Éirígí For a New Republic condemns in the strongest terms the Turkish invasion of the Kurdish region of northern Syria. This attack on Syrian national sovereignty must be opposed by the international community as the act of a rogue state. Turkey has no right to attack, occupy or interfere in the internal affairs of Syria or any other country.
We take this opportunity to restate our support for the Kurdish right to self-determination. As a people they have suffered repeated betrayals by the Western powers and persecution by the governments of the four modern states that Kurdistan straddles. There can be no lasting peace in the region without a recognition of the rights of the Kurdish people and compromise on the parts of the Turkish, Iraqi, Iranian and Syrian states.
Five years ago, when the city of Kobane was besieged by ISIS / Daesh, it was Kurdish fighters from the YPG and YPJ that broke the siege and forced Daesh into retreat. This at a time when the national armies of both Syria and Irag were in retreat. From that day to this the Kurds have led the fight on the ground to crush Daesh.
The Kurds rolled back the terror of religious fundamentalism and replaced it with a free, democratic and egalitarian society. The victory over Daesh came at a high cost with over 11,000 Kurdish fighters, men and women, making the ultimate sacrifice in a grueling half decade of war.
Turkish-backed militia fighting alongside regular Turkish military units to take the Kurdish town of Ras al-Ain in Syria.
Once again Kobane is under attack, this time from Turkey, the second largest army in NATO . The militia’s that are fighting alongside units of the regular Turkish army are notorious for their sectarianism, religious fundamentalism and brutality, a fact that is being borne out by the videos of their atrocities that are already appearing on social media.
There is every possibility that Turkey’s actions will lead directly to a resurgence of Daesh and other similar fundamentalist forces. This outcome may, in fact, be an objective of the Turkish military operation.
In a rapidly evolving situation Éirígí welcomes the apparent cooperation between Kurdish forces and the Syrian state’s army to repel the Turkish invasion. It must be hoped that this cooperation marks the beginning of a detente that will lead to a just settlement that will enjoy the support of both the Kurds and the Syrian national government.