Attacks on Rojava by ISIS and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) mercenaries, backed by the Turkish state, are continuing. Rejecting Damascus’ imposition of surrender, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) issued a call for mobilization across the region, while residents took up arms and formed self-defense units in the streets. In response to the mobilization call, the Kurdish people and their allies have continued street protests in every place where they are present.
As civilian massacres and war crimes persist in the attacks, Abdulkadir Güleç, head of the Diyarbakır (Amed) Bar Association, said that the recent escalation of violence in Syria is directly targeting civilians and carries the risk of triggering a new civil war. Güleç said, “Where civilians are being killed, establishing peace and democracy is extremely difficult, if not impossible.”
Urgent steps must be taken to prevent civilian casualties
Abdulkadir Güleç recalled that numerous civilians have lost their lives as a result of the attacks, stating that the Diyarbakır Bar Association and bar associations across the region have issued public statements addressing the assaults. Güleç said, “We are all more or less aware of the scale the Syrian civil war, ongoing since 2011, has reached, as well as the loss of life and the situation of those displaced from their homes. These attacks targeting civilians reveal the risk of the civil war entering a renewed and more intense phase.”
Güleç said they have appealed to international institutions as a legal organization, stressing that urgent measures must be taken to prevent civilian casualties. He said, “International actors, foremost the United Nations, as well as countries with significant global influence such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the United States, must demonstrate the necessary sensitivity. An egalitarian and inclusive approach must guide the process of rebuilding Syria. As Syria is reshaped, all peoples, beliefs, and cultures must be recognized as equal and free constituents of that land, based on their own free will.”
Kurdish constitutional rights must be placed under international guarantees
Güleç said that Kurds, Arabs, Turkmens, Syriacs, and Druze are the true peoples of Syria, and added: “No people’s language, culture, or history should be denied; identities must be secured through constitutional guarantees, and this must be placed under international protection. Kurds, like all other peoples, are a founding component of Syria. Their right to have a say over their own future must be respected.” He also underlined that the right to education in one’s mother tongue and the recognition of local administrations must be accepted by the international community.
What is imposed is not democracy, but coercion
Güleç stated that attacks targeting civilians constitute crimes against humanity and said: “All attacks that cause civilian casualties are crimes against humanity. International institutions must approach this issue from that perspective. The existing agreements do not rest on a democratic foundation. The rights granted to peoples are being presented in the form of imposition. A lasting peace in Syria cannot be built through attacks against minority groups, anti-democratic practices, and constitutional coercion. What is being imposed here is not democracy, but coercion.”
Foreign interventions are increasing the risk of a regional war
Güleç said that this approach is one of the fundamental reasons behind ongoing instability in the Middle East, and added: “In the Middle East, particularly across the geography of Kurdistan, it is possible to trace the failure to establish lasting stability back to the years 1915–1916. In a region that has been divided and fragmented, a domineering and monolithic mindset does not bring peace. Interventions in Syria by countries such as Turkey, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel are increasing the risk of a regional war.
Throughout the war in Syria, Israel’s security has been prioritized above all else. The fact that attacks on Aleppo took place immediately after their most recent meeting in Paris clearly demonstrates this.”
We will take the necessary initiatives
Güleç said efforts are underway to entrench occupation in the Golan Heights and in areas south and north of Damascus and continued: “Attempts are being made to establish permanence in these regions. Yet what must be prioritized is not the security of states, but the security of peoples. What is at stake is not only the interests of states, but the future of societies, the right of peoples to live with their own identities, freely, equally, and in peace.”
Güleç said the Diyarbakır Bar Association continues to issue calls for the protection of civilian living areas and is working jointly with civil society and legal organizations. Güleç added that requests for meetings have been submitted through the Urban Protection Solidarity Platform and noted: “So far, we have received no response to these requests. When meetings do take place, we will demand that the necessary steps be taken to halt attacks targeting civilian living areas.”