Rojava must be saved! Defend Rojava!

Written by: ICOR on 21 January 2026

 

The following statement in defence of the Rojava region of north-east Syria is currently being signed by affiliates of the International Coordination of Revolutionary parties and Organisations (ICOR). Our Party has signed the statement. We urge any people able to attend today's rally outside Parliament House, Canberra, to do so - eds.

 

Immediate stop to the attacks by the jihadist-fascist HTS!

Imperialists, fascists, and Zionists, get out of Syria!

Democracy and freedom for the peoples of Syria!

 

In the wake of imperialist aggression in Venezuela, the ongoing genocide in Palestine, and recent developments in Iran, a genocide by the imperialist henchmen HTS against the Kurdish population in the districts of Şêxmeqsûd and Eşrefiyê began in the Syrian city of Aleppo. 120,000 people were displaced and hundreds were killed while putting up a self-sacrificing resistance. Let us remember that Hayat Tharir al-Sham (HTS) is a reactionary Islamist organization that was close to al-Qaeda for a time and has been in power in Syria since Bashar al-Assad fled, and has been removed from the list of terrorist organizations by Western imperialists. Meanwhile, the Zionist occupying power is putting its expansionist megalomania for a Greater Israel in Syria into practice, having already taken the Golan Heights.

 

Military aggression is spreading. The Golani regime and Ankara advanced in a coordinated manner in the affected areas with over 40,000 jihadists, hundreds of tanks, and modern military equipment. The jihadist gangs of the so-called Syrian army are bombing Dair Hafir and the strategic Tişrîn dam, among other places, with simultaneous Turkish drone attacks in the region. The attacks were extended to the rest of Rojava, including the provinces of Deir-e-Zor and Raqqa.

 

These attacks are taking place against the backdrop of the fascist Turkish state's colonial occupation efforts in northern and eastern Syria, its hostility toward the Kurdish people, the imperialist-Zionist intervention in Syria, and the security negotiations between HTS and Israel in Paris.

 

They are a continuation of HTS's aggression against the peoples of Syria, beginning with massacres against the Alawites, Druze, Palestinian refugees and resistance forces, and especially women. They are directed above all against the revolutionary and democratic achievements in North and East Syria, such as the groundbreaking position of women in society, the council organizations with national and religious equality, and the legitimate self-defense of the peoples. According to their commander Mazlum Abdi, the Syrian Democratic Forces have withdrawn to avoid civil war and further bloodshed. The agreed peace process was torpedoed by the Islamist-fascist Syrian government.

 

HTS is a force that has been deliberately promoted and controlled by the British and US secret services and forms a coalition of deeply reactionary, misanthropic gangs, most of whom are not Syrian and are successors to ISIS. They are the enemies of Syria, who will bring neither democracy nor stability to Syria, but immeasurable suffering and oppression. The fact that they attack infrastructure, kill civilians, and throw people out of their homes illustrates their character. They have close ties to Saudi Arabia and Turkey, serve imperialist and Zionist interests, and allow important parts of Syria to be occupied in order to redraw the region.

 

As the International Coordination of Revolutionary Parties and Organizations (ICOR), we stand in full solidarity with the revolutionary forces in northern and eastern Syria and the broad masses of Syria who yearn for democracy and freedom.

 

We stand alongside the struggles of the peoples of Syria for their own liberation from imperialist, colonial intervention and occupation by Turkey, Israel, and US imperialism.

 

We stand with the Kurdish people and behind their legitimate demands for self-determination and a free life in dignity.

 

Only the peoples themselves will be able to liberate themselves. But they need the international solidarity of the workers and peoples of the world. That is why we call for Solidarity with the peoples of northern and eastern Syria against the current and future attacks that are being prepared. You are not alone!

 

Fight the fascist HTS, henchmen of imperialism!

Stop the Turkish occupation of Syria!

Stop imperialist and Zionist intervention in Syria!

For a united democratic republic of Syria and the right of self-determination for the Kurds and all other ethnic groups!

