Striking assessment from Ümit Özdağ on the latest situation in Syria: Israel won

Making important assessments regarding the agreement reached in Damascus and the process of a Turkey without terrorism, Zafer Party Chairman Ümit Özdağ pointed out that the SDF still maintains its existence and made striking observations.

Özdağ answered questions about the agenda during a program he attended on Sözcü TV.

Here are the highlights from the statements made by Ümit Özdağ:

First of all, I can say this: The SDF has dissolved, it is over. Why? Because the Americans founded the SDF. In other words, the SDF is an American product. It is a structure established so that it would not be called the PKK.

So, does the end of the SDF mean the end of the PKK and the PYD? No. Because the SDF may end; the Arab elements within it have separated. But does the PYD continue its existence? It is continuing.

Now look, in recent days, fireworks were set off in Ankara in the middle of summer at 4:00 PM because we had become a full member of the European Union. I see that a similar celebration is now being held in Syria, and it is being said that “we have won a great victory.”

In a war, in a race, whatever it is; ultimately, the definition of victory or defeat is made by comparing the starting point with the result achieved. Where did we start from? From 2011.

Was there a structure called the PYD in 2011? It existed, but it was very small. It was founded in 2003, but it did not control any place, it had nothing. Is there a structure called the PYD today? Yes, there is.

Where did the PYD withdraw to? To a 30–40 kilometer area on the Turkish border, to Hasakah. Where did it come from? It withdrew from the two provinces it controlled together with the Arabs, with the anti-regime Arab tribes, and took refuge in Hasakah. And in Hasakah, at the very least, it holds a significant portion of the control.

Besides this, in Damascus—if it is accepted—the political recognition of the PKK/PYD is in question. Because they requested a four-day evaluation period. Meanwhile, there is a possibility of replacing Abdi; the possibility of sending a name from Qandil in his place is being discussed. This also needs to be monitored. 2026 is being talked about. Instead of being sidelined, because there are those within the organization who want conflict, who want terror, and internal discussions on this matter are ongoing.

"I WOULD HAVE VERY MUCH DESIRED FOR TURKEY TO WIN THE VICTORY"

In summary, if we look at it from a time perspective of approximately 15 years, from 2011 to 2026:

The PKK has become an actor that, in Syria where it never existed and did not control anything, now at the very least holds a region adjacent to the Turkish border; maintains its military and political presence there, and continues its existence as a structure that is a partner in power in Damascus in one way or another.

We are looking at 10 days ago, you are comparing it with 2011. That is how a comparison is made. Okay? That is how a comparison is made.

By the way, unfortunately, I would have very much desired for Turkey to win the victory in Syria. Who won the victory in Syria? Israel won.

Let us be very clear. After Bashar al-Assad was overthrown, while Trump was thanking Erdoğan, which phrase did he use three times: “The 2000-year occupation in Syria has been ended.”

Which Israel did not exist in Syria for 2000 years. So who were there in these 2000 years? Rome was there, Byzantium was there; then the Muslim Umayyads were there, the Abbasids were there, the Seljuks were there, and finally the Ottoman Turkish Empire was there. Then there was the Syrian State.

Now you take these 2000 years and define all of this as an occupation.

"IT NEEDS TO BE FOLLOWED VERY CLOSELY"

With the weapons support provided by America, the PKK and PYD were kept alive. Now it has been pushed to its real area, to the region on the border. But its weapons are still in its hands. The weapons did not go away.

Secondly, Abdi let something slip. He said: “We will explain the issue of the PYD’s integration into the Syrian army to the public as ‘individual integration’ with Tom Barak, we were going to explain it, but in reality, it would not be like that.”

Now this needs to be followed very closely. In other words, Turkey should not be drawn into something here. It should not be drawn into a lie. This should not be a perception operation aimed at the Turkish public. This is one.

Secondly, a DEM deputy defined this as the “2nd Lausanne.” In other words, what is happening is the Sèvres model in the minds of those who see the first Lausanne as an enemy, as an agreement that must be destroyed.

I ask: In the commission in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, what are you still talking about with the people in front of you who defend Sèvres? What are you talking about?

And look, on the day the SDF withdrew to Hasakah, the “Öcalan Commission” in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey immediately announced, “Our draft work is finished, we are working on the details.”

Is this a coincidence? We have supposedly “dealt with the PKK in Syria.” Now, shall we also deal with Turkey?

Look, on May 19 or May 20, Numan Kurtulmuş says: “The Americans came to the Middle East; they divided Iraq, they divided Syria, they divided Lebanon, they divided Somalia. Now, if we do not come together with our Kurdish brothers, they would have done the same thing to us.”

This is the speech he gave to the youth. The day after May 19, the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, which waged the War of Independence, instead of instilling hope, determination, and faith in the future in the Turkish youth, says: “If we do not reconcile with a terrorist organization, the Americans will divide us too.”

