PRESS STATEMENT
28 October 2014
Join us for a rally in London on Trafalgar Square on 1 November 2-5pm!
Hundreds of individuals and organisations representing thousands of members from across the world have signed an urgent call for action appealing to people all over the world to show solidarity with Kobane, which is still under siege by ISIS and facing the possibility of a genocide.[1]
Prominent signatories include Professor Noam Chomsky and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who have both been long-time supporters of the Kurdish struggle for self-determination, as well as Nobel Peace Prize Laureates like Adolfo Erez Esquivel, and Jose Ramos-Horta, former President of East Timor and Nora Cortinas, cofounder of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo in Argentina and Palestinian singer Reem Kelani.[2] Academics, writers, lawyers, politicians and activists from political, social-justice and environmental movements from countries as diverse as India, Ecuador, Croatia, Norway and the Basque Country, have signed the call in an unprecedented show of international solidarity for the Kurdish resistance in Syria.
For nearly two months, the city of Kobane has been facing an onslaught from ISIS while the so-called international coalition, formed following ISIS incursions into Iraq, appears unwilling to come to the aid of the Kurdish resistance. Kobane is one of three cantons in the Democratic Autonomous Administration of Rojava (Western Kurdistan, Syria). The call for action states that the US-led coalition “has not fulfilled their real international legal obligations. Some of the countries in the coalition, especially Turkey, are among financial and military supporters of the ISIS terrorists in Iraq and Syria.”
It also calls for the world to recognise that democratic autonomy in Rojava and the ‘Rojava Model’ promises a free future for all peoples in Syria, saying, “If the world wants democracy in the Middle East, it should support the Kurdish resistance in Kobanê”.
In response to the call for action, rallies and demonstrations are being organised in dozens of cities across Europe and the world, from Brussels to California to Argentina and India. In the UK, actions will take place in Glasgow, Nottingham and other cities, while the largest rally will be in Trafalgar Square, central London from 2-5pm, organised by the Kurdish People’s Assembly and Kurdish Community organisations in the UK. The occasion is an opportunity to celebrate the brave resistance of the Kurdish fighters and volunteers, and will be marked by speeches by politicians and activists, as well as music and dance.
[1]. Read the call and see full list of signatories
[2].Watch Reem Kelani’s video message of solidarity with Kobane
ENDS
For information contact:
Peace in Kurdistan
Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish Question
Email: estella24@tiscali.co.uk
www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.com
Contacts Estella Schmid 020 7586 5892 & Melanie Sirinathsingh – Tel: 020 7272 7890
Patrons: Lord Avebury, Lord Rea, Lord Dholakia, Baroness Sarah Ludford, Jill Evans MEP, Jean Lambert MEP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Hywel Williams MP, Elfyn Llwyd MP, Conor Murphy MP, John Austin, Bruce Kent, Gareth Peirce, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, John Berger, Edward Albee, Margaret Owen OBE, Prof Mary Davis, Mark Thomas, Nick Hildyard, Stephen Smellie
Kurdish People’s Council
Arzu Pesmen
arzupeesmen@yahoo.co.uk