On the first of May 2022, on Global Worker’s Day, a group of internationalists held a speech during a demonstration in Bologna, Italy. The group used this politically meaningful day to spread
information about the ongoing attacks in South Kurdistan by the fascist Turkish state. At the end of the demonstration, a banner was put up in the city to show solidarity/support with the guerrilla forces of the PKK, which are defending Kurdistan against the ongoing imperialist attacks. Flyers were distributed on the streets.

The activists stated the following:

“First of May has brought us together. Together we stand for the rights of the exploited class all over the world. While the powerful continue to scrape profits from every corner for centuries with all the means they have, we have recognised their intentions and stand against them. The strongest effect of this is the imperialist war of states. We see this in the current Ukraine war. In its shadow, another NATO war is taking place in Kurdistan. The Kurdish struggle and the Revolution in Rojava show that a life apart from exploitation and the bourgeois state is possible. Democracy, freedom and feminism are radically lived there and are not just a hollow phrase as in the supposedly advanced civilisation of Europe and the USA. However, this hope for our liberation struggles worldwide is under constant threat.

Only two weeks ago, on April 17th, the fascist Turkish government started a new war in South Kurdistan against the guerrilla forces of the PKK. The guerrillas are protecting the achievements in Rojava and other Kurdish-administered areas. It is not just a war against the PKK territory, but a war and ongoing genocide against Kurds and the model of a radical-democratic society.

This new war could not have happened without the okay of NATO, since the USA is controlling the air space of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. While taking a stand against the occupation of Ukraine, they give the Turkish state a green light to carry out a war against the Kurdish people. It illustrates the Imperialism of the US and European states of power. This war is not just happening in the mountains of South Kurdistan but is fought on many fronts. Turkey is also heavily bombing Rojava with drones and gathering troops at its border. Iraq is attacking the self-governed areas in Şengal, where IS committed a genocide in 2014, the Southern Kurdish party KDP supports Turkey in its attacks and Syria puts embargoes on other Kurdish regions. It is not a coincidence that all this happens at the same time! The imperial powers conspire against the revolution of the Kurdish people! Let us not accept the silence about war! Let us support the guerrillas who are taking on a sacrificial task. When we protest against the imperialist war in Ukraine, we have to protest against every imperialist war. No to NATO, no to Putin and no to Erdogan!! Human lives and one of the few real hopes for a world without capitalism, patriarchy and the state depend on it. We depend on it!”