The PKK and DEM were actually carrying out a process with American support. As a result of the US; Turkey-Iran relations, the support Turkey gave to the US in its Gaza policy and not causing a problem in that process, and on the other hand, the new regime in Syria accepting to make concessions to Israel regarding the balances in the Middle East and to be on Israel’s side and against Iran, it preferred to push the PKK into a corner for now and keep the PYD in a small region.

This situation created a shock effect among DEM politicians, the PKK members in Qandil, and PYD circles. This is very clear. And it was a good thing.

(Greater Kurdistan) This project has been sitting in the safes of the West and the safes of Israel for decades. It is taken out, revived, and brought to the agenda whenever necessary.

Now, the fragmentation of the SDF and the withdrawal of the PYD to a small region have started to be used as a psychological tool to continue the opening process, the negotiation process with terror in Turkey. Whereas what needs to be done is the exact opposite: to stop this process. Because you cannot reach an agreement with those in front of you on the integrity of Turkey.

DEM politicians are still talking about the four parts of Kurdistan. If you believe in the territorial integrity of Turkey, which four parts of Kurdistan are you talking about?

What is equal citizenship? We are all equal citizens anyway. According to Article 10 of the Constitution. Of course, in some periods, this equality can be applied in a hostile manner. As it is applied to me, as it is applied to CHP mayors, as it is applied to opposition journalists… In other words, we are treated almost like the blacks of the country.

But there is no institutional and systematic “enemy criminal law” in Turkey aimed at any ethnic group or religious sect. You can be from Hakkâri or you can be an Alevi Turkmen from Tokat. If you are on the side of the ruling party, you still do not experience a problem.

Therefore, this discrimination in Turkey is within the framework of a temporary and political violation of rights that has no constitutional basis. But individually, everyone is already equal in the constitutional sense. The Republic was founded this way.

"TUNCER BAKIRHAN DOES NOT KNOW GEORGIAN, FOR EXAMPLE"

What Abdullah Öcalan and the PKK terrorist organization mean by “equal citizenship” is this:

The nation will be a plural nation, including Kurds. Kurds will have collective rights, they will be recognized as a nation. They say they will be equal then.

In other words, Turkey will be a multi-national state. It will be governed by a decentralized structure. Let me say it more clearly: We will govern the Southeast, and we will govern the rest together.

But you say “equal citizenship is already defined.” Yes, it is already defined. It already exists. Despite this, sometimes even social democratic circles use this concept incorrectly.

In America, many Americans do not know Spanish. Does this mean that American citizens of Mexican or Latin American origin are not equal? There is no such thing.

In Turkey, too, people know different languages. Tuncer Bakırhan does not know Georgian, for example. What will happen now? This is not an issue about people understanding each other in every language. This is a matter of a common public language.

"THIS IS A PROCESS OF FRAGMENTATION AS YOU KNOW IT"

The Americans tried bilingual education: English-Spanish. It was a complete disaster and they gave it up. Now they say “education in the mother tongue.”

I ask: You started education in the mother tongue. How will you teach history? Will you teach it in Kurdish? Will you teach Kurdish history in Kurdish? Will you teach Turkish literature in Kurdish? Or will you teach Kurdish literature in Kurdish?

Will you teach these in separate schools? Let’s say they studied in separate schools. When these children finish high school, how will you establish a common national consciousness, common mountains, common water, a common homeland?

This is a process of fragmentation as you know it. Don’t they know this? They know it perfectly well.

Remember, when the Copenhagen Criteria were being discussed in Turkey, Ahmet Türk had said in front of the public, “These are what we want, if these happen, this issue will be solved.” You remember, don’t you?

The Copenhagen Criteria have existed for years. So, has anything been solved? No. Because the PKK’s fight; its terror, its politics is not a fight for human rights, it is not a fight for democracy. This is a fight for sovereignty.

When you look at its international plan, it is very clear what this fight is. When the Republic was being founded, the resource needed for this country to stand up quickly and strongly was Kirkuk oil. They tore Mosul away from us.

Tuncay Bakırhan and his likes will go on television, talk like flower children: “We want human rights and democracy.” Do not lie to this nation. We know that you are working for the division of this country, that you want sovereignty and land. At least be that honest.

But a structure that declares war on the Turkish nation and the Turkish state under American protection or as a part of the Greek occupation at the time, and dreams of tearing land from Turkey and gaining effectiveness in politics, will eventually receive the lesson it deserves from the Turkish nation.

I also look at the statement made by Feti Yıldız with great concern, but it is not different. Fethi Yıldız says so when he comes out of the commission; but on the other hand, another deputy chairman, Semih Bey, shouts “Know Heydaddin.”

"WHAT IS SPOKEN IN THE COMMISSION GOES DOWN IN HISTORY"

Now look, that is letting off steam from politics, calming the reactions in the MHP’s mass base… “Our people also came out tough” etc… What is important? What is written on paper. What is important is what is spoken in the Parliamentary commission. No one remembers the other. But what is spoken in the commission goes down in the minutes and in history.

