The Kurdish community in Malta, with the support of Moviment Graffitti, is organising a peaceful gathering on Saturday 19th October at 10am, outside the Turkish embassy in Floriana, to condemn the Turkish invasion of Northern Syria (Rojava) and the brutal, unprovoked assault by the Turkish state on communities in this area.  

On Saturday, people in Malta will join the global outrage at Turkey’s invasion that is resulting in the massacre of Kurds and other communities in Rojava and their displacement on a mass scale. The actions of the Turkish state are clearly driven by its hatred of Kurds – a group that also suffers systematic oppression and state violence within Turkey itself – as well as by its desire to destroy the egalitarian and democratic model being built in Rojava. 

In fact, Turkey is using Islamist militias to carry out its war on communities in Rojava, and these are engaging in the cold-blooded assassination of Kurdish civilians such as woman’s rights activist and political leader Hevrin Khalaf. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has also made it clear he aims to change the demographics of Northern Syria. This demographic re-engineering is already at an advanced stage in the Kurdish province of Afrin. After the Turkish invasion of this province last year, Turkish-backed Islamist militias have driven Kurdish people out of their homes and lands, to replace them with people coming from other parts of Syria. Kurdish and other communities are thus facing the imminent risk of being ethnically cleansed from large swathes of Syria. 

It is truly saddening that Turkey’s abhorrent actions are being enabled by the United States’ betrayal of the Kurds and the inaction of European countries. Only four years ago, the world was celebrating the liberation of Kobane – one of the main cities in Northern Syria – by Kurdish fighters from the hands of ISIS. Now, those Kurdish forces and Rojava communities that had been used to effectively clear ISIS from the region and that were pivotal in the defeat of this terrorist group, have been completely and cruelly abandoned to Erdoğan’s ambition to destroy the Kurds and other communities in this region. 

The Turkish invasion is threatening to revive the ISIS insurgency as thousands of ISIS members held in camps guarded by the Kurdish forces will take the opportunity provided by the fighting to flee and reconstitute terrorist cells. Kurdish forces guarding ISIS prisoners have been targeted by the Turkish army and renewed ISIS activity in Rojava has been reported. One should also note that, for years, Turkey has permitted weapons, recruits, and resources to reach ISIS through its borders.

Both ISIS and the Turkish invasion pose an existential threat, not only to Kurds, but also to all the ethnic minorities and religious groups indigenous to the region, including Arabs, Christians (Armenians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Syriacs), Turkmens, Chechens, Alevites, and Yazidis.

On Saturday, we will gather outside the Turkish embassy in Floriana to call upon the world to take action and stop the invasion of Rojava, the ongoing massacre of communities in this area and the renewed ISIS threat brought about by the Turkish government’s actions. We also urge the Maltese Government to honour its Constitutional obligation to actively work for peace by informing the Turkish ambassador that Malta forcefully opposes the Turkish invasion of Rojava.

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Malta RiseUp4Rojava

Il-komunità Kurda f’Malta, bl-appoġġ tal-Moviment Graffitti, qed torganizza manifestazzjoni paċifika nhar is-Sibt, 19 ta’ Ottubru fl-10am, quddiem l-ambaxxata Torka fil-Furjana sabiex tikkundanna l-invażjoni Torka tas-Sirja tat-Tramuntana (Rojava) u l-assalt brutali u mingħajr provokazzjoni mill-istat Tork fuq il-komunitajiet taż-żona.

Nhar is-Sibt, persuni f’Malta ser jingħaqdu ma’ oħrajn madwar id-dinja sabiex jesprimu l-għadab tagħhom għall-invażjoni Torka li qed tirriżulta fil-massakru tal-Kurdi u komunitajiet oħra fir-Rojava u ċ-ċaqliq sfurzat tagħhom fuq skala kbira. L-azzjonijiet tal-istat Tork huma xprunati, bl-iktar mod ċar, mill-mibegħda tiegħu lejn il-Kurdi – grupp li jbati wkoll mill-oppressjoni sistematika u l-vjolenza mill-istat fit-Turkija stess – kif ukoll mix-xewqa tiegħu li jiġi mfarrak il-mudell egalitarju u demokratiku li qed jinbena fir-Rojava.

