Giant Ocalan flag flying in the centre of Raqqa. Some on twitter suggest it's a dedication to the USA. As a supporter of terrorists and terrorism it's a fitting dedication. Very fitting. A still shows a flag bearing Abdullah Ocalan's face in the centre of Raqqa
The Kurds also employed a huge appeal to the feminists (identity politics) that litter the west with their toxicity- Story for another day....
I'd describe this as a huge flipping of the bird to the dead. The displaced. The ethnically cleansed. To the nation state of Syria. Only full awareness that the USrael has their back could explain this brazen display.
Middle East EyeSyrian social media users have reacted with alarm after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) unveiled a large picture of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan in the centre of Raqqa following the city's liberation from Islamic State.
#YPJ : We dedicate the #Raqqa victory to Öcalan and all the women.https://t.co/Ythen5sG8s#SDF #YPG #TwitterKurds #Kurdistan. pic.twitter.com/GMFC3cFOsK— Country of Kurds (@DefenceUnits) October 19, 2017
Ocalan, who was born in the Turkish province of Sanliurfa, was a co-founder of the PKK in 1978 and led a guerrilla war against the Turkish state that resulted in more than 40,000 deaths.Although the YPG has claimed it is independent from the PKK, the group acknowledges Ocalan as its ideological figurehead and PKK commanders are thought to control key institutions in northern Syria.
Syrian opposition activists criticised the move on Twitter with some saying that one "terrorist" group, the Islamic State, had simply been traded in for another:
US has stated it supports YPG, not PKK. Thus, the image of PKK's head, Abdullah Ocalan, in Raqqa's town square today is dedicated to the US.
pic.twitter.com/XbBxrJ0LZU— هادي العبدالله Hadi (@HadiAlabdallah) October 19, 2017
#Raqqa city:: AlBagdadi photo has been replaced with Abdullah Ocalan the leader of #PKK which consider internationally a terrorist group pic.twitter.com/ueWIr8NnaG
IS captured mostly Sunni Arab Raqqa in 2014, and under its rule the city became infamous for gruesome abuses and as a planning centre for attacks abroad.
WSJ is also reporting this display with a nice twist "Symbol of Kurdish Nationalism Rises in Raqqa"No mention of displaced, dead, ethnically cleansed Syrian Arab/Christans resident in Raqqa that I can see- Or the fact that this is still Syrian territory? You know, government in Damascus? Just "kurdish nationalism"
"Two days after leading the battle to oust Islamic State from Raqqa, U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters on Thursday made clear they have replaced the extremist group as the Syrian city’s new authority. Members of the Kurdish led Syrian Democratic Forces held a news conference in the symbolic public square, where they raised a giant banner of Abdullah Ocalan."
Those Arabs have now been displaced. Related. Most definitely related