In the second panel on the second day of the Kurdish conference organised by EUTCC at the European Parliament in Brussels, presentations were made under the main title "Transition Period in World Politics". 

ECOCIDE

In her presentation titled "Ecocide and Climate Change - Local Responses to Multilayered Crises in North and East Syria", Şermin Güven from the Free University of Berlin noted that before the start of the dry season and before winter, the Turkish state bombed critical infrastructures, causing water and electricity cuts.

Şermin Güven also talked about climate change around the world and emphasised that this has become a reality for the people in North and East Syria as well.

Güven stated that "water scarcity is at a critical stage", which is also greatly affected by the attacks, adding that the region is facing a serious drought.

Reminding that there have been preventable epidemics such as cholera in recent years, Şermin Güven stated that despite this, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria has shown a serious will to fight against economic and ecological problems.

Stating that there is a need for binding agreements on the sharing of water resources such as the Euphrates and Tigris, Güven underlined that ecocide should be recognised as a crime.

NEW WORLD ORDER

In a presentation titled "New World Order: Contradictions and Truths", former HDP MP Nursel Aydoğan said: "In our opinion, the Third World War is taking place right now, we are only at the beginning of it".

Nursel Aydoğan stated that despite nation states, the establishment of the Turkish state and the dozens of Arab states, the Kurds were deprived of this right and added that nation states were not a solution and that this was why the Second World War started.

Aydoğan said that after the Second World War, in which great pain and tragedy were experienced, there was a system change such as the establishment of the UN, but this structure did not bring a solution to the problems of oppressed peoples. Stating that the bipolar and then unipolar world was switched to afterwards and this was called the new world order, Aydoğan said: "When we look at the point we have reached, we are now talking about the Third World War. The New World Order is wanted to be established, but there are also those who want to establish an alternative world in the Middle East geography.

Aydoğan highlighted the alternative model built in Rojava, in which, she said, the paradigm developed by Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan was used. "It is a solution model for the whole Middle East. Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who presented this paradigm to the whole world and humanity, is in Imrali prison, under aggravated isolation, and the last 33 months have turned into absolute isolation" said Aydoğan and noted that they do not accept this situation. She added that "isolation means deadlock, lack of peace, and conflict".

JOURNALIST SNELL: TURKEY COMMITS GENOCIDE, AND THE WEST IS COMPLICIT

In a presentation titled "Sweden, NATO and the Kurds: Challenges and Options", Lindsey Snell, a journalist from the USA, described the concessions made by Sweden for NATO membership and showed a video of the testimonies of some dissidents in Sweden. Among them was exiled journalist-writer Ragıp Zarakolu, who spoke about the practices they were subjected to as a result of pressure from the Turkish state during Sweden's candidature for NATO membership.

Journalist Lindsey Snell spoke about the invasions and attacks of the Turkish state in Rojava and the silence of the international powers. Snell noted that the Turkish state also used its mercenaries in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh and the world once again remained silent.

The journalist also shared a video of confessions of ISIS members regarding the complicity between the Turkish state and ISIS gangs. The footage included confessions of military officials and gangs about the use of paramilitary gangs in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Lindsey Snell said: "Turkey is continuing the genocide in Kurdish areas. Erdogan's aim is clear, he wants Rojava to end. Pan Turkism is being put forward. The whole West and the US are complicit in this. This is one of the mistakes of the international community.”

ASYA ABDULLAH: THE DANGER IS GROWING

In her presentation titled "The Middle East Between Status Quo and Democratic Transition: Obstacles and Perspectives", PYD Co-Chair Asya Abdullah stated that the problems in the Middle East originate from nation states and said, "Current problems are rooted in hegemonic powers".

Asya Abdullah said that the current war is against the peoples and that the people are forcibly displaced. "They want to lead to demographic change through forced migration and genocide policies. The situation today is very dangerous, and this danger is growing.”

Abdullah said that the weapons sold to the Turkish state are being used against both the guerrillas and Rojava today, adding: "International powers are also partners in the Turkish state's war in Kurdistan.”

The PYD Co-Chair called for "a strong stance against the genocide against the Kurdish people and the peoples of the region". She stated that the wars in the Middle East are wars of sovereignty and that these wars and instabilities will continue.

"They want to prevent our alternative democratic project and struggle that achieves solutions to the problems in the region," said Abdullah and pointed out that the problems in the region could be solved with a women's libertarian, ecological project that includes all identities, cultures and religions. The PYD Co-Chair emphasised the need for a revolution of mentality in many areas and noted that Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan's democratic confederalism project offered a solution.

In response to a question, Asya Abdullah stated that the threat of demographic change is very high and that the Kurds who remain in the occupied territories are also under threat. "Populations are being moved to the occupied territories from Turkey and other regions, while Kurdish property is being confiscated.

VILLUMSEN: EUROPE HANDED OVER ITS KEYS TO ERDOGAN

Danish MEP Nikolaj Villumsen from the Left Party, who was scheduled to participate in the panel, could not attend the conference due to a cold, but conveyed a message of solidarity.

Villumsen criticised the European Union's relations with the Turkish state and said: "They gave the keys of Europe to Erdoğan, and they did it with a very shameful refugee deal. If Europe wants to give a lesson in democracy, it must first do it itself. The EU could put pressure on Erdoğan if it wanted to.”

"The Kurdish struggle and resistance inspire us all," Villumsen concluded.