Kurdish parties call for Kurdish National Conference

Following the attacks and massacres committed against the residents of the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh in the city of Aleppo by mercenaries of the Syrian Interim Government affiliated with the Turkish occupation state, the Kurdish position and voice have united across all parts of Kurdistan and wherever Kurds exist, declaring their rejection of the crimes committed against them.

In this context, Azhar Ahmad, a member of the Central Committee of the Kurdish Left Party in Syria, stressed the necessity of Kurdish unity in all parts of Kurdistan to confront the schemes being plotted against them.

Ahmad pointed out that the attacks on Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh targeted the will of the Kurdish people and aimed at erasing and annihilating them, in addition to carrying out demographic change against the original Kurdish homeland represented by these two neighborhoods, and excluding Kurds from being part of Syria’s future, despite the fact that they are a fundamental component with a just cause. He said: “The attacks were an example of attempts to annihilate the Kurds, but their will cannot be erased or broken.”

He noted that the attacks on Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh demonstrated the unity of the Kurdish position worldwide in rejecting violations and ethnic cleansing against Kurds, through media coverage, social media platforms, and demonstrations condemning the attacks and massacres.

Azhar Ahmad explained that the reality of committing massacres and plotting against the Kurds goes back first to the Treaty of Lausanne, which was used against the Kurds, and second to the Paris meeting, which aimed to deepen the exclusion of Kurds from being part of the future of the Middle East and to reduce their role in Kurdistan, especially in Rojava. He considered the Paris agreement a plan made at the expense of Syrian blood.

On the steps required to achieve Kurdish unity politically and militarily, Ahmad emphasized that the two aspects are interconnected. Politically, he stressed the need to hold an urgent Kurdistani conference as a response to the enemies of the Kurds, clarifying that the attacks on Kurds in Rojava are not limited to that area alone, but constitute a message and a goal aimed at annihilating the Kurdish people in all parts of Kurdistan, and that they target all Kurds.

He affirmed that protecting the land and defending it are sacred values and principles for the Kurdish people, citing the example of a member of the Internal Security Forces who resisted attacks by mercenaries of the Interim Government, after which her body was thrown from the third floor, as well as the extraction of the heart and eye of another Internal Security Forces member.

He stated that these violations committed against members of the Internal Security Forces and Kurdish civilians in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh are violations against the entire Kurdish people, stressing that the political stance requires setting aside personal interests of parties and political institutions during this historic stage, in which dangers against Kurds and their project of unity, thought, values, and common word are escalating.

Azhar Ahmad warned that the fall of Rojava would mean the fall and weakening of Kurds in all parts of Kurdistan.

He emphasized that the message of the conference should be to tell the world that Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafiyeh, and Rojava are not alone, and that they are part of Kurdistan, and to turn this into an issue of global public opinion by addressing the international community and exerting political pressure on human rights and legal organizations to take a clear and practical stance on these attacks and play their role regarding the genocide of Kurds by radical thought, political Islam, and racist nationalists.

On the national level, Azhar Ahmad stressed the necessity of rallying around the Syrian Democratic Forces, as they are the only military force that has worked to protect Kurds and all components of the region and defended their values. He said: “Rallying around the Syrian Democratic Forces is a moral value, and Kurds must recognize its sanctity and work to support and back it.”

He also highlighted the need for the Syrian Democratic Forces, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), and the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) to play a role in the future of North and East Syria and Syria as a whole, as they have succeeded in protecting all components of the region throughout all stages of the Syrian conflict, especially in their fight against ISIS on behalf of the world.

He affirmed that the Kurdish issue is an issue of a people and a land, not a daily living or economic issue, but a fundamental right that must be guaranteed in a new Syrian constitution.

At the end of his remarks, Azhar Ahmad called on all parts of Kurdistan to exert pressure regarding the violations committed by the Interim Government against the Kurdish people and the Kurdish cause in Rojava and the areas of the Autonomous Administration, as they are part of the gains of the July 19 Revolution.

For his part, Mohammad Ali, a member of the Organizational Committee of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), emphasized the importance and necessity of Kurdish unity, especially after the events witnessed in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh, and the need to learn lessons from history and past experiences. He said: “Kurdish unity in all parts of Kurdistan today is an existential necessity.”

He noted that the lack of Kurdish unity since the Sheikh Said uprising until today has been a reason for exposure to genocide, Anfal campaigns, and continuous attacks, which have greatly affected the course of the Kurdish cause throughout Kurdistan.

He warned Kurds against missing the opportunity to be part of the new century whose maps are now being drawn, stressing that Kurdish solidarity is essential to securing a role in the new Middle East map.

He stated that what is required today is holding a Kurdish conference under the umbrella of the Kurdistani National Congress, forming committees representing the four parts of Kurdistan, and then working according to the outcomes of the conference in a way that serves the interests of the Kurdish people.

He also referred to the peace and democratic society initiatives launched by leader Abdullah Ocalan, which aim to provide solutions to the crises of the Middle East.

In conclusion, Mohammad Ali said that they want to live with all the peoples of the region according to the thought and philosophy of Abdullah Öcalan, and that they are advocates of peace, not war.

ANHA