Volunteers of the International Working Brigade have been prevented from entering Rojava. Troops from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) stopped the group at the inner-Kurdish border crossing Pêşxabûr/Sêmalka on Monday afternoon and prevented them from leaving the country for the autonomous regions of northern and eastern Syria - despite having valid papers. "This contradicts customary international law," the volunteers said.

The brigade consists of a few dozen internationalist volunteers from Europe and North America who were invited by the Network for International Friendship to travel to Rojava. The plan was to spend three weeks getting to know meaningful places in Rojava, attending workshops and working in cooperatives. The initiative was set to put solidarity into practice and break the economic and political embargo against Rojava.

The point is to create an international public

Since the region has been liberated from the terror of the jihadist militia ISIs, Turkey and the KDP, the ruling party in the KRI, have used the non-statehood of the democratic self-government of northern and eastern Syria as a pretext to severely restrict the movement of goods and people. In concrete terms, this means for the local population that the supply of necessary goods such as food and medicine as well as freedom of travel are severely restricted. The international brigade wants to draw attention to this. In order to create international publicity, it is necessary to point out the prevailing oppression, the right of the population to self-determination and Turkey's war of aggression, which is contrary to international law, explains the group.

Learning from people who live democratic confederalism

Another goal of the trip was to learn from people who aspire to democratic confederalism. The theory, based on the pillars of radical democracy, ecological consciousness and women's liberation, stands for resistance to the prevailing chaos in the Middle East and for building a social alternative.

Embargoes, military strikes and terrorism against Rojava

The people of northern and eastern Syria have been suffering for several years from embargoes, military strikes, and terrorism that originate from Turkey and target the civilian population. A few days ago, the Turkish government reaffirmed its plan to impose a 30-kilometer-wide "security zone" within the autonomous areas of northern and eastern Syria. "Turkey is once again trying to use its status as a NATO member to commit genocide against the Kurdish people living there, as well as to crush the democratic self-government of the society and the feminist liberation movement," declared the International Working Brigade. "We strongly condemn these renewed aggressions. It is despicable that a state can hide behind its NATO membership to commit atrocities undisturbed," said Maria Schneider, a participant in the brigade.

Collaboration of the KDP with Turkey

The Working Brigade also condemned the collaboration of the KDP with Turkey in the invasion of southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq) and the support of Western countries such as Germany. Germany is silent not only on attacks that violate international law, but even on war crimes such as the banned use of poison gas and attacks that specifically target civilians. Despite the ongoing invasion, Germany continues to supply weapons to its NATO partner, supports the Turkish government in the EU and NATO, and criminalizes Kurdish life in Germany under the pretext of the PKK ban. "Thus, the fascization of Turkey is accepted by other NATO countries. Also, the abuse of the veto right of Turkey in the NATO admission process of Sweden and Finland for the penetration of the criminalization of Kurds leads to no outcry", criticizes the group.

Resistance against the Turkish war of aggression

The war that Turkey is waging against Kurdish self-determination had been supported by NATO countries even before the war in Ukraine began. "Now Erdogan can terrorize the population in northern Iraq and northeastern Syria in the shadow of the Ukraine war and rely on his position of power within NATO. We as working brigades call on all internationalists and democrats to resist the Turkish war of aggression, the embargo against Rojava and the criminalization of the Kurdish freedom movement. We demand an end to the KDP’s collaboration with the Turkish attack and peace in Kurdistan," said Maria Schneider.

Despite being turned back at the border, the volunteers of the labor brigades are motivated to carry the democratic ideas of the Kurdish freedom movement back to their home countries.