Speaking to ILKHA, Radif Mustafa, a Kurdish politician and jurist who heads the Syrian Society of Independents, made important statements about what happened in the PKK/YPG-controlled region.       

Stressing that the PKK/YPG also cooperated with the United States and Western powers as well as the regime, Iran and Russia, serving all forces except the Kurds, Mustafa said: "Kurdish areas were left to the PKK/YPG by the regime in exchange for Kurds not participating in the riots and moving the issue to Turkey."

He said: "The PKK/YPG, which the West powers say is fighting ISIS, is also cooperating with ISIS, and that the PKK/YPG has released ISIS recruits, who were overpowered and handed over to them by US and coalition forces, in exchange for dollars."                        

Mustafa also expressed support for Operation Peace Spring launched by Turkey and warned not to repeat the mistakes made in Afrin.

Drawing attention to attention to the rights violations and bad practices in Afrin. Mustafa said: "We hope that this 'fountain of peace' will be clean and clear, not blurry, not polluted and not cause harm to anyone. "                          

"The PKK has worked against the Kurds since the beginning"

 

Stating that the PKK has harmed the Kurds since the settlement in Syria, Mustafa gave the following information about Abdullah Ocalan's view of the Syrian Kurds:                      

"In the eighties was a military coup in Turkey. Some political faction in Turkey crossed into Syria. One of them was the PKK. At that time, the PKK was the only party that formed an alliance with the Assad regime. The Syrian regime supported the PKK. They made room for them. At that time Lebanon was under Syria's control. It opened camps for military training and gave military support to the PKK in both Syrian territory and Lebanese territory. Since then, we have had problems with the PKK. We are Syrian Kurds and we want our rights from Damascus. in his book named "7 Days with the President"   Abdullah Ocalan wrote 'There are no Kurds in Syria and no problems in Syria. Kurds in Syria are immigrants and have migrated here from Turkey. They have to come back. ' Since then, Assad, in alliance with Ocalan, has been trying to bring the Syrian Kurds against Turkey."

"The PKK looked to the Syrian Kurds as a warehouse of people and logistics"

Saying that he remembered being young at the time and that the Kurds in Syria were fighting the PKK, Mustafa stated: "The PKK was looking at the Syrian Kurds as a store of people and logistics. They used to come and take our young people away when they needed them. He used to come and take our young people away when they needed militants. Thousands of Syrian Kurdish youths have lost their lives in the war against Turkey. From the beginning, the PKK has stood against us. As Syrian Kurds, we know the PKK very well. The PKK has nothing to do with Kurds or Kurdish nationalism. It wants to use the Kurds only for his purposes and goals. It is using the Kurdish issue to attract Kurds to them. But their goals and goals were never Kurdish. Kurdish nationalism was just a slogan to drag the people. The PKK is a left-wing party. Its ideas and ideology have nothing to do with the history, culture and faith of the Kurds.
They even wanted to destroy the family. Every step was against the Kurds. We all know that after the establishment of Iraqi Kurdistan, Ocalan said it was a dagger stuck in Arab states and countries in the region. When the PKK announced that it was speaking on behalf of the Kurds and wanted the freedom of Kurdistan in four parts, Hafez al-Assad asked him, "which four parts?", Ocalan immediately said," Not four but three pieces, " and ignored Syrian Kurdistan. The PKK has stood against Kurds and Kurdish nationalism since it was founded."

                         

"Syria expelled Ocalan from country but did not touch PKK"

Referring to the process of Ocalan's removal from Syria, Mustafa said: "Turkey intimidated the Syrian regime and expelled Ocalan from Syria. Öcalan traveled the world by plane, and when he could not find a place to shelter, Turkey caught him and placed him in Imralı. The PKK then threatened to destroy and burn Turkey. But it couldn't do anything. So what did the Assad regime do next? Yes, he took Ocalan out of Syria, but he left the PKK there. While there were a number of repression, detentions and arrests it did not touch the organizational structure of PKK and protected them for such a day."

