The siege and attacks launched by the Iraqi central government on Maxmur Camp on 20 May have been protested for days by Kurds living in Switzerland. On Saturday there was a protest in De-Wette square in Basel. The action was organized by the Swiss Democratic Kurdish Council (CDK-S) and the Swiss Kurdish Women's Movement (YJK-S).

CDK-S Co-chair Selma Sürer read the statement and said that the people of Maxmur have resisted the repression going on for years. “We are here for Maxmur. The people in the camp became refugees because they did not bow to the pressures of the Turkish state. Both the pressures of the Barzani family and the attacks by the Turkish state could not break the resistance of the people of Maxmur. Since 20 May, the people of Maxmur have been resisting. They want to turn the camp into an open-air prison.”

The people of Maxmur are resisting. We will resist

Sürer underlined that the United Nations remained silent against these attacks and said: "Maxmur is not an ordinary place. It is of great importance as it is the place where the leadership's ideas were first implemented. This camp is under UN supervision. We condemn the UN silence on the attack. We state this again: if you close your ears to the people of Maxmur, we will be their voice here. We will be on the streets every day until the issue is solved. This is what we say to those who are annoyed by our voice. If you do not want your comfort to be disturbed, do something about the demands of the people of Maxmur. We call on everyone to show solidarity with the people of Maxmur."

Özden Aytaç read the joint German press release prepared on behalf of CDK-S and YJK-S. The statement said: “Stop the occupation of Maxmur Camp! The autonomous refugee camp Maxmur in South Kurdistan has been under siege by the Iraqi army since 20 May. The people of the camp resisted and managed to stop the soldiers. Now people are keeping a vigil at the wells.”

UN should fulfil its responsibility

The statement emphasized that the Maxmur camp is under UN control and called on the institution to fulfil its responsibility.