The deployment of Patriot missiles to the Turkish-Syrian border will not help!

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) criticizes the planned deployment of Patriot missiles to the Turkish-Syrian border sharply: "Any help for Turkey must be seen as support for a country that would rather continue a war than to undergo attempts for de-escalation or mediation," said the STP’s Secretary General, Tilman Zülch, in Göttingen on Tuesday. He also called on Germany to try to settle the conflict by peaceful means only. "The Turkish government provides financial support for Islamist fighters in Syria and also supplies food and weapons. In turn, the Islamists can use the Turkish territory as a safe haven – and when they seep into Syrian cities, they provoke devastating attacks by Assad's troops."

Just recently, the Turkish defense minister Ismet Yilmaz announced that regional commanders were now allowed to respond to border violations by military measures without asking the government in Ankara for permission. Eyewitnesses had reported to the STP by phone that the small town of Ras Al Ain – which is predominantly inhabited by Kurdish people – was taken under heavy fire from Turkish artillery units on Monday. Previously, on November 8, several hundred jihadist rebels had invaded the city starting from Turkey – and the Syrian Air Force had also responded to this with an indiscriminate bombing of the city. Meanwhile, thousands of people are on the run from the attacks of the army and from the Islamist terror.

Back in September 2011, the STP had already warned not to leave the "Syrian affair" to Turkey, especially because of the situation of the minorities in Syria. In the region, Turkey is mostly seen as an "Islamic-Sunnite protecting power". A resolution by the STP had stated that the German Federal Government, the EU-governments and the USA should not accept any deals with Turkey or the Syrian-Arabic opposition, for they might try to obstruct the constitution of democratic rights for Syria and especially for the Kurds.

The civilian population in Syria suffers worse from day to day. Especially the Kurds, the Christians and other minorities see no more future in the ravaged country. More than 400,000 Syrians have already fled from the escalating violence. Any town that is invaded by the "Free Syrian Army" will be taken under fire by the regime’s troops. Both sides are accused of human rights violations and the armed opposition has been infiltrated by Islamist fighters from abroad. According to the STP, only the establishment of a federal government system in combination with cultural and religious autonomy could prevent the Islamist opposition from persecuting the minorities after the overthrow of Dictator Assad.