The Syrian government continues its embargo on the Shehba region. This area is also where people from Afrin settled after the invasion of their land. Tens of thousands of Afrin residents live in tents and in the region. Means of living in the region are limited. It is also an area where Syrian, Iranian and Russian forces are present. There is also an Arab population. Kurds, Arabs and other forces are intertwined. In addition, the neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah in Aleppo are also Kurdish neighbourhoods. Kurds put up great resistance in these neighbourhoods and made a great contribution to the defence of Aleppo.

The embargo of the Syrian government is more or less reflected in the press. The people of Rojava are closely and anxiously watching the developments. There is no threat or danger coming from Shehba or Sheikh Maqsoud to the Damascus government. No one has any intention to fight against Damascus. On the contrary, Kurds are already living together with the government forces and the people in the region. They are not immigrants from another region or state. They are citizens of the Syrian state. Why is the Damascus government imposing an embargo on its own citizens? These questions must be asked and seriously answered.

If Damascus joined forces instead of imposing an embargo or subordinating them to itself, it would contribute positively to the future of Syria. Fascist Erdoğan threatens the region every day. These regions are already under the threat of Turkish occupation. Erdogan has recently announced that they will dismantle and occupy all the regions affiliated to the Autonomous Administration, starting from Til Rifat. He continues his preparations for occupation by threatening "We will come suddenly one night". If the Damascus government cooperates with the people of the region and their defence forces, the Turkish invaders would be more isolated in the region and would find it difficult to continue their occupation. If the Damascus government wants to put an end to the Turkish occupation, it must unite with its own people and organised forces. It should not weaken them or expel them from the region, on the contrary, it should turn them into a bridge for national unity.

After the recent Astana talks, there has been a noticeable sternness in the Damascus government's attitude towards the Kurds. We cannot analyse what is happening independently of the relations with the Turkish state. If remembered, in the last Astana final declaration, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria was declared illegitimate. Previous statements were different. The "political and territorial unity of Syria" was defended by referring to the Kurds. From time to time, Russia made statements that the US would establish a state for the Kurds in a way to provoke the Turkish state. But in the latest Astana declaration, for the first time, the Autonomous Administration was defined as illegitimate. This was essentially a statement that the Turkish state wanted. But the mentality of the Astana participants was no different. The government in Damascus or Iran does not want a democratic Syria, and Russia has no demand or concern for a democratic Syria.

Iran, Damascus and Russia are doing everything they can to get the US out of Syria. Turkey is also against the US presence because of the Kurds. Apart from the Kurds, the Turkish government is in favour of the US staying. If Turkey remains alone, it cannot continue its occupation in Syria. Although these powers have different interests, rivalries and contradictions, their common goal is the elimination of the Kurds and the autonomous governments. They do not want the internal peace of a democratic Syria and the voluntary unity of the peoples.

Looking at the problem in the light of these political facts, the Damascus government's embargo on neighbourhoods such as the Shehba region and Sheikh Maqsoud is aimed at subjugating and expelling the Kurds from there. If the Damascus government sees the Kurds as an essential element of Syria, it will not make their life a misery because of their different demands. The people are already poor. All of Syria has become unable to breathe. There is an embargo in general. Applying additional embargoes under such an embargo shows how bad the intentions are. What the Kurds and the people of the region want is more democracy and the protection of their cultural existence. These are their indispensable and most natural rights. For this, it is not necessary to be hostile to the peoples, force them to surrender, break their will or force them to migrate.

Summer has its difficulties, but winter has more devastating effects. If people cannot find shelter and heating, the road leads to death. The Damascus administration must not make the process deadly. It must not become a partner to the genocide policies of the Turkish state. On the contrary, it must unite with its own people, including the Kurds, against the destruction and ravages of Turkish fascism in Syria, and establish its national unity on democratic principles. Suppressing the people and breaking their will will make no lasting contribution to the future of Syria. Experienced practices contain sufficient lessons in this regard.

Source: Ronahi Newspaper