Syrian Democratic Council Co-chair Ilham Ehmed wrote an article published on Özgürlükçü Demokrasi newspaper and commented on the Raqqa operation and the efforts of the CivilCouncil.

Ehmed’s article, translated by ANF English service, is as follows:

In the aftermath of the long-term struggle against ISIS fascism, 73 countries have decided to offer support to the Civil Council of Raqqa. They will be offering support in both the rebuilding efforts and in overcoming obstacles the Council faces. Foreign powers lost a lot of time for a solution in the Syrian crisis deepened with wrong decisions. Everybody knew that a significant portion of the aid provided to the so-called “Syrian opposition” armed groups was a mistake. Recognizing the opposition coalition made up of these groups as the representative of the Syrian people and having only them speak in the international arena was a historic mistake. This fact is now admitted by these states. It was an obvious fact that these groups followed the Ikhwan path and voided the true opposition. Despite billions of dollars in aid, unfortunately they failed to even open a school for Syrian children. Again in the military sense, despite large amounts of weapons handed to them, because they didn’t have a program or a strategy, anybody who joined these groups became radicalized and either formed gangs or turned into gang groups feeding off the continuation of the war, selling off the territory they controlled in pieces and opening them up to serve the invaders.

Still they are idling about in Astana and Genova. It was the MSD and the Autonomous Administration who were left out of these aids. These are the forces that have displayed an unparallelled resistance against ISIS and spent efforts to ensure stability, and these are the forces that have not been aided. Despite their limited resources, they built and sustained life anew. Even though they have limited resources, they created a new alternative in the region. With the ongoing war of six years and the imposed economic embargo, this becomes very important. They have managed to rebuild social life, build schools, provide food and vital needs for the people and most importantly ensure societal security. These institutions who have been deprived of the aid have shown everybody how resistance and success can be achieved.

When Manbij was liberated, many countries including Turkey engaged in a close marking to keep the city under blockade and collapse and prevent aid from coming in. The aggressive and pro-embargo forces did not get their way, and Manbij is a city that has organized itself according to its own strength rather than depend on the outside. All needs are met inside through natural means. A while later, Turkey may have to ask for help from Manbij to get rid of the embargo. Other regions in the Northern Syria Federation are similar.

Everybody was asking whether the Syrian Democratic Council was officially recognized or not. We always said that would depend on to what extent we will be able to actualize our project to build a federal Syria. As our project, the most suitable method to stopping the bloodshed in Syria and building a democratic life, is actualized more, the much asked about “official recognition” grows. Currently there are 73 states deciding on the rebuilding of the region. This is a new step. The SDF has achieved great success against ISIS, but there is a need for large sums of financial aid to use in education and other efforts to completely eradicate the ISIS culture. Without this, life can’t be rebuilt. The war has devastated the spirits of children, and torn down every existing thing, including the infrastructure.

The decision made by these countries is right and appropriate, but it is a belated decision. If this decision was made earlier, maybe the region would not be in this situation. But still, it is a very important decision. Recognizing the Civil Council of Raqqa under the umbrella of the Syrian Democratic Council is a historic step. All these countries are stating that they recognize no other will outside of the Civil Council of Raqqa. The Turkish state tried hard to have Raqqa handed over to groups that came toghether under the name the Syrian Coalition after the liberation. But that was a pipe dream. They failed to see this dream. Turkey has lost all leverage. The decision to support the Civil Council of Raqqa also means the official recognition of the council here. Despite all, prioritizing the local will and developing it as part of the Federal Syria project is one of the fundamental issues. Because only this project has the ability to bring a democratic, equal, peaceful and secure life to Syria. The international will has now started to respect this and develop relationships.