Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is once again threatening Rojava and the Kurdish people. As always, the justification is the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), since no one in the world considers the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) or the People’s Protection Units (YPG) to be terrorist organizations. For years, Turkey has tried to have them added to international terrorist lists, but it has failed. Since 2014, the YPG and SDF have been fighting against the Islamic State (ISIS) alongside the International Coalition. They have never been involved in any acts of terrorism anywhere in the world. North and East Syria remains open to the world, governed by local assemblies and hosts the most democratic and freedom-oriented administration in the Middle East.

The Turkish government now says it wants to visit Abdullah Öcalan at Imralı prison and declare, "Let’s make peace, let’s build a Kurdish and Turkish alliance." Yet at the same time, it continues to issue threats against North and East Syria. The supposed justification is once again the PKK, because if it openly declared hostility toward the Kurds, their very existence, or their political status, it would be condemned by the international community.Kurds, like all peoples, have the right to exist and to exercise their rights. Instead of recognizing this, the government continues its aggression and sustains its anti-Kurdish stance by targeting the PKK. Since the PKK is already listed on so-called terrorist lists, Turkey uses this as a blank check to legitimize its harshest actions against Kurds everywhere.

Why can't the Kurds return to Afrin?

Is the PKK currently in Afrin? If not, why are the people of Afrin (Efrîn) still unable to return to their lands? What took place in Afrin was an act of ethnic cleansing against the Kurdish population. The Baath regime has collapsed, and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has effectively positioned itself as the ruling authority in Damascus.

 Armed groups loyal to Turkey have publicly declared that they have joined the Syrian army. Al-Jolani (Ahmed Al-Sharaa) said that the people of Afrin would return to their homes. He even visited Afrin himself. Yet the people of Afrin have still not been able to return. Even Al-Jolani himself has admitted that they are not yet in control of the area and that they have failed to establish security. Who is threatening this security? It is, of course, Turkey and the armed groups under its command. HTS lacks the courage to tell Turkey to leave or to withdraw its armed factions from the region.

Weren’t SNA supposed to be part of the Syrian army?!

For months, the Turkish army, together with the armed groups under its control, attacked the Tishrin Dam region. The Turkish government repeatedly announced that all of these groups had agreed to join the Syrian army. If they have truly joined the army, then these attacks must be the responsibility of the administration led by HTS. Yet HTS claims it is not engaged in combat and that it maintains a ceasefire with the SDF. The agreement they signed with the SDF on March 10 even included a provision for a general ceasefire across all of Syria. Now a new ceasefire agreement centered on the Tishrin Dam is being discussed. Under this plan, forces affiliated with HTS would be deployed between the SDF and groups affiliated with the Syrian National Army (SNA). But weren’t the SNA and other factions already integrated into the Syrian army? If that were truly the case, they would already be under HTS’s chain of command. And if the SNA is not loyal to the Turkish army but instead reports to HTS, then why would HTS need to send in a separate force to stand between them?

It is clearly driven by anti-Kurdish hostility

The people who were forcibly displaced from the regions of Girê Spî and Serêkaniyê are also unable to return. These areas remain under the occupation of the Turkish army and are controlled by its affiliated armed groups. In Afrin and across these regions, there is no safety for civilians or their property. Abductions, ransom demands, torture, and threats continue without pause. For years, people’s homes and property have been seized and looted, and their return has been systematically blocked. This is not about the presence of the PKK. The policy being pursued here is clearly rooted in anti-Kurdish hostility.

Turkey is imposing a regime more oppressive than the Baath

The Turkish state is pressuring HTS to deny any form of political status to the Kurdish people. The first government to recognize and support the so-called coup constitution issued by HTS was the administration of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Turkey. The Turkish National Security Council (MGK) has taken this even further, going so far as to adopt binding policy decisions on Syria. In one such decision, the Turkish National Security Council declared its vision for Syria as a unitary nation-state with a centralized government and full political integrity. Yet the overwhelming majority of the Syrian people favor a decentralized, democratic system. Rather than supporting this, Turkey is trying to impose a regime that would make the Baath era seem moderate by comparison.

Is HTS really closer to the peoples of Turkey?

Even at its weakest, HTS declared a transitional constitution that was more repressive than that of the Baath regime. Historically, the most democratic constitutions are written after revolutions, when a system has collapsed and opposition forces and pro-democracy movements have risen. In such moments, no single party holds absolute power. Popular demands for freedom are usually acknowledged, and democratic rights often secured. HTS does not represent Syrian society. It is not organized across the country. It remains under global scrutiny, is listed as a terrorist organization, and operates under international sanctions. Yet despite this, HTS has imposed an extremely centralized and religion-based  constitution, intending to govern the region with it for four or five years. It is clear that as the group becomes more organized and gains more power, it will establish an even harsher regime. Turkey openly supports this constitution, this government, and this regime. It also wants to see the Kurdish people crushed under HTS and similar factions. But is HTS more legitimate than the Kurds or their political organizations? Is it truly closer to the peoples of Turkey? The Turkish government has been blinded by its hatred of the Kurds.

It is clear that the problem is not the PKK

The ruling AKP continues to push for the disarmament and dissolution of the PKK through discussions held in Imralı. Abdullah Öcalan, in an effort to end the war and foster peace in the region, has even called for the PKK to disband. But if an organization is ready to disband, why is it still being treated as a threat? And why are Syrian Kurds being targeted in the process? This clearly shows that the real issue is not the PKK. The problem is the intent to destroy the Kurdish people and deny them any form of political status, all under the guise of fighting the PKK.

Source: Ronahi Newspaper