Dutch government to work with EU, NATO states to stop Turkish incursion into Syria
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Dutch government accepted two motions from Dutch MPs last week to pressure Turkey not to attack the Syrian Democratic Forces’ (SDF) and its Kurdish element, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), or militarily invade the northeast of the war-torn country.
“The government has received two clear messages from the House of Representatives [Dutch parliament]: to make clear that a Turkish invasion of northern Syria is unacceptable,” Sadet Karabulut, a member of the opposition’s Socialist Party (SP), told Kurdistan 24, and that it must be made clear “in all possible ways.”
“International law must be upheld. If this doesn’t happen, there should be consequences [for Turkey’s behavior],” she added. “The Kurds deserve our gratitude, not an attack. Work should be done for peaceful negotiations, in which Kurds, Yezidis, Christians, Arabs, and Assyrians have a place.”
The first motion proposed by Karabulut, supported by the Green Left party, Labour Party, and Karabulut’s own party, calls on the government to work with other EU or NATO countries to pressure Turkey to stop a military incursion into the north of Syria.
The second motion, proposed by Joel Voordewind, a Dutch MP for the Christian Union party and backed by the People’s Party for Freedom (VVD), the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), also called on the Dutch government to acquire support from France and the UK to address threats by Ankara to mobilize south of its border.
“The motion was accepted by the Minister. The Kurds (SDF) are the most effective ally on the ground against ISIS,” Voordewind tweeted the same day.
Following pressure from the Dutch government, Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, made a statement on Dec. 14 calling on Turkey not to take unilateral actions in Syria that endanger the fight against the Islamic State.
“The Netherlands continues to support this call and will repeat it where possible,” the government said on Jan. 16.
Dutch CDA MP Martijn van Helvert, who supported Voordewind’s motion, tweeted that he had also met with the Turkish ambassador to the Netherlands, ?aban Di?li, on Thursday to express his concerns.