Kurds and Brits march in London against 'Turkey's war on Kurds'
LONDON — Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of London over the weekend to protest against what they called Turkey’s war on Kurds. The organizers claimed the demonstration was the first of its kind in solidarity with the Kurds.
It began outside the BBC headquarters at Oxford Street.
The aim, they said, was to break the silence in the west, at least in the Western media. Some protesters were convinced that the BBC favors the Turkish government.
“There is a silence in the western media, in the mainstream media” said Seffel Gordon who came from Scotland to take part in the demonstration. “They are eager to bring Turkey into the EU, and they are willing to overlook anything to bring Turkey into the EU.”
The fighting between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) resumed last June after a relatively calm period when both sides were negotiating a peace deal.
The renewed three-decade old conflict has led to the displacement of a quarter million people in the country’s southeast, in particular the Sur district of Diyarbakir and Cizre. More than 200 civilians are also believed to have been killed in the confrontations.
Amnesty International called the government’s crackdown in Turkey ‘collective punishment’.
Ankara says it is fighting the PKK which has brought the war into the cities.
Among other demands, the crowd in London demanded the removal of the PKK from the terror list.
Kurds from all four parts of Kurdistan made up the majority of the demonstrators, some wearing the same outfit as that of male and female Kurdish fighters in Turkey’s Kurdistan and Rojava in Syria.
“I am here to protest against Turkish state, to protest against ISIS, and to protest against everyone who is against Kurds” said Hendrin Haji-Mansour who comes from “PYD side”, she said, a term she first used to refer to Rojava. “I am asking the UK government, every person in the UK to support us, to support the Kurds, and to support everyone who wants to [live] in peace.”
The crowd then marched on to London’s famous Trafalgar Square where civil activists and politicians delivered speeches, all condemning the Turkish government, and some said the UK was ‘complicity’ in what was going on in Turkey.
“Defending human rights and democracy will help us all safer; we need to say that louder and clearly.” Said Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green Party, “We must say to the UK government, we must say to the European Union that we will break the silence about what is happening. We stand up for human rights and democracy.”
Mark Campbell read a statement on behalf of Stop War on Kurds. He said Amnesty International calls the crackdown collective punishment, because “the cities that have faced the worst atrocities are the cities that the majority of the citizens voted for the pro-Kurdish HDP, denying the Turkish President of his infamous presidential powers that he himself has likened to the powers enjoyed by Adolf Hitler.”
Derived from the old Kurdish saying that Kurds have no friends but the mountains, there was a banner asking non-Kurds to become the mountain.
Campbell said the demonstration was the first step of a long journey to win even more friends for the Kurds’ plight.
A significant number of non-Kurdish demonstrators from across the United Kingdom had joined the crowd.
Bob Jacobson from London brought her own placard, like many others, suggesting that ISIS is made in Turkey. “They are certainly supported by Turkey for sure,” he said.
Gordon said he has always been interested in the Kurdish cause, but became even more involved when one of his colleagues gave up her job and joined the YPJ in Rojava.
It began outside the BBC headquarters at Oxford Street.
The aim, they said, was to break the silence in the west, at least in the Western media. Some protesters were convinced that the BBC favors the Turkish government.
“There is a silence in the western media, in the mainstream media” said Seffel Gordon who came from Scotland to take part in the demonstration. “They are eager to bring Turkey into the EU, and they are willing to overlook anything to bring Turkey into the EU.”
The fighting between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) resumed last June after a relatively calm period when both sides were negotiating a peace deal.
The renewed three-decade old conflict has led to the displacement of a quarter million people in the country’s southeast, in particular the Sur district of Diyarbakir and Cizre. More than 200 civilians are also believed to have been killed in the confrontations.
Amnesty International called the government’s crackdown in Turkey ‘collective punishment’.
Ankara says it is fighting the PKK which has brought the war into the cities.
Among other demands, the crowd in London demanded the removal of the PKK from the terror list.
Kurds from all four parts of Kurdistan made up the majority of the demonstrators, some wearing the same outfit as that of male and female Kurdish fighters in Turkey’s Kurdistan and Rojava in Syria.
“I am here to protest against Turkish state, to protest against ISIS, and to protest against everyone who is against Kurds” said Hendrin Haji-Mansour who comes from “PYD side”, she said, a term she first used to refer to Rojava. “I am asking the UK government, every person in the UK to support us, to support the Kurds, and to support everyone who wants to [live] in peace.”
The crowd then marched on to London’s famous Trafalgar Square where civil activists and politicians delivered speeches, all condemning the Turkish government, and some said the UK was ‘complicity’ in what was going on in Turkey.
“Defending human rights and democracy will help us all safer; we need to say that louder and clearly.” Said Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green Party, “We must say to the UK government, we must say to the European Union that we will break the silence about what is happening. We stand up for human rights and democracy.”
Mark Campbell read a statement on behalf of Stop War on Kurds. He said Amnesty International calls the crackdown collective punishment, because “the cities that have faced the worst atrocities are the cities that the majority of the citizens voted for the pro-Kurdish HDP, denying the Turkish President of his infamous presidential powers that he himself has likened to the powers enjoyed by Adolf Hitler.”
Derived from the old Kurdish saying that Kurds have no friends but the mountains, there was a banner asking non-Kurds to become the mountain.
Campbell said the demonstration was the first step of a long journey to win even more friends for the Kurds’ plight.
A significant number of non-Kurdish demonstrators from across the United Kingdom had joined the crowd.
Bob Jacobson from London brought her own placard, like many others, suggesting that ISIS is made in Turkey. “They are certainly supported by Turkey for sure,” he said.
Gordon said he has always been interested in the Kurdish cause, but became even more involved when one of his colleagues gave up her job and joined the YPJ in Rojava.