Qamishlo people protest against betrayal and occupation

A demonstration was staged in Qamishlo against betrayal and occupation. "It is not us who have occupied another country. Our struggle is our legitimate right. We have to protect ourselves," said an activist.

A demonstration was organised on Sunday in Qamishlo against the Turkish invasion of southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq) and the KDP’s attack on a guerrilla group on July 26. The demonstrators, including many relatives of those martyred in the Kurdish liberation struggle, called on the KDP to cease its belligerent activities against the guerrillas and to stop closing ranks with the Turkish state. The activists warned that the party, which rules South Kurdistan, was provoking an internal Kurdish war with its support for Turkey's attacks on the Medya Defense Zones.

A demonstrator told ANF: "The Turkish state is attacking the people and the guerrilla in South Kurdistan. The same perpetrators who attacked Afrin and Kobanê have now murdered a family in Konya. Why were the people murdered? Because they are Kurds. We are different, we are not racist and we do not murder people. We want justice and equality."

Commenting on the KDP’s actions, the activist said: "I appeal to all our people: protest against the Turkish state and the KDP. The KDP must not side with the occupiers, it must side with the people. The Turkish state is attacking all Kurdish achievements. Today it is about a struggle for existence. Kurdish graves are being attacked, Kurds are being burned alive. We must defend ourselves against this. As relatives of the martyrs, as people who love their country, as Kurds and as women, we will stay on our feet and fight until the attacks of the Turkish state stop and Abdullah Öcalan leaves the prison on Imrali. The massacres must finally stop. We will not surrender land to anyone. It is not us who have occupied another country. We have not murdered anyone either. Our struggle is our legitimate right. We have to protect ourselves."