Fil-fatt, it-Turkija qed tuża milizjani Iżlamisti sabiex twettaq il-gwerra taħgha fuq il-komunitajiet fir-Rojava, u dawn diġà bdew iwettqu assassinji ta’ ċivili Kurdi fosthom l-attivista għad-drittijiet tan-nisa u mexxejja politika Hevrin Khalaf. Barra minn hekk, il-President Tork Recep Tayyip Erdoğan għamilha ċara li hu jrid ibiddel id-demografija tas-Sirja tat-Tramuntana, u dan it-tibdil demografiku diġà jinsab fi stadju avvanzat fil-provinċja Kurda ta’ Afrin. Wara l-invażjoni Torka is-sena li għaddiet, milizjani Iżlamisti appoġġjati mit-Turkija keċċew lill-Kurdi mid-djar u l-artijiet tagħhom, u poġġew minflokhom nies minn partijiet oħra tas-Sirja. Il-komunitajiet Kurdi u  komunitajiet oħra għalhekk qiegħdin jiffaċċjaw ir-riskju imminenti li jinqerdu minn partijiet kbar tas-Sirja permezz tat-tindif etniku. 

Inissel dwejjaq kbir il-fatt li l-azzjonijiet aborrenti tat-Turkija qed jiġu permessi mit-tradiment tal-Istati Uniti lejn il-Kurdi, u min-nuqqas ta’ azzjoni tal-pajjiżi Ewropej. Erba’ snin ilu biss, id-dinja kienet qed tiċċelebra l-liberazzjoni ta’ Kobane – waħda mill-ibliet ewlenin tas-Sirja ta’ fuq – minn ġellieda Kurdi li ħaduha minn taħt il-kontroll tal-ISIS. Issa, dawn il-forzi Kurdi u l-komunitajiet fir-Rojava li ntużaw sabiex jeħilsu r-reġjun mill-ISIS, u li kienu importantissimi fir-rebħa kontra dan il-grupp terroristiku, ġew abbandunati kompletament u b’mod kiefer għall-aħħar f’idejn Erdoğan l-ambizzjoni tiegħu li jeqred lill-Kurdi u komunitajiet oħra fir-reġjun.

L-invażjoni Torka qiegħda thedded li terġa’ tqajjem l-insurrezzjoni tal-ISIS hekk kif eluf ta’ membri tal-ISIS fil-kampijiet mgħassa mill-forzi Kurdi se jieħdu l-opportunità maħluqa mill-ġlied sabiex jaħarbu u jerġgħu joħolqu ċ-ċelluli terroristiċi. Il-forzi Kurdi li qed jgħassu lill-priġunieri tal-ISIS kienu fil-mira ta’ attakki mill-armata Torka u diġà kienet irrappurtata attività ġdida mill-ISIS fir-Rojava. Ta’ min jiftakar li għal ħafna snin it-Turkija ħalliet li armi, rekluti u riżorsi jilħqu l-ISIS mill-fruntiera tagħha. 

Kemm l-ISIS kif ukoll l-istat Tork jikkostitwixxu theddida eżistenzjali, mhux biss għall-Kurdi, imma wkoll għall-etniċitajiet f’minoranza u gruppi reliġjużi tar-reġjun, inklużi l-Għarab, il-Kristjani (l-Armeni, l-Assirjani, l-Kaldej u s-Sirjaki), it-Turkmeni, l-Alevis u l-Jażidi. 

Nhar is-Sibt se ninġabru barra mill-ambaxxata Torka fil-Furjana sabiex nitolbu li d-dinja tieħu azzjoni u twaqqaf l-invażjoni Torka tar-Rojava, l-massakru li għaddej bħalissa tal-komunitajiet fiż-żona, u t-theddida mill-ġdid tal-ISIS li qed joħloq il-Gvern Tork. Inħeġġu wkoll lill-Gvern Malti sabiex jonora l-obbligu Kostituzzjonali li attivament jaħdem għall-paċi billi jinforma lill-ambaxxatur Tork li Malta topponi bil-qawwa l-invażjoni Torka tar-Rojava.