"Both Arabs and Kurds were persecuted in Syria"                      

Pointing out that the Arabs were persecuted in one way and the Kurds in two ways in Syria, Mustafa said: " Firstly, the whole Syrian nation was under persecution because of an unfair dictator and a dirty regime in Syria. Secondly, Kurdish people were persecuted just because they were Kurds.   In Kobanê, Amudê and Qamishlo, the Kurdish people saw great atrocities from the regime. They were disenfranchised from their all fundamental democratic rights. Many of them didn't even have IDs. Even the cows were given identification but not the Kurds. Because You're Kurdish, you couldn't sell or buy a square inch of land along the border line. In fact, many Kurds in Tal Abyad were registering the deed of their lands on Arab descent people. Although these Arabs were friendly and trustworthy, after he died, his children inherited the property. Thus, thousands of unsolvable problems emerged. Apart from these, many racist projects against the Kurds have been developed. They imposed implications such as the Arabic curriculum and population restriction. They even banned speaking Kurdish. I was detained for singing Kurdish songs at my wedding, tortured and arrested. If a Kurdish song was sung at a wedding, the groom and the person who sang the song were immediately detained. A systematic racist policy was being carried out against the Kurds. Their aim was the assimilation and Arabization the Kurds. He had many projects in this way. The Syrian people have seen that they actually want to Assad's Syria as a whole. They have turned Syria from a country into a field, a park for Hafez al-Assad and his family. They have founded a monarchy.   The government of the Republic should be elected by votes of the people. But when Hafez al- Assad died, he handed over power to his son."             

"The regime left the Kurds, who suffered great atrocities, to the PKK"

 

Reminding the Adana agreement signed between Turkey and Syria, Mustafa went on: "Even though the regime declared the PKK as a terrorist organization and signed the Adana agreement, it immediately clung to the PKK when the events of Syria began in 2011. Kurds participated in the 2011 uprising, too. The countries that openly supported the regime at the time were Russia and Iran. These countries saw that if the Kurds supported the uprising, the regime would be overthrown. In late 2011, these two states formed an alliance between the regime and the PKK. The first condition of this alliance is that the PKK would take to the streets in Syria. These countries would provide PKK with weapons, necessary equipment and logistical support, and PKK would keep away the Kurds from the insurgency and the resistance. The PKK has also imposed pressure and persecution on the Kurds and has driven them out of the resistance. That's how they took control of Kurdish areas. Turkey supports the resistance, PKK would will bring this issue to the Turkish side. Note that both of these considerations have been fulfilled. The PKK massacred Kurds in Amudê, til Xezalê, Afrin and many other places in order to fulfill this duty. He pressured, detained, kidnapped, threatened and killed the people. He has put great pressure on the Kurdish parties and their formations in Syria that they could keep them away the resistance.

 

"PKK, regime and ISIS have worked together many times"

The PKK carried out the first task given on behalf of the regime by controlling Kurdish areas, while ISIS was put in place to carry out the second task, which was to move the issue to the Turkish side, Mustafa said.

Noting that the PKK, the regime and Daesh have worked together many times, he said, " I am from Kobané. ISIS suddenly came and attacked Kobanê. So, what's in Kobanê? It has neither oil nor is it a place of strategic importance. Despite this, ISIS attacked there. Even now, we think there is a collaboration between ISIS and the PKK. The PKK, the regime and Daesh have worked together many times, and this is a known fact. In particular, they were doing cement and oil sales together. We are the native of this land, and we are aware of its every action. La Farge is a French company. It has factories in Xirabhışkê. The cement it produced was reaching all the way from here to Latkiye in the hands of the regime. PKK was in Kobanê and ISIS was in Membic. How did this cement get there? On the other side, there was ISIS in Raqqa and it was passing through here again and being delivered to many places. In the same time, the oil came out of Remelan and passed under the control of the PKK, reaching Latkiye and Tartus. We have a lot of evidence that the regime, Daesh and PKK have done a lot of work together."

"The number of dead in Kobanê is higher than that of living"

Stating that the YPG then agreed with the United States and acted with them, as a result the Kurds paid the biggest price, Mustafa said:" Trump says the PKK is a terrorist and is a terrorist structure worse than ISIS. Until yesterday, however, he was providing them with money, weapons and logistical support. It seems the US has played this game. So they said that they would clean up one terror group with another terror group. Unfortunately, we paid the biggest price. I saw yesterday that the regime is moving to Kobanê. The regime handed it over to them and left, and now the regime is coming back. In Kobanê, the number of dead is greater than the number of living. It's got graves everywhere. The PKK is responsible for the murder of so many people, they shed this blood. Well, why did they do that?"

