The Kurdistan National Congress has today issued this appeal for Kobane:
Updated 23 October 2014
THE KURDISH PEOPLE ARE FACING A MASSACRE IN KOBANE!
SUPPORT THE KURDISH PEOPLE’S STRUGGLE FOR SELF-DEFENCE AND SELF-DETERMINATION IN ROJAVA!
OUR APPEAL
The UK government must recognise that the Kurdish forces on the ground, the YPG and YPJ, are the most effective fighting force against ISIS.
They have resisted ISIS advances on Kobane for over a year, were instrumental in evacuating thousands of Yezidi refugees who fled ISIS in Mount Sinjar.
The YPJ and YPG must urgently be provided with advanced weaponry in order to counter the heavy artillery and long-range capabilities of ISIS.
The YPJ and YPG are well trained, disciplined and prepared to fight to ISIS to the end, but in the current crisis this is simply not enough to put a definitive halt ISIS advances in Rojava.
Humanitarian aid both for Kobane and for refugees fleeing the area must be urgently provided in coordination with local relief organisations on the ground, including the Kurdish Red Crescent, Heyva Sor*.
A major humanitarian crisis is unfolding with hundreds of thousands of people without food, shelter and medicines. International humanitarian relief has been slow to arrive and inadequate given the scale of the crisis.
A humanitarian corridor from the other two Rojava cantons to Kobane must be established and secured with UN backing.
ISIS is surrounding Kobane, and Turkey has been deliberately obstructing the movement of Kurdish people across the border to support the defence of the city. YPG fighters from the other two cantons in Rojava must allowed safe passage to assist in the defence of Kobane.
The UK government must immediately take steps to remove the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) from its list of banned terrorist organisations.
The ban erroneously frames the PKK as a terrorist organisation rather than a legitimate non-state actor fighting for the liberation of the Kurdish people with significant support across the region.
The UK government should place economic and political sanctions on individuals and governments that support, finance and arm ISIS.
This includes Turkey, which has played an active an influential role in the rise of ISIS, having opened its border with northern Syria to foreign fighters, provided logistical support and military cover, and even treated ISIS fighters in their hospitals.
The UK government and the international community should recognise the Democratic Administration of Rojava, which declared self-rule in January 2014.
Aside from the Kobane canton, there are two other cantons, Afrin and Jezire, which make up the Democratic Administration of Rojava. As a pluralist democratic system, it represents the best possible model for peace in the region and without international recognition the rest of Rojava remains under threat and under-supported.
Turkey must be not be permitted to establish a ‘buffer zone’ in northern Syria.
Its unwillingness to prevent ISIS taking Kobane and threatening the Kurdish people with massacre clearly shows what Turkey thinks of Kurdish aspirations for autonomy. We fear a buffer zone is simply a pretext for the occupation of Kurdish lands by the Turkish military.
The UN and international women’s organisations must urgently investigate the situation of the 2000-3000 Yezidi Kurdish women who were kidnapped by ISIS in Sinjar.
It is believed that they are being held in captivity and sold as sexual slaves to ISIS commanders and fighters, but no proper investigation into this war crime has yet taken place.
*DONATE
Help the displaced people in need of food, shelter and security by donating to Kurdish Red Crescent. You can donate using credit card or Paypal at: http://www.heyvasor.com/en
OR donate using the bank details below:
Kurdish Red Crescent – Heyva Sor a Kurdistanê
Address: Fairfax Hall 11 Portland Gardens
London N4 IHU
Registered Charity No: 10 93 741
Sort code: 20 46 60 / Bank Account No: 40 91 23 87
Updated: 23 October 2014
Issued by: KURDISTAN NATIONAL CONGRESS UK, Contact: knklondon@gn.apc.org
Supported by: PEACE IN KURDISTAN CAMPAIGN, Contact: estella24@tiscali.co.uk