No to the Motion on Iraq and Syria!
Peace at Home, Peace in the World!
21 October 2021
Ankara
Motions of war, which began in 2007 with the motion on Iraq, have been renewed each year in Turkey while joint motions for Syria and Iraq have started being tabled since 2014. Parliamentarians now tabled a motion of war on Syria and Iraq once again before the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on 20 October 2021 and this time asked to extend the government’s mandate for another two years.
Under Article 92 of the Constitution, Turkey can act in cases deemed legitimate by international law in order to deploy armed forces in foreign countries. Under such circumstances, Turkey’s constant deployment of its armed forces in Iraq and Syria without a resolution by the UN Security Council is unconstitutional. The government’s statement that there was no legal problem with such motions is void. Not only is there no UN Security Council resolution, but also Iraqi and Syrian governments have no decisions on this matter. The Adana Agreement concluded with Syria on 20 October 1998 and the security protocol made with the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s government on 15 October 1984 valid for four years along with cross-border hot pursuit operations do not grant the government the power to constantly deploy troops. The UN Security Council resolutions referred to in the grounds for the motion are those that allow constant deployment of troops within the framework of the coalition against ISIL/DAESH. Therefore, this unlawful situation will in the future create important legal problems for Turkey.
Turkey’s military campaign into Syria have pursued the following course: The region between Syria’s Jarabulus and Azaz cities were taken under military control through the military campaign named “Operation Euphrates Shield” on 24 August 2016, while this region remains under Turkey’s control although the operation was announced to have ended on 29 March 2017. Another military campaign was initiated into the Syrian city of Afrin through “Operation Olive Branch” on 20 January 2018 and the city center and its surroundings were taken under control, while this area remains under Turkey’s control although the operation was announced to have ended on 24 March 2018.
Turkey’s military presence in Idlib, on the other hand, has thoroughly been maintained through agreements signed with the Russian Federation. Within this scope, the Sochi Agreement was signed with the Russian Federation on 17 September 2018 and there are still numerous military check points in Idlib. Particularly the presence of jihadist armed groups, which can be called radical, in this area pose a serious problem.
Another military campaign, “Operation Peace Spring,” was launched into the area between Serekaniye (Ras al-Ayn) and Gire Spi (Tell Abyad) in Syria’s northeast on 9 October 2019 and Turkey signed two separate memoranda of understanding with the US and Russia, both effective in Syria, because of this campaign while the operation was still ongoing. Basically Turkey came to indirectly recognize the Syrian Democratic Forces through these memoranda. The Ankara Agreement made between Turkey and the US on 17 October 2019 set the geographical borders of the military campaign. Similarly Turkey and the Russian Federation signed a memorandum of understanding on 22 October 2019.
Organizations active in Syria and defined to be within the Syrian armed opposition, which we believe include paramilitary jihadist groups, and called by different names (like the Free Syrian Army, Syrian National Army etc.) were also used within the scope of all military operations conducted in Syria. Particularly necessary preventive measures were not taken against crimes against humanity committed by these organizations and such gross violations have often been cited in both international human rights organizations’ reports and in those of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. It is also known that prisons were built in these areas under Turkey’s control while there are also related allegations of gross human rights violations. Turkey is likely to face serious political, legal, penal and financial consequences about this issue as well.
Turkey’s military hot pursuit operations into northern Iraq, which were initiated with the security protocol of 15 October 1984, have become permanent operations in time. Although Turkey’s grounds for launching these operations was the PKK, recent developments reveal that there are other dimensions to the fact. It is understood that the referendum decision taken by the Iraqi Federal Kurdistan Regional Administration affected these developments. Upon the decision to hold a referendum for independence on 25 September 2017, Turkey closed its Habur border gate on 18 September 2017 and conferred with the Iraqi general staff about a military operation on 23 September 2017. Then the referendum for independence was held on 25 September 2017 and people voted for independence. Upon the referendum results the Iraqi army launched a military operation and took under control about 40% of the region under Federal Kurdistan Regional Administration including Kirkuk, Mosul and some others. Turkey, then, launched new a military incursive in March 2018 and started to establish its dominance in the field. As of May 2020 Turkey started creating a permanent security zone that extended to 5-20 km in some places through military operations called “Claw” beyond the border line and these operations are still in place. Turkey has many military base zones in northern Iraq while it has permanent military bases in some regions in northern Iraq.
