Attacks by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Turkey-backed paramilitary groups, alongside ISIS, against North and East Syria are continuing. As calls for mobilization grow to protect the gains in the region, protests against the attacks have intensified, accompanied by rising public anger.

 

Former Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) MP and TJA member Gülser Yıldırım shared her assessment of the recent developments.

 

'THE APPROACH TO ROJAVA IS AN APPROACH TO THE PROCESS'

 

Yıldırım said that the Peace and Democratic Society Process had given hope to peoples around the world, but added that the state has demonstrated insincere attitudes since the beginning of the process. “From the very start, we emphasized that the key issue was the state’s approach to Rojava,” she said. “The Kurds opened the doors to dialogue to the fullest extent. Mr. Öcalan took an important step toward building a democratic society. Instead of a state system built on war, massacre, and denial, he initiated a process aimed at constructing a shared life. However, so far, we have not seen a state mentality that inspires hope. We are facing a state that does not even release sick prisoners whose sentences have ended.”

 

'ABDULLAH ÖCALAN MUST BE FREE'

 

Yıldırım stated that ending the ongoing state of war in the Middle East depends on the physical freedom of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan. “Mr. Öcalan’s physical freedom must be ensured, and dialogue must be conducted under equal conditions,” she said. Describing the mindset of HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani as an ISIS mentality, Yıldırım argued that such a mindset can bring nothing but massacre to Kurds and other peoples.

 

She claimed that armed groups from many countries have been gathered under the name of HTS and are currently carrying out massacres in the region. “We are facing a system worse than the Assad regime,” she said. Referring to statements by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Yıldırım added, “On the one hand, you claim to pursue a process, and on the other, you threaten military intervention. This is hypocrisy. It is shameful for a state that is a party to the process and amounts to sabotaging it. The state must immediately abandon approaches that provoke and undermine the process.”

 

'ATTACKS CARRYING AN ISIS MENTALITY'

 

Emphasizing that the state is pursuing a double-standard policy, Yıldırım continued: “Kurds have been subjected to massacres for centuries. Those who migrated from Asia to Kurdistan deny Kurdish rights and do not tolerate any objection. They sabotage peace. If we are truly brothers, then all Kurdish rights must be recognized. Kurds are not allowed to live freely with their identity, language, and culture. There are attacks on all areas where Kurds live. Regardless of the geography, these attacks are carried out with an ISIS mentality.”

 

'THEY WILL BE DEFEATED BY WOMEN’S RESISTANCE'

 

Yıldırım stated that women are resisting the ISIS mentality in many places. “This mentality throws resisting women from fourth floors, condemning them to death. It kills mothers and children. This is a message directed at all Kurds. They impose a life without dignity and seek to enforce massacre on the Kurdish people,” she said.

 

She stressed that women will resist these attacks across all four parts of Kurdistan and will not retreat under any circumstances. “As before, the ISIS mentality will be defeated by the ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadî’ resistance,” Yıldırım said, adding that the Kurdish people would carry out a strong resistance under women’s leadership. She called on all peoples to take part in this struggle, describing the ISIS mentality as hostile to humanity. “This is a struggle for existence. Our people must be in the streets with a spirit of mobilization. Today it is Rojava; tomorrow it could be Başûr, Bakur, or Rojhilat. Our people will defeat this mentality everywhere.”