More than a million people, including intellectuals and politicians, participated in the hashtag campaign initiated by the Kurdistan Social Media Council for the international recognition of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
Kurdiyar Direi, Co-chair of the Al-Jazira Region Intellectuals Union, commented that the Rojava revolution offered hope for the peoples of the Middle East and called for recognition of the AANES. Speaking to ANHA, Direi indicated that the declaration of the Autonomous Administration was a response to the fascist and reactionary states in the region, saying,”Colonialist states want to occupy still more land during the crisis, but the declaration of AANES has stifled their enthusiasm.”
He stated that the Autonomous Administration was the only force that had defended the revolutionary stance that emerged in Daraa following the Syrian crisis and added, “The so-called ‘opposition’ that emerged in 2011 declared Alawis, Sunnis, Kurds and all Arabic people their enemies. Calls for coexistence in Daraa before the Rojava revolution in 2011 were only put into practice in the AANES. The model has also inspired the Druze people, who are trying to build a similar model.”
Direi noted that the Autonomous Administration has built a democratic system differing from the nation-state model : ”They have not established a [centralised] state system, and they have not built a fascist system. They have not set up a ‘one flag, one state, one nation’ system like the one established by Turkey”, adding that the AANES model enabled political representation for all peoples.
He pointed out that the leading powers were afraid of the construction of democratic systems in the Middle East:
“Turkey continues to target the Autonomous Administration with the support of NATO. At NATO meetings it tries to prevent North and East Syria from gaining political status. Recognition of status will also mean a solution to the Syrian crisis which has been going on for years. But the authoritarian powers, in particular Turkey, are trying to deepen the crisis instead of supporting a solution,” he said.
He stated that all the peoples living in North and East Syria, and in particular the Kurds, had united around the People’s Defence Units (YPG), the Women’s Defence Units (YPJ) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in order to defeat ISIS. ”The whole world owes the victory over ISIS to the Autonomous Administration,” he added.
Direi indicated that international ruling powers, continuing to use Syria’s national integrity as a pretext, had taken no steps towards recognition of the AANES, and continued, “I believe that the Autonomous Administration gives hope to everyone and will eventually be recognized.”
Direi pointed out that the Rojava revolution was a women’s revolution which had attracted a lot of attention throughout the world: “The spirit of resistance that sprouted in the freedom movement in 1984 marked the beginning of a new era in the Middle East. The struggles of Kurdish women in the Rojava revolution have come to the attention of the world. We have lost thousands of martyrs everywhere. Our people need to stand up for this system. Intellectuals and writers in particular need to work for recognition of the status of North and East Syria. More efforts need to be made to increase the pressure on the leading powers in the United Nations and the world.”
