In the wake of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's (HTS) offensive that resulted in the overthrow of the regime, Turkey and its Syrian National Army (SNA) continue to attack areas controlled by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. The Autonomous Administration announced that the US-brokered ceasefire talks failed. Reactions to the attacks, in which many civilians were killed, continue. Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK) Women's Assembly member Ayşe Özdamar and Free Women Movement (Tevgera Jinên Azad-TJA) activist Selcan Saygı stated that Turkey is eager to commit a genocide in North and East Syria similar to the one Israel committed in Gaza. 

 

 'THEY DO NOT TOLERATE WOMEN'S LIBERATION'

 

Stating that the latest developments in Syria will not bring peace to the country, Ayşe Özdamar said: “Indeed, this is what happened while the rulers and those in power were shouting for victory. Blood is flowing almost everywhere in that geography we know as Syria. The blood of peoples and beliefs is flowing, there is such a picture. The Kurds, especially in Rojava, are seriously affected by this. There is a very intense attack. The Turkish state cannot tolerate a women's libertarian, ecological and democratic structure like Rojava. The existence of a peaceful example there seriously disturbs the rulers, especially capitalist capital. And the state that is most concerned about destroying this is the Turkish state. Because it has tied its own survival to the destruction of the Kurds, as it confesses everywhere.” 

 

'AN EXAMPLE FOR WOMEN ALL OVER THE WORLD'

 

Emphasizing that the resistance in North and East Syria sets an example for women all over the world, “It is precisely for this reason that it is targeted by the misogynist government. I think that the women's libertarian structure there is a hope for women all over the world. Kurdish women are not alone, there is a woman organized with the slogan 'jin, jiyan, azadî (Woman, life, freedom)' and there is a movement there that is building a peaceful social structure. It is a hope and an example for all women in the region. Women in Syria are very anxious because they know that there will be a serious attack against them. The women in Rojava who are mobilized with 'jin, jiyan, azadî' based on the women's libertarian paradigm are the only force that can defeat ISIS barbarism,” Ayşe Özdamar said. 

 

'ROJAVA IS A HOPE'

 

Stating that groups such as HTS and SNA are just a name-changed form of ISIS, Ayşe Özdamar said: “Today, Rojava sets a very important example in Syria and the Middle East. The Middle East has turned into a big bloodbath, the war has spread to other geographies. Rojava has been under constant attacks by the Turkish state, but there has not been such a comprehensive attack for at least the last year. Looking at all this, the rulers are imposing a lack of solution for all peoples. Rojava's resistance itself is a hope for the peoples, but it is important that we also give hope to that resistance. I think we need to support it with all the means at our disposal. We need to protect Rojava in order to keep it alive as a hope.”

 

'ROJAVA WOMEN'S REVOLUTION'

 

TJA activist Selcan Saygı stated that the attacks on North and East Syria are concentrated on women and continued as follows: “The attacks are also very much linked to the philosophy of ‘jin, jiyan, azadî’; we cannot actually handle this independently of that. The government supports the gangs so that the Kurds do not have a status anywhere, in any way, and there is nothing Kurdish about them. In Rojava, there is a women-led revolution, a model that shows how different identities and religions can live together. We want to underline once again that we will stand by the women resisting in Rojava and we will stand by Rojava's resistance until the end. A thousand greetings to the women resisting in Rojava.” 

 

MA / Yeşim Tükel