A Turkish drone attacked in Kobanê last Saturday, killing five civilians active in the Revolutionary Youth Movement and the Association of Young Women. The attack is part of a new wave of attacks on the civilian population and defense forces of northern and eastern Syria. In an interview with the ANHA, Kurdish politician Salih Muslim from the Executive Committee of the Democratic Unity Party (PYD) assessed the current developments in northern and eastern Syria.

"We have to fight a big fight"

Regarding the attacks on Kobanê, Muslim said: "The attacks on the citizens of the region show the cruelty [of the Turkish state]. If we look at the attacks as a whole, we can see that there is a concept behind them. The attacks on Zirgan and Kobanê and the blockade of Northern and Eastern Syria by the government in Damascus and South Kurdistan cannot be viewed independently of one another. It's about subjugating the region. Our complaints about these crimes are of no avail. We have to take action ourselves. We need to get organized and be extremely vigilant about informers. At the same time, we have to wage a great fight against these attacks."

"They would like us to give up"

Muslim pointed out that the current attacks coincide with talks in Astana: "At a time when the Astana talks are taking place, the attacks show a determination to subdue Northern and Eastern Syria. They don't want a solution. They are against a solution. But apart from us, no one opposes Astana. Lavrov [Russian Foreign Minister] asks in his statements what 'the Kurds' want. There is a model of Autonomous Administration implemented in Northern and Eastern Syria in which Armenians, Assyrians, Arabs and Kurds are involved. Why does he not ask what the Autonomous Administration wants, instead of asking only what 'the Kurds' want? The point here is to corner the Kurds. They want us to submit to the Damascus regime. So many sacrifices have been made here. To give in and submit to the government in Damascus is unacceptable. "

Guarantor countries take no stand

Muslim also criticized the alleged role of Russia and the USA as ‘guarantor countries’. “Nobody takes a serious stand. The population is attacked by planes and weapons. Nobody stands up and tells [Turkey] not to attack the civilian population. They [the guarantor countries] are only pursuing their own interests. So we have to take action ourselves. The NATO conventions stipulate that civilians must not be harmed. The attacks on Zirgan violate the NATO treaties. What the Turkish state is doing is inhumanly cruel. One state is committing terrorist offenses and the other states are watching."

"You want to drive people out of the region"

Regarding the aims of the drone attacks, Muslim said: "The Turkish state wants to drive the people out of the region and bring the Ottoman Empire back to life here. Erdoğan mimicked Abdulhamid's actions. The Ottoman Empire followed the same policy. The places that were occupied were looted and devastated by the Janissaries. Today we see that Ottoman terror is practiced again. International powers see this, but they do nothing. The Turkish state has been promoting this mentality for many years under the motto 'the best Kurd is a dead Kurd'. The Kurds who spy for Turkey today think they are safe, but their turn will also come. There are many historical examples of this."

"An organized people is a determined one"

Regarding the attempts to force the Kurdish people to give up, Muslim said: "Surrender means death. An organized people is a determined people. It stands on its own two feet. It won't surrender to anyone. We must continue to organize ourselves with this conviction. We can put an end to Turkish fascism by organizing ourselves."

"The government in Damascus is also silent"

Muslim also talked about the position of the regime in Damascus. "The government of Damascus is in a position to stand up and condemn massacres if they take place in any other country in the world. However, it did not condemn any of the massacres by the Turkish state in Northern and Eastern Syria. It forgets that this is Syrian territory. It does nothing to protect its sovereignty. It should sit down with us and do everything possible to protect Syria's sovereign rights. If we live in the same house, we can work together against any attack on our house."

Muslim pointed out the connection between MIT and ISIS and ended with these words: "When ISIS was in Northern and Eastern Syria, not much was to be seen of MIT, because all the dirty work was done through ISIS. The reality is that ISIS is actually MIT. When ISIS is no longer able to act, MIT appears. It reorganized the ISIS cells. There is no difference between MIT and ISIS."