Dear friends, sisters and comrades,
Today is the 14th February, and we send you revolutionary greeting from Rojava, the heart of the women’s revolution where right now humanity is being defend.
Transfer and Release of IS Members
Yesterday, the US military announced that the transfer of over 5,700 IS members from prisons here in northeastern Syria to Iraqi custody has been completed. The transfer of these Islamists fighters that are considered particularly dangerous, was the reason for the 15-day ceasefire agreement reached three weeks ago.
News from the Al-Hol Camp came a few days ago reporting many families housed there have left. At the end of last year there was about 6,300 people in the foreign fighters section. Now reports are saying there are Only 20 are said to remain. At the end of last year, there were still over 25,000 people in the camp.
The Al-Hol Camp is not a prison, but a closed camp where the families of captured IS members lived. Even though no direct crimes could be attributed to them, the women played a central role in disseminating ISIS ideology and continued to do so in recent years. The children and women who have now left the camp by the thousands are highly radicalized and pose a significant security risk.
The entire entanglement of these facts is absurd when one considers them: first, the US promotes political Islam as a counterweight to socialist movements in the Middle East, then it fights ISIS and next installs the Islamist HTS as the new government in Syria. Then it allows this government to join the international anti-ISIS coalition and lets it take over ISIS prisons from the SDF, from which hundreds of ISIS members are then—quite unexpectedly—released. Only the top leaders are taken to Iraq because the US ultimately doesn’t want to take the risk of having them unchecked at large.
UN Statement
A spokesperson for the UN Security Council today officially endorsed the ceasefire agreement and the rights of the Kurdish population in Syria. They emphasized that the full political participation of women will be guaranteed in Syria. One participant in the meeting said: “Without Syrian women, the transition will not be legitimate.” Another success is that the region of North and East Syria was specifically mentioned. This is another small step toward international recognition.
Women of all cultures fight together in Rojava
The YPJ press center released a video today in which Kurdish and Arab female fighters speak about their joint defense of Rojava. They say: “Whatever happens, we fight side by side with Arab, Kurdish, Armenian, and Syriac women to defend our homeland.”
We must be prepared for everything
The situation here remains tense. Kobani is still under siege, and there is a shortage of urgent medical supplies. The future remains difficult to predict. Yesterday we shared a part of Fawza Youssef’s interview. I wanted to share another section today. She said…
“Kurds and women must be ready for every possibility so they are not taken by surprise. A new path based on unity lies ahead. Much has been achieved, and much remains to be accomplished. The struggle must continue without pause.”
February 15
Tomorrow is February 15, the day on which Abdullah Öcalan was abducted from Kenya by the Turkish secret service with the support of the CIA and Mossad in 1999. In Kurdish, this day is also called roja reş, the black day, because the abduction of Abdullah Öcalan represented an attack on the entire Kurdish society and its struggle for freedom. Demonstrations and actions will take place in many locations tomorrow. Many are also fasting on this day due to the profound significance of this event.
In closing, we send greetings to the new group that has formed in Saarbrücken to participate in the Women Defend Rojava campaign. We wish you all the strength and success!
