On 12 October 2019, at 12pm, the New Zealand Kurdish Community will march in solidarity with Rojava (Western Kurdistan) against Turkey's invasion
of Northern Syria.
We will start from Aotea Square on Queen Street and march to the US Consulate on Customs St East.
On 7 October Trump announced that US forces in Northern Syria (Rojava) will stand aside, enabling Turkish forces to
enter the region and commit genocide against Kurds in the region. Attacks have already begun.
Kurdish forces lost over 11,000 lives in the fight against ISIS and over 1.1 million Kurds were displaced. Trump's
decision is a betrayal to the Kurds who were so instrumental in the destruction of the world’s worst terrorist
organisation, ISIS.
Leaders around the world are condemning the unilateral military invasion by Turkey in the Kurdish areas of northern
Syria. They are expressing their concern about the security of the Kurdish people, in particular the ethnic cleansing of
the Kurds by Turkey and its proxies, the further destabilisation of the region and ISIS resurgence. They are calling for
withdrawal of Turkish forces.
New Zealand leaders in Government and opposition should condemn these atrocities and respond to the urgent call for
action.