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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-10-16 Daily Xml
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Motions

Kurds in Syria

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (17:38): I move:

That this council—

1. Condemns the military operation Peace Spring launched on 9 October 2019 by the President of Turkey, President Erdogan, and the Turkish military against the Kurdish people and calls on them to immediately cease their invasion and all military operations in Syria targeting the Kurdish population;

2. Notes the sacrifice of the Kurdish people in assisting Australia and its allies to defeat ISIS and calls on the international community to immediately send humanitarian assistance to the Kurdish population targeted by the Turkish military and their allies; and

3. Expresses its deepest sympathies to the South Australian Kurdish community on the senseless loss of innocent lives at the hands of the Turkish military.

The Kurdish forces in Syria have been instrumental in the global fight against ISIS and have fought long and hard alongside our coalition troops. After years of fighting against jihadi extremism, the Kurdish people played a crucial role in creating the now democratic Syrian northern state. Together they established a more just society, where women are considered equal and religious freedom is tolerated. However, Western allies removing support in the region is counterproductive to the long-term fight against ISIS.

Kurdish Syria is a small portion of a territory known as Kurdistan in the northern part of Syria. In 2012, Kurdish-led forces took possession of this territory in northern and eastern Syria, and the SDF—a coalition of Kurdish and Arab soldiers backed by US, British and French special forces—defended the territory by defeating ISIS and liberating eastern Syria in March.

But the battle came at a huge cost. To date, the SDF has reported that 11,000 fighters died in the battle and 20,000 military members and civilians were severely injured. In January, President Trump announced plans to remove troops from Syria, but on 6 October he confirmed the US would begin withdrawing its troops from the Kurdish territory in northern Syria. This was followed by a White House statement, which noted:

The United States Armed Forces will not support or be involved in the operation, and United States forces, having defeated the ISIS territorial 'Caliphate,' will no longer be in the immediate area.

Just three days later, on 9 October, the Turkish military began its assault with artillery and air strikes. After years of fighting against the Islamic state, the Kurds are now exposed to attacks from Turkish forces, who are expected to move further into northern Syria in the wake of the US withdrawal.

The Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, has moved Syrian troops towards the northern parts of Syria and will confront the Turkish soldiers and their rebel allies to defend their democratic state. The Turkish President, Recep Erdogan, has stated his goal for the attacks is to create a buffer zone separating Syria's Kurds from the Turkish border. The Turkish President's goal seems to be pushing for a demographic change to remove the population along the border.

It is not too far a stretch to interpret this regime's actions as appearing to be an attempt at ethnic cleansing or a type of genocide, which should be absolutely condemned. It is not too dissimilar to previous Turkish actions with other ethnic groups, namely the Greeks and the Armenians, to mention a couple. In an article recently published by The Sydney Morning Herald, Eziz Bawermend, the President of the Australian Kurdish Lobby Group, reports:

The Kurdish people of that region engaged in this war against ISIS not just to protect themselves but also, we believe, to protect the whole civilised world from ISIS's evil.

It is important that we recognise how the Kurdish people stood in solidarity to fight for democracy, rights and freedoms. However, this is now under threat. The democratic system introduced into northern Syria is clearly now threatened by the surrounding countries and is no longer a role model in the region, because most of the countries are led by either dictators, military government or monarchy.

Over the weekend, two passionate women of Kurdish heritage spoke out and put a real face on this issue. Their speeches highlighted our responsibilities as a country to support our allies, as well as reminding us of the importance of protecting democratic processes. I thank them for their courage to stand up and speak out on this issue. We can learn from them both.

Although we cannot do anything in respect of our allies' actions to remove protection in the northern Syria area, we must participate in assisting the Kurdish and Syrian people with aid and humanitarian assistance. It is of the upmost importance that we implore Turkey to cease its Peace Spring operation and continue to endorse and encourage the development of democratic systems.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. T.J. Stephens.

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