 

Status of the signatories 20.01.2026. Further signatures possible. Current list of signatories at www.icor.info

1. ORC   Organisation Révolutionnaire du Congo (Revolutionary Organization of Congo), Democratic Republic of the Congo

2. PPDS   Parti Patriotique Démocratique Socialiste (Patriotic Democratic Socialist Party), Tunisia

3. NCP (Mashal)   Nepal Communist Party (Mashal)

4. RUFN   Revolutionary United Front of Nepal

5. CPA/ML   Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist)

6. Krasnyj Klin   Аб'яднання беларускіх камуністаў «Чырвоны Клін» (Association of Belarusian Communists «Red Wedge»), Belarus

7. БКП   Българска Комунистическа Партия (Bulgarian Communist Party)

8. PR-ByH   Partija Rada - ByH (Party of Labor - Bosnia and Herzegovina)

9. MLPD   Marxistisch-Leninistische Partei Deutschlands (Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany)

10. UPML   Union Prolétarienne Marxiste-Léniniste (Marxist-Leninist Proletarian Union), France

11. KOL   Kommunistische Organisation Luxemburg (Communist Organization of Luxemburg)

12. RM   Rode Morgen (Red Dawn), Netherlands

13. UMLP   União Marxista-Leninista Portuguesa (Portuguese Marxist-Leninist Union)

14. RMP   Российская маоистская партия (Rossijskaya maoistskaya partiya) (Russian Maoist Party)

15. TKP-ML   Türkiye Komünist Partisi – Marksist-Leninist (Communist Party of Turkey – Marxist-Leninist)

16. MLKP   Marksist Leninist Komünist Parti Türkiye / Kürdistan (Marxist Leninist Communist Party Turkey / Kurdistan)

17. PCP (independiente)   Partido Comunista Paraguayo (independiente) (Paraguayan  Communist Party (independent))

18. PC (ML)   Partido Comunista (Marxista Leninista) (Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist)), Dominican Republic

19. PCR-U   Partido Comunista Revolucionario del Uruguay (Revolutionary Communist Party of Uruguay)

20. Chinese Communists (MLM)   Chinese Communists (Marxist Leninist Maoist)

The construction of a new Syria

Written by: Marxist-Leninist Communist Party/ Turkey and Kurdistan (MLKP) on 4 November 2025

 

The Western world endorsed the overthrow of the Assad regime in Syria, and has quickly rebranded the Islamo-fascist HTS as the legitimate government of Syria.  In return, the HTS accepts the expansion into parts of Syria by both the Israeli Zionists and the Turkish fascist regime.  In the latter case, Turkey is permitted to bomb and destroy the liberated autonomous zone of Rojava, where Communists have created a secular, democratic and anti-patriarchal example for the whole of the Middle East.  We support the defence and survival of the Rojava revolution and print the following statement from the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party/ Turkey and Kurdistan  (MLKP) in support – eds.

 

The construction of a new Syria 

Looking at Syria today, it quickly becomes clear that the political map is increasingly developing in line with imperialist plans toward centralization under a new political-Islamic regime. However, the biggest obstacle to this “new Golani Syria” remains the question of Rojava‘s integration. At the centre of this development are the negotiations and agreements between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the political-Islamist regime of Hay‘at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). 

This process, which initially stalled after talks broke down abruptly on March 10, 2025, was revived on July 9, 2025, at a meeting in Damascus.
In addition to representatives of the SDF, such as Commander Mazlum Abdî, representatives of the Assad regime and Western diplomats also took part, including the US Ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, and the French envoy Jean-Baptiste Faivre.

The central point of contention in these talks is the question of Rojava‘s integration into the Syrian state. The focus is on three main aspects: military, political, and economic integration. The autonomously administered northern and eastern Syria (Rojava) wants to ensure that it retains its political and social achievements and is not subjected to a centralized system. Without a doubt, any agreement with HTS will only be temporary, as stability for Syria under HTS is not in sight.

The US vision for Syria: one nation, one army, one government

Despite the ongoing negotiations, a decisive moment in the disclosure of the US‘s imperialist plans for Syria became clear. Tom Barrack, the US special envoy for Syria, outlined the US vision of a centralized Syria under the sole leadership of its new political-Islamic partner, HTS. This is underscored by the slogan “One Nation, One Army, One Government.” HTS has done its “homework” in this context: the domestic market has been opened up to Western investment, oil contracts have been signed with the US, and Israel has been granted the undisturbed right to annex Syrian territories. In return, HTS, along with all its political-Islamic fascist members, will be recognized by Western states, removed from terror lists, and integrated into the international system. The same imperialist West that condemned the repressions of the Assad regime now seems ready to accept the next dictatorship.

Such an Islamist-fascist regime stands in sharp contrast to the democratic popular revolution in northern and eastern Syria, where not only the equality of peoples but above all the equality of the sexes is practiced. This fundamental contradiction shapes the extent and intensity of the power struggles and negotiations in Syria and will determine the fate of Syria in the future.

