Turkey is preparing to organize a referendum in Afrin region and other areas where the population is willing to join or stay within borders in Syrian state
Turkey has continued to strengthen its influence in parts of north and north-west Syria a few years ago, which is revealed to be an attempt to penetrate it in preparation for final annexation in future.
Turkey currently controls the land west of the Euphrates River, bordering its southeastern border, from Jarblous town in the east to Afrin in northwest of the country, through Bab city and Azaz, its suburbs, towns and villages as well as its spread in Idlib region in coordination with Al Sham liberation Organization front classified as a terrorist organization Whose fighters are backbone of the Front.
The Turkish presence in the northern regions of Syria is not confined to the military side, but the Turkish authorities, in cooperation with the Syrian opposition factions, are working to spread the Turkish culture and language as well as to monopolize the major economic projects in the region.
At the beginning of 2017, Turkish troops entered Syrian territory and took control of the regions of Jarblous and Bab. In January 2018, Turkey and armed groups loyal to it launched a new military operation in the region. This time it aimed to control the Kurdish region of Afrin, Throughout years of the Syrian civil war.
The military campaign against Afrin lasted about two months and ended with control of the Turkish army and its pro-Syrian factions in the region. More than 200,000 Kurdish citizens from Afrin and surrounding villages were displaced. They were concentrated in camps in al-Shahba in Aleppo countryside, only tens of kilometers from their homes.
Their place in Afrin was displaced by Duma, al-Ghouta al-Sharqiya, Homs, Hama and other residents of areas that the government had restored from opposition factions loyal to Turkey.
In a report issued on 31 January 2019, the United Nations Independent Human Rights Commission said that more than 50 armed groups are deployed in northern Syria and the inhabitants of these areas, especially Afrin, suffer from ongoing looting by those who are supposed to be in Serving and protecting citizens and the absence of law, discipline, repetition of kidnappings, torture and the spread of gangs, has transformed people’s lives into an unbearable hell.
Citizens say they complained a lot to local police and Turkish authorities, but to no avail.
A comprehensive report prepared by Center for Documentation of Violations in northern Syria reveals arrest of nearly 4,000 citizens from various areas under control of Turkey and the fate of 2 thousand of them is still unknown and the number of deaths in prisons and prisons reached 20 people, died under torture, Total deaths from fighting, inter-factional fighting, unexploded ordnance, kidnappings and raids totaled 804.
The military forces, whether Turkish or Syrian opposition, were still scattered in the cities and houses and schools were turned into residential neighborhoods for security headquarters, detention centers and military bases.
Turkey directly supervises the local councils that manage the areas between Jarblous, Bab , Azaz and Afrin. These areas are administered by the Turkish governor of Gazi Entebbe and Hatay / Iskenderun.
According to a report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in June 2018, Hatay’s governor appointed two Turkish officials to oversee government in Afrin.
The practices of displacement and culture do not stop from changing the names of squares, villages, towns and even streets to Turkey names , removing any symbols of Syria, the spread of Turkish flags and pictures of Erdogan in official circles, schools, public places and streets. The educational curriculum has become Turkish language, mosques and identities, even the car numbers.
All these practices aim to create a new reality, impose the identity, culture, history, heritage and Turkish art and culture in mind and culture of generations, the child in school cannot find only photo of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish science and the Turkish curriculum, even Arabism glorifies Turkey and Ottoman era, Hospitals, street and everywhere.
Ankara seems to be trying to annex Afrin, Tripoli, Al bab and Azaz to its territory gradually and it will eventually organize a referendum that will allow the population to join or stay within the borders of Syrian state after years. Population naturalization, which is what Turkey is now working on gradually …
It seems that current international and regional situation is not appropriate for Ankara to conduct such a referendum, which prevents it from revealing its intentions in these areas at the moment, but is taking advantage of this time to impose a radical change on the structure of communities in those regions and bet on the future on fate of these areas and that the crisis experienced by Syria will continue for many years …
Turkey has many precedents in implementation and planning of this referendum, especially as it was able to impose a new reality by occupying a section of Cyprus island as a fait accompli and rejecting all plans to unify the two islands. The issue of Iskenderun slaying is similar to situation in northern Syria, Soldiers on pretext of Turkish national security.
