Evîndar Ararat, a coordination member of the Free Women’s Party of Kurdistan (PAJK), spoke to ANF, commented on the attacks carried out by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) mercenaries against Rojava.
Evindar Ararat said the Kurdish people are being forced into a choice between slavery and surrender, stating that this “dirty plan” has been set in motion by the Turkish state and is being supported by international powers. She stressed that Kurds living in Europe, Northern Kurdistan (Bakur), and Southern Kurdistan (Başur) must take to the streets with a spirit of mobilization to stand with the people of Rojava and Eastern Kurdistan (Rojhilat). She also directed a special call to young people, saying that the current period requires them to assume their historical responsibilities with greater determination and resolve.
Evîndar Ararat also delivered a clear message to those she described as enemies of the Kurdish people. She said: “We will not surrender. We will not abandon our patriotic and revolutionary values, our path of free life, or the line of free women. Until the very last drop of our blood, we will defend our people and the values of the revolution. We recognize no path other than freedom, and no way of life other than the values of a free society.”
Evîndar Ararat shared the following assessment regarding the ongoing attacks against the Kurdish people: “Dear comrades, young women, I greet you all at an extremely sensitive moment and wish every one of our friends success. A new wave of attacks against the Kurdish people has begun. We are going through a period in which assaults on the revolution in Northern and Eastern Syria are intensifying, particularly targeting Rojava, the revolution of women. We salute the resistance in Aleppo, especially in the neighborhoods of Ashrafieh (Eşrefiyê) and Sheikh Maqsoud (Şêxmeqsûd). We respectfully commemorate all revolutionary martyrs, represented by comrades Deniz Çiya, Faraşin, Rojbîn, Dilbirîn, Hawar, and especially comrade Ziyad of Aleppo. We are living through a historic period. Attacks are being carried out against our people through the Rojava Revolution, and the war has now spread to regions such as Raqqa, Tabqa, and Deir ez-Zor (Dêrazor). A historic resistance is taking shape. On this occasion, we want to draw the attention of all comrades to this resistance. We believe that our friends will strengthen this resistance in all fields, expand it, and carry it onto the international stage.”
Women were also targeted in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh
Evîndar Ararat said: “We are in January. This month, our comrades Sara, Rojbîn, and Leyla Şaylemez were martyred. Thirteen years have passed since the Paris Massacre. Through our comrade Sara, one of the leading cadres of our party, they sought to break the will of the Kurdish people and Kurdish women. Comrade Rojbîn carried out work in the field of diplomacy as a militant of this revolution, while comrade Leyla Şaylemez was active in youth work, displaying great resistance and immense dedication. The targeting of these three comrades shows that hegemonic powers that do not want Kurds to attain status even in the twenty-first century planned this massacre. All forces had a hand in it. They sent us a message: they said they would eliminate your pioneers and your heroes.
In the politics carried out within the system of capitalist modernity, they have always said the same thing: if you want to subjugate a people, you must first kill the women; eliminate women first, break their will, enslave them. That is why our three women comrades were targeted. Ten years later, our comrades Evîn Goyî, Abdurrahman Kızıl, and Mîr Perwer were also martyred in a massacre in Paris. In 2016, during the self-administration process in Northern Kurdistan, our comrades Sêvê, Fatma, and Pakize were killed by the Turkish state.”
She added: “We have faced the same massacres in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh. They are now trying to deliver the same message through the resistance in Raqqa, Tabqa, and Deir ez-Zor. The brutality carried out against women fighters and our people in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh carries this very message. Why do they target women first? Because women are the continuity of Kurdish culture; they are Kurdish history, language, and memory. Women are the lifeline of resistance in Kurdistan and the Middle East; they are will, love of land, love of people. Women are those who advance women’s freedom and are the pioneers of the women’s revolution in the world. That is why they aim to eliminate the women’s revolution through these attacks. Even in this century, they do not want Kurds to gain status. They do not want them to live freely, to live together with all peoples, or to build an equal and democratic life. This is their objective.”
