Human Rights Association (IHD) organized a seminar about peace in the Middle East, developments in Rojava and the problems that refugees face in different cities of Turkey. Seda Altuğ, an academician from Boğaziçi University, gave a seminar about history of the relationship between Kurds, Arabs and Esat government since the beginning of the Baas Regime. Many students, journalists and human rights activists attended the seminar.

Seda Altuğ remarked the following points about Rojava: “The last station of the Arab Spring is Syria and however demands of Syrian people for democracy, equality and freedom were suppressed by imperial and regional powers and it turned to be a war of hegemony in Syria. Syria became battlefield of radical Islamist-jihadist groups and Syrian Army who get supported by different international powers, including Turkey.”

Altuğ stated that while they were fighting against each other, in Rojava they saw something different. “Kurds, who have been suppressed by the regime forces for many years, followed a different strategy and supported neither the radical Islamist groups nor the Esad government. They created a new way which was proposing non-violent, negotiated solution of the problems in Syria. However both the Esad Regime and the radical groups targeted the Kurds at the beginning. But Kurds were organized very soon both militarily and politically and resisted and protected their cities against the attacks launched by both warring parties." stated Altuğ.

She also noted that the radical Islamist-Jihadist groups who have been supported militarily, economically, strategically attacked many cities of Rojava and committed massacres in villages. "They attacked not only the Kurds, but also Christians and members of other ethnic and religious minorities. What Turkey wanted for Kurds in Syria was suppression of Kurds and when it realized that Kurds are resisting, it changed its policy and negotiated with PYD (Democratic Union Party) in Ankara to have diplomacy similar to Kurdistan Regional Government. However, what Kurds needed was not compatible with these demands. Kurds in Rojava wanted to live under a more egalitarian, democratic and peaceful administration. That is what they try to achieve right now."

Altuğ remarked that the joint administration of Rojava reveals that Kurds are on the way to set the system they dreamed, pointing out that it is important that the joint interim administration seeks representatives from all ethnic, religious, political and gender groups so that any decision given by the administration can be supported by the civil society.

The seminar ended after the question-answer session in which audience asked many questions about Rojava and reconstruction of the society.