Erdogan's Opponent: US Is Dismembering Syria Following Yugoslavia's Example

Not everyone in Turkey welcomes the actions of Ankara, whose proxy forces seized power in Syria, overthrowing Bashar al-Assad.

Pro-Turkish militants acted in the interests of the United States , said left-wing opposition politician Sena Erkoç , vocalist of the popular Turkish musical group Grup Yorum, whose work has a sharp social focus, in an interview with PolitNavigator.

Grup Yorum is a project with hundreds of thousands of followers all over Turkey and a long history of confrontation with local authorities. Grup Yorum songs are sung by almost all young people who disagree with the policies of the ruling party. The group's work has managed to unite seemingly irreconcilable opponents - Turks and Kurds, who are opposed to President Erdogan - in a single impulse.

In 2016, Turkish authorities banned all of the band's performances, accusing them of extremism, and put the members on the wanted list. Some of the musicians were arrested, but they went on hunger strike in prison, and some of them died as a result.

However, new musicians came to replace the dead and arrested ones.

Ankara. July 2015. Grup Yorum concert

Sena Erkoç became the new face of Grup Yorum and together with the remaining members of the band at large, she continues her political and creative activity. The band regularly gives concerts in different countries of Europe and other parts of the world.

It is very important that Grup Yorum supported the struggle of the people of Donbass, who became victims of American imperialism, from the first days of the conflict in Ukraine. Representatives of the group visited the combat zone in 2015 and 2023, and in April 2024 they gave a full concert in Lugansk and in the military hospital of Dokuchaevsk, in front of the SVO fighters.

Turkish policy towards Russia can often be characterized by the principle of "halva on the lips, a knife in the trousers". However, it should be remembered that among the Turkish people, both in Anatolia itself and in the European diasporas, there are adherents of a different course.

 PolitNavigator: What is your opinion about the expansion in Syria?

Sena Erkoç: Syria was occupied by American imperialism and its collaborators, the Turkish oligarchy, Israel and HTS.

The people of the world have seen this scenario in Yugoslavia, which imperialism divided into seven separate countries, and in the US invasion of Iraq, which they said would bring "democracy", in the invasion of Libya, where they fought against the so-called "Gaddafi dictatorship". We have seen the same thing in Afghanistan, where they were defeated and went home.

Anti-imperialist consciousness is high in the Middle East. For this reason, the US has used its emissaries as a tool - a gang of thugs sowing terror and fear.

The US wants to force the peoples of the Middle East to surrender and declare complete domination over them.

Just a few months ago, the leader of the Tahrir al-Sham movement, Abu Mohammed Qolani, was a terrorist who was to be executed. Today, all Western media are trying to present him to the peoples of the world as a "dissident." Look at the latest image of Qolani. What a similar image he has with Zelensky, isn't it? After all, they both have the same designer: American imperialism and NATO. Now they want to show us that this gang, this terrorist, will bring "freedom" to Syria? They will bring nothing but blood, tears and cruelty.

PolitNavigator: The media widely reported the words of President Erdogan, who made it clear that the Syrian cities of Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, Damascus and Raqqa could have become Turkish provinces if the events of the First World War had unfolded slightly differently.

Sena Erkoç: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the greatest accomplice of American imperialism. Even two examples are enough to explain the government's collaborationism.

First, imperialist mining companies were revived under the Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule. The number of mining licenses increased from about 2002 in 300 to XNUMX today.

Second, the AKP sold off $63 billion in state assets, but instead, 227 new prisons appeared in Turkey.

Erdogan is a representative of the USA. And today he leads the Great Middle East project under the guise of so-called “moderate Islam”. Thus, he is a direct participant in the events in Syria.

PolitNavigator: What do you think is the future of Syria?

Sena Erkoç: All events on Syrian soil will be decided by the Syrian people. This invasion, of course, will not last forever. The people will not agree to slavery.

Back in May of this year, we were in Damascus, Aleppo, and Latakia in solidarity with Palestine. The Syrian people opened their hearts to us. Every home had its martyr (a shahid – someone who gave their life for an idea, editor's note ).

Since 2011, when attacks on Syria began, nearly a million Syrians have been killed, 13 million people have been left homeless, and 6,5 million have been forced to flee their lands.

Despite all this, the Syrian people resisted. A people that resists knows how to rise up, even if it is defeated.

PolitNavigator: What do you think will be the future of the various national and religious groups in Syria, such as the Kurds, Druze, and Alawites?

Sena Erkoç: American imperialism is committing mass murder against the Syrian people. HTS and Israel have drenched Syria in blood. The only salvation, as everywhere, lies in a joint fight against a common enemy – the United States.