French call to “Save Afrin”

Representatives from various NGOs, academics, artists and rights defenders in France issued a call titled “Save Afrin”.

Representatives from various NGOs, academics, artists and rights defenders in France issued a call titled “Save Afrin”.

In the call published in the newspaper Liberation, the group said: “Against the Turkish army bombings of the Kurds in Northern Syria, France should defend the formation of a no-fly zone in the UN Security Council.”

The group stated that the invading Turkish state has targeted the civilian population in Afrin from the air and the ground every day since January 20, and that they know the truth, despite Erdoğan’s propaganda and geopolitical calculations.

“What is happening is an ethnic cleansing operation against the Kurds of Afrin in particular and the whole of Northern Syria in general. (...) Since the beginning of the terrestrial and aerial attacks, villages have been targeted and destroyed, thousands of civilians have been forced to seek refuge in the Afrin city. Not all of them had that chance: Close to 400 civilians have been killed, and hundreds of others wounded. Like always, women and children paid the heaviest price.”

The group pointed out the attacks against Afrin center, the targeting of civilian infrastructure, the bombing of hospitals and hundreds of thousands of people being forced to leave their homes: “Only a harsh stance taken practically by the international community against this situation can prevent the worse from happening. It is neither dignified or effective to react to the tragedy in front of our eyes with just words.”

The group pointed out that the Turkish state attacks intensified after the UN Security Council passed the ceasefire resolution: “France has a special role. As a member of the UN Security Council, as a NATO member and as an important actor in the region in crisis, the country can make our voice heard.”

The petition calls on France as well: “We demand France do all it can to create a no-fly zone in the north of Syria and Afrin in particular, in the face of the urgency of the situation.”

The signatories are as follows: SOS Racisme Chairperson Dominique Sopo, “Nature et l’Homme” (Nature and the Human) Foundation Chairperson Audrey Pulvar, comedian Josiane Balasko, artist Yannick Noah, Licra Chairperson Mario Stasi, LDH (Human Rights League) Chairperson Malik Salemkour, Cran Chairperson Louis-Georges Tin, ER doctor Patrick Pelloux, cinematographer Louise, Witwatersrand University of South Africa professor Achille Mbembe, cinematographer Yvan Attal, comedian Michel Boujenah, Paris Bar Association lawyer Dominique Tricaud, Urgence Darfour Collective Chairperson Jacky Mamou, European Anarchist Movement Chairperson Benjamin Abtan.