NEWS CENTER_Hasakah city is witnessing tensions against the backdrop of attacks targeting the images of Kurdish symbols and leaders, especially women whose names have been linked to the struggle against ISIS.

In this context, the Star Congress issued a statement today, Wednesday, 14 October, to public opinion, in which it condemned the provocations and attacks targeting the symbols, values, and leading Kurdish figures in Hasakah city, warning of attempts to fuel tensions between the Kurdish and Arab peoples and drag the region into a new conflict.

The statement said: "The provocations witnessed in Hasakah recently are attempts by forces seeking to place the Kurdish and Arab peoples in confrontation with each other, and to deepen conflict and hostility between peoples. In particular, the cowardly and despicable attacks targeting the values of the Kurdish people, their symbols, martyrs, and pioneers, especially women pioneers, have increased following the entry of groups of mercenaries into Hasakah, brought in from areas such as Sari Kani, Deir ez-Zor, and Al-Shaddadi."

The statement noted that "these attacks are part of the provocative policies pursued by those forces, with the aim of igniting conflicts between peoples and forcibly imposing the outbreak of a Kurdish-Arab war."

The statement added: "The peoples of Hasakah, Kurds, Arabs, and other components, have lived together for centuries on the basis of respecting each other's identities, beliefs, and values. The authentic peoples in Hasakah do not want war and hostility, but aspire to peace and shared life. If there are those today seeking to fabricate a Kurdish-Arab conflict, it is clear that this does not reflect the will of the peoples, but reveals the objectives of those forces working to fuel the flames of this conflict."

The statement believes that "these events have proven once again that targeting the images of women pioneers does not constitute an assault on our people's values only, but also reflects a dominant patriarchal and anti-woman mentality, seeking to suppress the struggle for freedom, societal leadership, and women's will."

The statement confirmed that "at a time when historical truth confirms that thousands of women from the Women's Protection Units fought ISIS under these banners, and based on the thought of these pioneers and their struggle, and contributed to its defeat, the targeting of the images of these very pioneers today, under the name of the integration process, is a clear indicator of imposing an ISIS mentality in different forms and methods. The insult to which these banners and pioneers are subjected today, which were yesterday a symbol of resistance in the face of ISIS's darkness, does not only target the gains of the Kurdish people, but also represents a despicable assault on the essence of the historical struggle waged against ISIS."

The Star Congress stressed through the statement its rejection of "these attacks targeting the images of our leadership, its dignity, martyrs, women pioneers, and symbols of the Kurdish people. The interim government bears direct responsibility for preventing these attacks, ensuring security in Hasakah, and controlling those groups seeking to ignite conflicts between peoples. The interim government must take practical steps regarding the provocations being fabricated, identify the identity of the persons carrying out these attacks, and hold them accountable. Accountability should not be limited to words, but should be done with transparency and reliability, in a way that restores confidence to society."

The statement noted that "despite the sincere, constructive, and positive approach adopted by the Kurdish side toward the integration process, it is unacceptable to ignore the will of the Kurdish people, or to remain silent toward attacks targeting their values. The concept of integration that does not make the will and rights of peoples its basis, and remains silent before assaults on their values, harms shared life. Therefore, we will continue our struggle and our democratic activities."

Through the statement, the Star Congress appealed to all women, women's organizations, democratic forces, all peoples of Rojava, and the Kurdish people, to raise their voices, based on all their democratic and legal rights, "in the face of attacks targeting our leadership, its dignity, our people's values, and symbols, and to take a unified position and show a strong will."

The statement added: "This insolent behavior, represented in desecrating the images of the pioneering martyrs and the leadership of the Kurdish people, does not only constitute a clear insult to the memory of our martyrs and our people's values, but is also a deliberate provocation targeting the historical memory of the Kurdish people, their dignity, and their will for freedom. In the face of that, defending our values is our highest legitimate right."

The statement held the interim government "responsible for preventing all provocations that have occurred in Hasakah until today, and that may occur in the future. We will not accept any assault that violates our people's values and targets the shared life between peoples. At the same time, we demand that the concerned authorities come forward publicly, open an investigation into this incident, and hold accountable the parties behind it and the persons who directly carried it out."