Syrian Democratic Council (MSD) Co-chair Ilham Ehmed continued her diplomatic rounds and spoke in the UK's Parliament yesterday. In her speech in the Parliament, Ehmed spoke about the Turkish State threats of attack, the fight against ISIS and many other issues.

THE HUNGER STRIKES

MP Sandy Martin, journalists and politicians, as well as many members of the public attended the meeting hosted by Labour Party MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle. Ilham Ehmed spoke in the meeting organized by the Centre For Kurdish Progress based in London and stated that the 800 ISIS prisoners in their custody are citizens of 47 countries, and these countries should find a solution regarding their own citizens. MSD Co-chair stated that the Turkish state attacks them constantly and wages a war against the Kurdish people. Ehmed also pointed to the Turkish state’s attacks against the Kurds in her own country as well. She noted that hundreds of Kurds are on hunger strikes now to demand an end to the isolation imposed upon Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Ocalan.

MOYLE: THEY ARE MORE ADVANCED THAN BRITAIN

Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle, who was the host of the meeting titled “Constructing a Progressive Democracy in the Middle East: The future of the autonomous administration in Eastern and Northern Syria”, started his speech with his observations from his visit to Northern Syria a few months ago.

Moyle said:“I myself visited the place a few months ago, and I myself witnessed how the pluralist democracy functions. I saw women present in every area of life and government in a region generally considered oppressive and anti-women. I witnessed people from different cultures and different faiths live together in an equal manner. It shocked me to witness a pluralist, democratic, feminist, ecologist and confederalist social system. In this sense, I can say that they are centuries ahead of Britain. If we can't protect this social system created on the lands where civilization was born, then we must reconsider our universal rules of ethics.

On the other hand, there is the issue of ISIS. We owe our thanks to our Kurdish comrades who defeated them. Meanwhile, we still must point out the ugly aggressive approach by the Turkish state.’’

800 ISIS MEMBERS FROM 47 COUNTRIES

Syrian Democratic Council Co-chair Ilham Ehmed gave a briefing about the social system constructed in Northern Syria and spoke about current political developments.

Ehmed spoke about the ISIS members in SDF custody, which has been on the agenda in the UK and other European countries recently, and said that the countries the ISIS members are citizens of must take responsibility in the solution.

Ehmed said: “Right now, there are some 800 ISIS members and 4.000 members of their families in our custody. These 800 ISIS members are citizens of 47 different countries. We believe these people should be repatriated to countries they hold citizenships in. We have 8.000 martyrs in the war against ISIS and have thousands of veterans. With this war and the price we paid, we established security for ourselves, and for all of Europe. But we can say that the threat of ISIS has not yet disappeared completely. They still carry out suicide attacks in cities like Raqqa. As such, the fight against ISIS must continue non-stop. We may have physically ended them, but the ideological struggle must continue. The most important thing is to keep the security and stability in the region. This will be the guarantee for the democratization of Syria.’’

“TURKISH STATE HAS A PART IN ISIS ACHIEVING STRENGTH”

Ehmed spoke about the Turkish state attacks and threats and said the Turkish state considers all Kurds to be terrorists. She continued:

“There were no attacks against the Turkish state from Rojava. On the contrary, it was them who continued to attack us. After the US announced that they will withdraw, the Turkish state intensified their attacks and threats. Now they demand to control the safe zone. Turkey's understanding of the safe zone includes an invasion of the whole of Rojava. The Turkish state had a great part in ISIS achieving such strength. Turkish borders were a passageway for ISIS members.

The Turkish state claims to fight terrorism. They consider the SDF, who fight against ISIS, to be a terrorist organization. In fact, the Turkish state considers all Kurds to be terrorists. They don't want Kurds to govern themselves, or to have a will. You see how they attack the HDP, which wins 6 million votes, and its elected officials in their country with 20 million Kurds. You see how they imprison HDP members.

Right now, there are hundreds of people who have been on hunger strikes for months, but the Turkish state ignores even them. This is not a terrorism issue, it is the issue of achieving the most natural rights for the Kurdish people. There is an aggravated isolation imposed upon Mr. Ocalan. He has been deprived of all his rights. This approach is also how they see the Kurdish people. Right now, they threaten to attack Rojava. And if there is an attack, things will go back to how they were. There will be great migrations, ISIS will get a chance to recuperate and fortify itself, and it is even possible that new ISIS’s will emerge.”

The two-hour long meeting ended after a Q&A.