URFA -  Hisên Berzenci, who was injured in the Qamishlo Serhildan (Qamishlo Uprising) said: "The Rojava Revolution is a result of the Qamishlo Serhildan.

 

After the events that started in the football match between Al Jihad and Al-Futwa football teams on March 12, 2004 in Qamishlo, Northern and Eastern Syria, 52 people lost their lives in the attacks carried out by the Baathist regime forces against the Kurds. It has been 18 years since the events that went down in history as the Qamishlo Serhildan. The resistance, that started in the stadium where the football match was played, reached Qamişlo, Serêkaniyê, Hesekê, Amude, Afrin, Heleb and Damascus, inspired the Rojava Revolution in 2012.

 

 

The Baath regime that tried to suppress the resistance of the Kurdish people who took to the streets with the slogan "Bijî Kurdistan, Bimre Rejîma Baath(Long live Kurdistan, Death to Baath regime)" with weapons and tanks, 52 people lost their lives, hundreds of people were injured, thousands of young people were detained and arrested. After the Rojava Revolution, the name of Qamishlo Stadium was changed to March 12 Martyrs Stadium. After the Rojava Revolution of July 19, 2012, teams from Qamishlo and Dêra Zor played friendly matches every year on this date.

 

Hisên Berzenci, one of the witnesses of the massacre, told the Mesopotamia Agency (MA) about those days in the stadium where the massacre took place.

 

SLOGANS FAVOURING SADDAM

 

Berzenci stated that before the match played between the teams of Al Jihad and Al-Futwa on March 12, some fans shouted slogans in favour of the regime and said that the supporters from Dera Zor entered the stadium with stones, knives and sticks. Berzenci said that the books brought by the Qamişlo supporters were confiscated by the officials on the grounds that they will start a fire.

 

4 PEOPLE KILLED

 

Stating that he was at his relative's house that day, Berzenci said that when the attack started in Qamishlo at noon, they went out and the place turned into a war zone. The Baath regime opened fire on people, Berzenci said that the bullet that hit one of his neighbors came out through and through. Berzenci said, "They said there were people wounded. We went to help the wounded. We were trying to help wounded. There were martyrs. People were flocking to the stadium when they heard what happened. All Kurds flocked to the stadium. The perimeter of the stadium was surrounded by the regime. Soldiers were sent from Hesekê that day. We were not inside the stadium, but those in the stadium told us that the soldiers killed a citizen named Ahmed. They killed 4 people that day."

 

THEY COME TO SUPPORT QAMIŞLO

 

Berzenci, who showed the inside of the stadium where the events took place, showed that the stadium remained the same after the events that unfold that day, but the iron railings were painted and there was no change other than that. Explaining that stones were thrown at the management of the Al Jihad team during the match, told that the government forces did not allow the people to enter the stadium. Stating that the supporters of Al Jihad were attacked with stones and sticks, Berzenci said, "They fought back. Then the whole thing started. There were deaths. Hearing about these deaths, people started to flock to the stadium from cities such as Qamishlo, Amude and Hesekê. They helped their own people. We are a people of peace. We are against war, but when war comes to us we will not accept it. We will drive this war away from us." 

 

FUNERAL CEREMONY WAS ATTACKED

 

Berzenci said that after the arrival of the people, the government sent soldiers, Berzenci added, "4 people had died. Many were wounded. The people of Qamishlo did not even get to bury their dead. The ceremony was held the other day. We held a march for our dead. The government tried to provoke the people. They fired at us. I was injured there along with 17 people."

 

Stating that an uprising had started from Damascus to Derik after that, Berzenci said that not only the Kurdish people, but also some Arab people supported the Kurds. Referring to the pressures of the Baath regime, Berzenci said, "They did not allow the people to go out. Patrols were deployed there. They arrested most of the Kurdish people. They arrested nearly 400 people."

 

BAATH REGIME PROVOKED KURDISH AND ARAB PEOPLES AGAINST EACH OTHER

 

Underlining that the Baath regime's goal was to provoke the Kurds and Arabs against each other, Berzenci said: "Arabs and Kurds lived in harmony. We lived together. There was no problem or trouble. They tried to provoke us against each other. They shot many people. Many people died. What happened that day in the city is still vivid in my memory. It's as if it happened today. We will never forget what was done to us. At that time, the best thing was that all the Kurdish people supported each other. They gave each other their backs. That was the best thing at that time. The worst thing was the discrimination between the two peoples."

 

FROM QAMISHLO TO ROJAVA REVOLUTION

 

Berzenci continued as follows: "The current Rojava Revolution is the result of the Serhildan at that time. We are hopeful that things will get even better. All of our Kurdish parties should unite and rise up. They have been trying to break the will of the Kurdish people. It will never happen. We will stand up with our own language. We have to unite, the peoples of Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians and Armenians. We should not let the governments divide us. We should hold each other's hands if we mean to live together."

 

MA/ Müjdat Can