Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Mardin (Mêrdin) MP Saliha Aydeniz said policies pursued through conflict and chaos do not offer a solution but instead reflect a persistent insistence on deadlock. Aydeniz stated that Turkey is seeking to restore the prestige it has lost in the Middle East through Syria. Aydeniz said: “However, in the twenty-first century, it is not realistic for Turkey to once again become a decisive power in the region. Despite this, a ‘guardianship’ role is being assigned to Turkey through efforts aimed at weakening the Kurdish people.”
After the clashes in Aleppo, attacks by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and groups affiliated with Turkey against Northern and Eastern Syria have continued. Armed groups have intensified their assaults around the Tishrin Dam and Raqqa, carrying out massacres against civilians in the areas they enter. These groups have particularly targeted women, destroying statues of women fighters in city centers while releasing ISIS detainees. As clashes continue across the region, the latest information indicates that talks took place between Damascus and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), resulting in an agreement. The SDF has not yet issued an official statement on the matter, while heavy clashes are still reported in Raqqa despite claims of a ceasefire.
In a message sent together with the Imralı delegation, Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan underlined that the attacks represent an attempt to sabotage the process in Turkey and called for dialogue and collective reason. The attacks have once again brought the spirit of national unity to the fore across the four parts of Kurdistan, while protests are being held in many locations across Northern Kurdistan (Bakur). Saliha Aydeniz said the situation should not be viewed merely as a regional conflict, describing it instead as “a multidimensional war being waged between the capitalist system and democratic modernity.” Aydeniz stressed that deepening, overlapping crises in the Middle East and globally have evolved into a systemic crisis and said: “In order to sustain itself, this system imposes wars, massacres, and fascism against the will of peoples to live together.”
Paradigm under attack
Aydeniz said developments in Syria have revealed the socialization potential of the ecological, democratic, and women’s liberation–based paradigm developed by the Kurdish people and the communities they live alongside, noting that this reality has unsettled centers of power. She said the paradigm has demonstrated that the fascist nation-state system can be dismantled and added: “What is unfolding in Syria today is an effort to re-establish power against socialization. This is an explicit power struggle.”
The hope created by the Kurdish people is being targeted
Saliha Aydeniz said the Kurdish struggle against ISIS should be understood not only as an act of self-defense but as a struggle for humanity itself. Aydeniz continued: “The Kurds waged a struggle against ISIS armed groups on behalf of humanity. This struggle created a powerful hope across the world that democracy can be built against fascism. What is being targeted for destruction in Syria today is precisely this hope. The Kurds are being prevented from building their own systems on their own lands, while efforts are underway to alter the demographic structure. A systematic policy of de-Kurdification is being sought across all areas where Kurds live.”
They want to realize Ottoman ambitions in Syria
Saliha Aydeniz said Turkey plays a significant role in the current process. She said the policies pursued by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and the state are shaped by ambitions to revive an Ottoman-era vision, added: “Turkey has a very serious role at this point. The AKP government and the state are attempting to create de facto zones of control and expand their reach on Syrian territory through mercenary groups brought under their command. What is unfolding in Syria is the combined outcome of these policies.”
We defend democratic integration
Saliha Aydeniz also spoke about the peace and democratic society process frequently raised in Turkey, noting that it is being handled as a state project. She said state officials openly describe it in these terms, and continued: “The solution being targeted here aims to minimize the gains the Kurdish people have achieved through a century-long struggle, particularly the heavy sacrifices made over the past fifty years and to dissolve these gains within the state system.”
Aydeniz said they insist on democratic integration and noted that this approach is also reflected in the perspective of Mr. Öcalan. She also said: “We defend democratic integration. But what the state understands by integration is assimilation, the absorption of Kurdish identity into Turkey’s political and legal system. These initiatives are efforts to reduce the Kurds’ strength at the negotiation table to the lowest possible level.”
Seeking to regain prestige through Syria
Saliha Aydeniz said there are actors attempting to sabotage the process, yet she does not believe the state intends to terminate it entirely. She said the aim is clearly to draw the Kurds into the process at their weakest point and compel them to accept an imposed solution and added: “Turkey wants to regain the prestige it has lost in the Middle East through Syria. However, in the twenty-first century, it is not realistic for Turkey to once again become a decisive power in the region. Despite this, a ‘guardianship’ role is being assigned to Turkey through efforts to weaken the Kurds.”
Efforts to weaken the Kurds mean deadlock, not a solution
Aydeniz said that instead of a solution grounded in the demands of the Kurdish people and the other communities they live alongside, a nation-state–centered approach is being imposed. She said: “This is not a solution. It is deadlock. It deepens chaos and represents the greatest obstacle to the development of democracy in the Middle East.”
Aydeniz also warned that these policies place Turkey’s own future at risk. She said every attempt to weaken the Kurds simultaneously weakens Turkey and added: “A weakened Turkey becomes a Turkey that can be easily used by hegemonic powers. This approach does not represent a solution; it is an expression of persistence in deadlock.”