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Policies designed by Turkey and Iraq to increase pressure on Kurds, who have built a new progressive model of governance in North East Syria and Sinjar have been continuing and the pressure is intensifying.
The resistance of the people also continues against these attacks targeting the Kurds living in Sinjar and in various town of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
The Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM) Co-chair Zelal Ciger spoke to Jin News regarding the ongoing attacks in North and East Syria and the pressure being applied against Kurds in the region.
Ciger emphasized that the attacks against Sinjar and NE Syria cannot be considered separately from Turkey’s aggressive policies.
”Turkey’s potential attacks relation to its policies with the anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne which Turkey believes is expired. Therefore, Turkey is trying to get a share from this war. Turkey occupied the lands of Northern and Eastern Syria, placed it’s mercenary gangs in the occupied areas, and has shut down vital water supplies coming from the Euphrates River,” she said.
She went on: “This water does not only belong to Turkey, it flows from the Rojava lands to the Iraqi region and the people meet their needs with this water. Currently, the water is decreasing, no longer flows into Iraqi territory. This is a policy of plunder.”
‘Referring to the attacks in Sinjar the TEV-DEM co-chair said: ‘Sinjar is a town connected to Southern Kurdistan and Iraq. The mass killings in many areas of Sinjar and the fate of thousands of people is unknown. How can a state tolerate the murder of its own people? When there were attacks on Sinjar, neither the Iraqi government nor the Southern Kurdistan government protected the people from the attacks due to their relations with Turkey.”
She referred to the Kurdish fighters’s efforts to protect the Yazidis in Sinjar. “It was the People’s Defence Forces (HPG), Free Women’s Units (YJA-Star) and Peoples’ and Women’s Defence Units (YPG-YPJ) forces that protected the people of Sinjar. The people of Sinjar then created their own autonomous government system. If there are currently pressures against Sinjar, it means the Iraqi government wants to take revenge against the Kurdish forces who protected Sinjar against ISIS,” she said.
Commenting on the system built in Sinjar, Ciger said, “The people of Sinjar were inspired by the Rojava revolution. Yazidi people saw that victory is possible only through resistance. Therefore, any development in Sinjar today will also affect Rojava [AANES]. Currently system built in AANES and Sinjar is the most democratic governance.”
The TEV-DEM co-chair also pointed out the importance of the governance model put forward by AANES. ”Cantons have already been established within the framework of the Autonomous Administration. It is the most democratic system in which the people can govern themselves and have free right to speak. It is also an exemplary system in Sinjar. It can also be created for Iraq in general. However, neighbouring states are considered the system as a threat. This is because it is a system against the power hegemonies.”
Ciger also shared her opinion regarding the current developments in Turkey, focusing on the isolation of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party leader Abdullah Öcalan and the conditions of the political prisoners.
”The people in Turkey cannot freely express their thoughts. One cannot even express your own opinion on social media, as you risk detention for sharing videos or articles. At the same time, elected people are arrested by the state and the state attempts to break the will of the people.” Ciger said. “‘All peoples living in the Middle East and the world should now have an attitude towards this isolation and the crimes against humanity committed by Turkey. The Committee Against Prevention of Torture (CPT) and international courts should fulfill their duties”.
