Wednesday 21st January, 8pm – 9pm
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87025759993

Kurdistan Solidarity Network is hosting a public info-call about the situation in Rojava and what we can do to support to communities of North and East Syria, who are facing brutal attacks from the Syrian Transitional Government forces and the jihadist militias it has mobilised.

We will hear from journalists and activists currently in Rojava, as well as hearing what we can do to defend Rojava from the UK.

Take action

What can we do from Britain in solidarity with Rojava?

• Stay informed about what’s going on and how to take action: Join whatsapp groups where we share information and mobilise resistance:
  • Defend Kurdistan announcements-only group: https://bit.ly/DefendKurdistan
  • Defend Kurdistan discussion and chat group: https://bit.ly/DKdiscuss
  • Women Defend Rojava UK: https://bit.ly/WDR_UK
• Occupy and Blockade. Organise actions against arms companies and the businesses that drive the military-industrial complex! See map of weapons factories in Britain that are supplying Turkey here.
• Join the People’s Caravan to Kobane. People from all over Europe are travelling to Kobane to defend the revolution. For more information see their Instagram or contact via Signal (caravankobane.15 or +49 1521 478023) or email (kobanecaravan@proton.me).
• Attend and organise demonstrations and events to raise awareness. Find a list of demonstrations and events happening at https://kurdistansolidarity.net/events/. Send photos to the Defend Kurdistan WhatsApp or email hello@kurdistansolidarity.net so we can share with people in Rojava.
• Write and Share public statements. Condemn the actions of the Syrian Transitional Government and show your solidarity with the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES). Solidarity statements are being compiled here.
• Donate to Frontline Groups. Donate to Kurdish Red Crescent, the only on-the-ground emergency relief forces via paypal.me/heyvasorakurdistane or Free Women’s Foundation of Syria (Weqfa Jina Azad a Sûriyê) via IBACS (Donation account: Kurdistanhilfe e.V. / Keyword: NOTHILFE / Hamburger Sparkasse / IBAN DE40 2005 0550 1049 2227 04 / BIC HASPDEHHXXX )
• Write to your MP. Demand that they apply Immediate political pressure to stop the attacks, end direct and indirect support for HTS, ISIS and Turkey’s actions in Syria, take a clear position against the ISIS threat, provide urgent humanitarian assistance and instigate international monitoring and accountability. And crucially to work towards the political recognition of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) for a lasting solution. You can find a template letter or email here.
• Sign the petitions. Petition to UK Government coming soon here and from academics here.

Tools and Resources like leaflets, posters and documentaries are listed on the Kurdistan Solidarity Website here.

Keep up to date with ongoing support join the Defend Kurdistan UK WhatsApp chat here

Subscribe to the KSN *announcements only* email list, send an email to:
kurdishsolidaritynetwork-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

Follow the RiseUp4Rojava and WomenDefendRojava pages:

Stay Informed

Misinformation and narratives of an ethnic war are part of the strategies employed by Turkey and the Syrian Transitional Government/HTS forces. Here are a set of reliable news sources.

• For latest news from the resistance, visit Firat News Agency (in multiple languages). There are also good articles on The Amargi website.
  You can find in-depth dossiers and updates about the sitation of women on the website of
  Kongra Star, the umbrella women’s movement in the region.
• For general backround information on the self-administration in Northern and Eastern Syria
  and for recent developments about the political situation in the region, visit the Rojava
  Information Center or look through the resources on the here and here.
• To read a geopolitical context analysis, we recommend this analysis by Ronahi – Youth Center for Public Relations – and this analysis by the Academy of Democratic Modernity.
• For a timeline of the last year of events leading up to the events this month see this article and for a short explainer of why this matters see Carne Ross’s substack.
• In Kurdish, Turkish, and Arabic, you can follow the channels and social media of JinTV,
  Mezopotamya Ajansi, Sterk TV, Medya Haber, and Ronahi TV. Some of the programs are also available in English.

Some resources shared during the call that are relevant to the current situation:

• “Kurdish Blood for Arab Lands: Prospects for Raqqa” by Mehmet Aksoy
• “Berxwedan Jiyane: The Resistance of Tishreen” – A documentary made a year ago by an internationalist volunteer in Rojava, brings to life the spirit of resistance of the civilian blockades organised by communities in north and east Syria
• Al Sharaa (Jolani) the president of Syria had a $10 million bounty on him less than 2 months before becoming president  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c07gv3j818ko
• A video of the statue of the woman fighter being torn down in Tabqa
• A video about Jinwar, the women’s village in Rojava – Jinwar really exemplifies a lot of what the Rojava Revolution has been building
• The last words of Sehid Deniz, herself half Kurdish, half Arab, who fought until her last bullet in the resistance of Aleppo and her corpse was thrown off a building by the HTS forces:
  “The enemies—those who, with a jihadist ideology, pose a great danger to the entire world and the peoples of the region, especially to women—have surrounded us with heavy tanks. A very large number of gangs are attacking us. Up to now we have resisted them in many different ways, but now we are using the ammunition we have with caution so that it does not run out. It is necessary that all our friends and our people know that we will fight until our last breath, no matter what happens. Calls for surrender are being made to us, but just as Zarîfe and Besêyan threw themselves from the cliffs of Dersim, as Rindêxan ended his life at the Malabadi Bridge and gave meaning to life, we too will never take a step back from resistance.
  Now each and every one of us has a bomb with us. If we know that our last ammunition is exhausted, we will—five comrades together—carry out a self-sacrificing action against the occupying enemy who has committed every kind of atrocity against our people and our comrades. Whatever happens, nothing is more important than protecting the honor of our people. Those who do not face death at the decisive moment cannot become the breath of a free life.”

• HTS = Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham, the al-Qaeda offshoot that now holds power in the Syrian Transitional Government
• Daesh = the Arabic name for ISIS (Islamic State)
• Bakur = North Kurdistan (in Turkey)
• Bashur = South Kurdistan (in Iraq)