The Catholic aid organization Caritas is involved in a pro-Turkish assimilation project in Turkey-occupied #Afrin# .
The Barzani Center for Culture and Development was recently opened in Afrin. The event saw a show in the Turkish national colors. The very name of the organization shows a close connection to the South Kurdish Barzani family, which maintains its rule there through a combination of repression and collaboration with the Erdoğan regime. The Barzanis have always tried to expand their corrupt regime into Rojava and northern Syria. It is, therefore, not surprising that the Barzani party, the KDP, supports the Turkish occupation of the Kurdish areas in Northern and eastern Syria. The center was set up primarily with the support of the Barzani Foundation. Their cooperation partner, the aid organization Caritas, which belongs to the Roman Catholic Church, is quite disturbing. Caritas works closely with the Barzani Foundation both in occupied Afrin and in South Kurdistan and is not very interested in the fact that Afrin was occupied in violation of international law and that its cooperation partners maintain close ties to the occupation regime.
The Kurdish inscription on the plaque clearly shows that this institution serves Turkish assimilation. The cultural center was decorated with balloons in Turkey's national colors, white and red, while the Kurdish national colors, green, yellow and red, were nowhere to be seen. Children dressed in Turkey's national colors to celebrate the opening.
Before the Turkish invasion, the population of Afrin consisted of well over 90 percent Kurds. According to various sources, this percentage has dropped to 15-22 percent due to the occupation. The 300,000 internally displaced persons from Afrin confirm these numbers. At the same time, more than 450,000 people were resettled in Afrin, mainly members of mercenary groups and their families, as well as refugees from other parts of Syria with links with Turkey. The Barzani Foundation and the Barzani party KDP-ENKS play an important role in Turkey's expansionist moves. Since the beginning of the Rojava revolution, the KDP and the ENKS have been trying to destabilize the region through terrorist attacks, support for Islamist mercenaries and smear campaigns against the Autonomous Administration of Rojava and to pave the way for a Turkish occupation. The occupation of Afrin has led to a regime of terror.
Around 9,000 people have been abducted in recent years, and around a third of them are still missing. These atrocious acts were committed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an al-Qaeda affiliate, as well as remnants of ISIS and Turkish right-wing extremists. In the last six months alone, 12 people have been killed by the occupiers and 173 people have been kidnapped.
At the same time, the Kurdish language was banned and Turkish flags and pictures of President Erdoğan were hung everywhere. Turkish ID cards were issued. Place names were Turkishized. For example, Azadî Square was renamed Atatürk Square. In addition, sacred Yazidi sites were looted and destroyed.[1]