The threat from the fascist Turkish colonial state

Amid these geopolitical upheavals, the fascist Turkish state remains at a key position. Through recent agreements with Hay‘at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), it has further expanded its influence in Syria. By regaining the right to conduct military operations up to a depth of 30 kilometres, Ankara has not only consolidated its military presence but also further secured its colonial ambitions in Syria. This agreement, which supplemented the “Ankara Agreement” with the Assad regime, clearly shows that the chief regime under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan does not intend to withdraw from the occupied territories in Syria. Rather, it seeks to occupy new territories and impose its political goals in the region.

The fascist regime is pursuing an evident strategy to destroy regional self-government in Rojava. Mazlum Abdî, commander of the SDF, stated that the Turkish colonial state is attempting to undermine the existing model of integration bet ween the SDF and HTS in order to weaken and ultimately dissolve the autonomous administration. Particularly striking is the pressure it is exerting on HTS to enforce its own political goals. For example, the Turkish colonial state is using various affiliated groups within HTS to influence negotiations and developments in Syria.

In addition, as in the past, it has mobilized Arab tribes in the region to force a shift in the regional balance of power and drive the SDF out of areas such as Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, and Hasaka as part of its geopolitical strategy to strengthen control over southern areas and eliminate the Kurdish self-administration.

The threat to the peoples and the Rojava revolution

These geopolitical upheavals pose an immense danger, especially to the peoples of Syria, such as Kurds, Druze, and Alawites. These groups, which were already oppressed under the Assad regime or were among the poorest segments of the population, now face the threat of falling under the rule of a new dictatorship. A dictatorship that does not recognize any national, religious, or political rights. HTS has already demonstrated its hostile attitude toward various population groups in the past, for example through pogroms against Alawites and attacks on Druze.

The next decisive target region in this geopolitical chess game is un mistakably Rojava. Tom Barrack has made it clear that HTS aims to bring the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Sy ria under its control. The US seeks to transfer sole control of Syria to HTS, subjecting the country‘s various peoples to US imperialist interests. These developments pose an existential threat to the Rojava Revolution.

The revolution is the hope of the peoples and the oppressed. 

Under these conditions, the statements of leaders of the revolution such as Sipan Hemo and Salih Muslim are crucial, emphasizing that the creation of an autonomous political system based on the self-de termination of the regions remains essential. Particularly important in this context is the insistence on the role of women and the achievements of the women‘s movement in Rojava. There have already been fierce clashes with HTS, in which the women clearly stated that “the YPJ is not up for debate.”

The revolutionary democratic principles that have been fought for in Rojava offer a glimmer of hope for the peoples of Syria that, even beyond dictatorships, there can be a democratic people‘s republic that guarantees a dignified and self-determined life. If this revolution is to continue and expand, it is necessary for all progressive forces, both in Syria and worldwide, to stand resolutely for the defence and construction of the Rojava Revolution. A destruction of this autonomy by HTS, supported by Western imperialist powers and the Turkish colonial state, would not only undermine the achievements of the revolution, but also jeopardize the rights and future of the Kurdish, Arab, Assyrian, and Armenian peoples, alongside with all the op pressed, workers, and women in Syria.

The struggle for a democratic Syria and the self-determination of its peoples is entering a new phase in light of the new transitional situation.

Hay‘at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), is led by al-Golani, a former IS and Al-Qaeda recruit

Marxist-Leninist Communist Party/ Turkey and Kurdistan  (MLKP)
October 2025

 

Let's Embrace the Gains of the Rojava Revolution! Let's Defend the Women‘s Revolution!

Written by: Women’s Leadership Group, Marxist-Leninist Communist Party/ Turkey & Kurdistan on 2 February 2025

 

(Above:Jin Jiyan Azadi!  Women, Life, Freedom)

The Rojava Revolution is a fire of rebellion and a torch of hope for women in the Middle East, in the midst of the most aggressive, most slavish strongholds of patriarchy in the region based on oppressive, colonialist, fascist regimes and unbridled bourgeois patriarchal states. The Rojava Revolution, which also developed as a women's revolution, is the achievement of all the women of the world.

The Rojava revolution, in which hundreds of women fighters sacrificed their lives with the ideals of national liberation, women's freedom and equality, developed a great people's army against the rapist, slavish, political Islamist fascist Daesh, the invasion attacks of the fascist colonialist Turkish capitalist state and the collaborator gangs it organized and directed. 

The revolution raised the women's army and women's self-defence. In Rojava and Northern Syria, it has lived for years under fascist, despotic rule of various male reigns, the last of which was formed by ISIS, and has maintained women's councils, women's institutions, women's justice, co-presidency system with great persistence and will in all areas and administrative structures, including the regions where patriarchal reactionary social traditions are most dominant. 

