Women from the Tirbesipiye-Cizire Canton in northern Syria (known as 鈥淩ojava鈥 in Kurdish)聽held a women-only demonstration through the city centre on February 9.
The marchers expressed their support for the resistance by women and others in the Afrin canton in Rojava against the fascist invasion from Turkey and Islamic gangs, which began last month 鈥 and in support of the feminist, multi-ethnic Rojava Revolution.
Thousands of solidarity activists from all across the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria聽defied a threat of bombardment by the Turkish State on February 6 to stand in solidarity with the resistance in Afrin.
The statement below, 鈥淢essage from the Women of Afrin to the Women of the World鈥, was released on February 3 by Kongreya Star Efrin, a confederation of women鈥檚 organisatons in Afrin (Efrin in Kurdish).
On January 20, Turkey launched an invasion of Afrin, one of the three cantons that make up the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria (also known as Rojava), the site of a profound, Kurdish-led social revolution based on multi-ethnic participatory democracy and women鈥檚 liberation.
The invasion has killed dozens of civilians in an area that has welcomed hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria鈥檚 conflict. Turkey鈥檚 actions would be impossible without at least passive acceptance from several great powers active in Syria. Cihad Hammy looks at the motivations for various major players.
The dark clouds of 21st-century fascism are once again hanging over the heads of the people of northern Syria. As if the inhabitants of the region often referred to as Rojava haven鈥檛 suffered enough over the course of the past 7 years of war, the Turkish state has come to the conclusion that the time is ripe to pick up the fallen, bloodied sword from the corpse that is Islamic State.
Together with Salafist mercenaries carrying flags of the Syrian 鈥榬ebels鈥 鈥 one of the many components of what at one historical juncture seemingly all so long ago was a cohesive 鈥楩ree Syrian Army鈥 鈥 Erdogan鈥檚 regime vows a 鈥榮wift operation鈥 to destroy 鈥榯errorism鈥 in Afrin.
The left-wing Peoples鈥 Democratic Party (HDP) has condemned Turkey鈥檚 invasion of the Afrin region in northern Syria (known as Rojava in Kurdish) in collaboration with mostly jihadi Syrian militias.
The HDP, with strong roots in Turkey鈥檚 Kurdish minority, has itself faced worsening repression from the regime of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
As concerned Australians, we condemn Turkey鈥檚 invasion of the mainly Kurdish canton of Afrin in northern Syria, and demand that the Australian Government do all in its power to protest and stop Turkey鈥檚 brazen criminal aggression.
Three years after Kurdish-led forces liberated the northern Syrian city of Kobane from ISIS 鈥 after a months-long siege that captured the world鈥檚 imagination 鈥 the democratic, multi-ethnic and feminist revolution in Syria鈥檚 north is facing a new assault.
After receiving approval from Russia, the Turkish state has launched an air strike with 69 jets, bombing the Afrin centre and Cindir锚s锚, Reco, Shera, Sh锚rawa and Mabeta districts in northern Syria, on January 20.
Academics and international human rights activists launched a petition calling upon world powers to act against Turkish aggression against Afrin, .
The umbrella organisation of political and social movements in northern Syria, Movement for Democratic Society (TEV-DEM), released a statement on recent attacks and threats by the Turkish state.
Turkey has attacked the Afrin district in northern Syria, which is part of the Northern Syria Democratic Federation that is seeking to create a new revolutionary system of 鈥渄emocratic confederalism鈥.
Dutch journalist Frederike Geerdink has just spent a year with Kurdish forces in northern Syria observing the democratic and feminist revolution unfolding in the region. During her recent visit to Australia, she spoke to about her experience. Below is an edited and abridged transcript of the interview.
***