ANKARA
The Turkish Communications Directorate released Friday a video of Syrian Kurds who recalled the oppression they faced at the hands of terrorist group PYD/YPG in the northern part of the country.
İletişim Başkanlığı PYD/YPG'nin gerçek yüzününü anlatan film hazırladı
The eight-minute video reveals the rise of pressure, threats, imprisonment, forcible recruitment and murders that Kurdish people in Ayn al-Arab, also known as Kobane, have endured since the civil war broke out in the country in 2011.
“Doctor, lawyer, bureaucrat! 6 Kurdish refugees in Turkey, who suffered from PYD oppression...Witness their tragic journey from Syria to Turkey...,” the directorate wrote on Twitter, sharing the video.
"Listen to these six witnesses, who closely know the true face of the terror group PYD/YPG," Communications Director Fahrettin Altun also tweeted.
The six witnesses in the video, who fled the oppression in their country and took refuge in Turkey's southeastern border province of Sanliurfa, stress that PYD/YPG terror group does not represent Syrian Kurds and their ideology is based on Qandil, the main base of terrorist PKK.
According to Turkey, PKK and its extension the PYD/YPG pose the biggest threat on Syria’s future, jeopardizing the country’s territorial integrity and unitary structure.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.
While speaking of PYD/YPG's true face, Redif Mustafa, a lawyer from northern Syrian city of Ayn al-Arab (Kobane) -- also the founder of Syrian National Parliament -- said: “They were close to PKK. They gave me a message, saying 'if you speak like this, you’ll die'.”
“They killed Kurdish politicians. They killed my brother,” Abdulaziz Temo, who was a foreign trade manager at the Finance Ministry in Damascus, said, holding similar views with Redif.
“Their aim was not the freedom of Syrian Kurds. They were not serving Syrian Kurdish people, they aimed to make Qandil stronger against Turkey.
“These are not Syrian Kurds, they don’t represent Syrian Kurds at all. These are terrorist groups. They represent the ideology of Qandil,” Abdulaziz noted.
“PKK/YPG groups are commercial partners, making money out of Kurdish blood," he added.
‘240,000 children died’
Mihdi Davud, a doctor from Ayn al-Arab, said PYD/YPG even armed the children forcibly.
He said: “240,000 kids died. Who were these kids? My child, your child or the kid of another."
“I went there, I wanted to help people, serving as a doctor. First, they did not allow me to do that. Then, I went there and worked secretly. After that, they jailed my father,” Mihdi said.
“The world turned a blind eye [to what is happening in Syria], we want the world to notice everything,” he added.
Redif also said that no one has questioned what the people of Kobane really demand.
''We’ve been telling Europe and the U.S. that [YPG/] PKK exists in Syria and it actually rules the country,” Redif stressed, asking: “We are dissidents. Why don’t you hear our voice?”
Rodi Mustafa, another witness in the video, who fled to Turkey due to oppression, said, “Let us, Turkmens, Arabs, Kurds, Christians, and Assyrians live together in harmony.”
“I hope all these people can return to their country,” he said.
Mustafa Misto, a lawyer, said, “We don’t approve that PKK comes from Qandil to govern us.”
The witnesses praised Turkey’s efforts to protect them.
“Turkish people helped us a lot. Some of them sheltered us,” Mustafa Muslim, another witness from Kobane narrated in the video, said.
The former trade manager Abdulaziz agreed, saying: “For the last seven years, we’ve never been oppressed in Turkey. On the contrary, Turkish people helped us a lot when we got here,” he said.
Calling Turkey a “brother” country, he added: “We don’t face any problems here, but we are willing to return to our country as soon as possible.”
* Writing by Nilay Kar Onum
