Surkel Sheikho

Til Temir – For two centuries, the Kurdish people have not been spared from genocide, displacement, killing, and abduction. Nevertheless, they have never accepted injustice and have always been in the midst of uprisings and revolutions.

Hamdiya Kote, the mother of the martyr Jinda Til Temir, evaluated the importance of this period and the need to hold a national congress for the Kurdish people. She said that the time for condemning conspiracies has passed and that the time for resistance to ensure a free life has come:

“The conspiracy against Leader Apo began and continues to this day through different plans. The aim of today’s conspiracy is to annihilate the Kurdish people in Rojava. But we are part of Syria and we will not separate from it. We are also against the partition of Syria and hostility toward its people.”

“Sectarian war is a plan of international powers”

Hamdiya Kote recalled the plans carried out by international powers against the peoples living together:

“If international powers want to ignite a sectarian war between Kurds, Arabs, and Syriacs, we Kurds do not want that, because we are people of peace and our goal is a dignified life on our land, with our identity, language, and culture. The whole world has united against the Kurds, so why don’t we unite as well?”

She called on the Kurds to rise and unite:

“Rise up! Today is the day of Kurdish unity and alliances. The Kurdish people in Kurdistan have united for a long time; now it is time for the political parties to unite and hold a national congress. The whole world has united against us and is carrying out conspiracies, so why don’t we unite and obtain our status? Kurds must stop partisanship. Our people have suffered more and more, thousands of young men and women have left their homeland, we have witnessed mass migration, and much property has been destroyed.”

She emphasized that Kurdish political parties must deeply feel the pain and suffering of the Kurdish people:

“After the martyrdom of more than twenty thousand people, how many more years will we remain hostage to international conspiracies? When we unite, America, France, Israel, Turkey, Iran, and other states will not be able to conspire against us. Our strength—seventy million Kurds—is enough for the world, but unfortunately not enough for our divided political parties. Let whoever leads the Kurds lead them, but the important thing is that they are Kurds and that we unite our ranks.”

She stressed the importance of responding to international conspirators with Kurdish alliances:

“What vision did Leader Apo present to the Kurdish people and political parties in the peace process? The aim of this new conspiracy is to entrench the philosophy of Leader Abdullah Öcalan. Since they conspire against us, why don’t we form our own alliances and strengthen our power? What ability does Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham have to attack the Kurds? Turkish officers participate in their attacks, and they attack the Kurds with Turkish, American, and Israeli weapons. Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham went, formed alliances, sold itself, and then came to attack us Kurds.”

She pointed out that the mothers of the martyrs have vowed to avenge their children, expressing this as follows:

“We will rebuild the graves of our martyrs that were destroyed. Our history will not be lost with the destruction of the martyrs’ graves, because the Kurds are the oldest people to inhabit this land. We are only defending ourselves on our land. Wherever we went, we liberated them, educated them, raised them, and taught them their language and culture.”

From the Mahabad uprising to the Rojava revolution

She also referred to the uprisings throughout Kurdish history:

“From Sheikh Said, Qazi Muhammad, and Seyid Riza until today, Kurdish revolutions continue. But the secret of the failure of these revolutions throughout history has been betrayal. Plans were made against those uprisings and revolutions, and they are being repeated today. However, our revolution today is based on the philosophy of Leader Abdullah Öcalan. Therefore, we do not want to lose the achievements we have protected, and Kurdish political parties must understand this well.”

Hamdiya Kote said that the achievements of the Kurdistan Region are also in danger:

“The conspiracy against Rojava is also a conspiracy against the Kurdistan Region. Kurds must pressure their political parties to hold a national congress together with Rojava in order to save the people from genocide. Until when will mothers’ hearts continue to burn and martyrs continue to be given?”