http://themilitant.com/2015/7930/793004.html
The Militant (logo)
Vol. 79/No. 30 August 24, 2015
(front page)
Protests: ‘Stop US-Turkish
assault on Kurdish people!’
Militant/Jacquie Henderson
During action called by Socialist Workers Party in Omaha, Nebraska,
Aug. 6, protesters distribute fliers opposing attacks on Kurds. Dennis
Richter, SWP state chairperson, discusses issue with Chad Cupit, who
works nearby at University of Nebraska.
BY JACQUIE HENDERSON
OMAHA, Neb. — Protesters with signs in English and Spanish demanding
“Stop U.S./Turkey assault on Kurds” rallied on a busy corner here Aug.
6. The action, called by the Socialist Workers Party, received honks of
support from several passing cars, as well as a couple hostile remarks.
Dozens of people stopping at the corner in their cars took copies of a
statement by Dennis Richter, chairperson of the SWP in Nebraska. Chad
Cupit, a research worker at nearby University of Nebraska, was one of
the pedestrians who stopped to talk.
“The Kurds are an oppressed nationality of 30 million living in Iran,
Iraq, Turkey and Syria,” Richter told him. “They have stepped forward to
take on the Islamic State and to advance their struggle for a Kurdish
homeland. But Washington and other imperialist powers, fearing the
dynamic toward Kurdish sovereignty, have relentlessly opposed Kurdish
independence and want to reimpose a centralized Iraqi government with
powers over the Kurds’ autonomous region.”
Cupit didn’t know a lot about the recent events, but said that he
opposed the assault on the Kurds. He was one of several people who got a
copy of the Militant to find out more.
❖
BY DAG TIRSÉN
MANCHESTER, England — “We will keep fighting and get our nation,” Burhan
Faisal from the group Mali Kurd (Kurdish Home) told around 150
participants in an Aug. 8 action here condemning the Turkish attacks
against Kurds in Turkey, Iraq and Syria. Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan lost support to the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party in the
last election, Faisal said. “That’s why he’s making the Kurds out to be
terrorists again.”
The protest was organized by the Kurdish Cultural Centre and most
participants were Kurds. Many indicated support for the Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK), which has been the main target of the Turkish attacks.
Nishtman Osman spoke proudly about the women who “carry the same weight
as the men,” fighting with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG)
in Syria against Islamic State.
Jack Fallon, a journalist who was in Kobani, Syria, in June told
participants that by the time Islamic State was driven out, the city was
almost destroyed. Rebuilding it involves not just Kurds, but many others
from across Syria and Turkey.
“We must also protest the U.S. and U.K. governments’ role,” Pete
Clifford from the Communist League said. “They are complicit with
Erdogan’s attacks. The U.K. rulers were responsible after World War I
for denying the Kurds a homeland. Today they are driven by the same
concerns: stability for their class interests.”
❖
BY JANICE LYNN
ATLANTA — Alan Baran, president of the Kurdish Cultural Center in
Tucker, Georgia, spoke at an Aug. 7 Militant Labor Forum here entitled
“Turkish government opens base to US, attacks Kurdish fighters.”
“Kurdistan was divided into four pieces,” Baran said. “We have been
fighting this injustice for the last 100 years. But even though there
has been a lot of suffering we have had success because we never gave
up.” He denounced the two weeks of intense bombing by the Turkish
government against Kurdish fighters.
Also speaking was freelance photojournalist Elizabeth Chappell, who
recently returned from Kobani. She has been visiting Turkey for 17 years
and has been won to support the Kurdish struggle for independence,
seeing firsthand the discrimination the Kurds faced from the Turkish
government. “The Kurds are a very strong and proud people,” she said.
“They need to become independent.”
“The Socialist Workers Party supports the Kurdish fight for a homeland,”
Sam Manuel said. “We demand an end to the attacks on the Kurdish people
and pledge to bring their struggle to working people in this city and
throughout Georgia.”
In closing remarks, Baran said that before the recent advances, “90
percent of people in the world didn’t know we exist and now 90 percent
know who we are and we have won their respect. We want to continue to
get the word out.”
❖
BY MARY MARTIN
SEATTLE — Thirteen people held a picket at the Jackson Federal Building
here Aug. 10 at rush hour to protest the U.S.-backed Turkish government
assaults on the Kurdish people. The action was initiated by the
Socialist Workers Party. John Naubert, SWP candidate for Seattle Port
Commissioner, position 2, read a statement explaining who the Kurdish
people are and why Washington and Ankara are assaulting them. He called
on all working people to demand the attacks stop and urged passersby to
join the protest.
A handful of people stopped to talk and pick up fliers. A worker on his
break from a nearby office explained that he is from Iran and has many
friends who are Kurdish. He took a photo of the protest to send to his
friends.
Related articles:
Backed by US, Turkish gov’t expands war on Kurds
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