Since its very foundation, DiEM25 and its members have been supportive of the Kurdish struggle for egalitarian and feminist democracy. Between October 4-6 DiEM25 members participated in an international conference on democratic confederalism, municipalism and global democracy that took place in Rome. The conference counted with the participation of representatives from Rojava, the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, where revolutionary forms of local government, ecologism and gender equality are being experimented.

These representatives were still in Rome when Trump officially announced that the US army would withdraw from Northern Syria and Erdogan threatened Rojava that the invasion would start soon. As we write, the Turkish invasion has actually started with bombings and artillery attacks. Erdogan’s official aim is to create a “safe zone” along the Turkish borders where 1 million Syrian refugees, currently in Turkey, would be relocated by performing, at the same time, his strategy of national cleansing. Erdogan aims to displace the Kurdish majority from the “safe zone” in Rojava and create another wave of refugees – the same refugees Erdogan uses as regrettable currency of exchange with the European Union.

In these dramatic hours our thoughts go the courageous people of Rojava, whose long resistance against ISIS, which substantially benefited the “West,” and their struggle for democratic and egalitarian principles remain a source of inspiration for all democratic movements and DiEM25. We can’t accept that these ideals and values are defeated, people persecuted, killed and displaced and that the peaceful territory of Rojava would be brought back to instability and war.

Since we know that besides Turkey and the US, the EU itself is responsible for this, together with its national governments (like Germany) that have been arming Turkey and accepting Erdogan’s “refugee blackmail”, we call upon all progressives not only to enact acts of solidarity with Rojava and the Kurds, but to fight for egalitarian and feminist democracies in their own societies. Only by radically transforming the EU and our own countries, by stopping arms sales and the current geopolitics of fear, can we help those who have built new democratic institutions and resisted both ISIS and Turkey (armed and helped by the US and EU).

We call on everyone to join the international day of action to stop the Turkish occupation, organised by the Rojava Solidarity Committee Europe, taking place on October 12. Many actions will take place all across Europe.

Show solidarity with Rojava and organise.

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