Various Kurdish politicians and groups working against ISIS as well as various people from Rojava, including Mazlum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) who was connected online, attended the workshop entitled ‘The Struggle against ISIS and the Fate of the Imprisoned ISIS Members’. Iraqi politicians also participated in the discussion of the fıght agaınst ISIS. The aim of the workshop was to develop a new strategy against ISIS. Among other things, a number of films were shown, including one of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) guerrilla resistance in Sinjar.
“If the ISIS attack on Haseke (Al-Hasakah) had succeeded, not only the Kurds but the whole world would have been in danger”, said Bekir Şêx Salim, a member of the Rojava Aid Group in the conference.
During the workshop, panels were held on the increasing mobility of ISIS mercenaries, effective fighting strategies against ISIS, the importance of Kurdish national unity in the fight against ISIS, and also the fate of imprisoned ISIS members.
One statement of those attending the conference was: “The fight against ISIS is not only the fight of the Kurds. It is an international fight. They have lost over 10,000 fighters in this war, but after defeating most of ISIS, they were left alone with the responsibility of the prisoners.”
Another statement was: “The attacks of Turkey on Ras al-Ayn (Serêkanî), Al-Hasakah or Afrin are a great morale-boost for ISIS big. Territories occupied by Turkey become nests of terrorists. Good tactics are very important against ISIS for the fate of ISIS prisoners. The coalition forces only resisted ISIS militarily. But it is necessary to resist ISIS economically, militarily, culturally, and sociologically. The coalition fell short in this regard and failed to fulfill its mission. The movement of ISIS supported by Turkey shows us that the strategy against ISIS must be rethought”.
Among the participants in the workshop were Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) co-chair Zeynep Muradi, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) chair Sadi Ehmed Pire, PUK Politburo member Aram Qadır Xelat, Kurdish politician Dr. Mehemed Emin Pencewini, The Kurdish Freedom Movement (Tevgera Azadi) co-chair Mehemed Abdullah, Iraqi politician Eshad Ibadi, Northern and Eastern Syria Autonomous Deputy Co-President of Administration Bedran Çiya Kurd, representatives of Makhmour People’s Assembly, representatives of Kakai, Sebek and Feyli Kurdish and representatives of the Autonomous Administration of Sinjar.
Many representatives of the national and international press also followed the workshop.