Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chairperson
International League of Peoples’ Struggle
September 3, 2016
We, in the International League of People’s Struggle (ILPS), condemn in the strongest terms the invasion by Turkish troops of the Northern Syrian City of Jerablus on August 24. We likewise condemn the US and European governments for their hypocritical stance and actual intentions in pursuit of their imperialist objectives in the Middle-East.
Turkey claims the invasion is part of its anti-ISIS operations. But there are strong indications that there had been a previous agreement between ISIS and Turkey for ISIS to turn over Jerablus to Turkish forces so that Jerablus will remain as a base for Salafi forces in making trouble in Syria and serve as a corridor for anti-Assad foreign fighters to cross the border to and from Syria.
Turkey’s aim is to kill two birds with one stone. On the one hand, the operation in Northern Syria is part of its campaign to crush the forces led by the PKK who are among the most effective armed forces against ISIS and other Al Qaeda affiliated terrorist groups. On the other hand, they want to keep the area under their control so that it can continue assisting ISIS and the other terrorist groups in overthrowing Assad and keeping alive Turkey’s hegemonic ambitions in the Middle-East.
Turkish forces have launched airstrikes and bombardments of civilian areas killing and wounding hundreds of people and destroying homes and infrastructure. There are also reports of Turkish forces and their Al Qaeda collaborators using chemical weapons. These attacks result in more destruction in the region, creating more refugees and massive humanitarian crisis.
The US and EU have not only turned a blind eye to these atrocities but some of the EU states have even expressed their support for such operations.
The ILPS supports the struggle of the Kurdish people for national and social liberation. The ILPS supports the initiative of the Kurdish people and other ethnic groups to establish an autonomous democratic administration in Rojava.
The ILPS condemns all illegal foreign intervention in the Syrian conflict that has wrought havoc on the lives’ homes and livelihood of the people and supports the principle that the peoples in the region have the right to settle their internal problems and decide their own fate without foreign interference. #