Kurds Will Fight as Long as They Can Resist: Head of Armenian Kurdish Community

The Kurdish people have long been subjected to genocide plans by Erdogan, according to Knyaz Hasanov, the head of the Armenian Kurdish community and a member of the National Assembly, during an interview with Tert.am discussing Turkey's military operations in northern Syria.

"In Turkey alone, over 20 years, 20 million Kurds have faced violence and genocide. Around 8,000 Kurdish villages have been destroyed by the Turkish authorities, and hundreds of villages have also been erased in Syria by Turkey," Hasanov stated.

According to the Kurdish MP, the Islamists entered Syria under Turkey's patronage and attacked the Kurdish city of Kobani ten years ago. "At that time, it was planned by Turkey to remove the Kurds from Kobani, and this goal was to be achieved through the Islamists. The Islamists massacred 450 women and children in Kobani and spread videos to instill fear in the local Kurds and make them flee, yet the Kurds did the opposite by establishing self-governance bodies and forming self-defense units composed of both men and women. They have been at war with the Islamists for about ten years now and have gradually started to defeat them," the head of the Armenian Kurdish community remarked.

He mentioned that subsequently, the United States began to assist the Kurds by providing weapons and military equipment, recognizing their effective fighting against the Islamists, and as a result, liberated several other cities from their control.

"Turkey, of course, disapproved of the Kurds' advancements. Erdogan would brag with false accusations claiming they were terrorists and a threat to our security. Consequently, he managed to convince the US and Russia that he was fighting against terrorists, rather than seeking to annihilate the Kurds. The issue here was that the conflict between the US and Russia played a role that Turkey exploited. The US seemed to offer solutions for the Kurdish problem—saying they would return your lands—yet recently, Erdogan began playing games with the US again, as if he were a NATO member, and purchased the S-400 from Russia, while also claiming he would buy the F-35 from the US. Ultimately, both the US and Russia left the Kurds alone before the Turkish army," Hasanov noted.

He pointed out that by annihilating the Kurds, they are paving the way for the Islamists. "The Kurds are left alone, and this is not the only incident. When the Turks attacked Afrin two years ago, it was the same situation—America stepped aside, and the Russians washed their hands, allowing Turkey to invade. Our people resisted for three months and prevented them from entering the city, but after aerial bombardments and the massacre of civilians, they finally captured Afrin, forcing the population out and into camps, where they continue to fight for their lives. Then they attacked the city of Sariqani, occupying Kurdish territories 30 km deep and 120 km long, claiming they were resettling Syrian refugees there, but actually creating an Islamist camp within their influence," he expressed.

"I am convinced that if the Islamists settle in those regions, it will be a calamity for the world, a catastrophe for both Russia and the US, and even more so for the Middle East," he added.

In this situation, the head of the Armenian Kurdish union sees no sense in appealing to the international community and great powers for support: "Today, the great powers have become deaf and mute. The US has pulled its troops back from the border, leaving the Kurds alone. Trump stated: 'We once gave the Kurds weapons, we gave them money; let them fight their battle in the Middle East.' I believe that appealing to such powers is a mistake. Some internationally may raise their voices through Europe and the UN, but that too seems to be within the realm of political declarations, with no practical statements. Thus, the Kurds will fight for as long as they can resist; after that, may God help the Kurdish people," he said.