In an interview with Hakan Türkmen from Özgür Yeni Politika on Wednesday, Xalid Derwîş, the representative of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) in Germany, has called on the country to take a decisive stand against the Turkish government’s military operations.
“We are urgently calling for Germany to help close the airspace over our region to prevent further Turkish military strikes,” Derwîş stated, highlighting the catastrophic impact of these strikes on civilian areas, including power outages affecting over 2 million people and damage to critical healthcare facilities.
Addressing the lack of formal recognition and official aid from European states to the DAANES, Derwîş pointed out alternative means of support through official accounts of their representative offices. He underlined the importance of ongoing rebuilding projects in the region, including schools, hospitals, and civilian settlements.
Derwîş’s outreach extends to various German political parties, NGOs, human rights institutions and the media, aiming to raise awareness and support for the DAANES’s situation. “We are in constant dialogue with German institutions to highlight the situation in North-East Syria,” he explained, stressing the development of projects for the region’s rehabilitation.
The interview also shed light on the challenges of bringing the Turkish government’s actions in North and East Syria to international legal platforms, considering the DAANES’s association with the Syrian Republic and the consequent diplomatic intricacies.
“Our administration is committed to building a multi-ethnic, democratic society, despite the ongoing external threats and internal development hurdles,” Derwîş highlighted, showcasing the DAANES’s dedication to serving its diverse population, including Kurds, Arabs and Assyrians, who are all affected by the Turkish military actions.