The greater our pain now, the greater will be our struggle for freedom
This morning, a civilian vehicle carrying our comrade Xalide Mihemed Şerif and her 24-year-old son Ednan Silêman was attacked by the fascist Turkish state. Xalide Mihemed Şerif was active with Kongra Star in the city of Qamishlo and was a vanguard of her society. This is a direct attack against us as women! This is an other femicide comitted by the fascist Turkish state! Against our self-organisation and fight for women‘s liberation!
These attacks, which violate international law, are part of a series of Turkish attacks on the population in northern and eastern Syria that has increased sharply in the past week. And even as we write this statement, more than 8 Turkish unmanned drones are flying close over Qamishlo looking for their next targets.
The fascist Turkish state is systematically waging a drone war against female activists and leaders of their society, and the first of these kinds of attacks happened 4 years ago in Halince. On June 23 in Helincê, Kobane, three women Zehra Berkel, Hebun Xelil and Emine Weysî, who have been working as members of the women’s movement and activists to improve the living conditions of women in North and East Syria and the Middle East, were attacked. The fascist Turkish state has been waging a systematic drone war against the women’s revolution, its achievements and the democratic self-administration in North and East Syria under the pretext of fighting terrorism. Over the years, politically active women who are at the vanguard of their society have been attacked again and again. Today’s attack on our comrade Xalide and her son is a continuation of the Halince massacre.
The Turkish state, with its patriarchal mentality, especially attacks those who organize themselves in the struggle against patriarchy and play an important role in society. For years, women in North and East Syria have been organising themselves and fighting against the patriarchal mentality and for a change in society based on the liberation of women. From the beginning on Kongra Star, as women‘s movement in Rojava, played an important role for women‘s liberation and was build up to strengthen as well as organise the women. These women have played an important role in the fight against ISIS and now the Erdogan government is taking revenge for ISIS against these women by attacking them and their achievements. The Erdogan government is in no way inferior to the misogynist and feminicidal mentality of ISIS, the fascist regime of Turkey is playing the role of ISIS today with all its efforts and aggression. They are the enemy of the freedom of women, peoples and cultures. Their existence is the cause of brutality and barbarism everywhere. We see this both in these attacks and in the areas occupied by Turkey.
Turkey is waging an anti-Kurdish war and targeting Kurdish activists in all parts of Kurdistan and beyond. The Turkish state is hostile to the Kurds because it feels threatened in its nationalist ideology. Therefore, we Kurds must also understand this attack as an anti-Kurdish one and oppose it with a united voice. Neither as a people in North and East Syria nor as women in Rojava will we take a single step back, these attacks increase our anger and our will to stand up for the defense of the revolution under all circumstances.We insist on women’s freedom and the development of this revolution, and our enemy should know this well. We will not retreat a step. The greater our pain now, the greater will be our struggle for freedom.
The fascist state of Turkey continues to commit war crimes. It does not recognize humanitarian or legal norms. Today, before the eyes of the world, war crimes are being committed in our country, our cities, our lives. In order to destroy the will of the people and the people, they carry out attacks without interruption. It represents the fascism of today. That is why it wants to destroy any progress that exists in the name of freedom, democracy and peace. The attacks that are being carried out in northeastern Syria and other parts are all one concept and interconnected. The violence against South Kurdistan, the violence against female journalists and the violence against Rojava are all connected. Therefore, as people living in Kurdistan, we must resist this fascism. Only resistance, struggle and unity can save us from fascism. This painful event should be used to raise awareness and hear about our struggle.
We call on the international community and organizations to raise their voices against the brutal and human rights violating attacks of the Turkish state and to assume their responsibilities. Turkey attacked the people of North and East Syria and none of these women who were attacked were terrorists they were all women who served their communities and fought for women’s freedom according to the JIN JIYAN AZADI philosophy. The terrorists are Erdogan’s government and the international community supports them with its silence. It is well known that silence gives strength to fascism. The silence of the world is the reason why massacres happen every day in our country. For this reason, we as the Star congress say that the silence of the international forces makes AKP-MHP fascism strong.
We call on all women, women’s movements and organizations and all freedom-loving people to join us in a common struggle against feminizied.
