Call from 150 people to France to 'defend Rojava'

150 representatives of NGOs, intellectuals, artists, and politicians in France signed a statement drawing attention to the threats posed by the Turkish state on Northern and Eastern Syria and calling for support in the defense of Kobanê.

The 150 signatories called in the statement to protect the Rojava Revolution, defend the rights of Kurds and other minorities, and support the construction of a free, pluralistic, and democratic Syria. They wrote that despite the hopes born from the collapse of the Assad regime, the situation in Northern and Eastern Syria remains alarming. 

The signatories emphasized that "although the regime has fallen, the war in Syria has not yet ended. External powers are developing new strategies over Syrian territory, with Turkey’s threats, particularly targeting Kurdish regions due to its neo-Ottoman ambitions, standing out."

They pointed out that during the occupation of Afrin and Serêkaniyê, the Turkish army and its allied militias conducted ethnic cleansing and looting operations, including bombardments targeting infrastructure. The signatories added: “In recent weeks, tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee from Tall Rifaat and Manbij. Kobanê is now the new focus of this threat. This city, which heroically resisted DAESH (ISIS) in 2015, is currently facing a new wave of violence.” 

The 150 signatories called on the international community and France to take the following steps: 

"1. Ensure the complete withdrawal of Turkey and other foreign occupying forces from Syria. 

2. Provide protection for Kobanê and other regions under threat. 

3. End ethnic cleansing and demand the return of historically Kurdish regions such as Afrin. 

4. Support the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria."

The statement concluded with the following remarks: "The future of the Syrian people depends on building a democratic Syria that guarantees the rights of all minorities. The founding principles of the Autonomous Administration - local democracy, women’s rights, and a social economy - can be one of the keys to achieving this goal."

The signatories are as follows:

Tuna Altınel, mathematician

Dilane Aydın, lawyer

Geneviève Azam, essayist and director of Fondation Danielle Mitterand

Pouria Amirshahi, Member of the Paris Parliament

Paul Aries, political scientist

Sahar Bagheri, researcher, Sorbonne Paris Nord University

Pierre Bance, Doctor of Laws

Antoine Back, Deputy Mayor of Grenoble

Zerrin Bataray, lawyer and AURA regional councilor

Matthieu Bellahsen, psychiatrist and author

Olivier Besancenot, NPA L'Anticapitaliste

Jérôme Bonnard & Ophélie Gath, co-secretaries of Union Syndicale Solidaires

Dominique Bourg, honorary professor

Jacques Boutault, deputy mayor of central Paris

Laurence Boffet, vice-president of the Metropole de Lyon

Léa Balage el Mariky, Paris Parliament Member

Jean-François Billion, President of Presse Fédéraliste

Sébastien Brunel, cartoonist

Michèle Boyer Carcenac, geographer

Remi Carceles, PhD student

Adnan Çelik, MCF EHESS

Nara Cladera Benia, federal co-secretary of Education Sud

Jérémie Chomette, community activist

Laurence Cohen, Honorary Senator

Albane Colin, AURA regional councilor

Sergio Coronado, former MEP

Alain Coulombel, Ecologistes executive office

Sébastien Choupas, local councilor, Aouste-sur-Sye

Renaud Daumas, Regional Councilor

Philippe Descola, Professor Emeritus

Fanny Dubot, Mayor of Lyon 7th District

Chris den Hond, journalist

Eléanore Dellatouche, Intérêt à Agir

Vincent d'Eaubonne, ecofeminist researcher

Pierre Dardot, researcher

Françoise Davisse, film director

Hüseyin Salih Durmuş, humanitarian aid volunteer

Ümit Doğan, PhD student

Véronique de Geoffroy, Groupe URD Director

Marie Didier, author

Mireille Fanon Mendès France, President of the Frantz Fanon Foundation

Eric Fassin, sociology professor

Jacques Fontaine, geography teacher

Rémi Féraud, Senator of Paris

Jean-Yves Gallas, President of the Mouvement de la paix (Peace Movement)

