This follows reports of recent attacks on Kurdish cities and settlements by Syrian transitional government forces, including worrying news of human rights violations and possible war crimes. A ceasefire was announced last week, but the situation remains very fragile. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates the number of internally displaced people at 130 000.
“The Kurdish people were on the frontline against IS and helped protect Europe,” said Ciarán Cuffe, Co-Chair of the European Green Party. “Europe has a role to play to prevent more violence by Syrian forces against the Kurdish people. Political dialogue and restraint are essential to prevent further destabilisation. The solution lies in peaceful negotiations.”
Earlier this month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was in Damascus to announce a 620 million euro grant to the Syrian transitional government over the next two years. This is happening while the government continues to threaten ethnic pluralism in Syria. More than 1700 Alawites and over a hundred Druze were massacred by government-affiliated forces last year.
“Ursula von der Leyen must freeze the 620 million euro grant to Ahmed Al-Sharaa's government until the attacks on the Kurds and the siege of the city of Kobane is lifted,” said Vula Tsetsi, Co-Chair of the European Green Party: ‘The European institutions must warn the Syrian regime that war crimes such as the brutalities targeting Kurdish women are totally unacceptable, and that the rights of women and all religious and ethnic groups requires constitutional protection to guarantee a peaceful future for Syria. Following the knife attack that injured six people in a peaceful Kurdish protest in Antwerp, Belgium, we call upon the EU member states to secure protests and to guarantee the safety of the Kurdish community.’
Background
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces played a decisive role in the fight against the so-called Islamic State (IS), paying a high human price while contributing directly to security in the region as well as in Europe. They are now being abandoned by international powers, paving the way for further attacks by Syria's transitional government in collusion with Islamist militias. Moreover, hundreds of former IS fighters are reported to have escaped from prisons as a result of these attacks.
