Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) General Presidential Council member Sozdar Avesta spoke to ANF about the HPG and YJA Star forces withdrawing from Shengal and said: “It means a lot that the youth would step in front of the cars and say they don’t want the guerrilla to leave. But out youth also needs to participate in the defense forces with the same consciousness to achieve the status of their own people and their lands.”

Avesta congratulated April 4, the birthday of the Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan and stated that, for the guaranteer and architect of a free life for all peoples and the peoples in four parts of Kurdistan Öcalan, the resistance of women and peoples has shown that 2018 will be a year of uninterrupted resistance against fascism.

Avesta said the HPG and YJA Star guerillas issued a statement of a patriotic, popular and libertarian approach and crossed into Shengal against the firman against the Êzidî people in front of the whole world, two days after ISIS gangs attacked Shengal, and added: “In coming to Shengal, the guerilla didn’t only defend the Êzidî people against ISIS. They also became a guarantee for the Êzidî people’s free life based on the philosophy of freedom by Leader Apo, and a hope for a free future.”

Avesta also pointed out that the YJA Star guerillas have great influence among the Êzidî people, and continued: “The people were asking how could women take up arms and fight against ISIS, the most regressive and tainted mindset of the age. The YJA Star guerillas have become the symbol of a new life for Êzidî women. At the same time, the Êzidî people have seen the truth despite speculations about the guerilla. They saw how the guerilla defended them, and how they sacrificed themselves for the people’s survival and freedom. Crossing into Shengal, the guerillas resisted against ISIS heroically, with the philosophy of life built by Leader Apo, and wrote the name of the guerilla on the hearts of the people and in history. For the Êzidî people, the guerilla became a seed for the will, the trust, the “xwebun”, the self-sufficiency and the unity.”

Avesta also stressed that many important and meaningful messages emerged during the ceremony held as the guerilla withdrew from Shengal: “The withdrawal of the guerilla should by no means cause a lack of morale in the people. The freedom movement will never let this people suffer another firman or genocide. There have been statements that said they will stand by the Êzidî people whenever it is demanded, that the withdrawal of the guerilla is for the defense of the Êzidî people and so there won’t be any other attempts against the Êzidî people. These statements are a statement of will by the freedom movement that they will not allow similar incidents to happen to the Êzidî people.

The tears in the eyes of Êzidî women, mothers, children and young people also show a resolve in continuing with the new life. The Êzidî people should deepen and continue with the level of organization they achieved after the firman, the reality of the people and the democratic institutions they built. The Êzidî people in the diaspora in particular should return to their lands and take on duties in the newly formed institutions. They should turn their face towards their own lands again and form their areas of free life.”

Avesta also stressed that this is a process of democratization and forming their own status, and added that the withdrawal of the guerrilla must not be misunderstood. Avesta said Êzidî spiritual leader Baba Șêx in particular should come to the awareness of how significant this decision has been, and continued: “The Êzidî people are going through a historic period. The Êzidî people are now conscious of how they will live, how they will defend themselves and how they will be united with other peoples, and that needs to continue.”

She pointed out that the level the Êzidî people have achieved is very important and said: “They must have faith in themselves with the professional experience gathered from the YJA Star. YJȘ fighters have taken part in the operation to liberate Raqqa. They learned of the struggle from Berivan, Nujiyan, Tekoșin and others. This labor and this past must be defended under any circumstances.”

Avesta also added that what happened during the exit of the guerrilla was also very significant: “It means a lot that the youth would step in front of the cars and say they don’t want the guerrilla to leave. But out youth also needs to participate in the defense forces with the same consciousness to achieve the status of their own people and their lands. It is time to defend their rights. It is time to uphold four years of labor. Both the arrival and the withdrawal of the guerrilla were magnificent. Like they arrived with such heroism, they withdrew heroically as well. On this basis, I salute all guerrillas who fought valiantly against the enemy.”