SERKAN DEMIREL. BRUSSELS
The Turkish state and its affiliated armed groups continue their attacks on the Autonomous Administration regions of Northern and Eastern Syria. In these air and ground assaults, civilians, including women and infants, are deliberately targeted and killed. Since the beginning of the occupation, war crimes and crimes against humanity have been systematically committed in the occupied regions of Afrin (Efrîn), Girê Spî, and Serêkaniyê.

The crimes perpetrated by the Turkish state in North and East Syria and the occupied territories were examined by the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT), which convened in Brussels, Belgium, on February 5-6. This session, held under the name Rojava Peoples’ Tribunal, included Gabrielle Lefevre, a renowned Belgian journalist and human rights advocate, as part of the panel of judges.

ANF spoke with journalist Gabrielle Lefevre, who has deep knowledge of the Middle East, about the crimes committed by the Turkish state in North and East Syria, the Rojava model, and the international community's silence in the face of these events.

You were part of the panel of judges at the Rojava Peoples’ Tribunal, held in Brussels, Belgium, on February 5-6. What would you say about the importance and purpose of this tribunal?

As long as the international community remains incapable of upholding international law, especially human rights, and given that the situation in Rojava is catastrophic, nearing the level of genocide, a reality that is scarcely known and barely disseminated, the PPT serves as the voice of citizens and oppressed peoples.

This is a tribunal of global citizens who reject the massacres in Rojava and the domination of peoples by a state. It is a court for those who have no other means of defense, for communities that, at the very least, need the solidarity of other peoples and individuals. This is what makes the PPT extraordinarily important.

Having followed the tribunal’s work for decades, I can say that it plays a crucial role in exposing injustices and the extreme oppression inflicted upon peoples.

Crimes amounting to genocide are being committed

You previously made a preliminary statement regarding the tribunal’s decision. Have you finalized the tribunal’s rulings?

We have already announced a preliminary ruling regarding the tribunal’s stance. At the moment, we are working with the other judges to draft the final verdicts, which will be thoroughly substantiated with detailed justifications.

However, our preliminary conclusions were very clear. Every case presented and supported by the prosecutors was backed by solid evidence. It has been unequivocally established that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts nearing the level of genocide are taking place.This situation bears striking parallels to what is happening in Palestine. If this continues unchecked, the completion of this genocide will be inevitable. Therefore, international intervention is imperative; otherwise, we will witness a genocide unfolding helplessly before our eyes.

One of the greatest failures of democracy today is its incapacity to prevent genocides. Yet, we possess all the necessary evidence. I personally verified the evidence presented by the prosecutors through independent sources, and everything was confirmed to be true.

What is even more alarming is that the ruling authorities in Turkey, including the president and ministers, sometimes openly boast on social media about actions that are undeniably criminal, falsely framing them as counterterrorism operations. This claim is entirely misleading. However, their own admissions serve as further proof that these crimes are indeed happening. At this point, we are facing an arrogance of power that believes it can manipulate public perception. They are actively working to shape Turkish public opinion and preemptively counter international criticism.

Reports confirm the crimes

Are you basing your conclusions about war crimes and crimes against humanity solely on the evidence presented by prosecutors and lawyers in the tribunal? Was it difficult for you to reach this decision, or did you consult other sources?

The facts are undeniable, and the evidence is clear. There are numerous reports from major international organizations, including the United Nations (UN), Human Rights Watch (HRW), and Amnesty International. These institutions cannot be bought or manipulated; they have proven their credibility and expertise over decades. In addition to the tribunal’s own investigations, we thoroughly examined reports from these organizations. The findings were entirely consistent with the evidence presented by the prosecutors.

Resistance against occupation

Turkish officials claim they are conducting a fight against terrorism in North and East Syria. This narrative is repeatedly used to justify these crimes. What are your thoughts on this approach?

This is the exact same rhetoric that the Israelis use against Palestinian resistance fighters. Resistance against occupation is labeled as terrorism. What is happening in Syria, and particularly in Rojava, is a struggle against an occupying force. It is not terrorism. During World War II, European resistance fighters who stood against the German occupation were also branded as terrorists by the Nazis. But in reality, they were freedom fighters. In certain situations, resistance, including armed resistance, becomes a necessity.

Turkey is directly responsible

Some human rights organizations, including those you mentioned, suggest in their reports that the crimes committed in the occupied territories are the responsibility of Turkish-backed armed groups rather than the Turkish state itself. Does the fact that these crimes are carried out by such groups absolve Turkey under international law?

These militias, or what we call proxy fighters, are directly protected by Turkey. They are armed, commanded, and answer directly to the Turkish state. In reality, it is the Turkish Minister of Defense who coordinates and organizes these forces. The fact that the occupied regions are administered by Turkey, that everything operates in Turkish, that the official currency is the Turkish lira, and that security, or rather repression, is enforced by militias acting under direct orders from the Turkish government makes the situation unmistakably clear.

Moreover, the high-performance military equipment used (drones, warplanes) belongs to the Turkish army, as evidenced by the prosecution's findings. These militias are not independent actors; they function as extensions of the Turkish military or as remnants of radical militant groups now operating under Turkish command.

Erdoğan draws strength from international silence

As you mentioned, the Turkish state is deliberately targeting civilians and civilian settlements, directly violating international law. Yet, the international community remains largely silent. How do you interpret this silence and impunity toward Turkey?

This is precisely what the PPT aims to highlight: raising awareness. However, the current geopolitical landscape is so complex that even the UN is powerless, and President Erdoğan knows this very well.

Erdoğan, with incredible cunning and recklessness, continues to defy international law while intensifying pressure on Rojava. His goal is to dismantle the democratic, self-governing model in Rojava, which is based on gender equality. This model poses a direct threat to the authoritarian, religiously driven, and conservative Turkey he envisions.

The international community has already demonstrated its complete inability to prevent genocide in Palestine or stop Israeli expansionism from redrawing territorial borders. Lebanon has suffered and continues to suffer, while Syria remains partially occupied by Israel, all of this happening with total impunity.

At the same time, on the other side of Syria, Turkey carries out its attacks in a more covert manner yet follows the same principles, violating the most fundamental and sacred laws of civilization. The Geneva Conventions and international law as a whole are being entirely disregarded. These values are being trampled in the same reckless manner as we see with Israel, which is backed by the United States, and a vision of a world where only the strongest, wealthiest, and most powerful dictate the law while fundamental rights are ignored. This is exactly what is happening almost everywhere. That is why we, as citizens, must remind people by every possible means that it is we, the people, who are the true bearers and defenders of the law.

We must take action

The law derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights does not belong to the powerful. It is simply the law; a recognition of our profound humanity, a set of universal rights from which everyone benefits equally. It is our duty to constantly remind the world of this.

We may seem weak, but in countries where democracy still exists, we hold significant power. In the end, it is we who vote. It is we who hold members of parliament accountable and question them. On the other hand, a delegation from the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal will listen to what has happened and what has been said in the European Parliament. Perhaps they will draw conclusions for the future of Europe’s relations with Turkey.

We hope that parliamentarians will awaken and truly defend the rights of this people. No people, especially the Kurds in Rojava, deserve the persecution they are subjected to today. No people deserve this. No one. Such oppression has never been considered legitimate, neither throughout history nor under any framework of international law. No one has ever justified such an injustice.[1]