As the anniversary of the February 15 operation targeting Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan approaches, attacks involving international actors have again been launched against Rojava. Öcalan reportedly described the assaults, carried out by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), ISIS, and Turkey-backed paramilitary groups following the January 6 attacks on Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods, as “an even broader conspiracy than that of February 15.”

 

Kurdish communities, who protest the operation against Öcalan each year, have taken to the streets both to denounce what they describe as an international conspiracy and to protest the attacks on Rojava. Selma Polat, a member of the Peace Mothers Assembly, said the struggle against the alleged conspiracy must continue, calling February 15, 1999, a “dark and painful day.”

 

“We took to the streets went on hunger strikes, and were detained under torture,” she said. “We were not afraid. One of our friends was killed, yet the Kurdish people did not stop. Our leader had been detained, and nothing else mattered to us.”

 

‘THE CONSPIRACY WAS THWARTED’

 

Selma Polat stated that they resisted in order to make their voices heard worldwide and to defeat the alleged conspiracy. “A people cannot exist without a leader. He was our leader and our struggle; we could not accept what had happened,” she said. “This people has continued the fight for years. Millions have now awakened — a people that is not afraid and does not deny its leader. That is why the conspiracy was thwarted.”

 

Highlighting what she described as a peace and democratic society process in Turkey, Selma Polat added: “They said, ‘We will make peace.’ Delegations traveled to İmralı, and we were hopeful for a solution. But unfortunately, they turned toward Rojava. They attempted another conspiracy, yet were forced to implement the leader’s projects once again.”

 

Stressing Kurdish unity across regions she said: “If they attack there today, they will turn toward Bakur tomorrow. We will never bow our heads; we will always walk upright.”

 

Referring to the ongoing siege of Kobani, Selma Polat concluded with a call: “Kurds have stood strong until now and must continue to do so. Let us break the siege of Kobani.”

 

‘THE CONSPIRACY IS BEING REVIVED THROUGH ROJAVA’

 

Another Peace Mother, Afife Kartal, recalled months of protests despite police intervention after Öcalan’s capture and said they still wear black each February 15 in remembrance. “My child was seven years old and dressed entirely in black,” she said. “When a lawmaker asked why he wasn’t wearing a coat, he replied, ‘I don’t have a black coat — today is a day of mourning.’”

 

Afife Kartal argued that the conspiracy is now being reintroduced through Rojava. “They say they will ‘finish Rojava,’ but Rojava will not end,” she said, describing Kobani as being under siege without water, electricity, or food. “This is not a time for comfort; we must stand against it.”

 

Drawing parallels between the resistance of 1999 and current reactions to the attacks on Rojava, Kartal called on the international community to act. Afife Kartal concluded: “I call on the whole world to rise against the conspiracy targeting our leader and Rojava. Support Rojava and end the oppression and humiliation imposed on Kobani. This resistance must not stop, let us stand up every day, take to the streets, and march.”

 

 

MA / Rukiye Payiz Adıgüzel