(Zaman Al Wasl)- Professor in constitutional law Abdul Hamid al-Awak said the census processed by Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its ally forces in Syria Democratic Council is illegal and illegitimate pointing out the census is done to cover up the forced displacement of Arabs and Kurds north of Syria.
PYD and allied forces in the council had finished on Monday the census process south and east of Qamishli in the first phase of a comprehensive census in areas under their control north of Syria which they want to announce federalism in them under the name Rojava federalism (Western Kurdistan).
Al-Awak, from Hasaka province, clarified that “I do not consider the census legal because the party processing it does not have an official authority. The party has a militia power unacknowledged neither locally nor internationally and the census needs a legitimate authority.”
He pointed out that recognized authorities when they want to do a census for a federalism or other reasons, they have to be monitored by international organizations like UN and others.
Al-Awak added the war did not finish it and there are displace people and how will they deal with the forced displacement issue? They are accused of displacement by neutral international organization reports. There is a forced displacement in all the area for Kurds and Arabs alike. They are doing the census to cover up forced displacement. They are the judge and the foe at the same time.
“This authority does not have the legitimacy nor the legality. It did not come to place to fulfill the population aspiration. It neither came by election even in form to say it is legitimate. To be legal, it has to come from a legitimate authority and since this authority is neither legal nor legitimate and so are they procedures taken by it,” he added.
This phase of census came in conjunction with a curfew in al-Malkiye, Mabda, Rmylan, al-Jawadiye, al-Qahtaniy, Tal Hamis, al-Yarabiye in Hasaka countryside. A lot of families left the area to Turkey and Europe and some young men married abroad and have new families and all will be out of the census, according to Safir al-Shumari, a resident in the area.
Al-Shumari told Zaman al-Wasl, “the neighborhoods and villages’ committees consist of 6 persons 3 from Kumeen (village or neighborhood council subordinate to Kurdish administration) and 3 teachers who took special training and recorded everyone name including travelers and took notes on their absence justifying the act as for their work.”
He pointed out the forms in which data was documented are issued from Rojava Strategic Studies center subordinate to Kurdish self-administration.
It should be noted the organizational body of the founding council of Rojava formed in Rmyalan conference on March 16 2016 launched a project called “I am here” for the census which it announced in coordination with Syria Democratic Council, the political face of US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance.
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