The project of winning an election by taking DEM support leads Turkey to a disaster. This has no equivalent in the MHP base, nor does it have one in the patriotic AK Party base.

Of course, there should be a Turkey without terror. But a Turkey without terror does not happen by negotiating with a terrorist organization, by accepting its political demands, by surrendering to it. A Turkey without terror happens by eliminating terror. It happens with military operations.

(New Constitution) They say, “In no way is this commission a constitutional commission.” But there is such a perception in the person on the street as well. In other words, it is as if the end of this business will lead to a constitution and for this reason, support will be obtained. Maybe we will even come to this in a moment: We can nominate President Erdoğan again.

Some things are done by getting people used to them: Reactions are measured, polls are conducted. It is thought that ground is being gained or it is not.

"BAHÇELİ’S ÖCALAN CALL WAS NOT A SHOCK"

If I had thought that the Nationalist Movement Party was a nationalist party, I would have continued to stay in the Nationalist Movement Party.

(Bahçeli’s 'Öcalan call') Bahçeli’s “let him come to the Assembly” outburst was not a shock. The preparation was made, the deputies were prepared psychologically. We know that from there; we know it from the parliamentary correspondents. You probably know it from there too. This was being talked about in Ankara.

Something is happening, things are being told to me. Things that are not normal are being told. The way the current management of the Nationalist Movement Party interprets nationalism is not the Turkish nationalism on the Atatürk line that I understand and defend.

This break had already occurred during the period when we left the MHP and founded the IYI Party. Later, with the “yes” vote for the presidential system, this situation multiplied and reached these days. It also peaked during the opening process or the second negotiation process on terror.

One dimension of the process is domestic politics; completing the 51 percent. It is impossible for you to explain this process without thinking about this, without calculating this. This is the biggest headline. This is the main headline.

"THE SALARY THE RETIREE RECEIVES IS NOT A SALARY, IT IS SOCIAL ASSISTANCE"

(Retiree salary) Now look, what is a salary? A salary is the wage given in return for a job you do, and with this wage, you should be able to meet your basic needs such as housing, food, clothing. At least at a minimum level.

Today, the salary the retiree receives is not a salary; it is social assistance. In terms of level. The hunger threshold is at the level of thirty thousand liras. The retiree’s salary is below twenty thousand liras. The poverty threshold is around ninety-four thousand liras. In other words, the retiree’s salary is almost five times below this.

I was at a shopping mall in Istanbul the other day. People wanted to take pictures, we are taking them. Suddenly an angry voice rose from behind me: “No to this food terror!” I turned and looked, an old man. At first, GMO foods, food poisoning, etc., came to my mind. But the man said, “I am hungry.” He said, “Put a stop to this food terror, to these price increases.”

He had a market cart in his hand. His cart was completely empty. He probably didn’t come to the mall to buy anything, maybe he just came to warm up.

You must have seen it in Ankara; there are retirees staying in dingy hotels, trying to feed themselves with cheese. There are retirees sleeping in AŞTİ. When I went to the market in Gazi Osman Paşa, I met a woman. She said, “I am the mother of a disabled person.” I said, “Can we go together?” She said, “We can go.”

She bought a kilo of spinach, a kilo of carrots, and a red radish. She weighed them. She said, “Isn’t it forty liras?” The market vendor said, “Fifty liras.” The woman said, “Then ten liras… We don’t have ten liras in our pocket.” She said, “Do you have any?” There isn’t even ten liras. Ten liras are not even used anymore anyway.

Now in this situation, you cannot even buy anything with a hundred liras. There are millions of retirees in this situation, and this number is not a number to be underestimated at all. The total of retirees, widows, and orphans is 16 million 800 thousand people. About five million of them are retirees and receive a salary of around twenty thousand liras. Widow and orphan pensions are even lower than this.

Nine million people are between twenty-five thousand and twenty thousand liras, that is, in a range that is not very high.

Now let me give you an example that tells you where we came from. When my late grandmother was going to the bank to get her pension, a municipal bus passes by in front of her. There is a Hajj advertisement on it. When she sees the advertisement, she says: “My God, grant it to me too.” “Let me save money this year, let me go to Hajj next year.”

She goes to the bank. The official says: “Welcome, Fahriye Hanım. We were going to call you.” She says, “Why?” They say, “We have been underpaying you for a year, your money has accumulated.” The late woman went to Hajj with that money.

Now a retiree has no money accumulated from underpayment at the bank or anything. This is the situation.

"THERE IS AN ELECTION IN NOVEMBER 2027"

(Early election) In the AK Party, Özlem Zengin said in the Assembly, “We will review it when conditions allow, when it is convenient.” When will conditions be convenient? There is an election in November 2027. That is how it looks today. Unless something extraordinary happens.

If you walk around the market, 2026 is being mentioned. It is being said, “This business won’t go on.” At the beginning of 2027, I think this: They will give a 200 percent raise to retiree salaries and the minimum wage. In other words, 100 liras will become 300 liras. And they will go to the election like that. Because they have nothing else left to give.

News Source: 12punto