"If you are not from the PKK, you must be exterminated"

Pointing out that the PKK/YPG does not give anyone the right to life except itself, Mustafa said: "Once you are not with the PKK, if you support the resistance or if you support any party beside them, you are a traitor, you are an informant, you are Erdogan and you must be killed and destroyed immediately. The PKK took all administrative, military, economic and similar institutions into its own hands. They did not accept any dissident Kurds. If a Kurd criticizes them, they label him informant and Erdoganist, and if an Arab criticizes them, they label him Daesh.

 

"If they liberated Kobanê, why did half the Kurds flee there?"

Noting that no one else has done the damage as much as the PKK has done to the Syrian Kurds, Mustafa pointed out the Kurds who were forced to leave Kobanê, saying: "There are many important questions that we want to ask Europe and America. You say you liberated Kobanê. Well, then why don't the people of Kobanê come back? More than half of the people of Kobanê are now in Turkey, some in Iraqi Kurdistan and Europe. Because they don't trust that system, the PKK. Because PKK takes their children to the battlefields. When they take their blood money, they put this money into their pockets. There's no education system. There is no economic situation. Many of them did not return because of these, and many even became refugees because of them. And many of those who have left will not return.

"There are more Kurds leaving the region than Arabs."

Emphasizing that the number of Kurds fleeing Kurdish areas outnumbered Arabs. Mustafa said: " The number of Kurds who are refugees coming out of cities like Amudê is more than that of Arabs and Turkmens. This is a very strange situation. Nobody knows about this.  The PKK says it is Kurdish and controls Kurdish areas, but there are more Kurds fleeing the PKK than Arabs. No other formation has done the damage as the PKK has done to the Syrian Kurds. Many of those who are refugees in cities like Ra'sulayn are Kurds. It is not clear whether they will ever return or what will happen to them. A huge problem remains in front of us."

Stating that the Syrian Kurds do not like the PKK and want to get rid of the PKK, Mustafa said: "But the developments in the last 10 years have caused the PKK to take control. another issue is that the media Institutions held by the PKK are very powerful. They've set up about 45 media outlets and they're trying to influence the public with them. However, they persuaded some with fear and pressure and some with money."

"The mistakes made in Afrin should not be repeated"

Mustafa emphasized that some of the negativity in Afrin caused the Kurds to fear, and warned that the same mistakes should not be made as a result of the Operation Peace Spring.

Noting that the Syrian Kurds want to get rid of the PKK and at the same time they do not want the Assad regime to come back, Mustafa warned: "Bad experiences in Afrin and negative situations caused Kurds to fear. But the bad experiences in Afrin are also before our eyes. There have been many rights abuses, theft, torture and even public atrocities in respect of honor. We conveyed this to the Turkish and SNA authorities. These negativity distorts both our image and Turkey's image. The public needs an experience and a sample that should be an example. Therefore, the people of Kobanê, Amudê and Qamişlo are also concerned that rights violations in Afrin might happen here too. This is a very important issue. We are openly and formally expressing and saying these concerns to the public. We hope that this" spring of peace " will be clean and clear, not blurry, not polluted and not cause harm to anyone."

"This is not the Kurdish-Turkish War"

 

Stressing that the claim of a "Turkish-Kurdish war" was completely unfounded, he said: "They say Turkey will destroy the Kurds. We are now in Turkey with more than 300 thousand Syrian Kurds. If Turkey is coming to destroy the Kurds there, we are already in their hands. There are more than 20 million Kurds in Turkey. the Kurds have some problem in Turkey. But we hope that these problems will be resolved peacefully. In the same way, Turkey has a great commercial and political relationship with the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.

