A spokesperson of the International Coalition against ISIS deleted a tweet quoted a Kurdish proverb praising the opening of the first women military academy in Northeastern Syria, after Turkish resentment.
Colonel Myles B. Caggins, spokesperson of Operation Inherent Resolve, retweeted three days ago a video report from VOA on the opening of the first women military academy in Amuda. He commented on the video citing a Kurdish proverb “Şêr Şêr e çi jin e çi mêr e!” which translates to (a lion is a lion, no matter if it is a female or a male).
Activists reported today that Col. Caggins has deleted his tweet, without any clarification. However, speculation going around the resentment of the Turkish government expressed by state-owned media.
The Turkish-owned Anadolu Agency published a report accusing OIR spokesperson of tweeting “PKK Slogans”. The report said that Col. Caggins “tweeted Monday a Kurdish proverb abused by the PKK terror organization.”
The first commonly known political use of this proverb dates way back before PKK’s armed struggle in Turkey. The celebrated Kurdish poet Cegerxwin used this proverb in his eulogy for the iconic Iraqi Kurdish political activist Layla Qasim who was hanged in 1974 at the age of 22 by the Baathist regime in Baghdad.
The Anadolu Agency reported also that the video shared by OIR Spokesperson featured “One of the trainees tells the news outlet that they are ready to fight Turkish forces and their allies” in a loose interpretation of the woman’s actual statement, using the words “resistance” and “fight” interchangeably.
The academy’s team leader mentioned Turkish president as: “although Erdogan and others threaten us every day. Our people, patriots and northern families say that we will not surrender, we will resist”.
Here is the Anadolu Agency report:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/us-led-anti-daesh-coalition-spokesman-tweets-pkk-slogan/1649044
This is a screenshot of the deleted tweet by Col. Myles Caggins:
