Members of the Kurdish community and their allies held an emergency rally at Sydney Town Hall on December 7 to call for a peaceful and just settlement in Syria as the civil war rapidly escalated.
Speakers included Baran Sogut, from the Kurdish Youth Association, Brusk Aeiveri, co-chair of the Federation of Democratic Kurdish Society – Australia, Greens Senator David Shoebridge and Peter Boyle from Green Left and the Socialist Alliance, who all urged the Australian government to recognise the important democratic gains made in the Democratic Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria/Rojava.
Boyle also called on the government to make an immediate and substantial donation to the Kurdish Red Crescent/Heyva Sor A Kurd which was carrying the load for the 250,000 people who had been displaced in recent fighting in that region of Syria.
"The Kurds have one demand and that is peace," said Sogut.
"We say peace, peace, peace, we don't want war...
"Please [Prime Minister Anthony] Albanese, if you support freedom and peace, we call on you to help the Rojava administration," Sogut urged.
"Rojava is a symbol of feminism and internationalism and the Kurds would not let this be defeated."