URFA - Stating that they want Kurds sacrificed for the expansion of NATO, British journalist Matt Broomfield said: "Erdogan wants to put his anti-Kurdish and racist policies into action for the upcoming elections."

 

While the attacks against Avaşîn, Metina and Zap in the Federated Kurdistan Region continue in cooperation with the KDP, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gave the signal for an attack on Northern and Eastern Syria. In his speech at his party's group meeting on June 1, Erdoğan stated that they have completed the preparations for the attack, that they will target Manbij and Til Rıfat, and then head to other regions.

 

British journalist Matt Broomfield, who worked in Northern and Eastern Syria for 3 years, evaluated the purposes of possible attacks and what consequences they would have.

 

Stating that Turkey's possible attacks have two aims Broomfield said: "The first aim is to destroy the Kurds, and the second aim is to destroy the political project that is being tried to be created in Northern and Eastern Syria. Erdogan constantly puts forward the 'refugee' card in his attacks on Northern and Eastern Syria, but we know that there is no refugee problem threatening Turkey from Rojava at the moment. Refugees who migrated from Afrin live in Til Rifat and Shehba, and Turkey may carry out an attack on these areas as well."

 

'TURKEY FEARS THE SYSTEM IN ROJAVA TO BE KNOWN BY THE PEOPLE'

 

Stating that Erdogan's policy is not to accept the existence of the Kurdish people, Broomfield said: "Erdogan wants to put his anti-Kurdish and racist policies into action for the upcoming elections. We know that  Kurds are not the only people who live in Northern and Eastern Syria. Millions of Arabs, Assyrians, Chechens, Circassians and Turkmen are living in the new system that is being built. This poses a great danger to Erdogan because he knows that if the peoples of Turkey realize the system created in Rojava, they will try to put it into practice in Turkey. That's why he doesn't want the people in Turkey to find out about the system in Rojava."

 

'RUSSIA DIDN'T SHOW A CLEAR ATTITUDE'

 

Stating that the deployment of Russian forces in some parts of Northern and Eastern Syria and the US forces in another, divided the region into two separate parts, Broomfield said: “We see that Russia is losing leverage lately. Turkey, on the other hand, has problems with NATO. With these crises, Erdogan can attack certain points; however, Turkey does not seem to be able to attack places where US forces are located because recently, the statements of the US Ministry of Foreign Affairs were important for Erdoğan. What is important for the USA is the forces that stand against Russia. Erdogan is currently negotiating with both Russia and the United States. He's expection permission from them so he can attack.  It is not clear exactly where the attacks will be against, but there are some possibilities. In short, we can say that the forces there, use the Kurds for their own interests. The United States has more or less determined its position, but Russia has not taken a clear stand. Russia wants to take back Idlib. There were talks between the United States and Putin regarding this. However, we do not know what the result was. But here's the thing. Putin is acting according to Erdogan's rhetoric.”

 

'THERE MAY BE SOME AGREEMENTS BETWEEN ERDOĞAN AND RUSSIA'

 

Stating that the USA is carrying out a bilateral policy towards the Kurdish freedom struggle, Broomfield said, “There are things in Rojava that the Kurds and the USA act in common because it is a strategic place for the USA. However, it also supports Turkey in attacking the Kurdish forces there. The USA may not allow Turkey to attack Rojava, but it does allow it to attack the Kurdish freedom struggle in Bashur. There may be some agreements between Erdogan and Russia in the future. We should see that the USA and Russia are against democratic politics. If it suits their interests, they can cooperate with Erdogan."

 

NATO MEMBERSHIP OF 2 COUNTRIES

 

Reminding Finland and Sweden's applications for NATO membership, Broomfield said: "Erdogan initially objected to their membership, but later made demands to allow their membership. Stating that the two countries do not support the Kurdish freedom struggle and do not recognise the autonomous administration in North-East Syria, Broomfield said: "They are planning to sacrifice the Kurds for their own interests."

 

SYRIAN REGIME

 

Noting that the Assad regime has plans to take back Northern and Eastern Syria, Broomfield said, “The regime cannot attack because it is not strong enough. An alliance was formed in the attacks that took place in 2019. With this alliance, new points belonging to the regime were created in Northern and Eastern Syria. We can say that the autonomous administration will also make preparations against possible attacks.”

 

'PEOPLES WILL RESPOND TO ATTACKS'

 

Stating that SDF forces will respond to the attacks, Broomfield added: “The SDF does not have enough weapons in Northern and Eastern Syria. But we saw them fight to the last drop of their blood. These are not two equal sides, Turkey is launching air strikes. If there is a hand-to-hand war, Turkey cannot enter there. We have seen examples of this before in Serêkaniye and Afrin. Along with all these, Arabs, Kurds and all other peoples are included in the autonomous administration established in Northern and Eastern Syria. We know that they will respond to the attacks that will take place.”

 

 

 

MA / Ceylan Sahinli