A number of intellectuals, academics, personalities issued a statement "on behalf of thousands of voices who have communicated with us from our families inside of Afrin, forcibly displaced people in camps, and Syrian cities." 

The statement reminded that "The occupation of Afrin entered the third year without a specific horizon for the end of the catastrophe that afflicted or a date for the return of its indigenous people to their homes. Hundreds of thousands of forcibly displaced people are still scattered in the displacement camps, villages and towns of Al-Shahba, Aleppo and other Syrian districts, and the restrictions continue on those remaining of Afrin families."

The statement added: "Believing that the issue of Afrin determines the fate of all Kurds in their present and future and is at the same time as a part and parcel of the Kurdish issue within the Syrian solution process. We strongly join in the calling of the SDF, on the political forces to unite the ranks, bypassing attitudes of courtesy and blessing, and taking full responsibility before the Kurdish society."

The statement continued: "Our familys' faint voices from Afrin say that they have become hostages in their homes and villages, and they are appealing to the rest of the human conscience to save life in its simplest form. What happens is genocide and an ending to existence, as all forms of violations and aggressions are practiced against them, such as murders, kidnappings, forced arrests, and asking for ransoms, and no one knows the number of security headquarters, special detention centers, and what happens in them, while it conceals many violations of property and symptoms. Today, the indigenous people of Afrin no longer secure themselves to walk in the streets or staying at their homes, as the acts of taking over homes and expelling their owners from them are continuing unabated."

The statement ended with the following remarks: "Today, it's directly asked from all Kurdish political forces, intellectuals, and educated cadres with different intellectual orientations, in front of the people inside Afrin and in displacement camps and areas, to take a firm stance and get out of the circle of theoretical talk, answer the direct question of the fate of the people of Afrin, and finding ways to end the occupation and stop the violations practiced against them. That is their essential mission, as long as they consider themselves representatives of the issue of the Kurdish people, and no form of compromise or justifications for procrastination is accepted."

To the international "sponsoring parties" the signatories asked to "make the issue of Afrin and other occupied areas a top priority and formulate a clear-cut work program and road map to end the entire Turkish occupation, ensure the dignified return of the forcibly displaced, clarify the fate of thousands of missing persons, work to liberate the detainees, bring the perpetrators of violations before justice, and offer just compensation to the families of the victims."

The first 20 signatories are as follows: 

1. Dr. Abdullah Mohamed – Doctor at the University of Nantes
2. Abdullah Shkaki – Writer and Researcher in History
3. Abdeen Mustafa – Fine Artist
4. Dr. Abdulqader Hasco – Doctor
5. Abdulrahman Haji Othman – Director of the Tirej Afrin Website
6. Prof. Dr. Adnan Mamed Ibish – Professor – PhD in Mathematics
7. Ahmed Hasan Akash – Journalist
8. Ahmed Kitma – Journalist
9. Ahmed Youssef – Academician – PhD in Economic Development
10. Akhin Walat – Poet
11. Dr. Akram Nassan – Emergency Medicine Doctor
12. Ali Iso – Director of Izdina Media and Juridical Foundation
13. Amina Ala – Lawyer
14. Amina Misto – Journalist
15. Angela Rasho – Pharmacist
16. Aslan Mamo – Fine Artist
17. Badredin Bilal – Judge and Adviser
18. Brivan Hamoush – Fine artist
19. Chalang Omar – Academician and Economic Researcher
20. Dildar Mitani – Researcher and Notary of Digital Archives