Rojava festival in Berlin

The Rojava Revolution celebrated its 11th anniversary on 19 July and continues to be a global source of hope and inspiration with its grassroots, gender-equality and ecological approach.

The Rojava Revolution celebrated its 11th anniversary on 19 July and continues to be a global source of hope and inspiration with its grassroots, gender-equality and ecological approach. To mark the anniversary, a party was held on Sunday at Oranienplatz in Berlin-Kreuzberg under the slogan "Solidarity with Rojava".

The Democratic Union Party (PYD), which was founded in Rojava in 2003 and has become one of the main elements of the revolution, promoted the festival. The event began with a minute's silence for the martyrs of Rojava, followed by an opening speech by Rênas Afrin of the organizing committee. Then Adnan Osê from the PYD and Hüseyin Taşan spoke on behalf of the Kurdish Community in Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. They saluted the YPG and YPJ, who form the backbone of Rojava's defense forces, and commemorated the more than ten thousand fallen of the revolution.

Former Berlin MP Hakan Taş was also among the guests at the celebration. In his speech, he described Rojava as the "opposition to all dictatorships in the world" and paid tribute to all fighters who, with their resistance against the Islamic State, not only defended their homeland, but also Europe against terror. Rojava is not just a region, but a political ideal."

The achievements of the revolution must be defended everywhere, said Taş. On the occasion of the upcoming anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne, which sealed the division of Kurdistan into four parts on 24 July 1923. Taş said: "The Kurds have the right to self-determination and will decide for themselves about their future."