Turkey and the Syrian National Army (SNA), a paramilitary group affiliated with Turkey, continue their attacks on North and East Syria. In these attacks, 52 civilians, including women and children, were killed and 28 civilians were wounded. Representatives of political parties and organisations stated that the attacks on North and East Syria target Kurdish gains and called for a halt.

 

GAINS ARE TARGETED

 

Stating that the gains of the Kurdish people are targeted with the attacks against the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Amed Provincial Organisation Co-Chair Sultan Yaray said: "The Kurdish people have created a new system in Rojava. All identities there can easily express themselves. This achievement was realised under the leadership of the Kurdish people and Kurdish women. A communal, equal life was created under the leadership of the Kurds. The target of these attacks are the gains that the Kurdish people have gained through great struggles. We condemn these attacks."

 

Stressed that even though the attacks are being carried out by paramilitary groups, states are behind them Sultan Yaray said: "The images circulating in the virtual media are an indication of how human rights are trampled on. A crime against humanity is being committed in Rojava. Therefore, I condemn these attacks and call on Turkey and other states: Give up your enmity against the Kurds. States and governments that have been hostile to the Kurds are doomed to disappear."

 

'AN EXAMPLE FOR THE MIDDLE EAST'

 

Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Amed Provincial Organisation Co-Chair Abbas Şahin reminded that the Kurdish people in the Middle East, divided into 4 parts, have been subjected to massacres, oppression and persecution for years. Pointing out that the Kurdish people living in Syria were subjected to the oppression of the Baath regime for years, Şahin said: "For decades, the Baath regime prevented the Kurdish people from living with their own identity and did not even give them an identity. There was deep suffering and massacres were committed.  Against these oppressions, the Kurdish people have implemented a paradigm in Rojava that will set an example for the Middle East."

 

Reminding that the democratic system built in North and East Syria was also seen by the peoples of the world, Şahin said: "A fascist regime, a dictatorship was destroyed in Syria. The regime that should replace this dictatorship should be a democratic regime. A democratic Syria needs to be established and within democratic Syria, the peoples need to exist with their own identities and be determinant in the system." 

 

'THE UNITY OF OPPRESSED PEOPLES CAN STOP THE WAR'

 

Association for Assistance and Solidarity with Those Who Lost Their Relatives in the Cradle of Civilisations (MEBYA-DER) co-chair Mehmet Emin Kılıç emphasised that the aim of the attacks was against the new life created by the Kurds. Noting that the gains of Kurds and the peoples of the region were targeted. "In 2017-2018, they organised attacks on Afrin, which was in peace, and plundered it, disrupted its demography and disrupted its historical structure. They even disrupted the education system because education is currently provided in Turkish and Arabic. Kurdish was removed from the language of education. There is no explanation for this. I mean, what is the reason why the education system in Afrin, where Kurds and Arabs live, is Turkish? What is Turkish doing there?" he asked.

 

"Peoples living in peace is the fearful dream of the capitalist system," Kılıç said and added: "Today, the fall of the Syrian regime has clearly shown that the idea of a democratic nation is the only way. The democratic nation is a panacea for the Middle East. That is why they are afraid because self-government and the spread of the democratic nation will leave no space for capitalism. That is why they attack Rojava and its gains. The unity of oppressed peoples can stop this war. Only the united struggle of all peoples, especially the Kurds, can stop this war."