This is only a propaganda made by the PKK. The experience in Afrin caused the fear of the people in Kobanê and elsewhere, because there was excessive violence, oppression and theft there, and unfortunately, there were incidents in which the honor of the people would be hurt. They were worried about a repeat of this. I was in Ceylanpınar and Akcakale during this campaign. We were in contact with our people on the Syrian side. There's even some video recording of them telling us that this operation was not against the Kurds. They openly say they are against PKK terrorism. We're brothers. We don't want any violations. There have been a few negative incidents in Tel Abyad, such as the theft, and although the victim of this incident was not Kurdish but Arab, we reacted harshly to it. We wanted him to be severely punished. Turkey and SNA officials also took this into account and made official statements. They said they had set up a committee to immediately intervene in such rights abuses. Some positive steps have been taken. There is a saying in Kurdish 'ku devê meriv ji şir şewiti, meriv pıf dike dew' (Once burnt twice shy). We have to be very careful because of the Afrin experience. In general, the Government of Turkey says they are going to save the people from terrorism, not to allow SNA members to steal people's property, to inflict oppression and injustice on the people. Therefore, this Kurdish-Turkish War is only PKK propaganda. Yesterday they were shamelessly applauding the regime."

"Military forces have to get out of towns."

Stating that the military units should be stationed outside the city, Mustafa went on: "We also conveyed these demands to the authorities. We even have an office in Afrin. We told them that the military forces must get out of the city and out of the villages. But they didn't listen to us and we also see that this is wrong. No matter what city is in the world right now, whether it is Paris or Washington or Ankara, if military power is inside the city, it will be destroyed. We've said that a lot, but unfortunately they haven't listened to us. They have some reasons. They say 'PKK is close and among us, they may carry out some attacks'. Despite these troubles, the public is more comfortable in Afrin at the moment. During the period when the PKK dominated, it was not possible for people like us to speak freely, to go there and give support. The PKK is a military force, it has nothing to do with politics. There was only the PKK in Afrin and it did not accept the existence of anyone else. He accused the dissident Kurds of treason and not being Kurds. Now a new opportunity has passed into the hands of the people of Afrin to improve their situation. But they were under constant threat and threat during the period when the PKK dominated."

"The PKK is responsible for the war"

If PKK had had any national or humanitarian or tribal thinking, they should have known that they couldn't deal with Turkey, they knew that the Turkish army is the one of the biggest armies in NATO.

Then the PKK must withdraw. They should hand it over to the Kurds, who are the real owners, that is, they should hand it over to the ENKS and the indigenous tribes. Why are they dragging us to war? Why are they causing our homes to destroy, people to die, refugees? This is war, and we don't want this war. The PKK is responsible for this war and it is the PKK that caused the process to come to this point. There will be damages, people will be refugees, civilians will be harmed. Because this is war. Tel Abyad is gone. Resulayn will fall soon. They cannot fight. Why do they have people's children killed?

"The PKK came and crushed our heads once again"

Noting that the PKK / YPG wants to make Syrian Kurds fight against Turkey, Mustafa said:" Why did they come from Turkish Kurdistan and want to make me their own prisoner? We're Syrians. Okay, we're Kurds, we're brothers, but we're Syrians. Our real problems need to be solved in Damascus.

I have no problem with Turkey. I don't want to be an enemy with Turkey. They have brought an Iranian Kurd with them as a Kurd of Turkey and they want to take me under their control and make me fight against Turkey. In this what are your interests? Isn't that stupidity and madness? We are Kurds, we have problems, but we do not want to be persecuted and persecuted again. We don't want to be treated as second-class citizens in Syria. With this insurrection and resistance, we had an opportunity. To shout that we are Kurds. The PKK came and once again crushed our heads and stepped on our bodies and said Turkey was the enemy of the Kurds. It was the Assad regime that persecuted us, detained us, killed more than a million people and the people of the region. It was the Assad regime that used chemicals against the Syrian people, not Turkey. We came to Turkey as refugees. Turkey hosted us. When ISIS attacked Kobanê, all of the Kobanê people crossed into Turkey as a whole, they didn't go anywhere else and they didn't have anywhere else to go. I saw it with my own eyes that Turkey even treated the wounded of the YPG. They're really good at humanity. There may be some shortcomings in the political issue. But because they are states, their priority is their own interests. In any case, a state will first defend its own interests. But since this uprising began, Turkey has been on our side and supported us. Nor did they show a lack of a humanitarian point. Why would I make Turkey my enemy? I'm Kurdish and I'm Syrian. I want my rights. I don't want to have any animosity with Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon.

