War Crimes Committed Against the People of Syria

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Peace Association

Upon the devastating Syrian Civil War, which now left behind 30 months, led to death toll of thousands of people, Peace Association and Lawyers for Justice in Turkey have decided to prepare a comprehensive report to be used as a bill of indictment as well on the grounds of judging the figures and institutions that committed war crimes against Syrian people.

The report, prepared by the aforementioned organizations, is now in circulation in Turkey on the purpose of getting valuable contributions of intellectuals, lawyers, journalists, MPs and various circles taking the part of peace against a military or even a political intervention in Syria.

As the report mentions, although “We know that juridical powers of the countries, which take part in Syrian war and provide those committing crime of aggression with all sorts of support, are not independent” the main goal of the report “is not only to find whomever responsible for dragging a country to unlivable conditions, but also to prevent these criminals from threatening the destiny of humanity anymore as if nothing happened, and to get them pay the penalty of crimes they committed.” Therefore, apart from the political background of the conflicts experienced in Syria, the report also presents a legal structure on the basis of national and international law regulations with the aim of exposing those who committed various crimes against humanity.

In this context, chapters of the report contains ‘Assessment of the Rome Statute in terms of crimes’, ‘Identification of crimes committed in Syria’, ‘Perpetrators and instigators of crimes’, ‘General perpetrators such as the US, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel’, various chapters regarding the particular role of Turkey in Syria, ‘War crimes and crimes committed against humanity’, ‘Evidences of these crimes’, various types of crimes such as massacres, chemical weapons use, bombed historical heritages, sexual abuse and rape, and finally ‘Cases filed in Turkey and their consequences’ such as ‘Sarin gaz case in Adana’ and ‘the case of Reyhanlı’.

The report, presenting concrete evidences on related and above mentioned crimes, concludes that all of the mentioned opposing armed groups in Syria commit war crime and crimes against humanity, that heads of governments and high officials of the countries, backing the mentioned armed groups in Syria, notably Hussein Barrack Obama, Benyamin Netanyahu and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are both instigators and abettors of the crimes committed against humanity.

Thus, according to the Turkish Penal Code Article 306 “Anyone who without authorization recruits soldiers or engages in other hostile activities against a foreign state in a manner which exposes the Turkish State to the risk of war shall be sentenced to imprisonment of from five to twelve years.” particularly Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Interior Muammer Güler, and related high officials of the Turkish state are the party of crimes committed against humanity. The report also concludes that imperialist states should withdraw their supports to such armed criminals, and thus carrying out the judgment of Syrian armed groups in Syria, as a sovereign state, would be a much more realistic and possible option in comparison with a judgment in an international criminal court, which appears impossible in terms of legal impartiality.

Finally, the report calls on Turkish people and all peace-lovers to account for these crimes in order to get rid of these crimes and disgrace, of which our country also became a part, to abolish all the reasons that pave the way for commitment to such crimes and judge the whole of crimes committed until now, and to become such a country that presents Syrian people with not bombs from the borders but with fraternity and peace.