GÖTTINGEN – Yesterday, November 1, a group of 15 people in protective suits came together in Göttingen at the city’s landmark, the Gänseliesel, and set off yellow smoke bombs in the middle of the city center. With leaflets and a banner that said “We see your crimes – Stop the Turkish use of chemical weapons in Kurdistan”, the internationalist activists drew attention to the use of banned chemical weapons in Kurdistan, more precisely in southern Kurdistan, and denounced the war crimes of the Turkish occupying soldiers against the guerrillas of the freedom of Kurdistan.
One participant, named Meike, explained the action:
“As part of the European campaign Defend Kurdistan and the network Women Defend Rojava, we condemn the Turkish war of aggression in Kurdistan and in particular the use of chemical weapons,” said spokeswoman Maike. “The self-governing areas of north-eastern Syria – known as Rojava – and Başur are the result of a democratic women’s revolution. Most recently, it was above all the offensive by the second largest NATO army, Turkey, in Başur and their daily drone attacks in the autonomous Kurdish regions that caused many deaths.”
Since April 14, the occupying Turkish army has launched an intensive military operation against guerrilla resistance areas, using chemical weapons and banned bombs since the beginning of the invasion. The group criticizes that no international consequences have been taken so far and explains: “The member states of the OPCW [Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons], including the FRG, have all the means to initiate a long-demanded investigation, since a war crime has been committed. However, they refuse, because they don’t want to mess with Turkey as an ally and therefore accept the death of many people – and that the democratic project Rojava will be destroyed.”
The internationalist activists further explained:
“Today, November 1st, an international demonstration under the same motto took place in The Hague, the headquarters of the OPCW. November 1st, as “World Kobanê Day”, is of great importance for the region. The “World Kobanê Day” commemorates the resistance of the population and the People’s/Women’s Defense Units in the small border town of Kobanê against the terrorist militias of the so-called “Islamic State” in 2014. The same population that is being bombed by the Turkish army today, we show solidarity with the fight for freedom, democracy and women’s liberation in Kurdistan. We salute the freedom fighters who defeated ISIS and are resisting Turkish aggression today.”
The action in Göttingen also referred to the call of the “Defend Kurdistan” campaign on November 30th, the UN day to commemorate all victims of chemical warfare, to implement worldwide actions and protests against Turkey’s war crimes with chemical weapons and banned bombs.
