Stand up for Humanity in Kurdistan‏

Stand up for Humanity in Kurdistan
A demonstration in support for Kurdish Yezidis, Christian and other religious and ethnic minorities in Kurdistan and North Iraq who have been killed or displaced by ISIS is being held in Glasgow on Saturday 30 August,  organised jointly by Scottish Friends of Kurdistan and Scottish Kurdish Human Rights. The demonstration will assemble at 12 noon, George Square.

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SACC supports the call for humanitarian aid and solidarity for the people of Kurdistan and North Iraq.
SACC Statement
www.sacc.org.uk/press/2014/stand-humanity-kurdistan-and-north-iraq <http://www.sacc.org.uk/press/2014/stand-humanity-kurdistan-and-north-iraq> 

SACC supports the people of Kurdistan in their resistance to the murderous attacks by ISIS. Our long-standing call for an end to the British Government's ban on the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) as a supposedly "terrorist" organisation is now more urgent and relevant than ever. The ban is an obstacle to a peaceful and democratic resolution of Turkey's Kurdish question, an infringement of the right of Kurdish people everywhere to political self-expression, and an impediment to solidarity against ISIS.

We remain opposed to the British Government's powers to ban supposedly "terrorist" groups, and we stand firmly against any extension of these powers, whether on the pretext of fighting ISIS or for any other reason.

We urge the British government to step up its support for those affected by the crises in Iraq and Syria by increasing humanitarian aid to the affected areas and by opening its door to refugees.

We particularly urge the British government and the rest of the international community to end the isolation of Rojava-Kurdistan (Syria), to include Rojava-Kurdistan in the relief efforts being provided in Kurdish areas of Iraq, and to press Turkey to open its border with Rojava-Kurdistan. We urge the UN and the EU to work with the Rojava-Kurdistan administration to provide humanitarian support there.

We urge progressive groups everywhere to develop and strengthen links with all areas of Kurdistan and with Kurdish communities everywhere.

We call for an independent and impartial legal investigation into the crimes committed against the Ezidi community by ISIS in the Sinjar region.

We condemn the central role played by the US and British governments in creating conditions in Iraq that have made sectarian discrimination and killing, the terrorisation of populations and ethnic cleansing into effective steps to political power. ISIS has so far proved to be more adept than other groups at operating under these conditions, with disastrous consequences for the people of Iraq. Military intervention by the US and Britain will inevitably worsen the situation. We are opposed to any such intervention.

We send our support and best wishes to those in Glasgow standing in solidarity with the people of Kurdistan on Saturday.