A crucial message sent to Guterres, Prince al-Hussian about Afrin

A crucial message sent to Guterres, Prince al-Hussian about Afrin
Thirteen Kurdish parties, organizations, societies, humanitarian, political and cultural centers have sent a message to António Guterres Secretary-General of the United Nations-New York, and His Highness the Prince Zeid Bin Ra’ad al-Hussain, the High Commissioner for Human Rights-Geneva, to make the situation in Afrin clear due to the Turkish occupation and violations.

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Mr. António Guterres... Secretary-General of the United Nations, New York

His Highness the Prince Zeid Bin Ra’ad Al Hussain, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva

We send our letter to your Excellency hoping it meets your care and interest.

We express our deep anxiety to you through this memorandum because of the deteriorating situation in which the Syrian territory of Afrin wherre a Kurdish majority lives, since the beginning of Turkish aggression in 20-1-2018. Through a process, the so-called "the olive branch" which ended by invading and occupying Afrin by the Turkish state, accompanied by mercenary armed Syrian factions, affiliated to it.

Afrin city with its towns and villages are experiencing a real humanitarian catastrophe because of the complete absence of the law authority and the violations and horrible crimes that are being committed against its safe civilians.

Mr. Secretary- General...

His Excellency the Commissioner:

what the Syrian armed factions commit in Afrin under the supervision the Turkish occupation is directed and supported by the Turkish government widely, such as killing, looting, robbing, forcible kidnappings, bodily assaults, torture, and compulsory displacement of civilians as well as expropriation of their homes and properties and settling others in them... many of those violations reach the level of war crimes and genocide as well as crimes against humanity according to the standards and contents of the humanitarian international law articles, especially the four conventions of Geneva (1949)and their two attached protocols (1977)and the main regulation of Rome for the international criminal court (1998) as well as the international treaty for the protection of all persons from the forcible disappearance in addition to other conventions and pacts, as well as the declaration of international rights that try to maintain Man's sanctity and his dignity.

All those crimes take place obviously and in a scandalous way. In this respect, we have got hundreds of reports, photos and documented videos in spite of the suspicious news blackout and the serious danger to those who do documenting, recording and monitoring.

His Honor: Secretary-General...

His Excellency the Commissioner:

we surely attract your attention that there is a systematic, organized and dangerous attempt by Turkey and its armed loyal factions at total or partial destruction for a component or group on the basis of ethnicity, represented by the Kurdish component with all brutal and criminal ways for changing the national and ethnic peculiarity of Afrin which has the Kurdish particularity. In this context, Turkey tries to make a demographic change extensively through attracting and bringing Arabic families from other areas in Syria and settling them in the houses of Afrin citizens and properties after dismissing the native residents or closing the accesses, passages and barricades in front of those who have migrated, owing to the combat operations and preventing them from coming back to their villages and towns. In addition to kidnapping hundreds of civilians and leading them forcibly to unknown places without knowing their fate.

Consequently, crimes which are being committed, are stated and penalized according to the convention of preventing punishing genocide (1948) especially in accordance with the second article, where the purpose of Turkey and factions for committing these crimes is to cause a full or partial demolition to a national group.

Secretary-General Guterres...

High Commissioner Al-Hussein:

We have shown you through this letter a summarized and general view of the scene for what is going on in Afrin, we don't know whether we have succeeded to express the most dangerous situation and the warnings of catastrophic consequences as well as deepening future conflicts and malice between components and communities that may last for hundreds of years.

Thus, we appeal through you to the international community and all its frameworks, sections and corporations to take the responsibility and do the best immediately for obtaining basically the following:

_Demanding Turkey as a member state in the world organization to respect its conventions and to be committed to them through the immediate cessation for its transgressions and crimes in cooperation with its loyal factions and withdrawal from Afrin.

_Requesting Turkey to release all kidnapped and anonymous-fated people and stop the enforced disappearance, physical assaults, torture and all aspects of violence against civilians.

_Demanding Turkey to be committed to treat captives and prisoners who participated in the combat operations according to the international laws of war and the international humanitarian law, specifically the articles of Geneva pacts.

_Requesting Turkey to guarantee a safe and peaceful return for all displaced and immigrated civilians to their homes and stop all kinds of extortion and terror as well as providing protection necessities of decent living and public services, because they are the commitments and obligations the occupation authority according to the fourth Geneva convention 1949.

_Immediate cessation for settling operations of the Arab families in Afrin and taking out settlers and transforming them into other areas.

_Requesting Turkey to allow media, committees, legal and relief humanitarian international organizations as well as civil community organizations to enter Afrin for providing all requirements and relief materials with protection. In addition to sufficient guarantees for the appropriate bodies and fact-finding committees in for preparing and documenting all transgressions, violations and crimes.

_Endeavour of the United nations via its foundations and sections, especially the international criminal court to begin with investigations and trials for chasing and punishing perpetrators of crimes in Afrin, whoever they are. In addition to compensating the victims of those crimes.

Yours faithfully...

Signed by:

1-         The Kurdish Patriotic Coalition (HEVBENDI)

2-         The Democratic Union Party (PYD)

3-         The Democratic Progressive Party in Syria

4-         Kurdistan Fraternity Party

5-         The Justice for Human Rights in Syria Center

6-         The Kurdish Committee for Human Rights in Syria (al-Rased)

7-         The Kurdish Organisation for Human Rights in Syria (DAD)

8-         The Organisation of Endangered Peoples

9-         Ezdina Foundation

10-       The organisation of Legal Construction for Developing the Legal Thought (Binyat)

11-       The Kurdish Cultural Association in Belgium (Hêvî)

12-       Lekolin Centre for Studies and Legal Researches

13-       The Kurdish Legal Committee (DYK)

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