The Kurdistan Alliance parties made a joint statement at the Southeastern Journalists’ Association in Amed (tr: Diyarbakır) on Tuesday highlighting the need for Kurds to ensure national unity against the attacks on Northern and Eastern Syria.

'We must look at the Kurd and Kurdistan issue together'

Speaking here, Ayetullah Aşitî, Chairman of the Azadi Party, said that he wanted to clarify the issue from a religious perspective since they are a religious party. Stating that Allah sent the Qur'an to the oppressed peoples, Aşitî said that Islam in the Middle East is not characterized by peace but by events and wars. He continued, "While Islam emerged for the freedom of the peoples, we have a misconception and put all the blame on the enemy. There is a verse in the Qur'an that says, 'The good is my blessing and the bad is your deeds'. The enemy is our test. But we also need to think about why our problems are not solved, why we cannot produce solutions. It is not because we do not know, it is because we cannot tolerate each other. We must act in unity. If we achieve unity, we will gain. Ideologies are not important in patriotism. We must look at the Kurd and Kurdistan issue together. If we do not create our national unity, we will remain in this situation for another two hundred years. The solution to the Kurdish question depends on the unity of Kurds. A concrete example of this is Rojava. If the Kurdish people act together on the Rojava issue, the world will recognize them as interlocutors and the Kurds will achieve liberation."

Journalists killed in Rojava remembered

Speaking on behalf of the Communist Party of Kurdistan, Yasin Yetişgen commemorated journalists Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin who were killed in a Turkish drone attack in Rojava on 19 December. Yetişgen said he was a friend of Cihan Bilgin from her university years, adding: “She never lost her belief in truth and reality and lost her life for this cause. Their friends will not leave their pen unclaimed."

‘The risks can be eliminated through national unity’

Yetişgen stated that HTS set out from Idlib and reached Damascus to pave the way for global and regional powers, adding: "A new situation has emerged for the peoples and beliefs, especially the Kurds. It is very clear that this situation determines the risks and gains. Rojava Kurdistan must take advantage of the opportunities that it has created for itself at great cost. The risks can be eliminated through national unity. Kurds can only get out of this situation by ensuring their national unity. All peoples can take their place in the new Syria, and the way to do this is federation. Although the Turkish state considers federation as division, everyone knows very well that federation is actually a path to unity. The Turkish state's policy against the Kurds is now bankrupt. Peace in the Middle East is not possible without the Kurds. The Turkish state must stop labeling Kurds as 'terrorists', meet with the SDF, and solve the problem in the region through peaceful and democratic means."

'We must defend the status of Rojava'

Abdulhey Okumuş, spokesperson for the Revolutionary Democratic Kurdish Association (DDKD), stated that a series of developments have been taking place in the Middle East. Okumuş stressed that the most important thing is how the Kurdish people will protect their rights amid the current developments that are now at their doorstep, just like the Treaty of Lausanne: “This opportunity does not knock every day, but once in 100 years. Kurds should use this opportunity correctly. They must form their national unity and become the interlocutor. In this way, they can be a hope for the Kurds in the other parts as well. We must defend the status of Rojava so that it is officially recognized in the world. The new Syrian regime does not have a strong base. Kurds can increase their success by dealing with them and voicing their demands. They could also have the world accept this."

‘Let 2025 be the year of peace, freedom and liberation of Kurds’

Azad Zal, a member of the Şêx Sêid Association, said: "Every Kurdish person should ensure peace and tranquility for themselves. If everyone is at peace with themselves, they will be at peace with those around them, their neighbors and those in their country. The politics done on behalf of the Kurds has willpower. There is always war. There has been war since the world was shared. What is important is the interests of the peoples, first and foremost the interests of the Kurdish people because they did not submit to oppression. The Kurdish people deserve this the most. Let 2025 be the year of peace, freedom and liberation of Kurds."

‘We will protect Rojava more from now on'

Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Co-Chair Çiğdem Kılıçgün Uçar started her speech by commemorating Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin. Underlining that the current process is of importance for the recognition of Kurdish rights and status, Uçar said, "The future of the Kurds is in danger. Rojava is home to Arabs, Kurds and Syriacs. Against the oppressive understanding, the people made a revolution there and established a democratic system. We will protect this system. Turkey cannot intervene in it. Only the peoples can build their own system in Syria. The people of Syria are acquainted with authoritarian and despotic regimes and they don't want that. Not only Kurdistan, but the whole world owes Rojava. Let us pay our debt to Rojava by protecting it. Rojava is like ivy to us, and we hope that this ivy will wrap around all sides. We have only Rojava left. Either we will build this system or the authoritarian regime will suffocate us. We will protect Rojava even more from now on."