A delegation of women from North and East Syria held a series of meetings in Europe and concluded their tour with a gathering in Aarau, Switzerland. Organized by the Foreign Relations Committee of the Aarau Kurdish Community Center, the meeting was attended by a number of people, with the delegation reporting on the latest situation in Syria.
The President of the North and East Syria Women’s Council, Emîne Omer; Spokesperson for the Syrian Women’s Council, Muna El Yusif; Spokesperson for the Zenûbiya Women’s Community, Şehrezad El Casim; Kongra Star Coordination Member Jiyan Hisên, and Director of the Syriac Women’s Union Jorjêt Bersûm, have met with numerous politicians, parliamentarians, municipalities, women’s and environmental organization representatives, and Kurds in Belgium, Germany, France, and Switzerland for about a month.
The delegation’s last meeting in Switzerland took place at the Aarau Kurdish Community Center. Organized by the Foreign Relations Committee, the meeting was attended by a representative of the Turgi Suryani Association, the management of the Offenes Antifaschisches Treffen (OAT) Lenzburg Socialist Party, feminist and environmental movement activists, and members of Mala Kurda (Kurdish House).
On behalf of the delegation, Jorjêt Bersûm, Director of the Syrian Women’s Union, gave a presentation on developments in Syria. She stated that the government of Ahmed al-Sharaa, who came to power after the Baath regime in Syria, would not resolve Syria’s problems, saying, “The Sharaa administration, like the Baath regime, has a monolithic understanding. The real solution in Syria lies in a decentralized democratic approach that recognizes all identities and their existence. The 10-year experience of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria has demonstrated this. We, as Syrian women, do not want war.”
Asked if the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) would lay down its arms as Turkey demands, Emîne Omer, President of the North and East Syria Women’s Council said, “We know about the massacres committed against Alevis and Druze after the Jolani government came to power. Weapons are our security. If we lay down our arms, what happened to the Alevis will happen to us.”