Ömer: International forces are not fulfilling their responsibilities

Ebdulkerim Ömer, Co-Chair of the Foreign Relations Department of the Northern and Eastern Syria Autonomous Administration, said that ISIS members caught as a result of the fight against ISIS are not taken care of by international states and nor are their families and children.

Ömer said that the SDF ended the territorial integrity of ISIS in 2019, adding that this was a military and territorial victory, but did not mean that ISIS was not over. He added that there are still hundreds of sleeper cells in areas that have been under the control of ISIS for many years.

“These mercenaries are still crossing from areas under the control of the Iraqi and Syrian regimes. They cross from the regions under the occupation of the Turkish state. They are already helping the sleeper cells. This is why our fight against ISIS continues. ISIS terrorism still continues. There must be stability in Syria for the end of ISIS terrorism. The Syrian problem needs to be resolved. Terrorist ideas have spread in regions that have been under ISIS terror for many years, and this is a great danger because it helps a possible revival of ISIS.”

Stating that the closed border gates, the lack of aid and the economic problems are the reason for the reorganization of ISIS, Ömer said: “The fact that the Til Koçer Border Gate is closed, the aid sent by international organizations through Damascus does not arrive, as well as many other factors that contribute to create a bad economic situation in these regions favoured ISIS infiltration into society and its attempt to organize in it. If we want to prevent ISIS terrorism, we must provide aid to these regions.”

Emphasizing that the file of ISIS members in prisons and camps is a very big one and that they cannot cope with it alone, Ömer drew attention to the danger in the camps with the following words: “The international community should help us. First, there is no assistance for the prosecution of ISIS gangs. Secondly, no aid is given to the families of ISIS (women and children staying in the camps). We are constantly calling for the establishment of a court, the trial and removal of ISIS members, but no one helped us. The women and children staying in the camps pose a great danger. Their presence in the camps actually helps create a new ground for ISIS growth. In the camps, a terrorist mentality is nourished. Those children are raised with hatred. If the situation stays like this, the consequences will be very serious.”

The situation in the camps

Talking about the situation in Hol Camp, the largest camp where wives and children of ISIS members stay, Ömer said that it is going out of control, murders are carried out, ISIS members have been abducted from there, tents have been burned. “A file should be prepared for this as well. ISIS is not over, nor is terrorism… We are still continuing our fight. The necessary aid against terrorism has not been made yet. We had previously warned everyone about what is happening in Hol Camp. For years we have been telling the international community that Camp Hol is a ticking time bomb. We don’t know when it will explode. But if it does, it will not only affect us, it will affect the whole world.”

ISIS is an international problem

Ömer said that last 30 June, an online meeting was held with 50 people, including representatives of the European Ministry of Foreign Affairs, representatives of the American and Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European institutions, regarding the situation in the Hol Camp and prisons.

“We told every country to come and take its citizens. We cannot deal with this problem alone. True, this problem is here, but it is not just our problem. It is an international problem. We told those who did not get their citizens to help us. We wanted to make the camps a safer and more liveable place with this help. Nothing happened. For now, we have a temporary project. A permanent project can only be achieved with international participation. We thought it would take time, so we developed a temporary project. We aim to divide the Hol Camp into sections. We are considering dividing it into 5-6 sections. Thus, we can ensure security in the camp.

Again, we can improve the living conditions even more. We can fight better against the network established by the Turkish intelligence MIT to kidnap ISIS members, but we need to invest money in it. With the division of the camp, centers should be established for the re-education of those women and children. So we can take control of the camp and improve conditions there. Now we expect the international community to support us on this issue. They should give support to put this project into operation immediately.”

Ömer said that after the meeting held on 30 June, the foreign affairs representatives of the countries held a closed meeting among themselves, and that they also discussed taking some steps, but that the desired step has not been taken so far and there is a urgent need at this stage to take a radical step.

‘Problems started in Roj Camp’

Emphasizing that the situation in Roj Camp is better than in Hol Camp, Ömer said that they added one more section to the camp, they took another group from Hol Camp there, and that some problems have started to arise in the last few days. The situation can quickly deteriorate and be the same as the one in Hol. That’s why we say that this problem is here, but it is an international problem. That’s why we, the international community and countries with citizens, should solve this problem together. Many times, we wanted to hold an international conference on the ISIS problem and the situation of women and children. We decided to hold this conference for the trial of ISIS members and the handing over of women and children. But we did not receive the necessary support in this regard.”

‘Children educated with ISIS mentality in camps’

Ömer said that they take teenagers to correctional houses they opened in the attempt to prevent them from being educated with an ISIS mentality. “There are around 500 children in these correctional houses. They stay apart. We sought support from the international community regarding the need to open centers for the re-education of these children. We have a center called Holi. Children are educated in that center. There were really positive results. Now we aim to open 10-15 more centers like this. When children in the camps turn 12, they are married off to increase the number in the camp. These are the situations we are facing. Centers should be established for the removal of these children. We need support to establish these centers.”

Commenting on the report published by Amnesty International on the children in the Hol Camp in the past few days, Ömer said: “We already said what Amnesty International said. We are talking about this situation much more than them. It is true, the children there are in a very bad condition. The number is over 27 thousand. Over 500 children are currently in detention centers. They are going through very bad times. They are trained with a terrorist mentality. The problems are serious. We are very disturbed by these problems. We are constantly in dialogue with the countries from which these people come from. We want them all to come and fulfil their responsibilities.”

Children need to be removed from radical environments

Ömer said: “Everyone should come and bring their citizens, children and women, back to their countries and re-educate them in society. They should support us to re-educate children. Get them out of that radical environment. We are very sorry to take the children away from their mothers. Under our laws, there is no removal of children from their mothers anyway. In fact, many European countries want to take children and leave their mothers. We do not accept this. Even if mothers say yes, we do not agree to take children away from them. Those children’s places are with their mothers. But sometimes we have to separate them. When those kids grow up, when they are 13-14, they are trained to cause trouble. If we open centers for the education of children with the project of dividing the camp into sections, we will not have to keep the children away from their mothers. We can train children and their mothers in those camps. However, all of these require support. The international community is not fulfilling its responsibilities. Everyone has left this burden on us. 60 thousand people stay in both camps. The situation in the camps is known and the resources of the Autonomous Administration are very limited. We provide the necessary assistance, but the international community does not support us.”

The international community should move on this issue

Explaining that no steps have been taken so far regarding the prosecution of ISIS members, Ömer said: “Going on like this means achieving no result. Holding ISIS members for so long without trial has become a crime in itself. Countries whose citizens are here do not ask to take their citizens back, but they don’t help us to try them here either. Again, the number of women and children delivered to other countries is very small compared to the current number. European countries took mostly children and women. Countries judge the women they take and sentence them to 2-4 years. They are re-educating children again. As far as we can follow up, the condition of those children is good.”

Iraq too is not fulfilling its responsibility

It is said that the number of Iraqi refugees in the Hol Camp is around 30 thousand, and most of the sleeper cells were made up of Iraqi citizens.

Ebdulkerim Omer said: “Iraq is certainly not fulfilling its responsibilities. Two years ago, a large delegation came. They toured the camp. 5 thousand people said they were ready to return and we had their names written down. They have come to take their citizens twice so far, but the number does not reach a thousand. This number is very low compared to an estimated 30 thousand Iraqi citizens. We are holding the same talks and dialogue with them as we do in the international community. We want a court to be established in Iraq for the trial of these people. But Iraq too does not fulfil its responsibility.”