The Syrian Democratic Council (MSD) released a statement warning about the forced displacement policies of the invading Turkish state practiced in North-East Syria.

The MSD statement released on Wednesday includes the following:

"Since the first moment of the earthquake disaster on the 6th of February, the Syrian Democratic Council has put all its political and diplomatic capabilities in the service of the Syrian people who have been affected by this disaster. The Council has devoted its various relations to exerting the necessary pressure in order to open the humanitarian crossings and encouraged local initiatives inside Syria, whether civil, popular or official, the most prominent of which was the initiative of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

Fourteen days after the disaster, the Council considered that the policies implemented during the disaster hindered the chances of saving many lives that were spent under the rubble and denied assistance to those affected.

The armed factions of the Turkish occupation prevented the aid that arrived early to the outlets of the Autonomous Administration. These factions and the interim government continued to plead in defense of the Turkish policy towards the Syrian victims, although the disaster proved that the Turkish state institutions were unable to perform their duty towards their citizens.

That is why Turkey has not provided any support to the Syrians in its occupied areas, and in consideration of Turkish internal politics, the pro-government media intends to stress that the priority is for the Turkish victims. The authorities practiced racial discrimination in the process of saving lives, and the arrival of support and aid to the needy.

We in the Syrian Democratic Council have sought to provide all facilities despite our conviction that these mercenary terrorist factions are not trusted with this aid.

We condemn in the strongest terms the policies of demographic change practiced by Turkey against the Kurds in northwestern Syria. We call on the international community to intervene and exert pressure to stop the displacement of the Kurds from their places of origin, as more than 70% of the people of Afrin have been displaced so far.

On the other hand, we warn against the Turkish occupation authorities' treatment of the international aid provided to the Syrians, especially the donations allocated by some countries to build new homes and villages on lands owned by Kurdish citizens.

We also condemn the continuation of the Turkish attacks on North-East Syria, where the village of Mahmoudiya was attacked, while drones targeted several civilian cars during the past two weeks.

The ruling authority in Damascus, despite its emphasis on the importance of national dialogue, decided to use the disaster for its narrow political interests and rejected internal national initiatives to help the victims in line with its prior position, rejecting any openness to the democratic political forces calling for a peaceful and democratic transition.

The policies of the authority in Damascus are primarily responsible for the deterioration of the humanitarian and economic situation of citizens in general and of those affected by the earthquake in particular.

The Syrian Democratic Council has previously stressed the importance of the Syrians overcoming their differences and establishing a broad democratic front to lead dialogue and negotiation with the authority in Damascus, and contributing to reviving the process and the representation of the various Syrian representatives and parties in the negotiation process aimed at implementing Security Council Resolution No. 2254. The Council reaffirms that Syrian national dialogue is a strategic and indispensable option for it, provided that it includes the active political representatives of all components of society, on the basis of achieving a meaningful and comprehensive political transition in the country.

The launch of any such national dialogue process must be with international guarantees, including the international allies of the authority in Damascus.

The Syrian Democratic Council, while condoling the families of the victims and wishing the wounded a speedy recovery, stresses that the Syrian people must hold those involved in stealing their daily sustenance accountable.

We call on the various national democratic forces to unite and find effective mechanisms to monitor the activity of the various authorities on the ground and follow up on the delivery of humanitarian aid sent to them. We also call on the democratic forces in Syria to escalate their struggle with the aim of framing their efforts and not missing more opportunities that would alleviate the suffering of the Syrians.”