TEWAR PÊNCEWÎN

Sulaymaniyah – ISIS members continue to carry out attacks in the Federal Kurdistan Region and Rojava. On January 20, ISIS attacked al-Sina Prison in the southern part of the city of al-Hasakah. On March 8, it attacked the 14th Military Brigadeunder the auspices of the Iraqi Forces, in the village of Gerdehar, near the Qereçox Mountain in the Federal Kurdistan Region. According to the information given by the Iraqi Army General Spokesperson, ISIS was organizing a suicide attack but the attack was prevented by the Governor of Sulaymaniyah. The members of ISIS organizing the attacks were reportedly arrested. While the threat of ISIS continues in the region, people react to not being informed about the activities of ISIS.

“Gaps pave the way for ISIS”

Tara Hesên, the vice co-chair of the Kurdistan Freedom Movement, spoke to NuJINHA about the ongoing threat of ISIS in the region. She told us that the authorities try to create different agendas through the media. Emphasizing that all diplomatic and administrative affairs should not be only about oil and trade, Tara Hesên said, “However, the important thing is to protect personal interests. The government must have a plan to protect the achievements. There are gaps in the Federal Kurdistan Region. And these gaps pave the way for ISIS to attack villages and cities.”

“The government is ineffective in fighting ISIS”

Criticizing the repression of the government against those who fight for the interests of the people, Tara Hesên said, “The government doesn’t fight against terrorists, fascism and ISIS members but the freedom fighters to silence the people.  Authorities arrest the fighters; they do nothing against ISIs members. Yesterday, ISIS attacked Shengal, today it attacks Rojava, and tomorrow it will attack Sulaymaniyah and Erbil. In 2014, we saw in Erbil how they (authorities) left the city when ISIS moved to Maxmur. They are not ready to defend the people because of their politics and power, and our society is not ready to take such a risk.”

“Women should learn how to defend themselves”

Emphasizing that the people should not rely on the government to find a solution in the Federal Kurdistan Region, Tara Hesên said, “They shouldn’t expect anything from the government. As we experienced before, the government couldn’t protect the people. It couldn’t protect Kirkuk, Shengal, and Maxmur; it cannot protect Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Duhok. For this reason, the opposition forces must have a project and must be truly sincere. People should organize themselves. Especially women should organize themselves. They should learn the science of women and how to defend themselves.”