19 July marks the tenth anniversary of the beginning of the Rojava Revolution. On the occasion of this historic anniversary, the General Command of the People's Defense Units (YPG) issued a statement on Tuesday, saying the following:

"On this tenth anniversary of the freedom revolution of Rojava, we celebrate in particular Rêber Apo [Abdullah Öcalan, who developed the grassroots democratic model implemented in Rojava], all our martyrs, the people of the region, our fighters and all humanity. This revolution of freedom is completing its tenth year on the basis of the Apoist paradigm and the selfless efforts of thousands of martyrs. It thus holds historical lessons. There is no revolution in the world that has faced such difficulties in its first ten years as the one in Rojava. In this sense, Rojava is a unique example. Even though there are shortcomings in practice, through it the paradigm of freedom has become effective in all spheres of life and it has withstood all kinds of attacks.

"The revolution proved that it is the right way"

The Rojava revolution has touched humanity more than could ever have been expected. This happened because of its internationalist character, which it had already gained in its first years. The war against ISIS, which culminated in the Kobanê resistance, left a deep impression on the whole world and prompted thousands of young people from all countries to join the ranks of the YPG/YPJ. Of course, this did not only have an impact on the military sphere. Everyone saw that the Rojava revolution is the right solution and the right way in the face of capitalist modernity, which is based on separating societies and especially young people from each other. Dozens of internationalist fighters have died in the struggle against the occupation. We want to honour once again the sacrifice of our martyrs.

"Revolution under the leadership of women"

Undoubtedly, the revolution of Rojava is known as the revolution of free women. As Rêber Apo said: 'The revolution of Rojava is the revolution of women'. This is because women were deprived of identity and pushed out of all aspects of life by patriarchy. They became aware of the ideas and philosophy of Apoism and thus became pioneers of the Rojava revolution. They took a decisive role in the military and all other fields, built up the military women's defence forces and took an important place in building self-government. Women have formed the society in North and East Syria and developed it in terms of ecological, democratic and women's freedom consciousness. Many social problems that are still on the world agenda and cannot be solved were solved under the leadership of women with the Rojava Revolution in North and East Syria. Thus, Rojava has become an alternative for the whole world.

"Unparalleled resistance to the Turkish state"

Despite the developments in the past ten years, there are still many problems that need to be solved in the future. Since the beginning of the revolution, our achievements have been targeted by the Turkish occupying state and the forces that do not want peace in the region. The people, consisting of Arabs, Kurds, Armenians, Syriacs, Assyrians and Turkmen with many different world views, are putting up unique resistance for the liberation of the territories occupied by the Turkish state and its mercenaries and are resolutely defending the achievements and the democratic system built by the people. We promise that we will definitely fulfil the victory promise of freedom that we have given to the people here and maintain the revolution of Rojava permanently.

We once again congratulate all humanity on the tenth anniversary of the revolution of Rojava. We believe that we will celebrate many more victories with our people and build on our achievements based on the struggle we have waged for years."