Turkey’s grounds for deploying its military force in Iraq and Syria is completely related to the Kurdish issue.
We, as human rights defenders, argue and defend that all problems can be solved based on democracy and commitment to human rights. We would like to reiterate that the most important part of Turkey’s democracy and human rights problem is the Kurdish issue and this issue can only be solved through democratic and peaceful means. The government has on every occasion put forth illegal organizations and particularly the PKK and organizations that it claims to be affiliated with the PKK as its grounds for passing motions to extend its mandate in Iraq and Syria. As is known, armed conflict has been in place in Turkey since 1984. A dialogue between the state and the PKK started in 1993 but no solution could be delivered within the intervening 28 years. The period closest to a solution was the Peace and Resolution Process of 2013-2015, while the closest moment was the Dolmabahçe Declaration of 28 February 2015. Yet, armed conflict broke out again on 24 July 2015 after the political power disowned this declaration and a moderate-sized war is still ongoing.
Similar problems in the world were solved through engaging in conflict resolution processes. Turkey’s bringing the problem to an impasse through passing motions of war instead of solving the Kurdish issue can in no way be accepted. It does not seem possible for Turkey, which became a direct party to the ongoing civil war in Syria, to get out of this swamp it was dragged into. Turkey needs to develop good-neighborly relations with Syrian Kurds, who are the relatives of its own 20-million-strong Kurdish citizens, and must respect their right to self-determination. Turkey needs to maintain good-neighborly relations with Iraqi Kurds as well. Turkey invariably needs to end the armed conflict within the country without delay and initiate a process of dialogue and negotiation with the Kurdish political movement to solve the issue through democratic means.
We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate our call to stop armed conflict and thus to end loss of lives. It should be remembered that 5,773 people were killed while 8,497 people were wounded within the last five years during the ongoing armed conflict inflicted by the Kurdish issue, according to data collected by İHD’s documentation center. These figures do not include people who were killed in armed conflict in Syria and Iraq (excluding 2020) and in cross-border military operations. These figures reveal that a moderate-sized war is being waged.
The government does not need to deploy troops in Syria and Iraq in the ongoing civil war within the scope of its fight against jihadist mob structures that committed crimes against humanity and genocide against the Yazidis. What Turkey needs to do is to ensure its border security against jihadist mobs and not to allow these organizations to use Turkey’s territory. In addition, it must take preventive measures against such mob structures within Turkey through effective investigations and must guarantee the safety of its own citizens. In spite of the motions of war on Syria ratified since 2014, 14 attacks -most of which were bombed attacks- that ISIL/DAESH, one of the jihadist mob structures, carried out in Turkey could not be prevented while 265 people were killed and 1,250 people were wounded in these attacks.
The effects of Iraq and Syria motions on domestic politics need not even be stated. One should also keep in mind the tendency of the political power to keep the opposition by its side in order to extend its very own political life through such motions and military operations since 2015. The high cost of these military operations, launched thanks to these motions, on the economy is also quite clear. During such days hit hard by economic crisis, this issue needs to be kept in mind as well. It seems that the latest bid for motion to extend the government’s mandate for another two years this time shows that a snap election in 2022 is highly likely.
Consequently, human rights defenders defend the right to peace against war. We would like to remind all the UN Human Rights Council’s resolution on the “Promotion of the Right to Peace” adopted on 22 June 2017[1] and state that defending the right to peace is of utmost priority for us. We invite the government of Turkey once again to implement policies of peace instead of policies of war and urge the government to withdraw these motions or the members of the parliament to vote AGAINST the motions.
We say “Peace at home, peace in the world!”
Human Rights Association
[1] https://ihd.org.tr/en/un-on-the-right-to-peace-and-right-of-peoples-to-peace/