As attacks on Rojava intensified, Kurdish politician Gultan Kisanak spoke to ANF, describing the developments not merely as a military assault but as a multi-layered attempt at annihilation targeting the existence of the Kurdish people, their will to live freely, and the model of shared life they have built.
She emphasized that the primary objective of the attacks is to eliminate the Kurdish people’s identity, language, culture, and their determination to live freely on their own lands. Kisanak underlined that the assaults aim to strip the Kurdish people of their right to exist with their own identity and to shape their lives according to their own values.
Kisanak said the attacks also target the democratic, multi-identity, and freedom-based model of shared life that has been constructed in Rojava, stressing that this model represents not only hope for the Kurdish people but also an alternative for all peoples of Syria. She stated that the developments on the ground form part of a systematic process aimed at dismantling the social and political possibilities created by this paradigm.
She further noted that women, Kurdish identity, and social dignity are being directly targeted, adding that the attacks are not merely regional in nature but are the outcome of broader global political dynamics. Kisanak said the Kurdish people are displaying an honorable resistance in Rojava and called on the international public, women’s movements, and democratic forces to build a strong, multidimensional, and sustained line of struggle against these attacks.
Kisanak said: “Yes, of course, these attacks may have different reasons, and indeed they do. There is a commonality among these attacks, and for that reason, each may have different objectives. But ultimately, what reaches us, what hurts us most, is this: these attacks are aimed at eliminating the existence of the Kurdish people, their desire to live freely, and their will to live freely on their own lands with their own language, their own identity, and their own culture. This is the fundamental objective of these attacks.
At the same time, these attacks are also directed at the idea of a shared life that the Kurds have brought into being in Rojava and have proposed as a model for all of Syria; a principled, democratic, and freedom-based paradigm in which different identities, beliefs, and cultures can build a common life, where every people participates with its own will and where the means of self-defense are also included. This was a possibility that emerged during the ten-year war process on the ground. These attacks have also eliminated this possibility.”
The Kurdish people are showing an honorable resistance
Kisanak said the attacks on Rojava are fundamentally aimed at reversing the gains achieved by the Kurdish people and continued: “For those who planned, organized, and stand behind these attacks, one thing is clear: they are openly opposed to the brotherhood of peoples, to shared life, and to a democratic Syria. From the very beginning, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stated that there was an integration dialogue with the Damascus administration. A March 10 agreement was reached and dialogue and negotiations continued within this framework. There was a real possibility that the Damascus administration could have evolved toward a more democratic character. What we have witnessed since the attacks in Aleppo is that this possibility has now been almost eliminated.
What has become evident is that the ISIS mindset has once again appeared openly on the ground, committing horrific war crimes, and that a brutal terrorist organization is now operating under the name of governance in Damascus. The Ministry of Defense of the Damascus administration is attempting to downplay the situation by saying that ‘some disciplinary violations occurred’ and that an investigation has been launched. This does not reflect reality. The reality is that the ISIS mindset and its practical military force are active on the ground in Damascus, and the peoples are not safe. Above all, the Kurdish people are not safe. These attacks have shown that the Kurdish people are facing and have already faced danger and an ISIS atrocity. This is the reality that has emerged across the entire field. Global powers may have allowed these attacks to proceed based on their own calculations. The Damascus government may have believed that, with the support and approval it received from these global powers and from Turkey, it could both eliminate the possibility of democratic transformation, integration, and shared life, and suppress the Kurdish people in Syria who seek to defend their existence and claim their rights.
However, this expectation has been proven wrong. By showing an honorable resistance in Rojava, on their own lands, the Kurdish people have, for now, halted these attacks. What is clear is this: if global powers fail to recognize the mistake they have made and do not take steps to halt this course, and if Turkey continues a policy that permits these attacks, one that would seriously undermine and even render impossible any domestic process for resolving the Kurdish question, then the Kurds will be left with no option other than resistance. This is not a situation anyone desires. For this reason, these attacks constitute a matter of existence or annihilation for the Kurdish people, leaving them alone with the task of defending their will to live freely on their own lands.”
They seek to break the dignity of the Kurdish people
Gultan Kisanak said the war crimes and crimes against humanity emerging in the attacks on Rojava are not new. Kisanak also said: “We recognize these war crimes and crimes against humanity that are now coming to light. They are the same horrific attacks that the entire world has known and witnessed since the assault on Shengal in 2014, attacks that left us all in horror. This mindset does not even recognize the existence of women. For it, a woman can only be a slave, a concubine. If a woman asserts her freedom or struggles to exist as herself, she becomes a target that must be silenced and eliminated. We have once again seen this clearly in these attacks. It has exposed a form of barbarism that must be condemned, confronted, and stopped, not only in the name of women, but in the name of all humanity.
The Rojava revolution’s commitment to women’s freedom is profound and of great importance. Yet, as we have said, these attacks are something we already know from Shengal as well. They are the product of a mindset that seeks to completely enslave women, a mindset that views women as concubines. The same practices have been carried out once again.
There is also another dimension to this issue. In wars across the world, women are often treated as spoils of war, used to break the dignity of a nation or a people, to turn honor into a weapon against them. Attacks against women are therefore also racist. Yes, this mindset is sexist; it is hostile to women’s existence, will, and claim to freedom. But it also has a racist dimension. By directing these humiliations at women, they sought to break the dignity and honor of the Kurdish people. They aimed to send this message to an entire people. This racist dimension must also be clearly recognized.”
