NEW: Does this mean a call for “Western Intervention”? (MESOP)/ Brussels: Kurdish PYD leader asks West support to combat extremists in Syria
23-11-2013 – Ararat News (ANP) – Brussels – Roni Alasor – Lorin Sarkisian – The Kurdish PYD Leader Salih Muslim asks the Western countries to support Kurds in the fight against Islamic extremists linked to Al Qaida. PYD leader calls also the West to send humanitarian aid to the Kurdish region before its going to be a humanitarian crisis.
Speaking at a conference in the Belgian Senate on the future of the Kurdish Region in Syria, the PYD co-chairman Salih Muslim asked the Western countries to support Kurds in the fight against Islamic extremists linked to Al Qaida. PYD leader also calls the West to send humanitarian aid to the Kurdish region before its going to be a humanitarian crisis and he got support from Belgian senator Karl Vanlouwe. Regarding good relations with the neighbouring Turkey, Mr. Salih said that its in the mutual interest of both sides, but Turkey has to stop aggression policy against Kurds and put an end to the support for terrorist groups: “Its also important for the ongoing dialogue for peace in Turkey”.
Blind youths are brutally misused
Mr. Salih said that during the last year, there have been active confrontations between Kurdish forces and Islamic extremists from all Arabic countries, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia-Chechnya, Turkey and Europe. The fights took place mostly at the borders of Rojava (West Kurdistan) with Turkey and Iraq: “Between 2000-3000 terrorists have been killed in the clashes”. Over 250 Kurdish fighters and civilians also lost their lives to defend Kurds, Christian minorities as Syriacs-Assyrians, Armenians, as well as Alevis, Sunnis, Turkoman and Circassians. Mr. Salih affirmed that: “In the fight against these Al Qaida linked terrorist groups the Kurdish fighters are more effective than US and EU countries. Kurdish YPG cleaned Kurdish region from these criminal elements for less than one year”.
The co-chairman of PYD clarified that the extremists groups are using the terror and the violence under the fake umbrella of the Islam just to hide them. Mr. Muslim gave as similar example Bosnia, where “several thousand Islamic gangs have been brought to Bosnia, and they have been thrown out later, after being used. It is not the Islamic extremists who fight in Syria. It is Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran, Russia, France and USA who lead the war. These blind youths are just used in a brutal way for the brutal aims against humanity. Why Kurds have to be victim for the brutal aims in a dirty war? Every one have to understand, without respecting Kurds and their future, there are no peace and stability in the Middle East”.
We don’t want to be a part of the blind war
“Since the start of the Syrian revolution, we decided to not be part of this blind bloody war, which is mainly leaded by so-called Islamic organisations. At the same time we didn’t want to support the Syrian regime, but to represent a democratic alternative, to be neutral and to defend Kurdistan region and its entire population, including Syriacs, Assyrians, Armenians, as well as Alevis, Sunnis, Turkoman and Circassians. In the Kurdish military arm YPG, there are units from different ethnic and religious groups. We all fight together, shoulder to shoulder”, explained Mr. Salih.
Difficult humanitarian situation and self rule
PYD Co-Chairman addressed the EU and US: “The humanitarian situation is very difficult in Rojava right now, especially since the last year. We are living under the blockade of the Turkey, the Islamic / Arabic fanatics and Syrian regime. At the same time we got round half million refugees from different parts of Syria, mainly Christians, including Sunni and Alevi Arabs. Unfortunately, Kurdistan has no benefit from the so-called humanitarian help from the West. The tax payers’ money, the Western humanitarian aid, including weapons and military support, is going to the hand of Islamic groups. EU and the West should fulfil its humanitarian obligations and to support Kurds and all other different ethnical and religious minorities in Rojava with humanitarian aid. At the same time, they have to respect the decision of Rojava people, including the ethnic and religious groups, for self-determination which we declared recently as transitional administrational self-governance”.