Today, fascist colonialism under Erdoğan has once again mobilized all its power and capacity to destroy the Rojava Revolution and overthrow the popular power. He is giving orders to HTS. It is waging war through a gang of collaborator fascist traitors called SMO. It directly engages in massacre attacks. It is increasing the buildup around Rojava for genocidal occupation. It threatens the Kurdish people and the Rojava revolution with “either surrender or genocide”. Women of all ages from the peoples of Rojava and Northern Syria are responding to this colonialist fascist arrogance by resisting with weapons in hand and forming new defence batta lions. 

The Rojava revolution is one of the most important obstacles for Erdogan's fascist chiefdom regime to intensify and spread fascist state terror and massacres in order to achieve the grave silence it aims in Turkey and Bakur Kurdistan, to continue its attacks on the women‘s liberation struggle even more unbridled, to cross out all the legal gains of the women‘s liberation struggle with great arrogance, such as exiting the Istanbul Convention with a single signature, and to unleash male violence on the streets. 

The fascist chief, who threatened Rojava and the Kurdistan freedom struggle with “either you will surrender or we will destroy”, declared 2025 as the “Year of the Family” in the same days. One of the most current bases on which he connects these plans to turn women into a birth tool to provide more exploited labour force, a larger army of hungry, miserable, poor, miserable unemployed to force workers into slavish submission, more soldiers for the army of murderers for more aggressive colonial and expansionist regional policies, and to organise a family system that will keep masses of workers and labourers, youth and women under control, is the threat and aggression against the Rojava Revolution. 

The Rojava Revolution will not be defeated, no matter what threats the colonialist fascist regime makes. It will once again defeat the denialist, colonialist, occupying, male-dominated, fascist tyranny directed against it. 

As KKÖ, we will never lower the flag of KKÖ fighters Sibel Bulut, Ivana Hoffmann, Ayşe Deniz Karacagil, Sevda Çağdaş, who were immortalised while defending the Rojava Revolution and what it brought to the women of Rojava and the whole world, we will defend the Rojava revolution. We will defeat colonialism and its fascist, racist political Islamist collaborators and allies. 

We call on all women in Turkey and Bakur Kurdistan and all over the world, who want freedom, who struggle for equality and justice, to raise solidarity with the Rojava Revolution! 

Long live our Rojava Revolution! 

Long Live the Women's Revolution! Jin Jiyan Azadi! 

Rojava Will Never Fall! 

January 20, 2025 MLKP / KKÖ Women’s Leadership 

 

Support Rojava – condemn Erdogan’s attacks on the liberated region

Written by: Nick G. on 25 October 2024

 

(Above: destruction caused by Turkish bombs, Rojava, 24 October 2024)

With the world focussed on the continuing atrocity of Zionist Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the West Bank, and its aggression against Lebanon, the Turkish authorities have resumed intensive bombing of the mainly Kurdish stronghold of Rojava in neighbouring north-eastern Syria (NES).

For the last couple of days, the Turkish fascist regime has carried out airstrikes on 42 sites in NES, including Qamishlo, Kobane, Amude, and Derik. To date, 12 civilians have been killed and 25 wounded. The strikes are still ongoing, and included several power stations, 2 bakeries, a health centre, and grain silos. In past months, the Turkish forces had burnt large areas of food crops in an effort to starve the Rojava people.

These attacks indicate Turkey’s intention to control these areas and displace their residents, in order to crush the democratic and progressive Rojava revolution. Itis contrary to what was being promoted about the peace talks between the Kurds and Turkey that were expected to start this month. The attacks show that Turkey is not seeking peace with the Kurds, but rather seeking to exterminate them under the pretext of fighting terrorism. 

This repeated targeting of service facilities is leading to a humanitarian disaster in an area that is home to millions of people, who are already suffering from severe fuel and gas shortages as a result of Turkey’s repeated targeting of infrastructure facilities in previous years.

The same Erdogan who correctly condemns Zionist genocide against the Palestinians is head of a fascist government whose values are threatened by the example of the Rojava revolution. 

“The only reason Turkey attacks is because we are a threat to their fascism. The society here is the antidote to the state's poison!” said one resident of Rojava.

(Above: the people of Kobane protest the bombing, October 24,2024)

We stand with Rojava and Palestine

 Written by: Nick G. on 13 October 2023

At the same time as the Israeli Zionist regime’s war against Palestinians, the Turkish fascist regime is unleashing war against the liberated Rojava region in north-eastern Syria.

Rojava is an area liberated from ISIS by the People’s Defence Units (YPG) and the Women’s Defence Force (YPJ) which are predominantly Kurdish organisations, but also include other Arab peoples.