They want Kurds to remain enslaved in this century as well
Evîndar Ararat said the attacks are aimed at erasing all the achievements of the Kurdish people. She continued: “They are imposing a choice on us: either death or surrender. We accept neither death nor surrender. And if there is to be death, it will be an honorable and dignified one, in defense of our people’s freedom. Comrades Deniz, Ziyad, Rojbîn, Faraşîn, Amara, Leyla Qasim, and dozens of others gave their lives in Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud to defend their people. This process is continuing in Raqqa, Tabqa, and Deir ez-Zor. A great resistance is being carried out under the leadership of the People’s Defense Units (YPG) and the Women’s Defense Units (YPJ), and our people are taking part in this resistance. The Turkish state, along with capitalist states, has viewed the coexistence of peoples in Rojava as contrary to its own interests. For this reason, new plans against the Kurds are being put into action. If Kurds become a people with will and freedom, living freely together with other peoples in a free land, the system of capitalist modernity will no longer be able to bargain over its interests in the Middle East, nor will it be able to manage political, commercial, and strategic balances without the Kurds.
The goal of capitalist powers is not the rights of peoples, their freedom, or democracy. They want whoever is in power to serve them. Kurdish unity and freedom run counter to their interests. They want enslaved Kurds; they want Kurds who fight on their behalf. This has been imposed on the Kurdish people for centuries. Unfortunately, Kurdish fragmentation and the lack of unity among political forces continue to obstruct efforts to thwart these plans. For this reason, as young women and as the women’s movement, we must make Kurdish political unity a priority everywhere. First and foremost, unity among Kurdish women must be built. By joining hands, we can defeat these dirty plans.
That is why the role of young people, especially young women, is crucial. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the women’s movement have always carried out the struggle under the leadership of young people. This is a time of mobilization, a time for national unity, a time to build unity among peoples, a time for organization and resistance. To advance the resistance, we must organize, remain confident and determined, and maintain our resolve to defeat these attacks. The occupying forces, the same forces that carried out the international conspiracy against Abdullah Öcalan, are now developing a new phase of attacks against our movement. In talks held with Öcalan in Turkey, he is striving for a bloodless solution to the Kurdish question. He is working to ensure that Kurds gain rights in this century, govern themselves, resolve their problems internally, avoid conflict with any people or force, and build a peaceful life based on coexistence, peace, and brotherhood.”
The aim is the liquidation of the Freedom Movement
Evîndar Ararat continued: “The Turkish state has once again engaged in dirty games. Unfortunately, this is not the first time. We know the history of the Turkish state well. It has built itself on genocide against the Kurds and on the denial of Kurdish identity. Öcalan seeks to put an end to this genocidal policy of the Turkish state, because this danger also applies to Turkey itself. However, the Turkish state and the Justice and Development Party (AKP)–Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) government do not see, or refuse to see, this reality. That is precisely why they have developed these attacks. They have obstructed the resolution of problems in Northern and Eastern Syria through dialogue. They brought to power in Syria Ahmed Al-Sharaa (al-Jolani), an al-Qaeda member, along with mercenary groups derived from al-Qaeda and the ISIS. This authority does not possess an independent will. Capitalist powers are conducting their Middle East policies through al-Jolani. The Turkish state is implementing this dirty plan, and other powers are providing support.
Kurdish women, Kurdish youth, and friends of the Kurdish people must know this clearly: this is an international plan. It is like the conspiracy of 1999. The aim is the liquidation of the Freedom Movement. The aim is to force the surrender of revolutionary values and the will of the Kurdish people. They are trying to impose slavery on us. Yet in this century, after all the gains we have achieved, we will not extend our necks like sacrificial sheep. We will not surrender. Yes, we will pay a price. We will suffer, and we are already suffering. Our people are being displaced. War crimes are being committed against women and against our people. But by displaying great resistance, we will defeat this plan. For this reason, all of us, especially young women, must organize and strengthen our unity. We call everyone to support this resistance. Strong actions have taken place across the four parts of Kurdistan and abroad, but the knife has now reached the bone.
