?Should the West also accept the cleansing of the Kurds in Rojava

The Western countries have to do something about the crisis and prevent the disaster, otherwise it is about unprecedented betrayal. That’s because there are hundreds of thousands of lives at stake. It is the Kurds, as an ethnic minority, who are on the brink of purging in Rojava.

Should the West also accept the cleansing of the Kurds in Rojava?

The US President Donald Trump withdrew US troops, left the Kurds without protection, and paved the way for a Turkish invasion of Rojava. The weak reactions coming from NATO, the European Union (EU) and the United State (US) did not stop Turkey attacking the Kurds and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on October 9, 2019.

Now, the European countries are a little more direct than before. The European Council President Donald Tusk condemns Turkey’s invasion and asks Turkey to withdraw its troops. Germany’s defense minister has proposed the establishment of a security zone on Syria – Turkey’s border guarded by international forces.

The temporary ceasefire as US´s Vice President Mike Pence and Turkey’s President Racab T. Erdogan agreed will end today. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Erdogan talk on Syria in Sochi today.  Erdogan accepted a ceasefire on the condition that Kurdish troops must retreat 30-32 km from the border and then establish a security zone along the border. The United States wants the Kurds to accept this. If all goes according to the plan, Erdogan will occupy the area and settle Syrian refugees and Islamic jihadists in the area.

Erdogan continued to attack villages and towns in Rojava without being affected by neither the EU nor the US sanctions. That’s because both the US and EU reaction was vague. After all, Erdogan clearly said it only stopped when Kurdish troops were cleared in the area with depths of 30-32 km along the border. Almost all Kurds, Christians and other non-Muslim minorities in the area are very likely to leave the area,
because their lives will be in danger after the occupation.

It is a fact that Turkey is invading another country, creating a security zone in another country, and purging unwanted groups of people. Turkey thus commits crime against humanity and it violates international conventions and human rights. But it seems that it is allowed in the case of a NATO country.

So far, the West has left its allies for ethnic cleansing. If the United States would not be present, the United States should provide some sort of security and protection for the Kurds before leaving them. European countries have also failed the Kurds in not sending protective troops to the area, knowing that President Trump will leave the Kurds at some point. The West has also not shown a willingness to seek a political solution to the Kurdish question in Syria, for the Kurds have never been invited into political negotiations on post-Asad Syria.

The Kurds have defeated ISIS and sacrificed around 11,000 lives in the battle. The Kurds deserved some form of protection and a political solution to their case. The West should have shown leadership and be able to stop Turkey. Effective and destructive sanctions or a humanitarian intervention could stop Turkey.

The Western countries have to do something about the crisis and prevent the disaster, otherwise it is about unprecedented betrayal. That’s because there are hundreds of thousands of lives at stake. It is the Kurds, as an ethnic minority, who are on the brink of purging in Rojava.

Finally President Trump called the ceasefire “an incredible deal” … “the ultimate solution” … and “a great day for civilization”. After the deal, US sanctions are gone, Erdogan is the good guy and now the Kurds must accept the deal. Turkey will at all costs prevent a Kurdish autonomy in Rojava, for Turkey, which has a large Kurdish minority, refuses to recognize the political and cultural rights of the Kurds. Turkey’s invasion therefore aims to prevent this forever. Eradication of the Kurds in Rojava is probably “the ultimate solution” for Turkey. President Trump may now have helped Erdogan for this purpose.

By Shakhawan Shorash
22 October 2019