90 academics from across the the UK wrote a letter to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, calling him to act to stop the illegal Turkish invasion of Rojava.
The letter of the 90 academics said:
"We write in relation to President Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from Syria, which has prompted an illegal military invasion by Turkey of North and East Syria. This invasion has already triggered massive displacement of civilians, and threatens to lead to ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Kurds, not to mention a resurgence of ISIS."
The letter continued:
"The international community owes the Syrian Democratic Forces a debt for their sacrifice in stopping and defeating ISIS and building peace and stability in the region. They have lost over 11,000 men and women in the fight against ISIS, and have played a pivotal role on the ground in this struggle. Their efforts led to the liberation of millions from the grips of ISIS tyranny; moreover, everywhere they have gained control, they have established a “democratic confederal” system of governance which is noteworthy, even inspiring, for its commitment to women’s liberation as well as to multi-ethnic and multi-religious accommodation. In sum, they are our friends and allies."
The letter added:
"This new escalation, on the heels of President Trump’s decision to abandon the Kurdish allies, constitutes yet another illegal aggression and human rights atrocity, which has already caused hundreds of deaths, and has led to over 100,000 people displaced, while threatening more ethnic cleansing, even genocide."
The academics called on "the UK government to immediately condemn Turkey's invasion. Likewise they called "for a boycott of all Turkish goods and tourism" and "for an immediate return to peace talks between the Turkish state and the PKK; and to that end, we call for the freedom of jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan."
The academics also listed a series of demands:
"We demand that the UK government take action to stop this illegal invasion by Turkey of North and East Syria.
We demand an immediate withdrawal of all Turkish troops from Syrian soil. We call for an end to all arms sales to Turkey."
Dr.Thomas Jeffrey Miley, Lecturer of Political Sociology, University of Cambridge
Dr. Les Levidow, Senior Research Fellow, Open University
Dr. Radha D’Souza, Westminster Law School, University of Westminster
Dr. Isabel Kaser, SOAS and University of Bern
Dr.Derek Wall, Dept of Politics and IR, Goldsmiths College, University of London
Dr. Camilla Power, Senior Lecturer, University of East London
Dr. Chris Knight, Senior Research Fellow, University College London
Dr. Thomas Phillips, Senior Lecturer, Liverpool John Moore's University
Dr. Amber Huff, Research Fellow, Institute for Development Studies, University of Sussex
Dr. Patrick Huff, Lecturer, Birkbeck, University of London
Dr. Mark Bason, Research Fellow, University of Sussex
Dr Sarah Glynn, academic and writer
Dr. Angelica de Freitas e Silva, Senior Lecturer in Construction Law - School of Applied Management, University of Westminster
Dr Vivian L Vignoles, Reader in Social Psychology, University of Sussex.
John Drury, Professor of Social Psychology, University of Sussex
Dr Simon Williams, Sussex Centre for Language Studies, University of Sussex
Prof. Anna Stavrianakis, Professor of International Relations, University of Sussex
Dr Robert Rosenthal, Senior Teaching Fellow, Director of Teaching & Learning
School of Education and Social Work
Helen Dixon, Lecturer and Research Associate, IDS-Global Studies, University of Sussex
Dr David Davies, School of Law Politics and Sociology, University of Sussex
Prof Clifford Stott, Dean for research, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Keele University
Dr Fergus Neville, Lecturer, University of St Andrews
Tommaso Ciarli, Senior Research Fellow, University of Sussex
Shirley May, Data Manager, SHORE-C, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex
Dr Catherine Will, School of Law, Politics and Sociology, University of Sussex
Dr Kamran Matin, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, Sussex University
Nuno Ferreira, Professor of Law, University of Sussex
Luke Martell, University of Sussex
Jim Endersby, Professor of the History of Science, School of History, Art History and Philosophy, University of Sussex
Dr Naureen Durrani, Associate (Education), University of Sussex
Dr Kate Howland, Senior Lecturer, University of Sussex
Dr Eleanor Careless, University of Sussex
Professor Janet Boddy. Professor of Child, Youth and Family Studies,
University of Sussex
Gordon Asher, Independent Scholar, Scotland
Professor Stephen Linstead, FAcSS, University of York
Prof. Haim Yacobi, The Bartlett Development Planning Unit University College London
Leon Rosa Reichle, PhD student, Centre for Urban Research on Austerity (CURA),
De Montfort University
Sarah Jasmon, Manchester Metropolitan University
Phil O'keefe, University of Northumbria
Professor Mike Geddes, Associate, University of Warwick
William A. Scarfone, Postgraduate Researcher, Centre for Research Architecture,
Goldsmiths University
Prof Nicola Ansell, Department of Social and Political Sciences, Brunell University, London
Dr Thomas Dekeyser, British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre for the GeoHumanities, Royal Holloway, University of London
Prof. Gavin Brown, Professor of Political Geography and Sexualities, University of Leicester
Dr Panayiota Demetriou, Bath Spa University
Dr Ersilia Verlinghieri, Research Associate, University of Oxford
Dr Adam Fishwick, Senior Lecturer, Department of Politics, People and Place,
De Montfotd University
Dr Nick Clare, Assistant Professor, University of Nottingham
Dr Carl Bonner-Thompson , Lecturer, School of Geography and the Environment
University of Oxford
Dr Marijn Nieuwenhuis, Durham University, Geography Department
Nina Isabella Moeller, Associate Professor, Centre for Agroecology,
Water and Resilience, Coventry University
Professor David Whyte, University of Liverpool
Dr Victoria Cooper, Open University
Dr Michelle Farrell, Senior Lecturer, University of Liverpool
Dr Gary Wilson, Senior Lecturer, Liverpool John Moores University
Dr Yinan Yin, Senior Lecturer, Liverpool John Moores University
Dr Karen Evans, University of Liverpool
Dr Aoife Daly, Senior Lecturer, University of Liverpool
Dr Rossella Pulvirenti, Senior Lecturer, Liverpool John Moores University
Dr Julia Bradshaw, Senior Lecturer, Liverpool John Moores University
Dr. Lina Dencik, Reader, Cardiff University
Prof. Bart Cammaerts, Professor of Politics and Communication, London School of Economics
Dr. Hannah Hamad, Senior Lecturer in Media and Communication, Cardiff University
Prof. Des Freedman, Professor of Media and Communications, Goldsmiths, University of London
Prof. Natalie Fenton, Professor of Media and Communications, Goldsmiths, University of London
Dr. Mike Berry, Senior Lecturer, Cardiff University
Dr. Alex J. Wood, Lecturer in the Sociology of Work, University of Birmingham
Prof. Mark Graham, Professor, University of Oxford
Dr. Andy Williams, Senior Lecturer, Cardiff University
Dr. Alex Prichard, Senior Lecturer, University of Exeter
Dr. Peter Wilkin, Reader in Social and Political Science, Brunel University
Dr. Torsten Geelan, Lecturer in the Sociology of Work and Employment, University of Leicester
Dr. Waseem Yaqoob, Lecturer in History, Queen Mary University of London
Prof. Sarah B. Franklin, Sociology Professor and ReproSoc Research Director, University of Cambridge
Dr. Brendan Burchell, Reader in Sociology, University of Cambridge
Dr. Monica G. Moreno Figueroa, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of Cambridge
Dr. David Lane, Emeritus Fellow, Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Dr. Ruth Armstrong, Senior Research Associate, University of Cambridge
Dr. Maria Iacovou, University of Cambridge
Dr. Manali Desai, Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge
Prof. Christel Lane, Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge
Dr. Arsalan Ghani, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge
Dr. Johanna Riha, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health