CENI: The “peace corridor” is part of war-mongering plans

CENI warned that any aggression on the Democratic Federation of Northern and Eastern Syria will constitute an attack on all of humanity.

The Dusseldorf based Kurdish Women's Bureau for Peace (CENI) released a statement on the Turkish state’s attacks and threats of invasion against North and East Syria, calling on all feminists, peace activists, environmentalists and human rights advocates, to once again take up the fight against their patriarchal war-mongering governments and to lead this struggle to victory with the greatest determination!

The statement reads as follows;

“On August 7, 2019, Turkey and the USA declared their agreement in relation to the establishment of a so-called “peace corridor” in the region of the Democratic Federation of Northern and Eastern Syria. The discussions over a security corridor came up after the military victory against ISIS in March 2019. This victory had only been possible because of the great efforts and sacrifices of the population on the ground. 11.000 fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fell in the fight against ISIS. More than twice as many people were wounded. Apart from these military efforts, the Kurds, Arabs, Syriacs, Armenians, Yazidis, Turkmen, Circassians, and Chechens on the ground created a grassroots-democratic society, based on the self-determination of women and all faith and ethnic groups, under the harshest conditions. This communal organization laid the foundations for free and peaceful co-existence. This self-organization, created with affection and tireless effort, enabled the community to move steadily and face the future with hope, despite the politics of war, imposed by hegemonic global powers and local defenders of the status quo.  From the perspective of the population on the ground, the discussion over a “security zone” or “peace corridor” is viewed as a great danger and part of the efforts to legitimize war-mongering plans against the population.

In Afrin, the world public has seen the way Turkey acts as an occupying force. Since the people in the Afrin canton were able to defend themselves against ISIS throughout the Syrian war due to their self-organization, the Turkish state decided to take over what ISIS did not manage to achieve. In January 2018, in front of the eyes of the international community, the Turkish state invaded Afrin in violation of international law, killing more than 1.000 people and destroying villages, historical and religious sites, nature and the economic base of the population.  More than 300.000 people were displaced as a result of the invasion and occupation. Extremists collaborating with the Turkish state were settled in the area after the forcible displacement of the native population. They continue to commit war crimes and crimes against community in Afrin to this day, looting homes, kidnapping family members, raping women, torturing prisoners to death, burning down nature and stealing local cultural treasures.

The self-governing regions of North and East Syria at the border with Turkey are now under threat of such crimes. It is particularly cynical to refer to the preparation for renewed displacement and murder of the local population as a “peace corridor”. 

After years of war, the people of the region are yearning for peace. With the lack of a solution for the treatment of nearly 15.000 prisoners of ISIS and their family members, the international dimensions of the war in the Middle East has entered the agenda of the international community. It seemed as though the territorial defeat of ISIS would provide an occasion for a societal and political solution, beyond war. However, as patriarchal powers such as Turkey, Russia, and the USA do not have such features and only know the language of war, there will be no peace until all democratic and peace-loving peoples around the world rise up against patriarchal governments. We want to remind those, who speak of peace and democracy, but do not stand up against the subjugation of peoples by patriarchal regimes of the fact that the wars in the Middle East, the destruction of nature, and violence against women are all immediate products of the war-mongering policies of hegemonic powers, of arms deals and the race for the exploitation of regional resources.

Just as the war in Syria is an immediate result of the patriarchal policies of hegemonic powers, an attack on the self-organization of the local population and the self-determination of women will have immediate impact on the lives of all peoples and women around the world. This in turn will empower patriarchal forces such as ISIS, the weapons industry and hegemonic forces. It will undermine human rights and increase hopelessness. If hope gets destroyed and humanity allows yet another tragedy to unfold, many more disasters will follow. Therefore, any aggression will constitute an attack on all of humanity and should be understood as such.

The people of northern and eastern Syria have expressed their determination to resist everywhere in case of an occupation. In this sense, we call on all feminists, and peace activists, environmentalists and human rights advocates, to once again take up the fight against their patriarchal war-mongering governments and to lead this struggle to victory with the greatest determination!”