Operation Peace Spring: Setting record straight
After this article was authored, Turkey and the United States made a joint statement on Oct. 17 for Turkey to pause its military operation for 120 hours, in return for the withdrawal of PYD/YPG from the secure zone to 32 kilometers south of Turkish-Syria border, within the five day period. The statement also stipulates the handover of all heavy weapons of the PYD/YPG/SDG and the dismantlement of their fortifications. Turkey has promised to halt the operation if the above terms are met. The U.S. has also promised not to impose new sanctions and stop/withdraw the existing ones once the operation is stopped. — ED.
Since the “Operation Peace Spring” was launched by the Turkish Armed Forces on Oct. 9, I have noticed a huge lack of proper information and misunderstanding in the media regarding the operation’s objectives, mostly based on a deliberate misinformation campaign by the Western circles.
That is why I would like to share in this article some of the facts of the matter to set the record straight.
Turkey is currently fighting a number of terrorist organizations that pose serious risk and threat to its national security. Its primary goal has always been to secure its borders and to rid the region from terrorists which have entrenched themselves particularly in the northern part of Syria, benefiting from the conflict and resulting power vacuum in the country.
In this context, Turkey has successfully concluded Operation Euphrates Shield in 2017 and Operation Olive Branch in 2018 and cleared an area over 4,000 square kilometers from DEASH and PYD/YPG terror, allowing more than 360,000 Syrians to return to their homes in this area.
However, the threat of terrorism originating from Syrian territories and targeting our borders has not yet ended. During the last two years, especially from the east of River Euphrates, Turkey has been exposed to over a hundred cases of hostile acts by PYD/YPG, the Syrian offshoot of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) terrorist organization.
Our American interlocutors were also in agreement with this fact, to the degree that some of its high ranking officials, including a secretary of defense, admitted to the fact that PYD/YPG is inseparable from the PKK, which is recognized as a terrorist organization internationally, including the United States.
Whatever the pretext behind their presence in the region, PYD/YPG, under the newly invented and misleading name of “Syrian Democratic Forces” is itself a terrorist organization threatening the security of Turkey and the territorial integrity of Syria. It also does not change the fact that, taking advantage of the conflict in the region, this organization has pursued an insidious agenda of altering the demographics in Syria to increase their influence in the region.
The world should be aware that the PYD/YPG/PKK does not represent the Kurds nor their interests. There has also been growing evidence about PYD/YPG’s human rights violations such as recruiting child soldiers by force, intimidating dissidents, demographic engineering and forced conscription in areas under its control. Local population’s grievances against PYD/YPG’s tyrannical rule has been on constant rise. “Human Rights Watch” says some of their actions amount to crimes against humanity. Furthermore, some 500,000 Syrian Kurds have fled from their homes as a result of the said organization’s rule in the areas it occupied. It has also helped the Assad regime suppress Kurdish anti-regime protests and crush the city of Aleppo, killing thousands of people.
In the face of current threats, it has become an urgent necessity to, once and for all, rid our borders of all elements posing a threat. In this context, the objective of the “Operation Peace Spring” is to ensure Turkey’s border security, neutralize terrorists in the region and thus, save Syrians from the oppression and cruelty of these terrorists.
This operation is not an invasion. It is being carried out on the basis of international law, in accordance with our right to self-defense as outlined in Article 51 of the U.N. Charter and the relevant Security Council resolutions and in full respect of Syria’s territorial integrity and unity. As was the case with Operations Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch, only terrorist elements and their hideouts, shelters, emplacements, weapons, vehicles and equipment are being targeted.
Contrary to what is being falsely fed to the public, it is certainly not a war against the Kurds. No civilians are targeted. As a matter of fact, protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure is a top priority. It is preposterous to suggest that Turkey is in Syria to massacre the Kurds. Turks and Kurds have been living peacefully under one nation and flag for many years and enjoy the same rights and privileges. What is being targeted in the north of Syria are not the Kurds but terrorist elements of PYD/YPG which constitute a threat to Turkey’s national security and civilian population.
In this process, Turkey has no plans whatsoever to modify the demographic structure in the operation area. To the contrary, this counter-terror operation is intended also to facilitate the returns of Syrians who had been displaced due to acts of PYD/YPG amounting to crimes against humanity, including ethnic cleansing.
Another argument that the PKK/PYD/ YPG have been using is that without them the fight against DAESH would fail. It should be stressed that Turkey is the only nation that has directly fought against DAESH and our struggle with this brutal terrorist organisation will be more resolute and effective, now that we have a stronger presence in the region.
On the migration issue, the international public has to be honest and fair. To refresh our memories, let us recall the time when hundreds of thousands of desperate Syrian refugees were seeking refuge in Europe, a continent that takes pride in its high standards of human rights and democracy. However, we all remember the heartbreaking scenes of human tragedy when the West shut its doors in their time of desperation. Now, these countries are making arrogant and unfair judgments about the fate of the migrants.
Let me once again remind that Turkey has been taking care of nearly 4 million migrants for almost 10 years, 3.6 million of them being from Syria. We have received them with open arms because they were our neighbors in distress who deserved to live free of fear and oppression. In the process, Turkey has spent over $40 billion but as a result many lives have been saved and treated with the dignity that they deserve.
Now it is time that some of these displaced people return to their lands. They have suffered enough. To make sure this happens, one of the objectives of the operation is to support the efforts to facilitate safe and voluntary returns of displaced Syrians to their homes of origin or other places of their choice in Syria in line with international law and in coordination with relevant U.N. agencies.
We intend to continue this operation until all terrorists are wiped out of the region, our border security is ensured, and local Syrians are liberated from the tyranny of PYD/YPG as well as the DAESH threat. In our efforts, we expect respect, empathy and support for Turkey’s legitimate security concerns and solidarity from tour allies and the international community. Afterall, establishing peace and prosperity in the region depends on the collaboration of all nations.