Relation with Turkey
“Turkey is our neighbour and of course we want to have good relations, if they respect our fundamental rights. But Turkey made a lot of efforts to put obstacles to the representation of Kurds among the Syrian opposition. Turkey is still active player and supporter of the extremists groups, alongside with Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Without help from these countries, the extremists could not survive against Kurds for more than one week. Turkey brought and financed gangs from different countries to not let us be free from the Baath regime. In order to establish good relation with Turkey, Ankara should stop the support to the terrorist Islamic groups and fanatic nationalist Arabs, stop to threaten Rojava’s people and to open the border between Kurds from both sides. Its also important for the ongoing dialogue for peace in Turkey. Our brothers in the North part of Kurdistan will not be happy when you try to kill us”, concluded Mr. Salih.
Belgian senator Karl Vanlouwe (N-VA), who supports the conference said that many countries in Middle East, like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iran are strongly involved in Syrian conflict and it makes the situation more complicated to find a peaceful solution: “All those terrorist groups and gangs are located in the borders to Syria, mainly in Turkey and they cause the loss of human lives and many millions of people are suffering. In fact, those terrorist groups are linked to Al Qaida and those groups are in the US-EU terror-list, but however they receive direct and indirect support for their crimes. We support a peaceful – political solution for the Syrian conflict, there are no other alternatives to reduce human tragedy, conclude Vanlouwe and he asked Western countries to stop any kind of support to the extremist groups and help the Kurdish Rojava people in this difficult situation”.
Kurds are victim of Arabic and Turkish racism
Dr. Khalid Isa, from PYD and the vice Chairman for the External Relation of Syrian opposition National Coordinating Committee for Democratic Change, explained shortly the history of Kurds and Rojava Region, which was also home to many brutal empires and civilizations. ”We Kurds, Syriac people, Armenians and many other minorities were living in peace in many centuries”.
Dr. Isa underlined that after the French – British Sykes-Picot agreement (which divided Kurdistan in four parts), the situation of Kurds became worst during Baas party authority. “Thousands of Kurds have been imprisoned, tortured, killed. Some hundred thousand out of population of more than 3 million Kurds have been denied even identity cards. So called Arabic Belt was used actively for Arabisation of the Kurdish region. Even today in the 21st century, Turks and Arabic extremist nationalists are not respecting Kurds and their fundamental human rights. This is why they are still organising terror and violence against Kurds and other ethnical and religious minorities”.
Kurdish struggle pushes for more reforms
“Kurdish struggle in the last 30 years, is not only against fascist regimes in Turkey, but it’s also against the Islamic fanatics and it pushes Turkey for the democratic reforms. As an example in Rojava, Kurds are trying to live in peace and harmony with the other ethnical and religious minorities”, said Dogan Ozguden, the Turkish journalist and writer from Info-Turk.
Libya weapons to terrorists
Ludo De Brabander, a Middle East Expert from Flemish Peace Movement gave facts and figures how the Salafists Islamic fanatics are receiving support from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. He told that Qatar continues to ship weapons from Libya to Turkey and from there to the Islamic terrorists. ”Turkey is not only supporter of the war in Syria but it’s also ally with those groups. France is also active supporter of Syrian war after the deal with Saudi Arabia to sell the military arms for about 200 billion USD”.
Why no one helps Kurds?
Rudy Vranckx, Middle East journalist from Flemish Broadcasting, who has been in Syria and Middle East several times and who lost also journalist colleagues in war, criticised Western countries media why they do not cover the situation in the Kurdish Region. “Kurds are not fighting for the religious fanatism, but for their fundamental human rights, Kurdish women and men are fighting shoulder to shoulder” said Flemish-Belgian journalist. Vranckx is wondering why Western media are so limited when they are covering the dramatic situation in Kurdistan. “Why no one sends humanitarian aid to the Kurds who are in difficult situation in fight against extremism in Rojava” asked he. Copyright : ANP