Rojava is more than a location: it is also a political movement that emphasizes decentralization, gender equality and the need for local governance through direct democracy. The YPJ is an armed group which has won acceptance for its opposition to patriarchy and its fight for women’s rights.

The existence of Rojava challenges the Turkish state’s oppression of its own Kurdish minority.

In recent times, the Turks have targeted YPG and YPJ fighters with bombers and murderous drone attacks. This has intensified since international attention has focussed on Gaza.

On October 9, 29 members of Rojava’s Internal Security Forces’ Anti-Narcotics Unit were killed in a Turkish drone attack on their headquarters in Derik.

Infrastructure and civilians were also targeted. 

In Tirbespiye the Girdahol gas facility was targeted. In Derik, Turkish warplanes bombed the oil field in Teqil Beqil. 60-year-old civilian Wasil Hesen El Mihemed was injured in a Turkish attack on the Ewda gas facility in eastern Tirbespiye.

10-year-old Nadiya Mehsin el-Eyaş and 9-year old Ali Ahmed el-Eyash were killed in a Turkish shelling on Ayn Issa. 

Fereh Ednan El Xayir, a young Kurdish woman who was picking cotton on a field when she was wounded by a Turkish bomb, lost both of her legs due to her heavy injuries.

On October 12, Turkish police attacked a protest held in solidarity with Rojava in Riha (also known as Urfa) in southeastern Turkey. 35 people, including Green Left Board members, Riha Youth Council members and 15 internationalist friends, were detained.

The Green Lefts declared “We will not bow to oppression policies. We will continue to defend Rojava.”

Turkiye’s President Erdogan correctly condemns human rights violations in Gaza but at the same time is perpetrating a genocide against Kurds and causing child casualties in Rojava.

We stand with Palestine.

We stand with Rojava.

The Rojava Revolution and the leadership of women

 Written by: YPG (Women's Defence Forces) on 20 July 2023

The role of women is central to the successes of revolutionary movements in the Philippines and in India. Women have also played major roles in recent struggles in Iran and Afghanistan. The following statement was recently released by the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), an armed force of Kurdish and other peoples fighting for liberation from ISIS, the Assad regime, and the Turkish invaders in the northern and eastern sectors of Syria. 

On July 19th 2012, the population of Kobane expelled the Syrian army after months of uprisings against the Ba’ath Regime. Yesterday, the revolutionary movement celebrated the 11th anniversary of the Rojava Revolution.

 

“The Rojava Revolution achieved its true meaning with the YPJ”

• Update on

• July 19, 2023

 

The revolution in North and East Syria has created a new life under the leadership of women. While the region was in the middle of a severe crisis caused by the Baath regime as well as the policies of the hegemonic powers, the opportunity to determine our own destiny arose. On this basis, we decided to establish a system in which society organizes itself within the framework of democratic confederalism. In the past years, we defended our lands from severe attacks and fought relentlessly against the policies of genocide. We liberated the territories occupied by ISIS without relying on other forces, motivated by our strong belief in a free and equal life.

 

Many revolutions have failed because the interests of the people could not be defended, the revolution here however is based on the people’s interests- ecology, democracy and women’s liberation. This is why it has achieved a truly revolutionary change within society.

 

In line with these principles, the YPJ took the responsibility for creating a free future and became a leading force. The participation of women in the YXK/YPG Units from the very beginning played a decisive role in the organization of women and peoples. The women joining the armed self-defense units ensured that the interests of the people are represented properly and influenced the forces by implementing new styles and methods of our struggle. By being an integral part of the self-defense forces, the YPJ has become a role model far beyond the Middle East.

 

With the revolution in North and East Syria, women realized the meaning of their existence that had been taken away violently by the dominant male system for thousands of years. Women carried out a relentless struggle against all kinds of invasions and attacks using their legitimate right of self-defense. Within the struggle women are part of organizing the people, educating themselves and others and participating in the armed defense. The fighters of the YPJ defend the identities, languages, cultures and free will of the peoples. For this reason, the Rojava Revolution achieved its true meaning with the YPJ.

 

The YPJ will continue its relentless struggle as a vanguard force against all policies of occupation and annihilation. We look proudly at 11 years of great struggle, resistance, heroism and the spirit of self-sacrificing. Always side by side with the people of this land. It was the unity of the peoples that made this revolution happen. So, the spirit of unity of the peoples will play a decisive role in the continuation and permanence of the women’s revolution in North and East Syria.

 

Many of our valuable fighters and commanders gave their lives for the Rojava Revolution. We, the YPJ, make a promise to continue their struggle and ensure the continuation of the revolution.

 

YPJ General Command

18.07.2023

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For further information, visit the YPJ website..