The Parliamentary Group Chair of Die Linke (German Left Party), Gregor Gysi, has demanded the urgent lifting of the embargo on Rojava after his visit to South Kurdistan and Rojava last week. Gysi said Germany must undertake responsibilities in sending urgent aid to the region and called on the member countries of the UN Security Council to immediately take action.

German Left Party parliamentary group chair Gregor Gysi paid a visit of more than a week to South and West Kurdistan in order to observe the problems caused by ISIS in the region. Gysi first met Shia, Sunni and Kurdish representatives in Baghdad and then went to Hewler (Erbil) where heheld meetings with Federal Kurdistan Region president Massoud Barzani, PM Nechirvan Barzani and the chair of the parliament, Yousuf Muhammed.

Gysi later on visited the Makhmour Refugee Camp together with the co-chair of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK), Nilifer Koc, and met HPG and YJA Star guerrillas who have undertaken the defence of the camp. Gysi then crossed into Rojava and held meetings with the administrators of the Cizire (Jazireh) canton and visited the Newroz Camp where people from Sinjar who fled from the savagery of ISIS are staying.

Gysi shared his observations and assessments about the visit he paid to Iraq, South and West Kurdistan with a video message, calling for the lifting of the embargo on Rojava and for urgent action to be taken in the struggle against ISIS.

Gysi said there was disappointment in South Kurdistan regarding the attitude of the central government of Iraq to South Kurdistan: “The Iraqi government has not been sufficiently helpful to Kurds victimized by the ISIS gangs. The Kurds demand weapons from Germany and I understand this. But the 5 permanent member countries on the UN Security Council must undertake the responsibility for this”.

Gysi said he met women guerrillas who saved the lives of Yezidis and added that: “The PKK fighters showed me the old AK47s they have, saying: ‘We fight against ISIS with these’. Urgent humanitarian aid is needed in the camps where the Yezidis are staying. Germany must undertake responsibilities regarding the issue”.

“For instance, there are not enough ambulances in the camp. The situation in Iraqi Kurdistan is not critical; at least they somehow receive aid. But the situation in Rojava is quite critical as there is an embargo on the regions where the Kurds declared autonomy. This embargo must be lifted immediately.

I have seen a women staying with her 8 children together with another woman. There is this kind of humanitarian tragedy going on there. It is strange that Turkey keeps the border held by ISIS open, but all the border with the Kurdish regions are closed. The problems of the region are quite complicated”, said Gysi.

Gysi called on the Turkish government to keep the borders open and said: “I will ask: ‘Are you still not considering opening your borders?’ I will also work for the organisation of the aid to be sent to the region”.

Gysi made the following assessment regarding the fight against ISIS: “Let’s not forget that ISIS has emerged out of Al-Qaida. And Al-Qaida was established by the US to struggle against the Soviets in Afghanistan. It is very much similar to Israel’s founding of Hamas against the PLO and later on fighting with it. This is why we have to think in new forms in politics. The UN Security Council has big responsibilities and must urgently take action. The attitude towards the Kurds is positive at the moment, both in Germany and Europe as well as the entire world.”