Who will be the first to take Mazlum Kobani by the arm?

Here is another example of the "peace" overtures abroad that we cannot talk about because we cannot lift our heads from the political war at home.

Between 2017 and 2023, Erdoğan said the following about the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF):

It was a "camouflage"... It was an "umbrella terrorist organization"

- "The US administration changed the name of the YPG terrorist organization to SDF and said, 'We are not cooperating with the YPG there, but with the SDF.' The US has 14 land and air bases in northern Syria; it has transported 3,500 truckloads of heavy armored vehicles, weapons, and ammunition to the PYD-YPG terrorist organization. Let no one try to feed us the lie that the SDF is a democratic organization. Its name is democratic, but it is a terrorist organization itself."

- "The names of the PYD and YPG terrorist organizations were changed to SDF. Oh, give me a break, we didn't understand, we swallowed this, we know all of these now. These organizations produced in this factory are put into circulation according to need, subjected to modifications when necessary, and destroyed when necessary."

- "Naming the PYD-YPG and the PKK terrorist organizations, which are their parent organizations, as the SDF is a setup. We will not believe this deception."

- "French President Macron's words, 'We supported the YPG, we can be a mediator between Turkey and the SDF,' are a statement that far exceeds the limits and stature of the person who said it. Who gave you such a task? Do not get involved in matters that are beyond your stature. We do not need a mediator. Since when does Turkey have a problem like sitting at a table with terrorist organizations; where did you come up with this? You can sit at the table with terrorist organizations; but Turkey conducts its fight against terrorist organizations as it did in Afrin."

- "Now a fake organization has been brought out, the acronym for which is Syrian Democratic Forces - SDF. Actually, this is a deception, a cover. It has no difference from the PYD and the YPG; we can also call it an umbrella terrorist organization. It is another terrorist organization that shadows and covers them. They are doing this with it. They are all intertwined."

- "What we call the SDF is a different name for the terrorist organization. They have taken the YPG/PYD under an umbrella, and that umbrella is the SDF."

He was a separatist leader wanted with a Red Notice

- "For some reason, these (Western counterparts) lie down and get up; they cannot say PYD, YPG, they say 'the Kurds.' In the end, what did they do to camouflage this too? They said SDF. Where was the SDF until today, was there such a thing as the SDF? No. But recently, a camouflage, they invented this. All their work is unfortunately hocus-pocus; that is what they do... The person called Abdi Şahin is practically the 'spiritual son' of the separatist leader, you know, you can call him a 'protégé'; call him whatever you want, he is in such a position. And the highest level of America is meeting with him, Russia is meeting with him in the same way. When it is like this, no result can be obtained. Moreover, this person is also wanted with a Red Notice."

- "Facts do not disappear by sticking the label of PKK, YPG, or SDF onto them. The truth cannot be covered up."

- "We will never allow a single terrorist to reside on our borders, nor will we allow a terror corridor to be established. In fact, our allies gave us their word on this, but they did not keep their word. Changing the name of the terrorist organization does not only mean deceiving themselves; they are also deceiving others. Calling the PKK the SDF is no different from calling the United States 'America' or the United Kingdom 'Great Britain'; nothing changes here. Therefore, it is both a legal and moral obligation for every country that recognizes the PKK as a terrorist organization to include the structures of this organization that operate under different names in the same scope."

Now this is the situation

After so much talk, we have arrived at today.

After MHP Leader Devlet Bahçeli's İmralı overture, while it continues to be explained that the PKK/YPG/PYD in Syria, i.e., the SDF, will lay down their arms and join the Syrian national army, and that a federal structure in Syria will never be in question, the following happened:

Mazlum Kobani, whom Erdoğan called "wanted with a Red Notice," was taken to Damascus by a US helicopter and signed an agreement with Shara as if he were a "co-chair"...

Within the scope of the agreement, the "military forces" of the SDF withdrew from some neighborhoods in Aleppo and Afrin to the east of the Euphrates. But with their weapons, ammunition, and the rags of the so-called People's Defense Units (YPG) and Women's Defense Units (YPJ)...

Anything else?

A prisoner exchange was carried out between the PKK/YPG and the Damascus administration as a "goodwill step by both sides to build trust"...

Mazlum Kobani, like a "head of state," declared a "special amnesty in response to the wishes of the people and in accordance with the spirit of the holiday"...

Negotiations began between Damascus and the Mazlum Kobani administration regarding the education system...

Mazlum Kobani's men, who still call themselves the "Rojava autonomous administration," claimed that the International Coalition Against ISIS was "mediating for a ceasefire between the SDF and Turkey and that letters were being exchanged"...

Finally, while announcing that Mazlum Kobani would "convene a Kurdish national congress to reveal a common will in negotiations with Damascus and that they demanded the identity of the SDF be preserved within the ranks of the Syrian National Army," he noted the following:

"Turkey is using a more moderate language in its official statements regarding the regions under SDF control. We feel that Turkey has begun to accept the existence of the SDF and autonomous administration institutions within the Syrian state."

Mazlum Kobani was not wrong in his "feelings," and immediately after; National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, who earned the title of the first Chief of General Staff to go to "Barzanistan" in 2021, said in a teleconference meeting he held with unit commanders at home and across the border; without putting the phrase "terrorist organization" before or after it, that "the withdrawal and handover process in certain regions within the scope of the consensus reached between the new Syrian government and the SDF is being monitored carefully," and that "Turkey's expectations and reservations on this point have been clearly conveyed to the counterparts."

In summary; after the terrorist leader in İmralı was considered a "founding leader," it is no surprise, but the SDF organization, which the US camouflaged, has also been made acceptable to Turkey.

Let's see who will be the first to take the terrorist leader Kobani by the arm!..

And after that?

Everything reminds me of the "No Kurdish state" promise given during the US invasion of Iraq!..

Müyesser YILDIZ

April 18, 2025