A number of international personalities and organizations in an open letter to the UN Secretary-General, the UN High-Commissioner for Refugees and the UN High-Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern over the situation in Rojava (Syria) and the consequences of the invasion of the region by Turkey.
the Open letter :
Excellencies,
The recent declarations of the President of Turkey and of the United States about an imminent military aggression in the North-East of Syria are extremely alarming.
Such an action not only will contravene international law and will be illegal, but the most worrying aspect is that it will certainly lead to more war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Considering President Erdogan’s constant repressive attitude towards the Kurdish people, there is reason to fear that an ethnic cleansing is being prepared on the Turkish-Syrian border. But this time, no one will be in a position to say “I didn’t know”.
Bearing in mind the past complicity of the Turkish State with the so-called Islamic State (ISIS), it cannot be ignored either that the 70,000 prisoners held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will be able to regain their freedom and resume their terrorist activities in the region (by means of genocide, feminicide and ethnocide, not only of the Kurds but also Syria-Assyrian people and other ethnic and religious groups indigenous to the region) and elsewhere in the world.
The international community failure to prevent such military action raises the question of its complicity in the crimes that will be committed.
The responsibility of the institutions you head is paramount both to the Kurdish population of Rojava, who have sacrificed more than 10,000 lives in the fight against global terrorism, and to the thousands of refugees in the region targeted by President Erdogan.
The undersigned organizations and personalities call upon you, Excellencies, to take a public position calling on President Erdogan to renounce any military action in the Rojava region which will lead to the deepening of the current humanitarian crisis and to the resurgence of ISIS activities.
9th October 2019
– Mr. SOMMARUGA Carlo, Member of the Swiss Parliament
– Mr. CHETERIAN Vicken, author and lecturer at Geneva University – Switzerland
– Mr. DE ZAYAS Alfred, Former UN Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order
– Ms. FEHLMANN-RIELLE Laurence, Member of the Swiss Parliament
– Mr. GALAND Pierre, Belgian senator – President of the Belgian Association for the UN Ms. KIENER NELLEN Margret, Member of the Swiss Parliament
– Ms. PORTIOLI Eugenia, Geneva University – Switzerland
– MS. RAMOS Vanessa, Presidenta de Asociación Americana de Juristas
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– Alliance for Minority Rights
– Asociación Americana de Juristas (AAJ)
– Association des juristes progressistes – Geneva (Switzerland)
– Centre Zagros pour les Droits de l’Homme – Geneva (Switzerland)
– Euskal Herria Bildu (Basque political coalition)
– Fondation Franz Fanon – Paris (France)
– France-Libertés – Fondation Danielle Mitterrand
– Fundación Latinoamericana por los Derechos Humanos y el Desarrollo Social Housing and Land Rights Network – Habitat – International Coalition
– Indian Movement “Tupaj Amaru”
– International Association of Democratic Lawyers
– International Educational Development, Inc.
– International Society for Human Rights
– Italian Association of Democratic Lawyers
– Kurdish- Swiss Alliance
– Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l’amitié entre les peuples (MRAP)
– Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights Association
– Projet démocratique du Kurdistan iranien
– Spanish Society for International Human Rights Law
– Socialdemocratic Party of Switzerland
– Solidarité Internationale pour la Paix
– SolidaritéS Genève (political party)
– Sortu (Basque political party)
– Stichting Ezidis (Ezidis Foundation)
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https://www.sudouest.fr/2019/10/10/innaceptable-agression-attaques-aveugles-volee-de-critiques-apres-l-offensive-turque-en-syrie-6680125-4803.php