On July 28, the US Treasury department announced that it had added the Syrian opposition insurgents "Free People of the East" under control by Turkey as a subject of sanctions. (Photo quoted from Yahoo image)
The "Free People of the East" are an outlaw group who were once exiled from Afrin under Turkish occupation because of their bad behavior. In October 2019, when Turkey began invading the eastern bank of the Euphrates, the cars of female lawmakers belonging to an emerging political party called the "Syrian Future Party" were captured by members of this armed group. The dismissed lawmaker was murdered on the spot in the name of "execution."
The United Nations also demanded an investigation into such barbarism along with violence against civilians. At that time, the honeymoon of Presidents Trump and Erdogan was at its peak, and the United States virtually waited and saw the case. US President Joe Biden, who emphasizes human rights, is mercilessly dressed as a "human rights oppressor" to the Assad regime and to the dissidents supported by Turkey.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is centered on Kurdish forces that are hostile to the Turkish affiliates, evaluated the US decision as the first step and called for further human rights violations. The Turkish state news agency reported that the Assad administration officials were added to the sanctions, but also the "Free People of the East" were added innocently.
Since the Biden administration took office, the United States has given a strong message to Turkey, such as abandoning the refrain from the Erdogan administration at the end of the Trump administration, recognizing the Armenian genocide, and adding it to the list of countries using child soldiers. This time, it is not a measure for the Turkish state itself, but it clearly restrains Turkey's activities in Syria.
Last month, a Democratic Party’s member of the US House sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling for restrictions on drone exports to Turkey. The lawmaker argued that Turkey's use of drones would bring destabilization to all parts of the globe, including the Caucasus and the Mediterranean.
On the other hand, Canada has no stakes with Turkey, so in April it announced measures to suspend some military technology exports to Turkey. The reason is that the technology of a Canadian company was used for the target acquisition system of Turkish drones in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict last year.
Meanwhile, the United States has shown no sign of trying to stop Turkey from taking over the hostile Kurdish forces in Syria. The graduation ceremony of the SDF military school was held on August 2, and officials from the US military-centered coalition of Islamic states also attended. Not only the US and China, but also the US and Turkey are quietly decoupling.
Roni Namo
Ethnic writer based in Tokyo. Since he encountered the Kurdish problem while attending college, he has continued to cover and analyze political movements of ethnic minorities, mainly Kurds.
He was taught Kurdish (Kurdish) by Kurds and is probably the only Japanese who can use Kurdish. He has completed the translation of a Japanese novel into Kurdish (unpublished). Currently focusing on learning Arabic, Persian and Turkish. .
