Kobane, the symbol of hope, faces new threat from Islamists

GÖTTINGEN,— “The genocidal attacks by the Islamist regime in Damascus on the Kurdish areas in northeastern Syria continue. Tens of thousands of Kurds are fleeing. Entire cities and regions are surrounded and cut off from the outside world, so that no medicine, food, or fuel can be brought in,” reports Dr. Kamal Sido, Middle East expert at the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV).

“Kurds are being hunted down in the conquered areas. The situation is particularly dramatic in the legendary Kurdish city of Kobanê, which resisted the ”Islamic State” (IS) in 2014. It was from there that the liberation of the region from IS began. In Kobanê, the water and electricity supply has been cut off. Internet access has also been blocked. The radical Islamists are advancing further and further. The deliberate interruption of basic services is creating a humanitarian crisis. Civilians, including children and the elderly, are trapped in darkness and have no access to basic services,” reports the human rights activist.

“Apparently, the Syrian regime wants to take revenge on Kobanê because the city is a symbol of the fight against IS. For the Kurds – and for the world – Kobanê is a symbol of hope and resistance against radical Islam,” says Sido.

In light of the ongoing attacks by troops of the Islamist regime in Syria on the Kurdish population in the northeast of the country, hundreds of thousands of Kurds and members of other threatened Syrian minorities around the world are taking to the streets to protest.

In this context, the Society for Threatened Peoples appeals to the protesting Kurds, Druze, Alawites, and people of solidarity in Germany to conduct their protests exclusively in a peaceful manner. “Even though the pain in the face of the increasingly dramatic news from Syria knows no bounds, we call on all protesters to demonstrate peacefully. The anger at the inaction, indifference, and even support for the Islamist regime in Damascus on the part of the Trump administration, the German federal government, and party leaders in Germany is understandable. Do not let this, or Syrians who support the Islamist regime from here, provoke you! We call on both the federal government and the media in Germany to talk to members of Syrian minorities and not to downplay the Islamist regime,“ Sido appeals.

A large part of the German public stands with the persecuted minorities. ”Even in Germany, the danger posed by radical Islam should not be underestimated,” warns the STP’s Middle East expert.

Among the Arab Sunnis from Syria, there are many people who reject radical Islam and are committed to democracy in their country.

“Many Arab Sunnis from Syria are currently silent, perhaps because they hope that the radical Islamists will bring democracy to Syria. Just like many people in Iran after 1979, when the Khomeini regime came to power. They hoped for more freedom for Iran after the Shah’s terrible dictatorship. But very soon, these Syrians, just like the Iranians back then, will be disappointed. Because radical Islam – whether Shiite or Sunni – has never led to more freedom anywhere, but rather to more war, violence, terror, and hatred between ethnic and religious communities.”

PR from Society for Threatened Peoples. Göttingen – Germany.