ISTANBUL – Writer Ayşegül Devecioğlu drew attention to what she described as Turkey’s provocative role in Rojava, saying, “This stance is extremely wrong in terms of regional and global war threats, and has been deeply destructive to our hopes for coexistence.”

 

Attacks on Rojava by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), ISIS and Turkey-backed paramilitary groups are continuing. Public participation in the mobilisation declared by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has been increasing by the hour, while reactions to the attacks and killings are also growing. Ayşegül Devecioğlu shared extensive assessments regarding the attacks and massacres carried out by HTS, as well as the forces and reasons behind them.

 

Pointing out that Aleppo is one of the ancient settlements of the Kurdish people, Devecioğlu said:

 

“When the attacks on Aleppo began, we called on the government and on Turkey to adopt an approach prioritising political dialogue, but that did not happen. Turkey did not take on a role to stop the war; instead, it acted in a provocative manner. This has been an extremely wrong stance in terms of the peace process in this country, the region, and the global war threat hanging over us, and it has been profoundly destructive for our country and our hopes of living together. Major crimes against humanity were committed in Aleppo. The corpse of a woman from the internal security forces was desecrated and thrown from a building. The entire world should react to these acts. We know very well that those responsible are remnants of ISIS, and that HTS is no different from them. We anticipated that this would not remain limited to Aleppo, but would target all Kurdish gains. That is precisely the situation today.”

 

‘THE POSITION OF INTERNATIONAL POWERS AND THE OPPOSITION’

 

Devecioğlu noted that attacks on Kobanê began while Mazloum Abdi was meeting Colani in Damascus, describing this as throwing the country into flames. She said:

 

“International powers that claim to support secular life, as well as the opposition in Turkey, have not taken a clear stance on this issue. Because the objective is no longer international law or the hope of peace. The entire issue revolves around energy corridors, oil resources, turning destruction into new tenders and profits, and how Syria will be divided. We see that the multilateral conventions and institutions established after the Second World War through the struggles of peoples have been completely dismantled. There is a global crisis in human rights and a loss of democratic values. The peace processes these once rested upon are now being reduced, as in our country, to disarmament alone.”

 

‘THE ONLY SOLUTION IS GLOBAL SOLIDARITY AMONG PEOPLES’

 

Referring to the attacks in North and East Syria, as well as earlier developments in Gaza and actions taken in Venezuela despite international conventions, Devecioğlu said:

 

“When I think about what conclusion we can draw from this, for those of us who stand for peace and democracy, the only solution is global solidarity among peoples. It is peoples who secured these rights and led to the establishment of institutions. The responsibility now lies with solidarity among peoples. We have nothing to expect from powers and states that think of nothing but their own interests, profit from war, and seek to turn the destruction of the world into gain. Whatever we do, we will do through our own strength. This has struck us like a slap in the face in the case of North and East Syria. Peoples have no friends other than other peoples. We want to live in equality and peace.”

 

‘THE GOVERNMENT CHOSE TO BE NEIGHBOURS WITH HTS AND ISRAEL’

 

Stating that the government has chosen to be neighbours with HTS and Israel, Devecioğlu said forces that claim to support secularism have backed this for various reasons, adding:

 

“This is a major contradiction, and we will all experience its consequences together. The consequences of being neighbours with beheaders, enemies of women and of peoples will not remain limited; they will deepen. The government has chosen war. It did so not only to remain in power, but also in pursuit of regional interests. By regional interests, I do not mean the interests of Turkey. This is not a national issue, and everyone must see this. This is about the interests of oil companies in Syria’s reconstruction. For people here who are living in poverty, collecting vegetables and fruit from trash, trying to survive on pensions and minimum wages below the hunger line, this means facing even greater hardship. We will become poorer. Our strikes, protests and freedom of expression will be restricted. Authoritarianism will deepen here, just as it has in Syria.”

 

‘ISIS MILITANTS WERE FED AND PROTECTED BY THE GOVERNMENT’

 

Devecioğlu said:

 

“What Colani has done is no different from what Assad has done—if anything, it is worse. That final decree was issued unilaterally, as if granting a favour, solely to weaken the SDF. At the cost of thousands of lives, it was the Kurds who expelled ISIS from those areas. What is the so-called international coalition? A coalition built over Kurdish lives. What has happened now? All ISIS members held in ISIS prisons have escaped. The people will bear the consequences. Previously, ISIS militants were allowed to establish themselves in Turkey; fighters, Chechens and Uyghurs were trained here under the name of the Syrian National Army and then sent to Syria under the pretext of ‘Syria’s territorial integrity,’ all funded by public resources. Their salaries were and continue to be paid from public funds without our consent. This war is not being waged to ensure people’s safety. ISIS militants were directly fed and protected by the government. Now we are becoming neighbours with ISIS militants. This is what HTS is, and they do not hide it. They were brought to power in some way for the sake of interests—at the cost of Kurdish lives and crimes against humanity.”

 

‘NO SOVEREIGN POWER WANTS A SYSTEM LIKE ROJAVA’

 

Stating that no ruling or sovereign power in the world wants a system like Rojava, Devecioğlu concluded:

 

“Because Rojava embodies equality and pluralism. Rojava is like a flower that has grown on barren land by itself. Every power dreams of withering and uprooting it. That is why we have no force to rely on other than ourselves. As those who want peace in Turkey, we need to explain this more clearly. What is coming for us now, as Kurds are being displaced and Kurdish gains are being dismantled there? We must explain this very clearly. For Turkey, the gates of hell have been reopened. As defenders of peace and democracy, we constantly paint bleak pictures—loss of democratic values, global regression in women’s rights, the collapse of all multilateral agreements. All of this must answer one question: under these conditions, how will we open the path to rebuilding these values, protecting our rights, peace and one another? This question must be asked with energy, hope and determination.”