Bethnahrin Women Protection Forces keep up Resistance for Peace and Freedom

This week marked the sixth anniversary of the founding of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. In the Gozarto (al-Jazeera) region celebrations were held to commemorate the day. On the occasion of this sixth anniversary, spokeswoman of the Bethnahrin Women Protection Forces Nisha Gawriye stated in an interview with Syriac TV channel Suroyo TV;

“Today we gathered to celebrate the sixth anniversary of the Democratic Autonomous Administration. Today we celebrate because it is a special day. We are proud of this day and full of joy in celebrating the anniversary of the establishment of this Administration where equality and brotherhood of the peoples of the region came into being.”

The Autonomous Administration is going through turbulent times. The United States withdrew its forces after which Turkey and Turkish-backed radical groups, in October, invaded the northeastern region to stop the further maturing and democratizing of the multi-ethnic autonomous project which served as a model for greater Syria and the Middle East.

With the threat of massacres, the authorities of the Autonomous Administration agreed on a military agreement with the Syrian regime, and the army of the Syrian Arab Republic and Russian troops re-entered the northeastern region: a region from which the Syrian regime, at the outbreak of the Syrian war, withdrew to defend its core centers and assets in western Syria. The regime transferred the defense and handling of the northeastern region, in agreement, to the PYD and partners.

Turkey’s initial and official intentions were to “crush” the Kurdish PYD and YPG – which Turkey says is a terrorist organization linked to the PPK. Further into the invasion came the goal to create a buffer zone to repatriate hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees, originally from the Western part of Syria. Against the background of the Turkish invasion, Gawriye said;

“We are one people. The people of Syria. Hand in hand and in harmony we fight off the Turkish threat on our lands. Turkey said they wanted to establish a safe zone. But we have seen the exact opposite. Turkey is invading and forcefully taking our lands.

We are resisting this criminal invasion, and we will keep resisting the invading forces until our last drop of blood. And on this day, we remember our Martyrs who gave their blood for this cause. For this cause, Arabs, Kurds and Syriacs have become one. We have become one in our struggle to push back the invading Turkish forces and live in peace and freedom.”