Addressing an occasion on human rights on Wednesday organized by his Justice and Development Party (AK Party), President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hailed victory by the folks of Syria in opposition to the Baathist regime of Bashar Assad. He mentioned the door to peace opened with the tip of the “bloody regime.” He famous that Türkiye all the time adhered to its conscience whereas shaping insurance policies to deal with the disaster in Syria. He added that voluntary returns of refugees from Türkiye to Syria would enhance if peace prevails within the neighboring nation.
Erdoğan started his speech with “greetings” to the oppressed Palestinians of Gaza and the folks of Syria liberated from the Assad regime.
“Yesterday was the 76th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is the most referenced declaration but its content is barely implemented. It was a promising declaration when it was proclaimed but it was damaged over time and left non-functioning by states wielding power,” he mentioned. Erdoğan lamented the truth that so-called defenders of human rights and democracy by no means raised their voice “while Israel was stealing lands of Palestinians, our brothers and sisters were being killed in Khojaly (of Azerbaijan) while Iraq and Afghanistan were being invaded and our neighbor Syria witnessed the most brutal oppression in its history, while the declaration was trampled upon.”
On Syria, Erdoğan reiterated Türkiye’s open-door coverage for these fleeing conflicts.
“Türkiye has long been a compassionate and merciful refuge for the oppressed. We have never asked those who came to our doors whether they were Turkish, Arab or Kurdish. We did not inquire whether those seeking help were Muslim, Jewish or Christian. We never questioned the skin color of those seeking shelter, whether white or Black. Without regard for identity or faith, we opened not only the doors of our country but also the gates of our hearts to those in need. From the suffering in Gaza to the crisis in Syria, we have never abandoned our brothers and sisters,” he mentioned.
“As a nation, we have excelled in the test of humanity, especially in dealing with the crisis in our neighboring Syria. From the very beginning, our stance has been clear. Our words and actions have always been transparent. Türkiye has approached the Syrian crisis with a focus on conscience and humanity. As neighbors, we have strived to fulfill our obligations during difficult times. We welcomed Syrian refugees with the spirit of ansar, embracing them in the best possible way. We said, ‘We are ansar,’ and with that, we felt a responsibility to do whatever was necessary for those seeking refuge,” he mentioned. He was utilizing an Arabic time period for the folks of Medina who hosted Prophet Muhammad and his followers when he was compelled to depart Mecca to flee persecution for his religion.
In one of many largest turning factors for the Middle East in generations, anti-regime forces seized the Syrian capital, Damascus, and Assad fled to Russia following 13 years of civil battle and greater than 50 years of his household’s brutal rule. Türkiye, which mentioned it gave no help and had no involvement within the offensive led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), mentioned it needed the brand new Syrian administration to be inclusive and for Syrians to find out their very own future.
The battle in its southern neighbor straight affected Türkiye which at one level hosted the biggest Syrian refugee neighborhood on the earth and located itself dealing with the specter of a brand new terrorist group within the type of the PKK/YPG. In his latter days as head of the regime, Türkiye additionally reached out to Bashar Assad, looking for to normalize relations it severed when the battle erupted greater than a decade in the past. Türkiye sought a political settlement to the battle, to no avail.
President Erdoğan highlighted the drama that unfolded at Sednaya Prison of Syria the place folks imprisoned and tortured by the Assad regime have been rescued by anti-regime forces after the autumn of the regime. “Looking at centers of torture and death like Sednaya Prison, it is now clearer than ever what a disaster was narrowly avoided. The fall of the bloody Baathist regime has opened pathways to peace and security in Syria. As stability grows, the number of voluntary returns will also increase,” he mentioned.
Sednaya turned a logo of the Assad regime’s oppressive regime as former inmates’ accounts expose. It is nicknamed the “slaughterhouse” for the mass torture and killing of dissidents of Assad whereas others have been compelled to stay in extraordinarily harsh situations.
Civil protection staff from the White Helmets estimate that 20,000 to 50,000 prisoners have been rescued from the constructing complicated north of the capital Damascus in simply someday. Up to 150,000 might have been imprisoned there – many are nonetheless lacking. With the liberation, new particulars have come to mild concerning the situations in Sednaya, the place, in keeping with estimates by the White Helmets, 50 to 100 folks have been in all probability executed on daily basis after which burned in ovens. The news channel Al Jazeera aired footage of a person who can’t bear in mind his personal title after allegedly being tortured to the acute. Others who have been imprisoned through the reign of Assad’s father Hafez are actually studying that he died in 2000 and that his son Bashar, who has now been deposed, took energy.
The strategies utilized by military and safety officers will need to have been so brutal that the lawyer and former U.N. chief prosecutor David Crane, who seen torture photographs of the Syrian defector “Caesar,” in contrast them to Nazi rule. In 2014 he spoke of “industrial-scale killings.” According to Amnesty International, Sednaya had a room with 30 nooses for hanging prisoners, and in keeping with the U.S. authorities, a crematorium subsequent to the principle constructing for burning our bodies. White Helmets chief Raid al-Saleh additionally says he and his workforce found our bodies in ovens. Prisoners will need to have died numerous extra deaths earlier than they ultimately died within the complicated. Survivors and former guards advised Amnesty International a couple of human press often called the “flying carpet” and the “tire” technique, wherein victims have been compelled right into a automotive tire with their heads between their knees after which crushed.
Source: www.dailysabah.com