Persecution of the Kurdish minority

Turkey is using water as a weapon of war against the Kurdish people and other minority groups in Northern Syria – as criticized by the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP): “Around 1.5 million people in the north-eastern part of Syria are cut off from the water supply. The multi-ethnic and multi-religious city of Hasakah is especially affected. Turkey has been keeping the waterworks of Alok in Ras Al-Ain occupied since 2019 – once the main source of drinking water in the region,” stated Dr. Kamal Sido, the STP’s Middle East Consultant, in Göttingen today. “The autonomous self-administration is trying to bring water to the people with water tankers, which is very difficult and expensive: Due to the ongoing attacks on oil fields and refineries, there is a shortage of petrol and diesel. The transport routes through Turkey are under attack as well. Thus, water has become extremely expensive.” In the case of a prolonged drought and heat wave, these water deliveries are not even sufficient for three days per person. The Autonomous Administration in Northern and Eastern Syria (AANES) is warning of a serious humanitarian catastrophe if Turkey is not willing to change its policy immediately.

Meanwhile, according to Sido, the NATO governments have apparently given in to Turkey’s blackmail policy in order to facilitate Sweden’s admission to the alliance. “So far, Sweden was known as a safe harbor for Kurdish and Turkish members of the opposition who were forced to flee to Scandinavia because they were persecuted by the Turkish state. Now, they have to fear that Sweden will throw its rule-of-law principles overboard.” The planned annual security consultations will bring members of the opposition within the reach of the Turkish security services. Other NATO states will also provide Turkey with more support for its attempts to crush the Kurdish freedom movement.   

“These days, Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock has many kind words for Erdogan and his government. Instead, she should start a diplomatic initiative to get Turkey to abandon its inhumane water policy. The use of water as a weapon of war is internationally shunned – and prohibited under international law, for good reasons.