Australians for Kurdistan now has a YouTube channel. You can click here or search under our name. The inaugural content is the video of the keynote presentations at the May 14 online forum The Kurdish freedom struggle & the COVID-19 crisis.
Forum: The Kurdish freedom struggle & the COVID-19 crisis
Thursday, May 14, 6:30pm
This meeting will be held online via Zoom. Click on the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89902166736
With the COVID-19 pandemic raging, the Kurdish people have to struggle not only against the deadly virus but also for their rights against the ongoing attacks of the reactionary regimes and Islamist gangs. This forum looks at what is happening in the liberated zone of Rojava in northern Syria and in the Kurdish homelands in Turkey, Iraq and Iran and the ongoing need for international solidarity.
Speakers:
- Salih Muslim — Former co-chair of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in north and east Syria, currently head of the PYD Diplomacy Office
- Ercan Ayboga — Kurdish ecologist & activist, co-author of Revolution in Rojava
- Hawzhin Azeez — Kurdish feminist specialising in gender & Middle Eastern studies, currently teaching at the American University in Iraq
- Suheyla Ahmed — Kurdish activist based in Australia
Organised by Australians for Kurdistan, Federation of Democratic Kurdish Society-Australia, Rojava Solidarity (Sydney) & Solidarity with Rojava (WA).
For more information email Australians for Kurdistan. Facebook
How Turkey has got Europe over a barrel
[Sarah Glynn, co-convenor of Scottish Solidarity with Kurdistan, attended the recent conference on ‘The European Union, Turkey, The Middle East and the Kurds’ at the European Parliament, and writes about what she found out.]
Relations between Europe and Turkey demonstrate an unedifying realpolitik in which there are many losers, and the only winners are the usual coterie of financiers, arms manufacturers and authoritarian politicians. Continue reading
Thousands march to free Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan
[By Peter Boyle] STRASBOURG, February 20 — Thousands of Kurds and their international supporters converged for a huge march and rally in Strasbourg on February 15 [see photo above], to demand the release of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan. Öcalan has been imprisoned by the Turkish state for the past 21 years, after being illegally abducted in Kenya with the help of the CIA. Continue reading
European left and green MPs support Kurdish struggle
[By Peter Boyle] BRUSSELS, February 13 — Left and green parliamentarians from across Europe condemned Turkey’s invasion of Rojava, the democratic autonomous liberated zone in North and East Syria, at an international conference on February 5–6. The conference was titled “The European Union, Turkey, the Middle East and the Kurds” and was held in the European Parliament in Brussels. Continue reading
PKK leadership responds to Belgian court ruling
The Central Committee of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party PKK (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê) has commented on the ruling of the Court of Cassation in Brussels, which earlier this week finally confirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal that the PKK is not a “terrorist organisation” but a party in an armed conflict. Continue reading
Belgium Court of Cassation: PKK is not a terrorist organization
[By Maxime Azadi] BRUSSELS — The Court of Cassation of Belgium ratified the lower court’s judgement and ruled that PKK is not a terrorist organization.
During the first hearing held on January 14, the Court of Cassation prosecutor requested ratification of the ruling of the Court of Appeals in the PKK case. A lower court prosecutor and lawyers for the Turkish state requested time to respond to the opinion of the Court of Cassation prosecutor. Continue reading
Yazidi genocide survivors call for US to stop Turkey bombing Sinjar
[By Peter Boyle] The Yazidi minority community in Sinjar, Iraq is still recovering from the horrendous 2014 genocide by Islamic State (IS) terrorists. Yet, on January 15 it was the target of another deadly airstrike by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s dictatorial regime. Continue reading
PYD leader: ‘We are the only democratic force in this land’
[Serkan Demirel interviews Shaoz Hesen, co-chairperson of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the most influential party in the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria.]
The Turkish state continues its occupation attacks on North East Syria, there was agreement among US and Russia and Turkey. Can you explain what is going on?
First of all, I must state that the situation in North East Syria is actually a process of chaos and what is happening in the region is closely related to every problem in Syria. The eyes of local and foreign powers in Syria are on the Rojava region, because these lands are rich in both underground resources and culturally. In addition, the democratic life built in the region, the experience gained and the high presence of Kurds in the region disturb the neighboring countries, especially the Turkish state. Continue reading
Les Thomas sings a song of solidarity for Rojava
Donald Trump’s October withdrawal of US troops from the Rojava region of north-east Syria, home to the Kurdish allies who fought off Isis, and the subsequent Turkish invasion, created an instant humanitarian catastrophe with more than 300,000 internally displaced people already.
Melbourne singer-songwriter Les Thomas quickly wrote and recorded The Great Betrayal (Rojava) to highlight the plight of those in the region. Continue reading