Aline Guitard, Deputy Mayor of Lyon

Olivier Grojean, political science lecturer

Jean-Luc Gautero, Emeritus Lecturer in Philosophy of Science

Franck Gaudichaud, historian and researcher

Dominique Gambini, film director

Aurélien Gabriel Cohen, researcher and publisher

Christine Garnier, Deputy Mayor of Grenoble

Daniel Guerrier, honorary journalist

Jean Glavany, former minister

Barbara Glowcewski, Emeritus Research Director

Agnès Golfier, Director of Operations at the Fondation Danielle Mitterrand

Nils Guyot, Solidarités Jeunesses

Hélène Hardy, member of the Ecologistes bureau

Nicolas Haeringer, climate activist

Laetitia Hamot, Mayor of La Crèche

Jean-Marie Harribey, economist

Christine Helot, emeritus professor

Seve Izouli, lawyer

Boris James, senior lecturer

Anna Jambon, President of the French Cultural Union of Armenians in France

Edouard Jourdain, researcher

Benjamin Joyeux, AURA regional councillor

Baudoin Jurdant, Emeritus Professor

Roseline Kisa, France Kurdistan Co- President

Pierre Khalfa, economist, Copernic Foundation

Nicole Kahn, UFJP

Thierry Lamberthod, President of Amitiés Kurdes de Rhônes-Alpes

Lydia Labertrandie, local councillor, Cesson

Annie Lahmer, Regional Councillor

Amaury Lambert, University Professor

Renaud Lawryn, Sud Education international commission

Michèle Leclerc-Olive, President of CORENS

Christian Laval, Emeritus Professor of Sociology

Zoé Lorioux-Chevalier, Poitiers local councillor

Christian Mahieux, Sud Rail trade unionist and international union network for solidarity and struggle

Benoît Massin, academic

Fabienne Messica, sociologist

Céline Meresse, President of CRID

Roland Mérieux, co-president of the Ensemble

Myriam Matonog, Vice President of LDH Lyon

Daniel Marcovitch, Former MP for Paris

Jacqueline Madrelle, President of France Libertés Gironde

Julie Maurel, Collective for Romans

Renée Mignot, President of MRAP

Halima Menhoudj, Deputy Mayor of Montreuil

Pascale Mitterrand, Board Member of Fondation Danielle Mitterrand - France Libertés

Gilbert Mitterrand, President of Fondation Danielle Mitterrand

Corinne Morel-Darleux, Author and Director of Fondation Danielle Mitterrand

Léonore Moncond'huy, Mayor of Poitiers

Aminata Niakaté, Paris City Council Member

Jean-Claude Oliva, EPT Est Ensemble

Josiane Olff Nathan, Vice President of Paul K. Feyerabend Foundation

Aline Pailler, Former MEP and Journalist

François Pallus, carpenter

Jean-François Pellissier, Ensemble spokesperson

Chiara Pistocchi, teacher

François Piquemal, Member of Parliament for Haute-Garonne

Alessandro Pignocchi, comic book artist

Martial Passi, National Secretary of the Mouvement de la Paix (Peace Movement)

Delphine Petit, Spokesperson Collective in Solidarity with the Kurdish People

Eric Piolle, Mayor of Grenoble

Marie Pochon, Member of Parliament for Drôme

Gilles Poux, Mayor of La Courneuve

Raymonde Poncet Monge, Senator

Şahin Polat, Co-President of the Democratic Kurdish Council of France

Sylvie Poupet, Member of the Federal Council of Les Ecologistes

Serge Quadruppani, writer and translator

Sandra Regol, Member of Parliament for Bas-Rhini

Sandrine Rousseau, Paris MP

Philippe Rio, Grigny Mayor

Tony Rublon, Amitiés Kurdes de Bretagne President

Richard Sadok, Un Jour la Paix President

Francis Sitel, Co-Director of Contretemps

Daniel Salmon, Senator

Marie-Hélène Saller, screenwriter

Edouard Soulier, NPA

Engin Sustam, lecturer

Faysak Taşkıran, Secretary of the Kurdish Students Association in Europe

Hélène Trachez, Paris councillor

Pascal Troadec, Deputy Mayor of Grigny

Stéphane Trouille, video producer

Marine Tondelier, National Secretary of Ecologists

Pascal Torre, Co-President of France Kurdistan and Coordination nationale solidarité Kurdistan

Marylise Tourneur, teacher

Hüseyin Üngür, PhD student and member of the NES Center for Solidarity with Universities

Marie-Christine Vergiat, LDH

Pedro Vianna, poet and playwright

Margaux Vidal, PS federal foreign minister

Vincent Vergone, sculptor and stage director

Brigitte Vaisse, Deputy Mayor of Thionville

Olivier Weber, writer, reporter, former ambassador

Refet Yalçın, engineer

Youlie Yamamoto, ATTAC spokesperson

Sonia Zdorovtzoff, Deputy Mayor of Lyon