Women and Kurdish identity are being targeted
Kisanak said the attacks are directed at free women, stressing that women are being targeted both because of their gender and because of their Kurdish identity. She said: “Yes, this is an attack on women because we are women, an attack on women’s claim to freedom. But it must also be understood that because these women are Kurdish women, the violence directed at them carries a powerful message of brutality and terror aimed at the Kurdish people. It carries a racist message. As women, we also know this: what we call militarism, where masculinity is driven to its extreme through intensely incited racism, where an uncontrolled crowd is armed with every kind of weapon, has once again revealed what it can do. This is how racism, nationalism, militarism, and sexism operate: they feed one another, reinforce one another, and drive each other toward greater brutality. For this reason, we Kurdish women, who are being turned into the object and target of hatred directed at the Kurdish people, will continue to defend women’s will, the freedom of our people, and a free, civilian, and democratic life against militarism. This is the reality that has emerged, and it must be understood in its full and interconnected dimension.”
The danger has not passed
Kisanak said the attacks have triggered a strong global reaction, stressing that the danger remains unresolved. She said: “Above all, we have seen that wherever the Kurdish people live today, across the world, in Rojava, in Southern Kurdistan (Başur), in the north, among Kurds in Turkey, and in the diaspora, Kurds have raised a strong collective voice, condemned these attacks, and turned them into a reason for struggle. At the same time, we have seen that individuals, institutions, and movements who believe in humanity and in women’s freedom have also condemned these attacks. This response must continue to grow. Because the danger has not passed. This mindset is now attempting to organize itself as a state. It must be clearly understood what kind of terror would emerge if this ISIS mindset were to become a force in Damascus with the backing of certain international states and powers. There is currently a fifteen-day ceasefire process in Rojava. During this period, all of us must act with the greatest determination to open a path toward a solution that guarantees the will, freedom, and security of the Kurdish people and Kurdish women. Otherwise, the danger has not passed. For this reason, resistance against this barbarity must continue and grow, and these reactions must lead to a concrete possibility for a solution.”
We must carry out a broad-based struggle
Gultan Kisanak said the women’s struggle has a decisive role in the current period. Kisanak also added: “First, it is essential for women, particularly Kurdish women, to strengthen and assert their own position through their independent organizations and to turn this into a struggle. At the same time, it is extremely important to reach out to the global women’s movement and to transform this into a shared struggle of women everywhere. This is what we are trying to do, and what we must do. We must act better, stronger, and more effectively, and stop these attacks. As I said, this is true from the perspective of women, but these attacks have multiple dimensions. For that reason, the struggle and the efforts must also continue in a multidimensional way. One of these dimensions is Turkey. We know that unless Turkey adopts a position on resolving its own Kurdish issue, unless it undergoes change, democratic transformation, and opens the way for a democratic solution, its approach toward Syria will not change. Because Turkey has not made peace with the Kurds within its own borders, it continues to view the Kurds in Rojava as enemies and as a matter of survival, and it provides support to the Damascus administration in sustaining these attacks, at times even openly congratulating them. For this reason, the struggle in Turkey must grow stronger. Both the Kurdish people and everyone in Turkey who believes in peace and in building a shared, democratic, and free future must raise a stronger voice to challenge and change this policy. In this sense, the process of building a democratic society and peace in Turkey represents an important opportunity. This opportunity must be expanded and advanced to create the conditions for a shared and democratic life together with the Kurds, and to open a path that can force the Turkish state and the ruling power to change their policies. This struggle must be carried forward with far greater strength.”
We must sustain our struggle on multiple fronts
Kisanak also addressed the international public, criticizing the Middle East policies of global powers and said: “We know that there are global powers shaping developments in the Middle East. At the forefront of these is the United States. The aggressive and reckless policies pursued by the United States across the world are meaningless. The Kurds are an ancient people of this geography. They have lived here until today, and they will continue to live here. Diplomatic contacts and negotiations must continue to push for a change in the stance taken against the Kurds. The same is true for Europe and for regional states. What is needed is a multidimensional struggle, one that advances diplomacy, political engagement, resistance, and paths toward resolution at the same time. All these elements together have produced the current situation. The unresolved approach to the Kurdish question in Turkey, the framing of Kurdish demands for freedom as a matter of survival, and the new regional orders global powers seek to establish in the Middle East, along with the conflicts and wars they anticipate elsewhere, have all converged, leading them to disregard the Kurds. Because these factors have come together, this situation has emerged. For this reason, we must also continue our struggle in all its dimensions. By assessing the period ahead carefully, we must open a path forward and create a real possibility for a solution.”
There is a lot that we must do
Gultan Kisanak said a dignified life is indispensable for the Kurdish people and Kurdish women and concluded her remarks as follows: “A dignified life is essential for us, but our primary preference is for this to be achieved through dialogue, negotiation, and peaceful means. For that reason, we must use all our capacities to make this possible.
Another urgent issue is the severe humanitarian tragedy currently unfolding in Rojava. There is a blockade, and even the most basic needs cannot be met. A new wave of displacement has been triggered, because Kurds living in the areas vacated by the SDF are not safe. They are moving rapidly toward Kobanê or the Jazira region (Cizîr), toward Qamishlo. They are on the move, and under winter conditions they are in extremely difficult circumstances. We are hearing reports that none of us can bear from a humanitarian perspective, such as children freezing to death from the cold. For this reason, there is an urgent need for all of us to organize strong solidarity, to hold talks with Turkey on opening border crossings, and to ensure that opening these crossings becomes a clear social demand directed at Turkey. These crossings must be opened to break the blockade and prevent humanitarian tragedy there. In short, there is much that must be done: on the one hand, to create conditions that prevent a return to war and violence by opening paths toward a solution, and on the other, to improve the humanitarian living conditions on the ground.”