about 3 weeks after the devastating earthquake in Rojava, Syria, Bakur and Turkey, in addition to the sheer scale of the disaster, with nearly 43,000 dead and thousands still presumed under the uncleared rubble, it becomes clear that the Turkish state in the wake of this crisis is not afraid of any means to gain political profit out of the disaster, for the scale of which the policies of the AKP-MHP regime is responsible. The AKP-MHP regime has buried the people of northern Kurdistan and Turkey alive for profits and must be held accountable. The regime’s handling of the aftermath of the earthquake are a continuation of the genocide against the Kurdish people and we anticipate further attacks on the self-determination of the people.
Left alone by the state, the people are rediscovering their own strength, showing solidarity and thus building on the experience of self-governed autonomy, which underwent profound developments until Kurdish cities were razed to the ground by Turkish tanks in 2015. This must also be supported from outside. The fascist Turkish state, well aware of this fact seems to use the situation now in order to force demographic change in Northern Kurdistan.
In face of the humanitarian disaster we continue to call for donations to the Kurdish Red Crescent. Hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless by the earthquake, and the supply of basic necessities is limited. Turkish aid organizations are now tools of the regime through the bank away and whether donations really arrive where they are needed is highly questionable.
In Rojava, where the areas illegally occupied by Turkey in Afrin and Sheiq Masoud in Aleppo, which is under Syrian blockade, are particularly affected, aid from the self-governed areas is blocked. Control over the distribution of international aid coming into the disputed areas via Turkey lies with the Islamic gangs of the so-called Syrian National Army (SNA) & the Syrian Al Qaeda offshoot HTS (Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham), which is reportedly withholding the allocation from Kurds. Both in terms of reporting on Turkey and on the situation in the occupied territories in Rojava/Syria, the international press is largely disappointing: On one side of the border, neither the fact that the victims of the earthquake are mostly Kurds, Alevis and Arabs is mentioned nor the fact that the people of the region engage intensely in democratic politics. On the other side of the border, former Al-Qaeda leaders are being presented as Syrian rebels without further ado.
While the huge Turkish military has still not moved to rescue survivors some 24 hours after the earthquake, Turkey carried out artillery attacks on earthquake-affected people in Tel Rifaat. Drone attacks in Rojava continue unabated, as does the war against the Gerilla in the mountains of southern Kurdistan, despite a unilateral ceasefire announced by the PKK central committee shortly after the earthquake. Chemical weapons reportedly continue to be used.
How much does a artillery shell cost?
Huge efforts are necessary now, safe shelters have to be set up, the distribution of food & drinking water has to be organized & thousands of houses will have to be built. A single artillery shell fired at our comrades in Rojava or the mountains of Southern Kurdistan costs at least $1,000. Hundreds are fired every week. Flight hours of dozens of attack helicopters, jets and drones devour billions, in a time in which the stricken Turkish economy should exhaust all resources to help the victims of the earthquake. The regime’s priorities become clear once again: the genocide of the Kurdish people and the fight against the revolution in Rojava, against any approach to democratization in Turkey, continue while the population is squeezed out, for the profit and war of the regime and the deep state.
But in Rojava & Northern Kurdistan, the population is reflecting on its own strength, the awareness that the state cannot be relied on is also permeating Turkish society more and more and gnawing at the already shaky foundation of the AKP-MHP regime. That’s why the regime is heavily relying on the control of information, fe when Twitter was obstructed during the early hours after the earthquake struck, which by the way cost lives, as victims where using the platform to call for help & share their locations. When the regime looses control over the narrative it will crumble. In this period in which many things are in motion, let’s take our solidarity symbolically and practically to the streets. The resistance of the Gerila in the mountains of Kurdistan shows that even the largest army is not invincible, Rojava defies all attacks and proves to us that an alternative to the exploitation of capitalism and the potentially fascist nation-state is possible. We can put on the agenda, wherever we are, the attacks of Turkish fascism with banned chemical weapons. We can counter the ignorance about the attacks on Rojava and expose the propaganda of the Turkish state and its imperialist masters.
Another world is possible in Kurdistan and in every place of the world where people become aware of their own power and organize themselves. The struggle against fascism remains international, the struggle for freedom of the peoples of the Middle East is legitimate and it is universal values that are defended in the mountains of Kurdistan.
We, as the International Campaign Riseup4Rojava, are part of this struggle. We call on all those who feel connected to the revolution in Rojava to intensify their efforts, we call on all anti-fascists to fight against Turkish fascism in every place. If we mobilize our forces and stand side by side with our comrades in Kurdistan and the Middle East, we will be able to make our contribution to the overthrow of the AKP-MHP regime.
The days of fascism are numbered, a new world is rising on the horizon.
Smash Turkish Fascism!
Riseup4Rojava!
RiseUp4Rojava – Campaign, 23rd February 2023
riseup4rojava.org / @RISEUP4R0JAVA / t.me/Riseup4RojavaEng / riseup4rojava@riseup.net
https://riseup4rojava.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/R4R_Statement-23022023.pdf
