Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM) Diplomacy Officer Aldar Xelil spoke to the ANF about current matters.

 

Some highlights from Xelil’s interview are as follows:

The No-Fly zone: Some countries want to bring this up, and they have voiced this already. It could be brought up in the Council of Europe. International powers could enter between us and the Turkish state and act as guarantors.

Trump’s decision: We make our calculations according to our own measures. But there is the fact that the US can’t stay in Syria forever.

Relationship with the regime: We want a democratic, principled solution with the regime. If such a solution can be developed, Turkey’s invasion attacks will be thwarted.

Turkish invasions: Rojava is in the spotlight now, but tomorrow Bashur (South Kurdistan) will fall. All the people of Bashur should rise up against these invasions everywhere in Bashur.

The occupation of Afrin: Resistance will continue until Afrin is liberated.

-What do you see when you take into account the developments in Rojava, Northern and Western Syria, in short the Rojava revolution, the US decision to withdraw, the gangs put forth in the field and the Turkish invasions in this equation?

There is an example of a democratic revolution in Western Kurdistan and Northern Syria that could pose as a model for the whole world. A self-government system has been formed in Western Kurdistan, and the authentic administrations and the categorically social assemblies, communes and local administrations are seen as a measure. Unprecedented resistances have been displayed in Rojava Kurdistan, bringing about great developments especially in the fight against ISIS. There is a humanity revolution, and a democratic revolution in progress in Rojava. That is why anti-democracy forces want to harm this system. The forces in Syria are at odds with each other. They can’t unite, they can’t achieve results although circumstances would otherwise permit it. It got so bad that Syria couldn’t defend Damascus.

The forces dubbed “The Opposition” wanted to take over all of Syria. But now that is no longer the case. Some of these forces that came together slipped towards Al Nusra, others went in different directions and fell under control of the Turkish state. Turks have used these forces to further their own interests. They used them against the Syrian people, against the Syrian revolution and in alliances with Iran just to remain standing.

ISIS has been broken. The “Free Army” is also done for. The remaining gangs have fallen under Turkish state control and are being used by them. Now with support from Turkey, they want to turn the gangs against Northern Syria. In Rojava, in Northern and Eastern Syria, a fraternity has been built among peoples and the people now have the means to govern themselves. The Turkish state now wants to tear down the revolution achieved through the fraternity of peoples. Turkish state allied gangs attacked and invaded Afrin by early 2018. Now the Turkish state is targeting Manbij and the east of the Euphrates. They want to quell the developments in Northern Syria with these threats. We have full faith in our people, they will defend the system they formed. We will continue our efforts until Afrin is free and until this system spreads throughout the world. Many powers have come and gone in this process, but we won’t act in accordance with them. The US said they will withdraw from Syria. Yes, they may, there is such a decision, but there is no visible activity. We make our own calculations according to our own measures. But there is the fact that the US can’t stay in Syria forever.

-Did you meet with American officials after the US decision to withdraw from Syria?

We constantly have meetings. But we would never tell them not to go. Because today or tomorrow, they will certainly go one day. What we talk about is not whether they leave or not. We are talking about our gains being attacked. We will defend our people against Turkish state attacks. The Turkish state must be stopped. They are pillaging through Syria and destroying our cities. The Syrian regime should accept the self-government system so the gains made can be protected.

-Where does the regime stand on this matter?

The regime doesn’t accept anybody but themselves. They want there to be only the Baath Party. Alright, have the Baath Party, have the government in Damascus, but don’t oppress the people of Syria.

The regime must abandon this mindset. This mindset is what brought Syria to this day. It is why there has been a war in Syria for the last 8 years. Their approach is wrong. We could assist the foreign powers in finding a solution in Syria. We could play an observatory and protective role. Otherwise we will live together in a project with Kurds, Turks, Arabs, Syriacs, Assyrians and defend ourselves. We will have a historic resistance against all attacks.

-Are there any intermediaries or any entity that has taken this on as a task now? There are rumors that Egypt is ready to intermediate.

There are entities that will act as intermediaries and take on tasks. But I believe the Egypt issue has been misunderstood in the press. Egypt didn’t say they were ready to do it, it was just hoped that they would. It’s not just Egypt, there are connections in other countries too. They are pushing the regime for a solution.

Let me not name them as there is more than one country. There are several countries with influence over Syria. Our relationships with them continue still. If Syria takes it on, it will be good, but if they don’t, we will still continue our resistance. We never said we would secede from Syria. We don’t want to leave Syria. We don’t want Syria fractured. We never asked for a solution from other powers.

It is not a solution to ask for foreign powers’ protection. We live together with the Syrian peoples now, and we will continue to do so tomorrow. Foreign powers come and go. This is the foundation of how we act. We have projects for a solution. Rojava was liberated from ISIS together with Northern Syrians, Arab youth and Syriacs. We will not abandon this, this is what we will nurture. We will embrace this and support it with all we have. We formed our assemblies in liberated areas. When the people say, “We can govern ourselves from now on,” we accept. If they don’t want us there with them, we don’t push them out but support them. We will never support anything that would create chaos in Syria.

To be continued tomorrow.