The Syrian Opposition Coalition’s (SOC) al-Jazira and Euphrates Committee held a workshop on Monday on the ongoing depopulation of al-Jazira and Euphrates regions as a result of Iranian intervention and the practices of the PYD terrorist militia.
The workshop brought together SOC’s vice-presidents Abdel Hakim Bashar and Abdulahad Astepho, Secretary of the political committee Abdel Majeed Barakat, who also presented a research paper, coordinator of al-Jazira and Euphrates Committee and member of the political committee Abdel Baset Abdel Latif, and members of the political committee Abdullah Keddo and Bahjat Atassi, coordinator of the Office of Studies Firas Masri, in addition to experts, researchers and media professionals.
The workshop was held under the title “Emptying the Jazira and Euphrates Region of the Population.” Coordinator of the committee, Abdel Basset Abdel Latif, stressed that the Al-Jazira and Euphrates Committee is constantly monitoring the criminal practices of the PYD terrorist militia, as well as the continuous Iranian intervention, which he considered to be aiming and leading to emptying the region of its population.
Abdel Latif added that the committee held this workshop to confront the policies of those militias and thwart their plans in the al-Jazira and Euphrates region, which is a sensitive and central region in the future of Syria.
The workshop included a review of the demographic reality in the eastern Euphrates region before and during the revolution, and the recent exodus of people along with numbers and statistics contained in international reports. Participants also talked about the growing threat of migration and displacement of civilians from al-Jazira and Euphrates regions, and the consequences of that on the political, economic and cultural levels.
Participants also discussed the policies of the PYD terrorist militia in terms of forced recruitment and displacement, and the fear of re-handing over the region to the Assad regime, in addition to the Iranian intervention and recruitment of the people of the region by the Iranian sectarian militias.
Researchers Saad Al-Shari, Samer Al-Ahmad and Samir Aliwi submitted research papers for discussion.
The workshop concluded with a set of recommendations and proposals, as it emphasized the importance of this issue, and the need to include it in all political activities to highlight its danger on the security and stability of the region and the future of Syria.
The recommendations also stressed the need to closely follow this issue and monitor the exodus of people from the region and the policies practiced by the PYD terrorist militia to force the residents to leave their homes.
Participants also stressed the importance of Syrian and international human rights organizations focusing on the issue as a displacement of the population through various direct and indirect means, including compulsory recruitment, manipulation of education, crackdown on freedom of expression and arbitrary arrests.
They also stressed the need to reach out to the local communities in order to encourage the population to remain in the region and resist the policies forcing them out of their lands.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
