A Turkish decision puts civil society organizations under guardianship and fears among Syrians

The approval of the Turkish Parliament on a decision that gives the Minister of Interior the powers to stop the activities of civil society organizations in the event of suspected support for terrorism has raised concerns among many organizations, including the organizations run by Syrians operating in Turkey and inside Syria, as they restrict their movement and reveal cases of corruption in them.

Yesterday, Thursday, the Turkish Parliament granted the Minister of Interior the power to stop the activities of civil society organizations and to isolate and change members of their boards of directors and place them under guardianship or freeze their assets in the event that they are proven to be financing terrorism.

According to the Law “Preventing the Proliferation of Destructive Weapons and the Financing of Terrorism,” the activities of all associations, whether they are working in the field of human rights or in the field of the media, can be temporarily restricted as a precaution, in the event that an investigation is opened against the executive directors of the association due to a press release or press conference.

All associations and institutions will inform the Ministry of the Interior of the aid and payments made abroad and received from abroad, and an administrative fine will be imposed on those who receive all types of income, collection, expenses and payments in excess of 7 thousand pounds by means other than banks.

Some executive directors consider that the decision is not bad, but rather reduces corruption in organizations and associations working in the humanitarian field, while what applies to organizations operating inside Syria applies to Turkish organizations as they are licensed as a Turkish organization in the first place, and the decision will not limit anyone’s work, but it will regulate a mechanism. collecting money.