Abdul Hakim Bashar, Vice President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), raised concerns over the PYD militia’s alarming practices of converting schools in eastern Syria into military barracks. He noted that these actions align with the tactics employed by the PKK organization, which is classified on American and European terrorism lists. He stressed that the PKK has historically disregarded the Kurdish community, distorted its awareness and history, and denied its presence in Syria before expanding its influence into Arab regions.
Bashar emphasized that the PYD militia’s actions mirror the methodology of the Assad regime. He underscored the unsettling reality that authoritarian regimes and terrorist organizations often resort to similar actions and tools.
Furthermore, Bashar pointed out that any disruption or obstruction of the educational process in Syrian regions complements the Assad regime’s destructive tactics, which involve targeting schools with artillery shelling and missiles, aiming to regress the country’s progress by decades.
He stressed that halting the educational process poses a significant threat to the future of education and subsequent generations in Syria. He highlighted that such interruptions serve the interests of those seeking to roll back the clock to eras of backwardness, darkness, and ignorance.
A local rights group documented the PYD militia’s takeover of at least 46 schools in the Deir Ezzor countryside, converting them into military barracks since clashes with Arab tribal fighters commenced last August. This seizure has led to the deprivation of approximately 30,000 students from education and the disruption of over 1,000 teachers’ work hours, according to the rights group.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
