is still international silence about these crimes.

'The international community silence make it accomplices in these crimes'

Ahmed continued, "The silence of the international community about the crimes committed in Afrin makes it partner in it. When we monitor the situation in Idlib, Afrin's neighbor, we find that any event echoes globally, but in Afrin case, they keep silent, which means that they are accomplices in these crimes."

Several axes were discussed during the forum, about the crimes in the occupied Afrin from a legal point of view and the international laws of the United Nations. It must protect the laws according to the required principles.

"The second goal was to document and expose crimes, and find legal solutions, so that we can claim rights and prosecute the Turkish occupation for its crimes in international criminal courts," she said.

'Turkey's actions put the whole world at risk'

Regarding the interventions, Ahmed noted, "This forum has proven to the world, that the survival of mercenaries and the Turkish occupation in Afrin poses a danger to the whole world, and not only to the Afrin people or northeast Syria. Afrin people were peace-lovers, this is what Turkey did not approve, so, under false pretexts, it launched a violent attack on Afrin, and to date continues its attacks. We wanted to shake the global conscience, and confirm that the people of Afrin will not give up their land and will continue to resist." 

During the participations, light was shed on how these crimes by the occupation were exposed and documented by the concerned authorities. The responsibility lies on the jurists and academics to end the Turkish occupation, and to make the Afrin issue a global one, because its occupation took place according to international agreements and its liberation must be done by international agreements, according to Ahmed.

'Forming a committee to follow up recommendations of the forum'

Ahmed added that they will form a committee that includes local human rights and humanitarian organizations, and academics abroad to follow up the recommendations issued by this forum legally, to make these crimes on the dialogue table permanently in international circles, and to hold similar forums abroad to expose the crimes of the Turkish occupation and put end for them."

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