The Security Council of Turkey has accused the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) of trying to “break away from Syria”, ahead of the upcoming elections.
This is not the first attempt by the Turkish state and its supporters to influence the upcoming elections. Last week, well-known pro-government columnist Abdulkadir Selvi opposed the plans for elections in North and East Syria, on the grounds that they were ‘against Turkey’s national interests’. He suggested that the state should use “all necessary measures” to intervene in the elections.
The AANES Executive Council replied, in a statement, that the Turkish state was distorting the facts. They wrote:
“Since the beginning of its establishment, the Autonomous Administration was the first supplier of Syrian unity and has worked and is still working to solve the Syrian conflict. Turkey always tries to destroy the unity of Syria and occupy its land.”
“They occupied Cerablus, Ezaz, Efrîn, Sêrêkaniyê and Girê Spî, they are carrying out genocide and Turkification policies in those regions, they are trying to divide Syria with their policies,” the statement continued.
“The statement of the Turkish security council reveals the Turkish state’s intention to continue its occupation policies and destroy stability in Syria,” the Executive Council concluded.
The AANES Executive Council added that any problems or issues between the Syrian government and the AANES are an internal Syrian matter and nothing to do with Turkey.
The upcoming elections will see participation by over five thousand candidates. They are taking place according to Law No. 4, the ‘Law of Democratic Municipalities and the Federation of Municipalities’.
The election preparations are underway in the context of continual Turkish aerial attacks. Mazloum Abdi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has called for a de-escalation with Turkey and urged Turkey to end its occupation of Kurdish-majority areas.