As the Kurdish people, as Kurdish women, as Kurdish young people, and as the peoples living in Kurdistan, we face a historic choice: either we secure a free life, or we put forward historic resistance. If it is martyrdom, then martyrdom; if it is an injury, then injury. But we will certainly consolidate the front of resistance. On this basis, all young people must be in motion and, with the spirit of mobilization, turn toward the fields of resistance. This must be developed first and foremost in Rojava and in Northern and Eastern Syria. There are millions of Kurds living across the world. This is no longer the time of one party or another. This is the time of Kurdish unity. This is the time of national unity. This is the time to defend the values of the Kurdish people. For this reason, Kurdish youth and the Kurdish people, especially in Europe, Northern Kurdistan, and Southern Kurdistan, must pour into the streets. Actions must continue without interruption, day and night. Everything else must be set aside. The brutality and war crimes of the Turkish state and its mercenaries must be exposed before international public opinion.”
A massive special war is being waged
Evîndar Ararat said: “We must mobilize not only the Kurdish people but the entire public. Everyone who knows us and everyone who does not must be mobilized through broad propaganda and organization. We must activate social media, digital platforms, all press and media outlets, and diplomacy. Members of parliament, human rights defenders, and human rights institutions must also be brought into action. We must remind these institutions of their responsibilities. On this basis, the struggle must continue uninterrupted. A massive special war is being waged. This special war, this psychological war, is being carried out particularly on social media. The media of the Turkish state and the media of Arab states are heavily promoting Turkish and Arab chauvinism. We, on the other hand, must put forward the brotherhood of peoples. These special war policies must not break our will, must not undermine our morale, and must not divert our agenda.
Our objective must be clear. Our objective is to defeat these attacks. Our objective is to build the unity of the Kurdish people. Our objective is to bring this war to an end under the leadership of the young people. For this reason, everyone must remain in a state of struggle and resistance. We must now become the soldiers of our country and fight for our country. There are massacres taking place in Eastern Kurdistan (Rojhilat) as well. In Rojhilat, a struggle is being waged under the leadership of young people, women, and the people. A major war is unfolding in two parts of Kurdistan, Rojava and Rojhilat. For this reason, we must mobilize all our strengths. Öcalan and our movement insist that this process should lead to a solution to the Kurdish question. However, these attacks show that the Turkish state has no intention of peace or resolution. On the contrary, their aim is either surrender or liquidation. They want to condemn our people to slavery in this century as well. That is why we must be prepared everywhere for possible attacks and for resistance.”
Evîndar Ararat added: “Our call is to Kurdish young people, and especially to young women: they must play their historical roles with far greater strength. With the self-sacrificing spirit of comrades Sara, Rojbîn, Ronahî, Leyla Qasim, Faraşin, Deniz, Ziyad, and Hawar, they must organize a great resistance, educate themselves, and raise awareness of youth and society. This year is a year in which the fate of our people and of women will be decided. We will deliver this message clearly to all our enemies: we will not surrender. We will not abandon our patriotic and revolutionary values, our path of free life, or the line of free women. Until the very last drop of our blood, we will defend our people and the values of the revolution. We recognize no path other than freedom, and no values other than those of a free society.
If we fail to defeat these dirty plans, if we cannot secure the freedom of our leadership and our people, if we cannot liberate our country from the occupiers, then we will remain indebted to these people. If we stand firm, if we organize ourselves along the line of Abdullah Öcalan and the martyrs, and if we struggle, we will succeed. For us, there is no path other than success. The Kurdish people and Kurdish women cannot live a life of slavery in the twenty-first century. That would mean death, annihilation, and being erased from history. For this reason, we are writing a new history. We are passing through a historic period. Every action, every resistance, every act of participation is writing history. On this basis, I wish success to all comrades and to all our people in their historic struggle. We will win. There is no other way. Together with Abdullah Öcalan, we will build a free life in our country.”