On March 20th, the terrorist factions supported by the Turkish occupation killed four civilian brothers in Jenderes district of Afrin region, who were living in camps, after the earthquake of the sixth of last February destroyed their house, following the lighting of the Nowruz flame.
We, as the Syrian Democratic Council, condemn this heinous crime and shocking massacre, and express our sincere condolences to the families of the victims.
We believe that it necessary to warn that condemning crime without doing anything is an escape from the truth, and on the other hand it is a participation in the crime. Crime cannot be separated from the context of occupation, displacement, and incitement against the Kurds, nor can it be isolated from the context of chaos, gang rule, and the absence of law. The crime that happened in Jenderes comes in a political, security and social context for which the occupation authorities and their tools bear the direct responsibility in controlling Afrin. All parties that have remained silent and turned a blind eye to the ongoing crime of occupation and the displacement of the indigenous people of the region and turning them into a marginalized and persecuted minority on their homes bear that responsibility.
We, as the Syrian Democratic Council, declare our condemnation of the flagrant and continuous attacks on our Kurdish people by the Turkish-backed factions that wreak havoc in an area where the occupation authorities are supposed to bear responsibility, so we demand the following measures:
1- Declaring Afrin as a demilitarized humanitarian zone, expelling all military factions, and allowing the safe return of its original inhabitants, provided that the process must be under the supervision of the international community.
2 -Accountability of those responsible for committing crimes against humanity and for daily violations of international humanitarian law.
3- Handing over the administration and security of the Afrin region to its original local population and accordingly on that, building a fair and transparent judicial system.
4- The release of all detainees and abductees, clarifying the fate of the forcibly disappeared, and compensating those are affected people.
5- Ensuring that the media and international human rights organizations will enter Afrin and operate freely.
We appreciate the stances of all the free people in their sympathy with the victims and their families and their condemnation of the massacre and its perpetrators. May the blacksmith Kawa’s flame be raised in the sky of Syria and be victorious with the determination and solidarity of the honorable Syrians.
Mercy and Eternity for the martyrs
Nowruz will remain a symbol of ending injustice and a beacon of freedom and justice
On March 22nd, 2023
The Syrian Democratic Council