Academics against the Illegal Turkish Invasion of North Syria

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.

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