Spokesperson for Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria calls on citizens to rely on local production in face of external pressures on economy

NORTH AND EAST SYRIA — In an interview with Hawar News Agency, the spokesman for the Democratic Autonomous Administration (DAA) of North and East Syria, Luqman Ahmi, commented on the current situation of the continuously beleaguered region, saying: “Since its establishment, the DAA has been subjected to military and economic pressures in order to undermine its democratic project to achieve the aspirations of the people of North and East Syria.”

Commenting on the sanctions and measures imposed by external parties, Luqman Ahmi urged the need for self-reliance, i.e., to boost the local production on agricultural lands and the utilization of existing industrial activities to reduce the impact of external economic measures. Ahmi points out that the DAA has its grassroots in society and the autonomous region therefore fully embraces all levels and colors of society. “The basis principles of the DAA are the will, demands and the needs of all the components.“

This is the reason that “all authoritarian regimes, whether it be the Syrian regime or neighboring regimes, are fighting the democratic project of the Democratic Autonomous Administration, because it is diametrically opposed to their authoritarian mentality,” the DAA spokesman told Hawar News Agency. In order to increase pressure on the DAA and make it difficult for the Administration to secure the most basic supplies for its citizens, the Semalka border crossing has been repeatedly closed by the Kurdistan Democratic Party in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

The regions of North and East Syria have also suffered from reduced water supply due to illegal actions of Turkey and its proxy forces, some of which espouse radical Islamist ideologies, in Syria. “This siege was preceded by the water crisis, which consisted of the cutting off the Euphrates River’s water to Syrian territory by Turkey,” Ahmi elaborated. In the past year, the DAA has had to make significant investments in water infrastructure to alleviate water supply insecurity created by Turkey’s illegal actions.

DAA spokesman Luqman Ahmi declared that military forces and authoritarian powers such as the Syrian Ba’ath regime, Turkish-backed mercenaries, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and even global powers such as Russia are trying to pressure the DAA into political and territorial concessions which go against the democratic foundations of the Administration.