Defend Kurdistan's international days of action kicked off today with the slogan "Stop the drone war - defend the revolution in Rojava". The initiative will continue until 23 July.

In a statement, Defend Kurdistan said in a statement: "Eleven years have passed since the revolution in Rojava became a beacon of hope for revolutionary forces worldwide. In times of ongoing crises of the capitalist system, Rojava shows us that social self-management, based on women's liberation, grassroots democracy and social ecology, is possible and that it is also up to us to fight for it - determined and united.  

Since Erdoğan was able to secure his autocracy through the presidential elections in May,  his power clique escalated their war of extermination throughout Kurdistan, stopping at nothing. In the free mountains of southern Kurdistan, the Turkish army flies more than 50 airstrikes every day, in which our friend Azad Şergeş - Thomas S. - who comes from Germany, was also killed together with Asya Kanîreş and Koçer Medya in Xakurke on June 15th. Rojava is also under daily attack by drones and Turkey's Islamist allies. Since the 2018 & 2019 invasions of northeastern Syria, these have held Efrîn, Serêkaniyê & Girê Spî, quietly opening the door for the Islamic State to reorganize."

The statement continued: "Since the beginning of June alone, more than 20 people have been killed by Turkish drones, a hospital has been shelled in Tel Rifat, and the number of drone strikes has risen to over 200 in the last 3 years in Rojava alone. From Dêrik to Şehba, there is hardly a place that has not been affected. The attacks are targeted against representatives of the self-governing structures, members of the self-defense forces, and the civilian population. This type of warfare has a clear objective: as soon as people participate in any form of self-government, they run the risk of becoming victims of one of these attacks themselves. In this way, the Turkish state systematically tries to undermine the population's trust in self-government and to put society in a state of constant fear through its terror." 

The statement added: "Only a few months ago, group pictures with the slogan of the Kurdish freedom movement "Jin, Jîyan, Azadî" were the most popular photo motif in political Berlin - especially among the Greens. But when it comes to the war that Turkey is waging against the very women's movement that coined this slogan, they remain silent. The hypocrisy of this policy is demonstrated not least by the fact that Annalena Baerbock posed for a photo with her new Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan one day after the murder of Yusra Derwês and Lîman Şiwêş. Hakan Fidan, who was previously the head of the Turkish intelligence service, was not only responsible for supplying weapons to ISIS, but also for the murder of Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez in Paris in 2013, not to mention the countless other war and human rights crimes throughout Kurdistan." 

The statement ended with the following call: "Therefore, get ready for the International Days of Action from July 17th to 23rd. We call on you, respond to the attacks, do die-ins in public places, inform about the achievements in Rojava, organize celebrations on the anniversary of the revolution and remember the fallen! Let's respond properly to the attacks! Stop the drone war on Rojava!"

Pictures and videos of the actions as well as a short explanation of who, when, where, why you did which action can be sent to [email protected] to be shared.