HDP Central Executive Board’s call for action concerning the military threat on Rojava

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Call for action: We can stop Turkey’s imminent invasion of Northern together!

The most urgent need in Syria is to start a democratic negotiation process inclusive of all parties towards ending the civil war in the country. And the biggest threat is a new military intervention. That is why the fact that the Turkish government has put forward a new military incursion into Northern Syria is an extremely dangerous and wrong step.
This step does not aim to maintain the territorial integrity of Syria or build a democratic regime, but operate on Syrian territory and change its demographic structure.

The destruction and population engineering caused by such an invasion will also fall into the category of a crime against humanity with respect to the international law.

The peoples of Northern Syria, first and foremost the Kurds, who sacrificed tens of thousands of lives in the fight against ISIS, are now faced with major threats. Not only the Kurds, but also the Arabs, Turkmens, Assyrians, Armenians and Yazidis inhabiting the region are in great danger.

The war crimes and demographic change in Afrin and Şehba regions carried out by Turkish military and its proxy forces are blatant. Now, they want to spread such crimes and demographic change throughout Northern Syria. Instead of the Arab Belt, which was implemented in the 1970s by Hafez Assad to displace the Kurds and settle Arabs into the evacuated settlements, the Turkish government is trying to establish a Salafi-Jihadist Belt this time, which will aggravate regional instability.

Furthermore, if the responsibility of ISIS prisoners is granted to the Turkish government as mentioned in the White House statement, it will pose a grave threat to our country and beyond. This step will also create the possibilities for ISIS to reorganize, wake its sleeper cells, and drag the region back into deep darkness as it was in 2014. In addition, ISIS will become a factor that will directly affect the political stability and social fabric in Turkey.

We call on all the international entities involved in the Syrian issue, first and foremost the United Nations, to take responsibility in the face of this imminent invasion and do whatever is necessary to prevent it.
Also, and more importantly, we call upon all international forces of democracy, peace and justice to take immediate and effective action against this imminent invasion.

The Kurds and their allies in Northern Syria fought against the ISIS not just for themselves but also for the whole humanity. Now is the time for the international community to reciprocate by building the most expansive and strongest solidarity network. Kurds and their friends have already started organizing protests and solidarity actions in many cities across the world. Please join them in this dignified struggle in any way you can. We can stop this insanity together.
Peace and solidarity,

Peoples’ Democratic Party Central Executive Board