Activists in Finland plant tree for Rojava

"As we mourn for all those who lost their lives in this conflict, we also see that through their sacrifice, Rojava remains free."

Friends of Rojava Turku chose to celebrate the 8th anniversary of the Rojava Revolution by planting a tree. 

Activists chose a tree called "Blood Birch", symbolizing the blood of all the people in YPG, YPJ and SDF who lost their lives or were wounded in the fight against ISIS and in defending Rojava from Turkey's murderous attack.

Activists said in a statement: "As we mourn for all those who lost their lives in this conflict, we also see that through their sacrifice, Rojava remains free. And the revolution will grow, just like this tree. The tree is a symbol for life, even in the midst of the world that has seen so much death."

                                             

Activists continued: "We planted the tree in the historic area of Koroinen in Turku city. It is a beautiful place and a lot of the activities going on in that area today are related to ecological and ethical living, so we saw it as a perfect place to have something that reminds us, and all people passing by, of the Rojava revolution, womens freedom and hope. In the hyper-industrialized world of today, we desperately need the knowledge of ecological communal living given to us by Murray Bookchin and Abdullah Öcalan if we want to survive."

Sspeeches by activist Sinur Hosseini, PhD student of gender studies Albina Hipp (Åbo Akademi University), non-fiction writer Olli Tammilehto and Lotta Laaksonen, activist and a part of the association for culture in Koroinen were delivered.

                  

Activists also demanded the release of Abdullah Öcalan and that Turkey ends its hostilities and ethnic cleansing in Rojava, in Afrin and in the Serekanie area, and elsewhere in Kurdistan. "In relation to this, Finland needs to stop its arms trade with Turkey and that large Finnish fabric companies, such as Finlayson, stop producing their items in Turkey," said activists.

The event also remembered the three women Turkey killed in June in a drone strike in Kobane, Zehra Berkel, Amina Weysi and Hebun Mele Khelil.