Call for international solidarity over Suruç massacre

July 20, 2015
Issue 


SGDF activists in Suruç momements before the blast. The three women pictured were killed in the attacked. They are sisters.

At least 30 people were killed and more than 100 injured on July 20, when ISIS suicide bomber from the self-styled Islamic State group attacked a cultural centre in the Kurdish town of Suruç, on the Turkish side of the border from Kobane. The victims were members of the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF) who were travelling to help with the reconstruction of Kobane that has been in the front line against ISIS. The following call for international solidarity was released on July 20 by Nazmi Gur, vice co-chair of the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) in charge of Foreign Affairs. A further statement by the HDP can be read here.

* * *

I’m writing this urgent letter to inform you regarding to the ISIL’s bombing attack that caused death of 28 young people and nearly 100 injures in Suruç in Turkey where closest town to Kobani. All the victims were members of the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations which known as youth organization of ESP (Ezilenlerin Sosyalist Partisi or Socialist Party of the Oppressed).

We as HDP strongly condemn the massacre against the young people whose show their internationalist solidarity for Kobani and its resisting peoples against the ISIL.

The ISIL’s activities in Turkey and AKP Government’s tolerance for ISIL members caused many civil casualties in Turkey like Hatay/Reyhanlı Attack on 11 May 2013 and Diyarbakir Attack on 5 June 2015. It is clear that, Turkey and its borders has turned into logistical base and militia crossing gate for ISIL for 3 years. Additionally Turkish Intelligence’s (MIT) hundreds of trucks which full of the arms and military equipments have been dissembled by the government and the divulgers (prosecutors and gendarmerie officers) have been arrested due to the preventing the arm transmitting operation to Syria.

Our party and peoples of Turkey are aware that AKP Government has big responsibility to encouraging the ISIL and rising civil casualties in Syria, Iraq and Turkey as well. We as HDP calls international public opinion to react for AKP Government’s irrational approaches that causing civil casualties in the Middle East. In this regard, HDP call all the democratic and progressive parties and NGOs to show their solidarity for the young victims in Suruç.

[Reprinted from Peoples Democratic Party.]

Comments

I ask that Australian supporters of the Rojava Revolution express their solidarity with the cause and with Australian Volunteers serving in the YPG against ISIL terrorism and Turk military aggression. There are multiple pages on Facebook including International Brigades of Rojava, Anarchists in Support of Rojava-Kurdistan and Lions of Rojava as well as the official YPG page and website www.ypgrojava.net . You can sign this petition calling on the Australian Government to grant amnesty to Australians swerving in the YPG and Peshmerga against ISIL. https://www.change.org/p/julie-bishop-mp-and-george-brandis-qc-australian-volunteers-fighting-isil-daesh-in-the-kurdish-ypg-be-granted-amnesty-under-the-foreign-fighters-bill-2014-and-the-proposed-australian-citizenship-allegiance-to-australia-bill-and-be-allowed-to-return-h?recruiter=164363674&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink

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