Cypriot MEP accuses Turkey of ‘purge’ of Syria’s Kurds, Christians

Cypriot member of the European Parliament Loucas Fourlas on Tuesday accused the Turkish government of partaking in a “purge” of Kurds and Christians in Syria.

“A purge is taking place in the region with Damascus and Ankara as the protagonists. In this tragic reality, therefore, Turkey bears a heavy responsibility. Let those who truly believe that Turkey can be a reliable, strategic partner for Europe listen carefully to this,” he said at the day’s plenary session in Strasbourg.

He said that if the European Union and Turkey strengthen their ties, “we will put a snake in our house and it will eat us”.

“The European Union must demand real protection for national and religious minorities. Our silence today will be complicity tomorrow,” he said.

Earlier in his speech, he had spoken of how there are “women, children, families who live under the terror of violence again, without electricity, without water.

“The Kurds of the region were the ones who stood on the frontline against Isis. They fought the jihadists, sacrificed themselves, protected not only their land, but international security, too,” he said.

He then said that Syria’s Christian communities are “threatened with extinction today”.

“The forces which fought Isis cannot be abandoned by us today,” he said.

His comments come after Syrian government forces in recent weeks made sweeping advances into territories of the country’s northeast which had previously been held by a Kurdish-led militia, reaching the city of Qamishli, which sits immediately south of the Turkish border, last week.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that his country has “shown an exceptionally high level of sensitivity regarding Kurds in Syria” during an appearance on CNN Turk, and said his government has advocated for Kurdish rights during dialogue with the Syrian government.

“We have talked a lot about the situation of Kurds … They don’t feel a sense of belonging. This feeling of not belonging will bring many problems. This is not an acceptable situation. We have worked on this,” he said.