"For the PKK/YPG, it doesn't matter if civilians die"

Recalling the attacks from Syria on the region where civilians are, Mustafa said:" It is not important for the PKK/YPG to kill civilians and that I was there when the rocket was fired at Akcakale. I saw the rocket coming from the other side of Syria. It fell 50 yards away. Two rockets in a row. In fact, our friend Abdulaziz Temo was on the border at the time. We saw with our own eyes how they threw rockets at civilians. Killing civilians in their eyes is nothing. It is not a nuisance in their culture. They want to do propaganda all the time. Everyone knows the Rockets came from the other side. They attacked a hotel in Akcakale, there were members of the media. The PKK only wants to trick the Kurds by making these propagandas. They cannot tell France with this propaganda that Turkey has fired these rockets. They just want to trick Kurdish people. The PKK says Turkey is killing civilians. If Turkey kills civilians, the number of civilian dead would increase on the other side. On the other side, however, the civilian death toll is low.

"They work with anyone who gives them money"

Stating that the PKK / YPG is an organization working for money, Mustafa said:" Once they're paid, they work for everyone. There is an international conflict in Syria. Israel, Turkey, America, Russia, Iran, France, Jordan and Saudi Arabia are all in the region either militarily or politically. Even though America has a strong state and military, it can't bring them together, it can't deal with these problems. How can the PKK do this and collect them? The PKK has relations with America, Russia, Iran, France and Saudi Arabia. If there were a problem between the two of them tomorrow, it is the PKK that would be crushed underfoot. Let the Kurdish Syrian be killed, PKK officials will take their dollars and go from there.

"They released the ISIS for money"

Noting that it was America and coalition forces that detain Daesh, he said:" But PKK leaders sold ISIS operatives for dollars. They were taking dollars from ISIS recruits and releasing them in return. After this operation, they released ISIS prisoners from prisons. Trump told them, ' don't release the ISIS, this is our labor.'  But they released them. And Trump said they are worse terrorists than ISIS. And also, as I said at the beginning, there is an economic relationship between the PKK and ISIS. They were selling oil and cement to each other. Most of these 12 thousand people are really ISIS. Many of these were controlled by coalition forces. Nearly 4 thousand of them are not Syrian, but foreign nationals. They released them to create chaos. The night they released them from the prison in Ayn İsa, I couldn't sleep until morning. We feared they would come back to our villages and harm the people. We feared a massive massacre would happen again. We feared a massive massacre would happen again. They're just propaganda. Sometimes they say they are Democratic Forces, they are not Kurdish. When they are in trouble, they say they are Kurds."

"They used and persecuted the Kurds"

Emphasizing that they do not have a concern about the Kurdish cause and that they use the Kurds, Mustafa said, "They have exerted great cruelty and oppression on the Kurds. Now they bring and hang the regime's papers, posters, flags. We are ashamed of what they have done. Even Trump, who owns them, says," These are the devil, these are terrorists." We hope to get rid of the Assad regime and the PKK as soon as possible."

"Syria is not a safe place for Kurds because of the PKK"

Mustafa said that because the Syrian Kurdistan has been in the hands of the PKK / YPG for years, hundreds of thousands of Kurds are refugees outside Syria and are afraid to return. Noting that the PKK / YPG is forcibly armed Kurdish youth, Mustafa said:  "Syria is not a safe environment for the Kurds because of the PKK. There is also no politically viable environment.  When they came to Syria in Ocalan's time, some of us said to them, 'the Kurds in Iraq in Iran are working for the rights of the Kurds in their own land. What are you guys doing in Syria? What do you have to do with the Syrian Kurds?' So they killed some of them, and cut off their nose and ears. We haven't forgotten these yet. Terrorist's job is to kill. If Allah grants this region freedom, you can go and see that the number of dead and graves in Syrian Kurdistan is greater than the number of living. Why are you making my kids soldiers for other people? Let them fight for themselves."

"Don't be fooled by PKK propaganda"

Stressing that as long as the PKK and its extensions are in Syria, they will be in danger, Mustafa said: " My advice to the Kurds of Turkey and Syria is: do not be fooled by the propaganda of the PKK. I hope that the Syrian Kurds will not give up their homeland and return to the places they went. If Man leaves his roots, his land and his nation, he will not only lose his value but also his existence. The situation in Syria is not really stable and we are part of it. We don't want these wars to happen. As long as the PKK and its extensions are among us, we are in danger. (ILKHA)