AMED - Pointed out that the right to life of civilians is violated in the attacks around Tishreen Dam, "The attacks must be stopped immediately," says Baver Mızrak, one of the executives of Amed Bar Association.
The attacks of Turkey and the Syrian National Army (SNA) against the area around the Tishreen Dam in North and East Syria have been continuing since 8 December. Many people, including journalists, politicians, artists and children, have lost their lives in the attacks carried out by Turkey's drones. After journalists Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin, theatre actor Bavê Teyar was also killed in the attacks. According to SOHR, 40 civilians have been killed and dozens injured in the attacks so far.
Baver Mızrak, member of the Executive Board of the Amed (Diyarbakır) Bar Association, evaluated the targeting of civilians in the attacks against North and East Syria. Stating that targeting civilian settlements, underground and surface resources, water and energy resources is a crime against humanity, Mızrak said, "These are considered as war crimes. When we look at the social and visual media, there are attacks on convoys that are obviously civilian."
Reminding the targeting of journalists Cihan Bilgin and Nazım Daştan, Mızrak said that both the right to life and the right to mourning and burial of journalists were violated. Noting that the funerals were not even allowed to be brought to Turkey, "In this context, the right of the families to say goodbye to them was also prevented. This is another example of the violation of the law in terms of international law," Mızrak said.
Stating that there is a risk of collapse of the Tishreen Dam due to the attacks, Mızrak said, "It is one of the largest dams in Syria and a dam that meets the water and energy supply of a large region. Any damage or destruction that may occur here may lead to major disasters. It may cause many villages to be flooded. Therefore, there is a situation that directly affects civilians."
'ATTACKS MUST BE STOPPED'
Mızrak said, "This conflict situation also prevents the relative stability in Syria. The continuation of this situation may lead to the strengthening of organizations such as ISIS. It also creates a situation that may result in the migration of tens of thousands of people. It also prevents people who have the idea of travelling from Turkey to Syria. Therefore, these attacks will lead to the resumption of the process that has been going on since 2011, causing millions of victims, tens of thousands of deaths and the destruction of historical and cultural heritage. This will lead to the emergence of major crises and humanitarian dramas at many points. Therefore, the attacks in Rojava, especially around the Tishreen Dam, must be stopped as soon as possible."
Stating that the attacks in North and East Syria are directly linked to the unresolved Kurdish issue in Turkey, Mızrak said, "The attacks in Rojava are based on the unresolved Kurdish question in Turkey. It is a process that has been going on for a hundred years and has emerged after the Kurdish people were deprived of their right to determine their own status wherever they are and prevented from freely expressing their own identity."