Long, fascinating interview with Mazlum Abdi/Kobane in Al-Monitor. Just came out. Highlights below.
https://web.archive.org/web/20260516020830/https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/05/syrian-kurdish-commander-kobane-says-turkey-visit-making-ocalan-meeting-possible?gift_code=H2wlBmcsvqg-dh6haLUtkp78os8
Al-Monitor: The issue of the women fighters — how is that going to be resolved? It seems very difficult given that so many of the new Syrian army’s forces have jihadi backgrounds and would probably be spooked by the presence of radical feminists in their ranks.
Kobane: Damascus says there are no legal provisions for women to hold active combat duty or other positions in the military and that they should be integrated into the Ministry of Interior as part of the internal security forces. The reality is that our women are every bit as brave, smart and competent as any male fighter or commander, if not more so. Negotiations are ongoing, but it seems like that under the current circumstances our women fighters will become part of the internal security forces.
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Al-Monitor: You acknowledge that mistakes were made. To acknowledge this publicly is a rare thing in the Middle East. So, in the final analysis, when you look back at these 15 years, what would you say the Kurdish people in Rojava have gained?
Kobane: It is very important to remember where we started. We were on the cusp of being destroyed by DAESH. Our people were under siege from all sides. Unlike our brothers in Iraqi Kurdistan, we had nowhere to retreat to. There was Turkey on one side and DAESH on the other. Let us recall what Kobani was reduced to in 2014. The majority of the population was forcibly displaced. We came back from the brink of annihilation. We fought for our survival, and we survived. Today, thanks to the sacrifices of our people, from the corridors of the American Congress to far-flung corners of the globe, the world knows about their heroic resistance against one of the most evil and bloodthirsty organizations that ever came into existence.
Today, in Syria, where Kurds were not granted formal identity papers let alone granted any ethnic rights, we are able to formally negotiate those rights with the government in Damascus, with President Sharaa himself, as Kurds and on behalf of the Kurds. It is true that our people’s hopes and dreams have not been fulfilled in the way we would have wanted. But that is not to say that we will not continue to struggle for our rights, that the story ends here and that we will not do everything within our means to help build a democratic future for Syria. Even if it’s under the overall command of the Syrian army, the Kurds have their own forces who will defend them in their own lands. For the past 15 years, Kurdish children have been studying in their own mother tongue, and we will ensure that they will continue to do so. Imagine that under Assad rule, when I was still a little boy going to middle school, I was imprisoned by the regime for carrying a book in the Kurdish language. Today’s Syria is incomparable with the one that existed before 2011. Our spirit remains unbroken. Forging consensus peacefully, through dialogue, without compromising our dignity, our distinct Kurdish identity — that is our path. The Kurds of Syria are a reality that can no longer be ignored.
#Syria #Rojava #YPJ #SDF