Cizire Canton co-chair, Gavriye spoke at Swedish parliament

The co-chair of the Canton of Cizire, Nazira Gavriye made statements about the Turkish state current invasion of Rojava at a meeting attended by members of different political parties in Sweden.

The co-chair of the Cizire canton, Nazira Gavriye, traveled to Europe to hold diplomatic meetings about the ongoing Turkish invasion attacks against Northern and Eastern Syria. Gavriye visited the Swedish Parliament and talked to deputies about the current situation.

Some 11 deputies from different political parties attended the meeting opened by a speech delivered by Christian Democratic Party MP Lars Adaktusson.

Nazira Gavriye said that one third of the Assyrian-Syriacs, who made up about 13% of the Syrian population after the war started, had to leave their land to avoid oppression and attacks.

Gavriye recalled that around 500,000 Assyrians-Syriacs were killed in the 1915 genocide and that some of those who managed to escape the genocide had to migrate to northern Syria and Rojava, which the Syriacs call Gozarto.

They are now trying to do what they failed to achieve 100 years ago

Stating that the Assyrian-Syriacs fled the genocide of Seyfo had established a new life in regions such as Qamişlo, Hesekê, Amûde, Dirbesiyê, Habur and Til Temir, Gavriye said that the Turkish state are currently attacking these regions: "The demography of the region is clearly changing. They are now trying to do what they failed to achieve with the genocide 100 years ago. Ethnic cleansing is what the Turkish state is trying to achieve."

Gavriye drew attention to the fact that minority nations such as the Assyrian-Syriacs who live in the region are weak and unable to make their voices, are those suffering the most.

After the start of the civil war in Syria, the Assyrian-Syriac citizens joined the revolution for ethnic, religious, cultural and social rights, and added that the Syriac Union Party is involved in the revolution from the beginning.

Gavriye said: “Regime forces had withdrawn and so different groups of people established a democratic government to protect themselves from the attacks of Al Nusra and the Free Syrian Army."

Kurdish, Turkmen, Arab, Yazidi, Assyrian-Syriac and other nations, said Gavriye, have secured their rights by signing a social contract.

"We Assyrians-Syriacs and Christians have the right to education in our mother tongue, just like the Arabs and Kurds. Our religion has the same status as Islam. We have political parties. We have armed forces and police forces. All this, Assyrian-Syriacs have not had for 2 thousand years. Our women also have armed organization."

Stating that there is no culture of carrying weapons in the Assyrian-Syriac culture, Gavriye said: "We are honored to have these forces defending us. With the help and support of the coalition, the Kurdish armed groups YPG / YPJ, the Assyrian-Syriac military organization Assyrian Military Council and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are composed also of Arab armed organizations, have liberated the region from ISIS and the caliphate."

After defeating the most dangerous organization in the world and providing security in one third of the Syrian territory, the SDF, and all peoples in Syria, said Gavriye, hoped that a political solution would be reached but the US decision to withdraw its troops has given the green light to Turkey and it has invaded the Northern and Eastern territories of Syria. "This is a threat to our very existence. It is preparation for a new genocide."

Gavriye asked all the Swedish political parties to take a clear stand on the occupation attacks carried out by Turkey and asked for solidarity with the peoples of Northern and Eastern Syria.